Should Buick junk the LaCrosse & Lucerne and bring back the Century, LeSabre, & PA

[happydog500]

When I bought my 97 I told people I would never own any other car except Lesabre.

I think if they kept the Lesabre, it would of been updated (Ninth Generation) in 2006. It seems to me since the Lucerne, "...rides on the revised H-body platform...", it is what a Ninth Gen, Lesabre would of been.

If you want a 2006-2009, (Ninth Generation) Lesabre, Buy a Lucerne. It's what it would be, just a different name on it.
Chris.

[C man]

HotZ28 nice PA! Wish I could get hold of a 96' PA ultra myself. They're a rare site compared to the standerd PA and Lesabre. Plus I can't afford to buy a car at the moment anyway. I personally like the mid 90's H-body cars myself. I like the styling of the 97+ PA's but GM cars of that era seem to have some quality issues. That being said I don't care for the new line up of buicks. Very nice interiors but the just don't catch my eye and I'm a young buick owner at only 21.

20% side & 5% back window tint

This car "floats like a butterfly & stings like a bee" and the cops never see it!

14% tint all the way around on mine and police in the suburban area definitly see it. Have gotten pulled over for window tint 4 times in the same suburb/city night and daytime. Never had a problem with city police they have bigger problems to worry about. Full size cars like the lesabre, park avenue, crown vic/marquis and even the bonneville are considered "dope boy" cars.

[polarzak]

Originally Posted by happydog500

When I bought my 97 I told people I would never own any other car except Lesabre.

I think if they kept the Lesabre, it would of been updated (Ninth Generation) in 2006. It seems to me since the Lucerne, "...rides on the revised H-body platform...", it is what a Ninth Gen, Lesabre would of been.

If you want a 2006-2009, (Ninth Generation) Lesabre, Buy a Lucerne. It's what it would be, just a different name on it.
Chris.

I would suggest "Don't buy a Lucerne"
My Lucerne is no where near the car my 2000 LeSabre was. When I turned in the LeSabre all I had ever replaced were plugs, wires, and one front bearing. It still had the original 9 year old battery. The Lucerne on the other hand, with 40k, has had a new battery, new steering intermediate shaft, new rack and pinion steering (the dealer said it was the third Lucerne in that week for the same thing) dim instrument panel, dead remote mirror, remote start problems, wonky heated seats, noisy transmission (GM upped my warranty on it, just in case) rotten ride, and at least 15 other items repaired or replaced. The only thing nice about my Lucerne is it's looks.... It is like a beautiful wife...looks good, but HIGH maintenance. I am not sure what the "H" frame is, but I was told it is built on the Cadillac DTS platform, maybe the "H".
Almost every time I go in my dealer drive through shop, there is another Lucerne in there for something. Beware if you are thinking of buying a Lucerne.
Just my experience folks.

[polarzak]

Originally Posted by GringoPete

.....and the Lucerne by far.....is not a cheap car.

How is it compared to the LeSabre as far as comfort and ride?

It is comfortable, but the ride is much stiffer and not nearly as smooth. If you like the floating ride of a LeSabre, it is not going to happen with a Lucerne. When I first got the Lucerne I made the dealer take off the stock Goodyear and put on Michelin's, thinking the tires were crap. No effect, still rode rough. They balanced the tires numerous times, but the car still shook. I finally to it to a Nissan dealer who had a "road Force" balancer, and they improved the ride, but still no where near as good as the Lesabre. I finally got used to it, except when I got back into it, after driving my wife's LeSabre before we traded it.

[happydog500]

Everyone I know who has a Lucerne doesn't like them. I wouldn't buy one, just as I probable wouldn't buy a 2007 Lesabre.
Chris.

[davdogg42]

Originally Posted by happydog500

When I bought my 97 I told people I would never own any other car except Lesabre.

I think if they kept the Lesabre, it would of been updated (Ninth Generation) in 2006. It seems to me since the Lucerne, "...rides on the revised H-body platform...", it is what a Ninth Gen, Lesabre would of been.

If you want a 2006-2009, (Ninth Generation) Lesabre, Buy a Lucerne. It's what it would be, just a different name on it.
Chris.

