Strong engine and transmission, easy fluid checking, large trunk, comfortable seats and decent legroom

Front door locks are stiff as well as the trunk lock. My key now has a bend in it from having to twist it so hard

I bought this car in 1993 and it had 85,000 miles. At that time the only thing that didn't work right was the cruise control. It would work but it was pulsing the accelerator to maintain speed. A few years later I replaced the servo unit ($230.00) and no problems since. At about 105,000 miles the cam sensor that sends the signals to the fuel injection system went bad causing the engine to die without warning. I would have to sit (usually in the middle of traffic) for about five minutes and then it would start and run like nothing was wrong. Took three trips to the mechanic to identify the problem but only cost $95.00 to fix--no problems since. Other than one headlight and one side marker light replacement, these are the only problems that I had to fix so far during the 7 1/2 years I've owned it. I did get one complete brake job, 1 wheel alignment, and replaced the struts and shocks. I have the 3.8L V-6 with the automatic overdrive and at 150,000 miles there's only 3 problems that I know of. Some of the fuel injectors are leaking a little causing a gassy smell, it has trouble starting at high altitudes I'm guessing due to a worn out oxygen sensor or something, and the tranny leaks a little, requiring about a pint of fluid every three months. As mentioned in the weaknesses, the only thing I would change are the locks as I think the general design of them makes them prone to stiffen up with age. I'm sure they probably worked fine when the car was new. All in all, the car has been very reliable and I have put way more money into the regular maintenance than the emergency repairs so if you take care of this car, it will take care of you. Hardley any creature comforts but it will get you where you're going.

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1981 Chevy Citation. My Buick is a much better car--better ride, more power, etc. The Citation was a decent "basic" car though.

This can be a very reliable auto. Of course, we took care of it. The ride is cushy and the 3.1L motor provides decent fuel economny and acceleration.

The only problems we had were a few bugs when we first bought it...one wiring problem with a speaker and part of an interior panel came loose. The metal "GM" covering on the seatbelt unglued around 100K and the fan motor needed to be replaced at 152K as it was running hot.

The engine was probably on its last leg but we were sort of emotional about trading the car in after never letting us down for 9 years and 335000 miles.

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I'd avoid the 4 cylinder model as the power is lacking for a car this size

Comfort, quiet, performance, price.

Remote control for entry is inconsistent. Fuel economy isn't as high as it should be. Interior finish materials are a bit cheap.

Surprisingly comfortable and fast. Also, the quietness of the car is quite impressive. I am surprised that the fuel economy is worse than my '98 Chrysler Concorde since the car and engine is smaller than the Chrysler. The interior climate control system seems like it *should* be adequate, but the temperature control seems inaccurate.

Overall, the quality, features and price are excellent.

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Chrysler Concorde. 1998,1996.

Plenty of power from the 3.8L V6.. Don't let people kid ya and say its less powerful than other cars. This car has plenty to spare, just smaller engines use crappy gearing. The 2.8L has plenty, but just geared the same as the more powerful 3.8L since the gears were meant for the 3.8L anyway.

Very comfortable ride, and even wrecked, the engine runs great with absolutely no mechanical problems (yet). I did not wreck it, as it was wrecked and fixed before I got it.

The 3.8L can beat a 2.8L Cavalier Z24 from 87, which says a lot. :)
Nice red emblem on the engine. :)

Stupid hyrdaulic lift for the hood. As always, they fail after a few times, sheesh and comes falling down without a stick to hold it up. (Who's idea was it to make those lifts for hatchbacks and hoods?! Idiots.)

Haven't driven long enough to find any major problems.

So far, the car turned out to be a great deal at $1000 since it only had 75,000 miles on it. It was wrecked as there was a new windshield and new (yet old) front bumper and surrounding molding. The side blinkers aren't working, yet are fully attached to everything, so a fusible link will be hard to find.

Everything on the engine is accessible with ease as nothing is hiding. The alternator, starter, oil filter, and dip sticks are easy to access.

The Limited edition is a very nice ride as it is quiet, quick, fast, and not a cop catcher.

Everything in the car is power so its easy to do what you want. The passenger seat can only move forward and backwards manually, as the back of it does not move.

