Got one of these about a month and a half back, and have been working the kinks out.
Could not be much worse than the day I got it at the tow yard. Was a literal see-the-ad-on-craigslist-run-over experience. PO's cell phone rang with another buyer literally as he handed me the title.
"Test drive" was going back three feet then hitting the e-brake as the hydraulic brakes were completely shot. Had been sitting in grass for a year. Rocker panels are also shot and the floor pan had light surface rust and peely paint. (I wirebrushed, rust converted, and undercoated all this.)
I had it towed home by the tow company after I outbid their mechanics who wanted it "for parts" (yeah right) by $50. Figured I'd throw some business their way. To register and apply for a title, needed the odometer reading, impossible as it was not lighting up. Turns out it's a known problem and I resoldered some resistors in the cluster. 119k miles. Pleasant surprise.
I ran all new brake and fuel lines so I could start driving it and pass a state inspection. Despite bleeding them the normal way I still had a soft pedal. Had my mechanic bleed the ABS with his scan tool to no difference. Discovered uneven front pad wear and pins bottoming out, so all new brakes (with AA coupons!) got them tolerable... just tolerable. Rear drums are adjusted and everything. Brake feel quality is 3/10.
Car came with a jug of deathcool in the trunk. I got some IM gaskets upon this observation and they're sitting on my garage shelf for now. Oil looked okay. Overflow looks nasty with caked goo all over its inside. I did a thermostat, what a nasty design, behind an exhaust crossover. In fact I did it twice as it slipped out of position as I was tightening the bolts the first time and leaked. This gave me the opportunity to introduce my "free" dexcool and a little prestone universal.
Car has a good case of the typical 3100 cold start rap/knock as well.
Just took a mostly highway trip and it turned in 27.6 MPG. By comparison my 1992 cutlass ciera with bigger 3300 and 3 speed auto gave me 29. The buick is HEAVY, 3400 lbs or so. The old A-bodies were 2750 if memory serves.
The car is geared real tall for economy. Starting off in 1st is sluggish. Even going 55 if one hits a slight hill it unlocks the TCC or downshifts, very busy with the trans. Has that PWM TCC which is smooth, yes, but it bothers me not knowing what it's doing. I'm one of those stick shift drivers who trys to "will" an automatic into behaving, by nursing it up hills to avoid downshifting, etc. There's no tach and my scan tool says 1800 RPM at 65 MPH. I feel if it could stick to this, somewhere flat, it could get super mileage. The design looks aerodynamically slippery enough.
The trunk is deep.
Car has ABS, traction control, rare for something of mine. Applies the spinning wheel's brake for TC, I'm looking forward to testing this when it snows soon. Most older TCs just cut engine power, something I can do. Came with great all seasons, skinny 205/70/15 and the car is heavy, so I have hopes for it in the snow.
Headlights are more tolerable than my olds silhouette it's replacing, but so would be a jar of lightning bugs. They might need a little aiming.
There's about a foot of air space between the front bumper and the motor, so if I PIT someone in anger I should make it home. (Space for the 3.8 they put in regals) Rear spark plugs look like something to do from below on ramps, or undo the dogbones and roll the motor.
Dang thing keeps throwing a P0440 EVAP leak. Has super-duper-low-emissions for Cali/Northeast. This could relate to the rusty filler neck, that, like its W-body cousin Intrigue I had, seems to be unprotected steel. If you have one of these cars, treat its neck well, protect it somehow.
Checking the RPO codes show this to be an AVIS special; a call-for-help sticker in the trunk confirms this.
The door seals are quiet and it doesn't rattle. Different from my A-body ciera and its 1982 tech: the rattliest car I ever owned. The radio volume knob has notchy detents and it goes from whisper quiet to too loud in one notch... insane. Has inch high numbers for farsighted geezers. Comparably the speedo is a teeny tiny thing and it reads SLOW by a MPH at 65. I do appreciate the green "cruise" light when it's engaged. The interior people at buick sat around designing about 30 idiot lights so this would be good for a teenager. Has low coolant, overheat, low oil, low tire (ABS speed sensors, not TPMS), door/trunk ajar, low fuel, along with the regular lights we know and expect.
I looked at this and thought, boy, a mini-lesabre... but this has been cheapened too much. If you have any choice get a lesabre for better build and no MPG penalty.
