Station Wagons: Buick Century vs Buick Roadmaster

This being a Buick Century blog, let me list a few reasons to prefer Century over Roadmaster when looking for a late model station wagon in good condition.

1. About 30% price difference. Late production (read: 1996) Roadmasters with 70,000 miles on them are offered at a wide variety of prices, but once all junk is sorted out, one will be facing a bill in the range of $7-9,000 for a well-preserved car. The expenses of bringing the car to Europe and local taxes will also be higher.
   On a side note: Roadmasters in good condition are in demand these days. eBay is the marketplace for cars in top condition, sold for $10,000 and up. A beautiful green Roadmaster with 36K miles on it was sold for $15,000 in early 2010.
   
2. Retro look and feel. Interestingly, Buick Century is one of the longest mass-produced vehicle models out there, with production spanning from 1982 to 1996. As a result, a 1996-produced Century still has the boxy look of the 80's. The Roadmaster I'm comparing to was introduced in 1991 and is therefore more streamlined and modern-looking.
   
3. Size. Century is smaller than Roadmaster, which can be a good thing. Roadmaster is a huge car and available parking and garage space should be considered before committing to one. Century can provide a similar classic station wagon experience while having a smaller footprint.

Of course, this is not to say that Century is 'better' than Roadmaster. It is a junior front wheel drive model compared to the large rear wheel driven Roadmaster. But it has its advantages as described above.