2000 Buick Century with 24k miles

[MuzzleFlash40]

My 2000 Buick Century 3.1 24k miles.

My Wife’s other grandmother passed away and we received it from her estate. I decided to make this my commute car. It has been kept in a heated garage it’s entire life.

I’m going to replace the tires since they’re original. I also bought new hoses and serpentine belt. Along with the transmission fluid and filter.

I just did the oil change with pennzoil high mileage, it doesn’t have the mileage but it has the age. But you sure can’t tell, it even still smells new inside.

 

[supton]

Would it need new hoses? I thought they lasted longer than that. Coolant change tho might be due.

 

[vw7674]

brake fluid. yep.

 

[Justus1]

Very nice.

 

[nwjones18]

Very nice. Yeah get the tires changed ASAP along with the coolant and serpentine belt is a good idea. I'd probably leave the hoses if they still look/feel good. Seems like OEM hoses last nearly forever.

 

[daves87rs]

Nice! Yep, would change the fluids....

 

[dareo]

Creampuff. You can't buy a brand new car with the comfort of those old buicks.

 

[clinebarger]

I might even recommend doing the Intake Gaskets, They're 22 years old & pretty brittle I imagine??

 

[rob1715]

Score 1 for Muzzle. Here in Heaven's Waiting Room, you can pick those up all day long.

 

[GON]

Number one thing to do is to change the DEX III to DEX VI. Will make a world of difference in the life of that transmission.

Very reliable powertrain as long as the trans fluid is upgraded.

 

[clinebarger]

It's a 3.1L which are more likely to have LIM gasket leakage.

 

[TmanP]

Beautiful car; the condition looks fantastic. Before driving it much, I'd change ATF/PSF/oil/coolant (maybe brake fluid if you have time/space), air filters, and swap the LIM gasket to be safe (I would not trust the original one with that age), some Techron in the gas, and that should just about do it. If the hoses/serpentine belt look good, I'd likely let them go a while; ditto for the battery (it's not original, is it?) Tires would be a top priority too; that's pretty darn old for rubber and they could fail spectacularly. At any rate, enjoy the Buick. After I did all that, I'd be inclined to fill it with fresh gas and some Techron and take it for a bit of a drive on the highway to burn some carbon out. Those Buicks were made for the highway - 30 mpg and all-day comfort!

 

[Leo99]

I might even recommend doing the Intake Gaskets, They're 22 years old & pretty brittle I imagine??

seals and gaskets getting brittle have send a few of my old cars to the junkyard. Got tired of chasing little oil leaks. My neighbors just bought one of these Buicks for their youngest just getting her drivers license.

 

[Trav]

Number one thing to do is to change the DEX III to DEX VI. Will make a world of difference in the life of that transmission.

Very reliable powertrain as long as the trans fluid is upgraded.

Naw, it wont. Nothing will help the soft 4th gear input shaft, it should be okay in this car though.
LIM gaskets as Clinebarger said are going to be the weak spot on this car and worth doing now not later.

 

[Nick1994]

Nice car, just make sure you do intake manifold gaskets and keep the transmission fluid clean.

I think there's a shift kit or something for these that if put in at a low mileage, will make them last a long time.

 

[Trav]

Yep the accumulator kit, quick and easy job.

 

[FordMan59]

Don't you just hate it when a free 21 year old car smells newer than one you just bought a couple years ago and paid $30K for. Nice looking Buick. Catch up the maintenance and drive the wheels off of it!

 

[Blinker]

Does this car have the 4T45e or the 4T65e? If it’s the 4T45e it will be trouble free for its life. The 4T65e has some issues however.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Looks like it was in a time capsule, I love it!

Might I suggest brake hoses as well, given the age of the rubber.

 

[Lubener]

I had a 97 Lesabre "creampufff" a few years back with such low miles, it turned out to be one of the worst cars I ever had by nickle and diming me to death. It was a pleasure to drive but I had to dump it after two years of ownership in 2018. Unfortunately age has more to do with reliability than those low miles do.