I recommend this car to a more experienced driver and who is a little bit more calm, because it is not a sports car and feels like it would break if you push it to its limit too much. Drive this car decently or race it at least in a straight line if you do decide to race it. And if you do race it, put wider tires (like width size 235 and up). The 215 and lower spin too much causing hassling slow starts and a few coughs and a few sightings by cops. :) I don't race it, but if a less experienced driver drives it, I recommend upgrading to a wider tire as I tested mine out with the Z24's tires. :p Now I'm babbling so I'm done.

- Noisome -

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87 Cavalier Z24, 86 Oldsmobile Calais

Strong Engine, Comfortable Quiet Ride, Styling

Transmission knock, Front Seats

This car is the best kept secret in the GM community. For not too much cash, you get a comfortable quiet ride, acceptable gas mileage, and the best service of any of the GM dealers I have ever dealt with. This car's flaws are when the engine/tranny are cold it sometimes knocks slightly when it intially engages into gear. The service department has promised me that is characteristic of this particular tranny, and they have serviced it completely. While in this process they also performed a service notice inspection/parts replacement within the tranny. It was in the shop for 5 days for this service as they had to take the whole tranny down to do the service and gave us another Century to drive while it was in. There was no charge for this, as other GM dealers would have wanted to rent us a car. And they were very efficient about the service. I now judge a dealer by the service department rather than by the price tags and sales reps. I have been to my local Buick dealer several times to look at other cars and one thing I noticed is there are never more than 6 cars in for service at one time. And this service department is huge. At least 24 bays for work and 6 for paint/body repair. Go by any other car dealer and look into the service department to see how busy they are before buying. That is how I will purchase from now on out. If the service department is not busy they must be selling a bit more of a quality product than the next guy. My only other complaint on these vehicles is that when traveling at upper speeds I find that the soft suspension hinders the cars turning/cornering abilities. This happens at any speed at 80MPH+. May seem a little fast, but when you are traveling on the major interstates that is almost normal around here. Also the front seats have somewhat of a buckle in the backs of them, when you get in and out of them they tend to almost snap in and out of place where you put your weight into the seat back. Annoying but the dealer is working on a solution. All in all though a Great poor mans Caddilac.

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1998 Chevy Malibu

*Excellent power from rare 3.8 v6 option
*extremely comfortable

None

This car was an old man special, luggage rack, wire wheels velour interior, etc. Got it in 97 with 60k miles for $3500. Best used car I ever bought.

I think the reason others are complaining about the power is that the more common v6 was a 2.8 which is weak. If you can find one with a 3.8 jump on it.

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1990 lesabre (liked the century better)

Value (it was free) / Smooth ride / Large trunk / Not a cop target

Weak engine / Handles too loosely / Lack of rear seat leg-room / Loud at high engine speeds / Rattles at high speeds / Bad traction / I'll stop here for the sake of the readers

The one and only reason I ever used this car was because it was free. The engine is horrible. For a V6, there is no power at all. Once you pull the engine towards the higher RPM range you get a LITTLE bit of power, but nothing to write home about. The engine is also quite noisy when you get to this power range, but in a bad way. The sound of a Ferrari at high RPMs sounds good, not a Buick - trust me. It whines and bumps and rattles as you pull ahead and gets really old.

The only thing that this car has going for it is that it's a grandpa car. Cops don't look too closely at your speed in this thing, trust me.

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Cadillac Eldorado - no comparison / Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX - don't even come close / Chevrolet Camero Z28 - I think you get the point

Very reliable with regular maintenance, easy to do self repairs

The doors seem to be too heavy, they started sagging in 2 or 3 years,ash tray fell apart, dash board vents fell apart

Good all around car, still running with 160k miles.
Low maintanence

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1984 Plymouth Caravelle

~Good gas miliage
~Good Features and easy to use
~Decent Engine
~Easy to keep up with

~Bad sound system
~Hard to install aftermarket products
~Under Powered engine
~Dash is kind of hard to read sometimes
~Not all that reliable

~nothing, from grandparents
~If you want your kid to have a slow car that will get them around this is the car

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~92 Skylark
~By far a way better car then the Century
~Way more power then Century
~Way better reliabliaty

Smooth stable ride, nice paint /external finish

3.3L V-6 knocks like a damned jack-hammer and no one can figure out why

$1500. I bought it for my daughter on her way to college
She is thoroughly pissed at me cause it knocks real loud
and is no-doubt a grandpa car

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