I bought a 1997 Lesabre 3 yrs ago. It was poorly maintanted and I had some problems the first year.
but since I have replaced the computer on the car no worries.
car starts in bitter cold like a champ.
I love the leg room, I'm 6'5 and going on long trips is a breeze.
Gets 20 mpg city, at least mine does, 30+ on the highway.
Have replaced all the brake lines due to rust, changed out the left hub, both front rotors and brakes but that's it, well so far.
If I find other low milage 2002 or 2003 Lesabre I will think about buying another one. Maybe ill try to find one on my next trip south.

[spinne1]

The 2010 Lacrosse was completely redesigned and is a wonderful story of GM thinking outside the box. They took a younger group of people and said, "design a car you'd want to drive." The end result is an exciting, fresh start for the new Buick. I think this car is superior to my 92 LeSabre in every way except front passenger space and maybe rear knee room. As much as I love the Lesabre's, the name on the car is not the issue, but rather the quality of the car. As far as the 2010 Lacrosse is concerned, they have a winner.

[GringoPete]

Lets face it boys & girls.....Buick screwed up big time scraping their good cars and replacing them with run of the mill "i look like every other car on the road" crapola


Lots of great responses to this thread. Thanks guys......For any new comers, your input is welcomed as well.

[pcmos]

I'm a diehard LeSabre owner. Going all the way back to my first car in HS I've owned 1992, 2000, and 2004 Buick LeSabres. All of them were great cars, by far my latest 2004 is the most reliable. The car isn't for everyone; but for me, nearly everything is perfect. I really can't think of a single thing I don't like about my new LeSabre, I have every option that was ever available on it and I love it all. The Gran Touring package is a must-have if you like a sportier ride. I also stiffen the suspension by swapping stock sway bar links and bushings with polyurethane components. Other than that the whole layout is awesome. If I had to find a complaint I'd say the interior quality and feel is a little on the cheap side. Dash rattles drive me crazy and the plastic materials used for a variety of components are just total junk.

Having driven Buick Lucerne as a long-term rental car a few times, I really can't find a whole lot to complain about. I'd say the seat seems to feel uncomfortable over long drives due to bolstering and the front leading edge of the bucket. The audio system sounds crummy compared to my LeSabre. I'm sure both complaints would be mitigated somewhat depending on the feature/option package, as my rental was only moderately equipped.

I'm very excited about the new 2010 Lacrosse because it seems to correct a lot of the drab styling and mundane interior work on the previous Lacrosse / Lucerne offerings. In my opinion the last generation regal / century models were downright crummy. As much of a Buick fan as I am, I would never own a late 90's or early 00 regal / century. The interior looked horrifically cheap, styling was bland, and the smaller V6 was a cobbled together motor with no power. I also have to give buick very low marks for interior fit and finish on all of my LeSabre models. I spend a considerable amount of time chasing down rattles, pulling apart the dash, and sticking felt strips along panel edges to keep my LeSabre tight and quiet inside.

In general I'm glad to see the older buick nameplates die off as long as Buick can use it as an opportunity to shake some of the well-deserved criticism they received for terrible interior work and poor fit/finish. I'm thrilled to see the 2010 Lacrosse finally getting good reviews amongst the car critics where so many new Buick / GM offerings have been slaughtered before ever hitting the showroom floors.

As much as I love my previous lineup of Buick LeSabres, they weren't entirely perfect and the flaws in some cases have been enough to alienate a large segment of potential buyers. There is no reason that Buick shouldn't be able to build large, comfortable, powerful cars without sacrificing interior quality and exterior styling. After owning three LeSabres Buick needs to do something pretty special to keep me as a customer on my next purchase. I'd readily consider buying a newer buick nameplate if I felt like the car offered some improvement over my 04 LeSabre. From everything I can tell so far, the 2010 Lacrosse may be what I'm looking for. Unfortunately the new Lincoln MKS with Ford's twin turbo ecoboost engine may take the cake when I trade my current 04 LeSabre in a couple years.

