To Buick or Not

[citydragon]

Hi Everyone
I would like to start looking for a used Century 2000-2002. I have been doing some research on the web, there seems a number of problems with the transimission and the plastic manifold gasket. Before I begin my search of used Centurys, any advice on what to look for or to stay away from. Thanks for any advice or comments.

[BNaylor]

Like any used car run it through the mill and check for high mileage. The 4T65E tranny does have known issues. And it is subject to coolant leaks/consumption due to the lower intake manifold gasket. But overall Buicks are reliable. Good luck!

[Hark]

I personally wouldn't hesitate at all from buying another Buick Century. I have had a 2000 for over 5 years, bought it slightly used with 16000 miles and the ONLY major problem has been the transmission repair which we had worked on this spring at 80,000 miles - cost us $650 but well worth it. You will know if it needs the transmission repaired - it's obvious - get it up to highway speeds and it starts lurching when it shifts. The tranny guy did say that most people don't get that many miles before they need repaired (we kept driving it and waited for at least a year or two before we had it repaired) - so I would think that any Buick with over 50,000 would have already had the repair done. And the guy that repaired ours said he uses new parts that don't have the problem the original parts had, so hopefully once it's repaired, its a dead issue. My husband does all our own work, so when I say major repairs, that's the only time we've ever had to pay someone to fix something. Everything else was basically general maintenance stuff. The only other problem was the cheap tires that Buick put on the new ones - once the warranty was up we replaced those fast. But again if you are looking at Buicks 4 years or older, I would think those tires would have already been replaced also. As far as the gasket thing, I've never had any problem with that. My daughter has a Malibu and I keep hearing not to buy those because of the gasket, and again we've not had a problem. My husband says you just need to check it like you are supposed to. I live in a rural area and drive 1/2 hour to work every day on country roads that aren't the best, so this car gets some hard usage, and I never have any problems with it. It handles great in the winter and has more pick up than a lot of cars, and I have no problem passing or weaving in and out on interstates. And even with my quick stops and starts, and sometimes having to drive 70 or more to get to work or pick up the kids on time, I still get around 30 MPG just driving to work and back and better on trips on the interstate. I did notice I started getting better gas mileage after the transmission was fixed, kind of peculiar. An added bonus especially if you have teenage drivers - the Century has a really cheap insurance rating. Right now mine is pushing 100,000, but I'm planning to keep it as long as it runs because I like it so well, and it still drives and looks like it did when I got it.

[citydragon]

Originally Posted by Hark

I personally wouldn't hesitate at all from buying another Buick Century. I have had a 2000 for over 5 years, bought it slightly used with 16000 miles and the ONLY major problem has been the transmission repair which we had worked on this spring at 80,000 miles - cost us $650 but well worth it. You will know if it needs the transmission repaired - it's obvious - get it up to highway speeds and it starts lurching when it shifts. The tranny guy did say that most people don't get that many miles before they need repaired (we kept driving it and waited for at least a year or two before we had it repaired) - so I would think that any Buick with over 50,000 would have already had the repair done. And the guy that repaired ours said he uses new parts that don't have the problem the original parts had, so hopefully once it's repaired, its a dead issue.

Thanks for the replys...it almost seems that the transmission is guaranteed to fail, true?