Six month review: 2003 Buick Park Avenue

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You did good by choosing the PA over the 1st generation Lacrosse. The Lacrosse today is a very nice car, but the prior one's were so boring and cheap. That PA is way nicer. I had a 1996 PA Ultra and loved it. It had the SC engine and was a little sleeper at times :)
 
Road trips is where the floaty Buicks shine. Lots of room, very quiet, they stay in line without constant correction, and not much affects their disposition. Even 30 mph gusts blow them only a little bit. Plus getting ~30 mpg, more if you keep it at the 65 mph speed limit here, is icing on the cake.

I'll be running Edge 5w-30 this winter in a 3800 that's spotless inside. Although I should replace the leaking pan gasket first to see how it consumes it.
 
All my 3800 cars have been very good. Two Supercharged ones and Two N/A one. The most recent one, a Regal has been the second one that required the intake gasket. After that I haven't had to do anything except for brakes which it needed when I bought it.
 
Just read through this post and glad to hear you're PA is doing well. I was recently in the market for another vehicle and had been looking for anything with the GM 3.8 since I've owned several over the years and they've always been good to me.

I stumbled across a 2000 Century with the 3100 that was in excellent shape and couldn't pass it up for the price they were asking. It needed a blower motor that squealed like a pig, which I suspect is what drove customers away. Hopefully the 3100 proves as reliable as the 3.8l v6's I've owned in the past.


Anyway, a couple questions.
Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Window lubing

Was this meant to be window tinting or ???

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replaced interior A/C filter

I owned an '06 Altima that you had to drop the glove box to access this filter, but it wasn't too terribly bad. Replacing the one on your PA sounds like a real PITA!! Funny, my Century is easily accessed by removing a few clips from a cover below the windshield from the engine compartment.

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Polish headlight lenses

Is this something you'll do yourself? I recently saw an AAP ad that had a Sylvania kit for something like $21-$22 and was wondering if anyone else had tried it?

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Lights replaced in stereo

Another thing that I think affected the sales price on my Century was the LED lights for the Auto-Climate-control are very dim. I researched and found that there are flat resistors in the control unit that can be resoldered. I'm reasonably competent with a soldering iron so that'll be something I'll be taking care of some time in the future. Is this the same on your PA, and did you do the repair yourself?
 
Hey, TMoto,

By window lubing I meant that the front passenger window is occasionally slow to run down -- generally when the rubber weatherstripping is damp. I cleaned it up some, and my mechanic did some more. The problem recurs from time to time, but it's not yet at the point where taking the door off is worth it.

Earlier this year I bought the Turtle Wax headlight polish kit for $9 (I think) at Walmart. My lenses are just a little cloudy, so it's not urgent. I plan on working with 'em when the weather cools off. Say about December.

As for the stereo lights, no, the dealer can't do anything but replace the entire unit ($$$). I've found a local stereo shop that will remove the unit, send it off to have all its lights replaced, and put it back in, for a decent price. I'll just have to do without the stereo for a week, I guess. Everything works -- but at night, the non-lit spots on the tape/CD controls and the station select buttons look funny.

I believe my previous GM car, the '94 Olds Cutlass coupe, had a 3.1L engine. While I only drove it for 2 years and about 25K miles, the car was excellent and the engine fine -- got about 29 mpg on the open road.
 
Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
By window lubing I meant that the front passenger window is occasionally slow to run down -- generally when the rubber weatherstripping is damp. I cleaned it up some, and my mechanic did some more.

Thanks for the reply, I've had cars that did this in the past and figured the motor was getting weak. Does putting some silicone lube on the weatherstripping help?

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Earlier this year I bought the Turtle Wax headlight polish kit for $9 (I think) at Walmart. My lenses are just a little cloudy, so it's not urgent. I plan on working with 'em when the weather cools off. Say about December.

Put up a post as to how this kit works if you don't mind. My headlights are cloudy and I'm looking into which kit to buy. I probably won't deal with it until the spring so I'm in no rush.

