I work maintenance in a retirement condo community. As the residents age and quit driving, if they don't pass the car to family I am sometimes asked if I know someone who might be interested.
I purchased this Buick to use for our commute: 60 miles morning and again in the evening. A lot less fun to drive but so much more quiet and relaxing than the classic BMW e28. My wife is disappointed to be back in as automatic after driving the 5 speed for more than 10 years and she doesn't wan't to get rid of the BMW. I don't either but with more than 300K miles and rust I should likely look for a cleaner e28 535 than repair this one.
The Buick is not entirely mint but looks good (you know, for an old person's car). It has less than 60K miles and has likely been over maintained by the little old lady owner. Always in the garage and seldom driven (short trips!) the Michelin tires are about 1/2 tread but have a date code from the year 2000. There are no records with this car and the owner has dimensia which is progressing. The kids sold me the car but really dont know any history except that mom purchased it in 1998 from the neighbor or simple things like that. There is an oil change sticker on the windshield that shows to come back for the next oil change 2900 miles from what is on the odometer today and it is dated January of 2015. I think that suggests she has only driven the car 100 miles since then.
The 3800 V6 has a black plastic intake manifold but I think they would call it the "series 1" rather than the series II which from my wiki research was new for 1995 models. This motor is not supercharged. The antifreeze is bright and the oil looks like new oil. I put 70 miles on it tonight and will look at fluids again tomorrow in the daylight including the transmission fluid.
I don't know much about this car or the motor generally. I did a couple of oil changes on a friends Lesabre from about the same production year some time back so I'm sure I can find the oil filter. I am aware that the 3800 series II has a problem with the factory lower intake manifold gasket. I'm not sure if this is a problem for 1994 models. I will do a UOA at some point this summer. I plan to drive on the new clean (but 2 year old in the car oil) for 3000 miles if it stays clean looking. The garage at the condo building is enclosed, no sunlight, temperatures are generally 45 to 80 but for a day or two can swing an additional 10 degrees. It is a good place to preserve a car. The very old tires look new (no cracks, checks, fading) and the only mechanical problem I have noticed is that the AC compressor is a bit loud when it runs.
What shall I do BITOGers? I'm thinking spark plugs. I'll look at the air filter but they likely sold her a new one every oil change. No owners manual but I think it will call for 10-30 when I get one. There's a bottle of formula Shell 10-30 in the trunk. I usually use synthetic oil (AZ clearance oil) and change after 7000 miles of mostly highway. What would y'all do for this car?
I purchased this Buick to use for our commute: 60 miles morning and again in the evening. A lot less fun to drive but so much more quiet and relaxing than the classic BMW e28. My wife is disappointed to be back in as automatic after driving the 5 speed for more than 10 years and she doesn't wan't to get rid of the BMW. I don't either but with more than 300K miles and rust I should likely look for a cleaner e28 535 than repair this one.
The Buick is not entirely mint but looks good (you know, for an old person's car). It has less than 60K miles and has likely been over maintained by the little old lady owner. Always in the garage and seldom driven (short trips!) the Michelin tires are about 1/2 tread but have a date code from the year 2000. There are no records with this car and the owner has dimensia which is progressing. The kids sold me the car but really dont know any history except that mom purchased it in 1998 from the neighbor or simple things like that. There is an oil change sticker on the windshield that shows to come back for the next oil change 2900 miles from what is on the odometer today and it is dated January of 2015. I think that suggests she has only driven the car 100 miles since then.
The 3800 V6 has a black plastic intake manifold but I think they would call it the "series 1" rather than the series II which from my wiki research was new for 1995 models. This motor is not supercharged. The antifreeze is bright and the oil looks like new oil. I put 70 miles on it tonight and will look at fluids again tomorrow in the daylight including the transmission fluid.
I don't know much about this car or the motor generally. I did a couple of oil changes on a friends Lesabre from about the same production year some time back so I'm sure I can find the oil filter. I am aware that the 3800 series II has a problem with the factory lower intake manifold gasket. I'm not sure if this is a problem for 1994 models. I will do a UOA at some point this summer. I plan to drive on the new clean (but 2 year old in the car oil) for 3000 miles if it stays clean looking. The garage at the condo building is enclosed, no sunlight, temperatures are generally 45 to 80 but for a day or two can swing an additional 10 degrees. It is a good place to preserve a car. The very old tires look new (no cracks, checks, fading) and the only mechanical problem I have noticed is that the AC compressor is a bit loud when it runs.
What shall I do BITOGers? I'm thinking spark plugs. I'll look at the air filter but they likely sold her a new one every oil change. No owners manual but I think it will call for 10-30 when I get one. There's a bottle of formula Shell 10-30 in the trunk. I usually use synthetic oil (AZ clearance oil) and change after 7000 miles of mostly highway. What would y'all do for this car?