[polarzak]

Originally Posted by pcmos

Unfortunately the new Lincoln MKS with Ford's twin turbo ecoboost engine may take the cake when I trade my current 04 LeSabre in a couple years.

For the first time in my many years of driving Buicks, I too am considering the MKS. (I have never owned a Ford.) I really like the new 2010 LaCrosse, but having been burnt so bad with my Lucerne, am not sure I want another Buick. I am so sorry we traded our 2000 LeSabre. I should go back to my posting in the Lucerne forum to add to the most recent things that have broken or fallen off.
Nah...too depressing.

[dpalomaki]

My '89, LeSabre Limited was a great car, the '97 was decent but no match for the '89, the '04 has been good, escept for a lot of bulbs burning out. Several frends love their LaCrosses, with no complaints. I suspect the Lucerne needed a few years to work out its new model QC kinks, and add back some of the features they dropped in the first years, provide of course that Govt. Motors allows that to happen now that it is in control. The '10 models may be the last that were designed by more or less automotive people as opposed to by a management driven by a government agenda of "change."

[wafrederick]

LeSabres do not sell very well and Park Avanues do.Park Avanues have the better ride over the Lesabre.The Park Avanue and Lesabre names were getting too old and changed a lot.The LaCrosse is a good car,My father had one and sold it to a couple of good customers of his and they like it which having no problems with it.Lesabres do have problems with the rocker panels rusting out including the Park Avanues.A rust repair on them is only 2 years for them and come back.Most auto body guys do not like rust repair including my neighbor Ken whom does autobody work for a living.

[pcmos]

Dash bulbs do burn out on my '04 LeSabre, I forgot to mention that in my previous post... A problem that should be put to pasture with the legacy nameplates. I've spent a lot of time learning how to get them replaced effectively. The components aren't terribly difficult to take a apart and diagnose. Typically the bulbs are relatively easy to de-solder and re-solder without too much hassle. The left half of my radio face is dark right now... I need to pull the deck out this weekend and solder some new bulbs in before it gets too cold outside to work. I've had great success replacing bulbs even in the steering wheel switches. Unfortunately the dealer has no provision for doing component level diagnosis and their technicians are unwilling to use both halves of their brains to figure out how to solder a simple micro-bulb onto a circuit board and bill me for it. The result... A dead bulb means a dead component which translates into thousands of dollars worth of work to have your dash light up properly. Pathetic.

It's sad that Buick / GM engineers didn't have the forsight to make the dash illumination bulbs modular so that they could be easily replaced! They could have also gone the route of using long-life LEDs but wrongly chose economy over quality. GM's modern history is a lineage of small errors and lapses in judgement that have culminated in the failure of the company. I'm a huge fan of GM cars, but I'm the first to say that when a company screws up they should be allowed to go bankrupt. GM took a bailout, mortgaged my generation's future, blew through it in a matter of weeks... then went bankrupt. What did we gain? I truly hope that some day they regain their prestige and churn out some cars that are built with insight, quality and design elegance... virtues that carried them to the top in the first place. I also hope that one day we employee management in our biggest corporations who understand that a little common sense goes a long way. Is it really so difficult for management to understand that dash rattles and dead light bulbs go a long way towards ruining product perception in the long-run? If you ask me we need legislation that forces share holders of common stock to actively vote in corporate elections. I held a few petty shares of GM stock for a period of time when some of these design decisions were being made. Had I been given the opportunity to cast a vote in their management, I would have voted to toss the bums out five years ago.

Unfortunately it's little things like this that cause people to be put off to an otherwise great car. Hopefully Lucerne and LaCrosse help Buick break away from the bad reputation they've gotten because of a string of irritating problems with Century, LeSabre, & PA. It will take a decade before Buick can bring back some older nameplates without conjuring up memories of frustrating, quirky and downright crummy design / longevity problems.

[polarzak]

We had no issues at all with our 2000. The dash lights all worked but I did have to replace the light in the steering wheel radio volume button. Actually replaced the button itself.
This may have been mentioned somewhere before, but Buick is THE luxury car in China. Executives and CEOs use them (Lesabres, Park Avenues, and Lucernes) as chauffeur driven corporate cars.