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I believe my previous GM car, the '94 Olds Cutlass coupe, had a 3.1L engine. While I only drove it for 2 years and about 25K miles, the car was excellent and the engine fine -- got about 29 mpg on the open road.

I was actually looking for a LeSabre or a Taurus when I came across the Century. Mrs. TMoto prefers Buicks to Fords and this one's loaded and has leather so she's happy. It's been good so far, no sign of LIM gasket failure or anything else, other than an intermittent hard shift that I'm in the process of dealing with. Sciphi has been helpful with that, since he had a similar issue.
 
Hey, all,

For the fourth year in a row, my applause is undiminished for the '03 Buick Park Avenue, now at 87,100 miles.

The front passenger window is still sticking under wet conditions, though it works fine in drier weather. The rear defogger is out, and I still haven't seen to the lights on the stereo, plus a couple of lights are out on the A/C control panel. There's an annoying thump from the right rear when I hit certain bumps, including speed bumps, which I don't hear when I go over the same bumps with the left wheels. And it still uses some oil over a 6-month, 4500-mile OCI.

That said, the big beast still starts every time, rolls beautifully, keeps me cool all summer, and returns astonishing fuel mileage on regular non-ethanol gas. I had occasion to run 60 miles up the Interstate both this weekend and the last, followed by my usual 20-mile mostly city commute for the remaining portion of the tank. The Driver's Information Center said I was getting 32 mpg on the open road, with A/C on, at 70 mph -- probably 10% too high, but ~29 is fantastic for a car this size. The overall mileage for the week: 24.5.

Yes, I've been driving it for four years, and now and then a sneaking admiration for something newer flashes across the screen of my brain. I think, "Life's too short to drive only one car all the time." At the same time I don't want to get rid of this one -- I merely want to add a different car, like an older BMW, for "fun" driving.

But this one is fun to drive too, giving a serene, economical kind of pleasure.
 
I've owned 4 GM 3.8L vehicles...a 1986 Olds Delta 88, a 1987 Buick Lesabre (sold to my brother), a 1988 Buick Lesabre Limited (bought with 90,000 miles...sold at 136,000 miles) and a 1992 Olds Regency. I never had an issue with the engines but these models didn't have the intake gasket issue. Same for the transmissions...never a problem (always maintained them with filter/fluid changes). It was the "little" things...a/c was problematic in all of them at higher miles and required compressor/condensor replacements, electrical issues (power windows and the "info" center on the '88 Lesabre come to mind). In contrast, my 15 year old Honda Accord's a/c still works perfectly...blows very cold...never been touched. They CAN be money pits but will run forever with minimal maintenance (never ran synthetic in any of them). They are unrivaled open-road cars...quiet and comfy...great for long distance cruising and will deliver 30+ mpg...and the torque of the 3.8L engine is impressive.

My concern for the Buicks is the rocker panels. Up here in the "great white north" and it's dearth of reasonably priced (or available) car washes, the older Lesabres, Centuries and PA's have terminal rocker panel rot. Not just a little rust...complete rust out...pretty ugly. I'm not sure about the newer Buicks. It's obvious that the design of the rockers on those models was bad...allowed salt and moisture in and no way to dry out...they rusted like mad (not the rest of the cars so much...just the rocker panels). Same for the Chevy Venture/Pontiac Transport minvans. If kept clean they weren't so bad but still rusted.
 
Update at 4.5 years:

The big gray beast remains a great car. Late last year I had to buy a new tire when the right front turned up with a long slash in it (?); the lights on the A/C panel are almost all gone, but everything works; I still haven't sent the radio off to replace its lights; and the rear defogger would take some labor to find why it's not getting power, so I'm letting that slide. The car fires up and drives perfectly, returns good mileage on regular gas, keeps me warm and cool as needed, and isolates me from the worst of the bad roads here.

