Used Buying Advice 2000 BUICK REGAL LS

That car has the Generation II 3800 V6 engine...They all are subject to the plastic plenum decomposition problem. If it hasn't already failed and been replaced by the upgraded part, it is likely to fail in the future...Cost to replace can be in the range of $800 or more. Failure can come quickly and without warning. If it happens on the road...you are at the whim of whatever towing group or mechanic you have to use...

The transmission may last another 50,000 or more. Or not.. Depends.

The air conditioning system computer has been known for giving up the ghost in Buicks in this general range. Computer costs about $600.

You might get lots of miles yet with little outgo, but then you might as easily NOT .

Thank you for your post.

Would an > That car has the Generation II 3800 V6 engine...They all are subject to the

>

> >

No, you won't be able to tell if the upgraded part has been replaced without pulling the upper plenum. Though, it may be possible to see the upgraded part by pulling the throttle body off. There is no such thing as an "upgraded" upper plenum....it's the lower aluminum intake that has to be changed or reworked.

Ian

Not much different than any other used, car, a crap shoot. May go another

50,000+ or even 1`00,000+ with no major problems, or it could die tomorrow. I have that engine in my car with 114,000 and no problems.

I've read about that problem here with some frequency. Any idea what percentage have failed? Overall, seems to be a good engine except for that coming up all the time.

According to

car is worth about $3400 US in Houston. Take off $400 for brakes.Offer him/her $3000 with the condition that it WILL be inspected be a real techbefore sale is final. Offer him/her $100 or so for intent to buy if you backout after inspection. Trade-In Private Party Dealer Retail National Base Price $4,105 $5,114 $6,104 Optional Equipment $216 $265 $350 Bucket Seats $0 $0 $0 Compact Disc Changer $82 $101 $133 Power Driver Seat $36 $44 $58 Audio Steering Wheel Controls $18 $23 $30 Alloy Wheels $50 $61 $81 AM/FM/Cassette/CD Audio System $30 $36 $48 Color Adjustment White $-5 $-6 $-7 Regional Adjustment for Zip Code 77002 $-62 $-77 $-92 Mileage Adjustment

98,000 miles $-795 $-795 $-795 Condition Adjustment Average $-838 $-1,024 $-1,186 Total $2,621 $3,477 $4,374

Hello Paul,

Thanks for the detailed Edmunds info.

I just checked on another car today with lower miles. It is Chrysler Concorde with 61,000 miles with just one owner. I plan to have it inspected on Monday. If it checks out, I will probably take it.

The Regal was a rental car before the first owner bought it, Given that along with the miles it has, I will probably go for the Concord.

Your strategy for making an offer on the Regal sounds interesting though. If the Concord doesn't work out, I'll see if he will go for

3000 based on your info.

All the best.

=AB=BB wrote:

A Concord! If it has the 2.7 V6 it likely needs a new engine. You will have to change the oil every 3000 miles and keep accurate written records for future litigation.

Thanks for the detailed Edmunds info.

I just checked on another car today with lower miles. It is Chrysler Concorde with 61,000 miles with just one owner. I plan to have it inspected on Monday. If it checks out, I will probably take it.

The Regal was a rental car before the first owner bought it, Given that along with the miles it has, I will probably go for the Concord.

Your strategy for making an offer on the Regal sounds interesting though. If the Concord doesn't work out, I'll see if he will go for

3000 based on your info.

For what it's worth, I've owned rental cars before and would not hesitate for a moment to own another. These cars are turned over at very low mileage and there just isn't a lot of "beating" that one can do to a car that would really make it a bad buy. Yeah - you could wind it up and drop it into Drive, but really - how often do you think car renters do this stuff? Especially those that rent a Regal.

Agreed. Both my current cars are ex rental and have 190k and 38k miles. My last Buick was a rental and went 226k before trade in. I rent at least one vehicle per month and have a 06 Buick Rendevoux (sp) rental in my driveway now. It goes back Monday with 1000 more miles on it. Most renters just want to get to the meeting, funeral, job site, etc. and don't mess with the car.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the post.

I have heard others also say it is safe to by a rental car. It seems that a lot of the used cars I have looked up with carfax were rentals. I will give them more consideration in the future.

Mike Marlow wrote:

Hello Paul,

Yes, the Concord I am looking at does in fact have a 2.7 V6.

Good friends of ours have owned C> snipped-for-privacy@tfy.com wrote:

I just found several forums that talk of many problems with the 2.7 engine in Concords and Intrepids. I am still researching.

Strange that Consumer Reports does not list this car as one to avoid. In their used car reliability rankings, it is listed as average and the engine reliability for all Concords from 98 to 2004 runs from good to excellent.

snipped-for-privacy@tfy.com wrote:

You might want to post your Chrysler questions here: rec.autos.makers.chrysler Some pretty knowledgable people hang out there. From what I've read, the 2.7 has an oil cooling problem. The engine sludges up and destroys itself.

Oh geez....don't rely on Consumer Reports. We have an ex-Chrysler tech in our shop and his advice is to stay far, far away from that engine.

Ian

I wouldn't be in much of a rush to depend upon Consumer Reports. Hugely biased towards Japanese cars in general, and Toyota in particular. Their claim of impartiality is preposterously and transparently false. The 2.7 Chrysler engine has been a turkey from day one, and they would know that if they spent a little more time on genuine research and a little less time greasing up Toyota.

snipped-for-privacy@tfy.com wrote: