2005 Impala - Would you recommend?

[GringoPete]

My wife and I are car shopping and are down to selecting two cars. A 2005 Buick Century Custom with 50,000 miles @ $7995.00, The other is a 2005 Impala with 50,000 miles @ $8600.00

I've done my homework on the Century and it seems like a good car but the only problem is that the car is for sale ''As is'' No warranty.

The impala is being sold at a local small car dealer who my mechanic highly recommends in the honesty department and the car comes with a 2 month/2,000m warranty.


I(s the 2005 Impala a good car ?

Anyone have any input on pros or cons?

Thanks for your help.

[jrecken]

I may be wrong but I thought they quit making the Buick Century in 2004. I have a 99 Century which has been an outstanding car.
I think they used a 3.4 engine in the 2005 Impala and there were some problems with them.

[oldblu65]

Buying any used car is a risk . If you trust your mechanic and the Impala comes with a short warranty , but nevertheless , a warranty , that does have to sway you a bit . The two cars are very similar in drivetrain and quality so I think differences in the two are pretty much nil . I have a 2000 Impala LS that was bought new and I have had a few problems with it but nothing out of the expected with a 9 year old car . In the end , you'll have to go with that " gut " feeling and hope for the best ! Good luck ! Just my !

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by jrecken

I may be wrong but I thought they quit making the Buick Century in 2004. I have a 99 Century which has been an outstanding car.
I think they used a 3.4 engine in the 2005 Impala and there were some problems with them.

A limited number of Buick Centurys were produced in 2005 with special trim to mark the end of production. They were replaced by the LaCrosse.
Essentially the Impala and Century from those years were built off the same GM platform and are considered "W Body" cars. The wheelbase on the Century is about an inch and a half less than that of the Impala.
i'm glad I don't have to choose as both cars are an excellent choices. If you have time, scroll through both forums,(Century and Impala) and see what issues are reported by members, and check out a copy of Consumer's Reports Buying Guide as they list issues reported by their subscribers. ( I personally don't care for Consumer Reports as I believe they tend to be slanted too much to foreign nameplates.) But don't let that stop you from just checking to see what kind of issues may crop up over time so you can decide which one to buy, warranty or not. Both cars have low mileage for the year and I believe the lower intake manifold gasket which was an issue on earlier 3.4 liter engines was pretty much taken care of by a revised version of the gasket in 2002, so the Impala's 3.4s of that year shouldn't be an issue.

[GringoPete]

Thanks for your help guys. We now have a 2005 Impala. The dealer that was selling the century was almost 1 & 1/2 hours away and came ''As Is'' so i wasnt comfortable making that transaction. The dealer where we got the Impala was 10 minutes from my house and had a 2 month warranty which did leave us with some confidence. Also, they let us drive it to our mechanic to have him inspect it. So, for a half hour of labor my mechanic chraged us 40 bucks to tell us that the car does not have any noticable problems other than one tire being about 50% worn along with the brake pads being worn 50% as well. So, I went to the dealer and told him that i'll pay him $8500 and i confronted him about the tire and breaks. He said they'll put new brakes and switch the tire as well


Here's a link to the car : http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...e&rdpage=thumb

[oldblu65]

Congratulation Pete !

[GringoPete]

Originally Posted by oldblu65

Congratulation Pete !

Thanks! We're picking it up this evening.

I'll be conversing with the rest of the Impala owners for future discussions. Looking forward to posting here

[Iflylow]

You won't be sorry, the Impala is a good car. Now you will be changing the picture in your signature, I hope

[cope42]

well satisfied with my 05 impala bought it had 33,000 on it today has 151,000 on it now and to say the least it has been pretty good vehicle .. 3800 series 2 engine good motor ..

[dorlow]

Originally Posted by cope42

well satisfied with my 05 impala bought it had 33,000 on it today has 151,000 on it now and to say the least it has been pretty good vehicle .. 3800 series 2 engine good motor ..

The reason I bought my 04 Impala new was it had the 3.8 motor. That was a huge selling point because I've known so many people that the 3.8s just go forever. They're great engines. I bought mine new and now has 140,000 miles on it and I haven't had one problem with the engine yet. I've had a few problems with other components of the car... nothing major expense-wise yet. For the most part, it's been a good car.