Could not be much worse than the day I got it at the tow yard. Was a literal see-the-ad-on-craigslist-run-over experience. PO's cell phone rang with another buyer literally as he handed me the title.
"Test drive" was going back three feet then hitting the e-brake as the hydraulic brakes were completely shot. Had been sitting in grass for a year. Rocker panels are also shot and the floor pan had light surface rust and peely paint. (I wirebrushed, rust converted, and undercoated all this.)
I had it towed home by the tow company after I outbid their mechanics who wanted it "for parts" (yeah right) by $50. Figured I'd throw some business their way. To register and apply for a title, needed the odometer reading, impossible as it was not lighting up. Turns out it's a known problem and I resoldered some resistors in the cluster. 119k miles. Pleasant surprise.
I ran all new brake and fuel lines so I could start driving it and pass a state inspection. Despite bleeding them the normal way I still had a soft pedal. Had my mechanic bleed the ABS with his scan tool to no difference. Discovered uneven front pad wear and pins bottoming out, so all new brakes (with AA coupons!) got them tolerable... just tolerable. Rear drums are adjusted and everything. Brake feel quality is 3/10.
Car came with a jug of deathcool in the trunk. I got some IM gaskets upon this observation and they're sitting on my garage shelf for now. Oil looked okay. Overflow looks nasty with caked goo all over its inside. I did a thermostat, what a nasty design, behind an exhaust crossover. In fact I did it twice as it slipped out of position as I was tightening the bolts the first time and leaked. This gave me the opportunity to introduce my "free" dexcool and a little prestone universal.
Car has a good case of the typical 3100 cold start rap/knock as well.
Just took a mostly highway trip and it turned in 27.6 MPG. By comparison my 1992 cutlass ciera with bigger 3300 and 3 speed auto gave me 29. The buick is HEAVY, 3400 lbs or so. The old A-bodies were 2750 if memory serves.
The car is geared real tall for economy. Starting off in 1st is sluggish. Even going 55 if one hits a slight hill it unlocks the TCC or downshifts, very busy with the trans. Has that PWM TCC which is smooth, yes, but it bothers me not knowing what it's doing. I'm one of those stick shift drivers who trys to "will" an automatic into behaving, by nursing it up hills to avoid downshifting, etc. There's no tach and my scan tool says 1800 RPM at 65 MPH. I feel if it could stick to this, somewhere flat, it could get super mileage. The design looks aerodynamically slippery enough.
The trunk is deep.
Car has ABS, traction control, rare for something of mine. Applies the spinning wheel's brake for TC, I'm looking forward to testing this when it snows soon. Most older TCs just cut engine power, something I can do. Came with great all seasons, skinny 205/70/15 and the car is heavy, so I have hopes for it in the snow.
Headlights are more tolerable than my olds silhouette it's replacing, but so would be a jar of lightning bugs. They might need a little aiming.
There's about a foot of air space between the front bumper and the motor, so if I PIT someone in anger I should make it home. (Space for the 3.8 they put in regals) Rear spark plugs look like something to do from below on ramps, or undo the dogbones and roll the motor.
Dang thing keeps throwing a P0440 EVAP leak. Has super-duper-low-emissions for Cali/Northeast. This could relate to the rusty filler neck, that, like its W-body cousin Intrigue I had, seems to be unprotected steel. If you have one of these cars, treat its neck well, protect it somehow.
Checking the RPO codes show this to be an AVIS special; a call-for-help sticker in the trunk confirms this.
The door seals are quiet and it doesn't rattle. Different from my A-body ciera and its 1982 tech: the rattliest car I ever owned. The radio volume knob has notchy detents and it goes from whisper quiet to too loud in one notch... insane. Has inch high numbers for farsighted geezers. Comparably the speedo is a teeny tiny thing and it reads SLOW by a MPH at 65. I do appreciate the green "cruise" light when it's engaged. The interior people at buick sat around designing about 30 idiot lights so this would be good for a teenager. Has low coolant, overheat, low oil, low tire (ABS speed sensors, not TPMS), door/trunk ajar, low fuel, along with the regular lights we know and expect.
I looked at this and thought, boy, a mini-lesabre... but this has been cheapened too much. If you have any choice get a lesabre for better build and no MPG penalty.
