2001 Regal Reliability?

[Perfesser NJ]

After the tragic loss of my beloved '97 Park Avenue, I'm shopping. I've seen an ad for a 2001 Regal GS, 121,000 miles, 3800 Supercharged motor. Seems like a nice car, but I'm a little concerned about long term reliability. I got 270,000 miles out of my PA before it was run into while parked. I've heard of 4T65 issues with 4th gear, and don't know about 200,000+ mile reliability of the supercharged motors.

Can anyone shed some light on this subject?

Thanks.

[BNaylor]

Welcome to AF.

Any issues on the 4T65E autotransaxle including 4th shaft problems causing a loss of OD - 4th are not limited to the Regal. All GM cars that have a 4T65E can be subject to the problem. Good part is the L67 GS has a 4T65E-HD version which has a heavy duty differential and passenger side axle shaft.

Hard to say whether it will make the mileage on your PA but just because it has a blower does not make any less reliable. Hopefully the previous owner(s) took care of it and performed proper maintenance. There are owners with Regal GS and PA Ultra that have gone well over 200K miles.

Like any used car with that mileage the best thing to do is thoroughly check it out including asking for maintenance records and doing a Carfax. If the car has any signs of being abused, dogged out, or modified (engine) I would pass on it.

[Perfesser NJ]

Bnaylor:
Thanks for the reply. I was hoping that the 4t65 issues might have been addrerssed at some point by GM, but, guess not.

You're also right that a supercharged GS should receive particular attention over a regular 3800. The possibility for hard use is much higher. Does $4995 make you suspicious?

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by Perfesser NJ

. Does $4995 make you suspicious?

Hard to say. According to the NADA guide it takes a (-) $1500 hit for the high mileage so that has to be taken into account. Retail for one in good condition with acceptable mileage is around $7K. I would check it out thoroughly before purchasing and make a decision from there. It is not a bad deal. Good luck.