Yes, now and then I eye other cars. The dealer where I bought the PA has a 2010 LaCrosse that may be to my taste; I've considered a W211 E-Class, and been intrigued by some 6 and 7-year-old BMW 5-Series models.

Yesterday I considered stopping at that used-car lot to test-drive a 5 and an E they have . . . but I shrugged and drove on home. The Buick is a hard car to beat in all the things that matter to me about cars, and will be tougher to let go of than even my late W126 S-Class.
 
I didn't mention it in the previous post, but the car's mileage is now at 92,400. The January oil change was with about 5000 miles on the oil, Mobil 10W-30, and with nearly 40% of its life left on the OLM. Still using a bit of oil; in July I may go with the MaxLife some have recommended.
 
Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Still using a bit of oil
using or leaking? Those are notorious for oil pan gasket failure.
 
I haven't checked recently, but I don't think there's any leakage from the oil pan. Certainly there's no pool of oil where I park!
 
That car seems to be a diamond in the rough. On another car forum, there was a member who was a well to do guy. He owned a number of 911s, including a GT3 RS and a GT2, a Cayenne, a M6, a SL500 among others over the years. Yet he always would post fondly about a Buick Park Avenue Ultra he owned.
 
What is a bit of oil? My current 3800 doesn't use any. The last went through about 1/2 a quart every 3500 miles.
 
One of the lights on the A/C and heater control panel is out on my wifes Impala. Wonder how hard it is to fix, since she complains about it every time we drive it, lol
 
My mechanic checked with the dealer, and they don't supply the lights alone for the Buick. The A/C-heater control panel is about $1500 from the dealer (guess why they don't supply the lights alone). However, racepages.com has the Buick units w a 12-month/12K mile warranty for $580. Before I go for that, I'll have my regular guy pop the unit out and see if the connections are all okay. Tapping on the plastic lens often makes the temp readout show up brighter for a while, which suggests a loose connection, hey?

MuzzleFlash40, for the '03 Impala Racepages.com has one for $150, and the '04 is on there for $185. What year is hers?
 
I wish I could change the initial title of this thread, which is, obviously, five years old. So is my ownership of the 2003 Buick Park Avenue.

As before, the big gray car serves quietly and reliably and remains remarkably fuel-efficient for a car its size. I just returned from a road trip to Jackson, MS. My run this morning back to NO, cruising steadily at 65-70, returned 28.5 mpg by the manual fillup method. Without the hampering effects of A/C and 10% ethanol gas, I suspect I could have easily touched 30.

In the last year, among other things, I've had the water pump and A/C blower motor replaced; two tire patches; a refurbishment of the A/C controller panel; two oil changes, the most recent to Quaker State High Mileage. At a little more than 1000 miles on that fill, the level has moved very very little on the dipstick, suggesting the QS may help with my oil burning. The rear defogger: still out.

On the radar: new spark plugs at 100,000 miles (?), which ought to roll up in about 2 months; lights on the stereo, dash, and doors; and a careful cleaning, claying, and waxing. And I may splurge on sheepskin seat inserts, partly because they look nice, and partly because they will cover some wear on the cream-colored leather of the front seats.

The beast remains one of the best automotive bargains I've ever stumbled across. When I think about replacing it, I find my head shaking and my brain murmuring, "But this newer car doesn't have ____________ like the Buick!"
 
Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
The beast remains one of the best automotive bargains I've ever stumbled across. When I think about replacing it, I find my head shaking and my brain murmuring, "But this newer car doesn't have ____________ like the Buick!"


One of my friends used to own a 2003 Park Ave..The Park Ave had 120K miles on it..It ran overall good..His mom stopped driving last year and she gave him her 03 Town Car with 70K miles on it..It was serviced only by the dealer every 3K miles or 4 months..I asked him recently if he missed the Park Ave..His answer was no way.
 
Crown, I've driven the Crown Vic and the Mercury Marquis, and liked 'em both, but I've never tried a Town Car. One of those three might well give as good an ownership experience as the PA has.
 
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