Buick Century

Basic design as the Buick Regal but more of a bare bones car. ABS is optional. Peppy engine takeoffs. A friend has a 92 with 175,000 on it.

In 2002 Limited added Leather, drivers side airbag, leather steering wheel, cruise, On Star, pwer seat, AM FM CAssette, heated mirrors, lighted vanity mirrors, variable assist power steering, floor mats and rear courtest / reading lights.

In 2003 and 2004 just the base model was offered. You could get all of the prevous years Limited features at extra cost on the base model. In

2003 & 04 There was a " Limited Package " and it added $2000 to the price tag for Leather seats, rear seat armrest with cup holders and chrome plated wheel covers.

3.1 V6 has 175 horsepower and 195 torque. I'm not sure if this is one of the notorious GM engines with the intake gasket problems. 3400 & 3800 V6's are affected by this.

If you can spend $16,000 there are a lot of 2004 & 2005 sitting on dealer lots offering $2500 rebates or 3.9 % finnancing.

Harryface =D8=BF=D8

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 302,116 miles

I have a 2002 Century.

It may be the best "road car" I've ever owned. Great gas mileage, great comfort, great fit and finish.

If GM had marketed it right, it would have eaten up The Toyota Camrey.

That said, I keep reading about the infamous intake gasket failures that GM never corrected. It's a $800 liability if it happens.....

I have one day and 800 miles experience with a Century rental. I liked the way it rode, the handling was good, and it was comfortable for that long drive. Power was good, but not great. It got 32 mpg on that trip. Bad points were rear seat leg room, lack of pockets on the backs of the front seats, and no lock cylinder on the passenger's side door. Also, if there was a rear cup holder we couldn't find it. This was of course a low end model (being a rental) but based on that one day of driving it, I would consider owning one. I'm just glad it was my mother-in-law in the back seat and not me ;-).

WW

Thanks for your comments, Harry.

In 2002 Limited added Leather, drivers side airbag, leather steering wheel, cruise, On Star, pwer seat, AM FM CAssette, heated mirrors, lighted vanity mirrors, variable assist power steering, floor mats and rear courtest / reading lights.

In 2003 and 2004 just the base model was offered. You could get all of the prevous years Limited features at extra cost on the base model. In

2003 & 04 There was a " Limited Package " and it added $2000 to the price tag for Leather seats, rear seat armrest with cup holders and chrome plated wheel covers.

3.1 V6 has 175 horsepower and 195 torque. I'm not sure if this is one of the notorious GM engines with the intake gasket problems. 3400 & 3800 V6's are affected by this.

If you can spend $16,000 there are a lot of 2004 & 2005 sitting on dealer lots offering $2500 rebates or 3.9 % finnancing.

Harryface ?Ø

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 302,116 miles

Thanks for your comments, RJ.

Thanks for your comments, Water Watcher.

Aw don't be a sissy, fix it yourself. A hundred bucks for parts and you're good to go . Seriously, not a fun job, but very doable with ordinary tools & the shop manual.

Regards, Al.

Actually, the 3.8 is fine from what I have heard. The other models are prone to the problems. Now, in theory, if the engines were filled with the older antifreeze(the green stuff), the problems would go away. The problem, of course, is that you can't ever mix the two, and they come from the factory with the new crud already in them.

I've not seen a 3.1 engine yet with 50K or more on it that doesn't have brown antifreeze in it(water getting in).

I had one as a rental as well (a month ago) and I hated it! The front seats are like couches with no support and there is little storage room for things. The inside is pure 1980's and looks like things were grafted on as an after thought. The car wandered, although the ride was typical GM sponge (real smooth) and the handling was quite nimble surprisingly. Alas my car had a soft high pitched squeal at idle so I took it into the local Hertz place (after 280 miles) and they swapped it for a Taurus SEL.

I'm a Chevy guy but I have to admit the 2005 Taurus blew the doors off the Buick. Better handling, tighter more European suspension and much better ergonomics. Note, this was a performance model with 16 inch tires and all the toys, but no leather seats.

Between the two, I would go for the Taurus in a second but would get the

3.8 instead of the 3.0.

Just my opinion.