2000 Buick Park Avenue

[JEBar]

we just returned from doing something many folks may consider to be a tad foolish .... that being having our local independent mechanic do just over $800 worth of work on a vehicle worth $2,500+/- .... it is the last vehicle my Mom purchased .... its 3.8L motor now has just over 141,000 miles on it .... it runs well, no oil between 5,000 mile oil changes .... very quiet, smooth/ comfortable ride .... interior and exterior show some wear, no dents .... its one of our 2 spare vehicles that our daughter uses it as her daily driver to and from work .... round town, 25+ MPG, interstate cruise 32+ .... the other is our 2005 Chevy Trailblazer that 15+/- MPG around town and a mile or two better cruising ..... the only way to get our money back is to drive it which has the fringe benefit of keeping miles off of our newer vehicles our plan is to keep both vehicles in service and on the road as long as we can

[RanchRoper]

My dad drove Park Abe for a few years. Loved his Buicks.

[dave77]

It gets better around town mileage than my 2006 2L Miata, it only gets 22mpg. Not my style though, I almost have always had some kind of sports car and a truck. A sports car, especially a convertible helps with my desire for a motorcycle. Haven't had one since my accident in '84, was just thinking the other day I might finally give up my motorcycle endorsement next time I renew.

[BigAl52]

Exactly why I have a 2005 Pontiac Bonneville. I put a little money in it when we first got it since then oil changes with full synthetic 22 mpg around town 148000 plus miles. It uses no oil has a little hail damage but still looks and runs good uses no oil. Interior is in great shape. It will probably outlive me. The 3.8L V-6 is one of the best engines GM ever made and will easily run to 200 thousand with care.

[Headhog]

One of the fellows I ride motorcycles with has the twin to your Park Ave. He loves that car and plans to drive it till the wheels fall off. His currently has 165,000 miles. I've ridden in it and I've got to say it rides like a dream.

Paul

[GFK]

Doesn't seem foolish to me. The way that I see it, we either pay to keep one running or making payments to use one. If it is working, what more can any other vehicle do? If it gets you from point A to point B, it seems like a keeper.

[JEBar]

Doesn't seem foolish to me.

there are several often discussed positive benefits from keeping and driving older vehicles .... among them are cheaper insurance, lower property tax, no payments/no interest payment ..... what we spent today is equal to or less than a single monthly new car payment ....

[BigAl52]

Gives you more money to fix big trucks and RV's right Jim?

[JEBar]

not exactly .... the car is in my name .... daughter drives it to keep miles off of her Suburban .... I pay the expenses, she does put most of the gas in it .... so we pay for repairs on it plus the Sportchassis plus the camper .... no complaints, helping her out with her little one ain't no problem

[bandit1250]

I drove for an auto testing facility for 22 years. We tested about everything out there in cars. In the late '80's the Buick Park Ave and the Cadillacs were the most unreliable automatic trans vehicles tested. The most reliable auto trans models were rear wheel drive cars with the older technology transmissions with the updated at that time 4 speed over drive. Any thing rear wheel drive was far more reliable as far as transmissions went. Pickups and the big boxy Chevy Caprice like the police cars in the '80's were the one to be driving if you didn't want to be hauled back on a roll back. What always seemed strange was the Chevy and the Oldsmobile cars were far more reliable than anything Buick or Cadillac even though they were GM products also. The Pontiacs were good when we used them and the Crown Vic's were about as good as the Caprice but never had the good handling on the highways especially when the weight got pushed up to the max for testing the tires from the tire companies. These cars were all driven 1,000 miles/day over the road with two shifts of 500 miles each. I agree with the 3.8 engine being a good engine but with some electrical glitches that they seemed to get sorted out as the years went by. They also finally did get the trans issues to be fewer in the mid '90's with the front drive GM products. I drove over 2 1/4 million miles (accident free) with that company and got to see some better things changed on cars and some things that should have been left alone. I am still a fan of manual transmissions over slush box models especially CVT. No one can deny the new cars will run a lot of miles but they are a night mare if they have issues with all the sensors and high cost things that can fail on computer controlled automobiles. Drive the older Park Avenue until something breaks that cost exceeds the value of keeping it. My friend has a Buick that was given to him and keeps telling me it didn't cost him anything. I remind him that he spent over $3200 for a transmission rebuild on what I think far exceeded what the car was worth. It is a mid to late '90's model.

[John E Davies]

My wife’s daily driver is a 1998 Lexus SC 400 with165,000 miles, it is worth considerably more money, but it does require regular cash infusions, I recently changed the timing belt, water pump, power steering pump, front and rear brakes, and battery. Other than stuff simply wearing out or starting to leak, it just keeps running, with great power and zero squeaks or rattles.

One thing you should consider if your Buick is driven at night, buff out those nasty yellow headlights, a body shop should be able to do it for maybe $60, or you can buy a kit and do it yourself. Keep them well waxed after, twice a year at least, and they will stay clear and nice looking. They do NOT need to have clear coat sprayed on them, that is expensive.

John Davies
Spokane WA

[JEBar]

Drive the older Park Avenue until something breaks that cost exceeds the value of keeping it. My friend has a Buick that was given to him and keeps telling me it didn't cost him anything. I remind him that he spent over $3200 for a transmission rebuild on what I think far exceeded what the car was worth. It is a mid to late '90's model.

with today's inflated used car prices, I tend to believe its book value would be around $2,500 .... if we were faced with a repair bill for twice that and our options were to repair or replace it, I'd probably choose to repair it .... from what I've seen on lots in our area we'd have to look long and hard to find a $5,000 vehicle we would have much confidence in

[dave77]

One thing you should consider if your Buick is driven at night, buff out those nasty yellow headlights, a body shop should be able to do it for maybe $60, or you can buy a kit and do it yourself. Keep them well waxed after, twice a year at least, and they will stay clear and nice looking. They do NOT need to have clear coat sprayed on them, that is expensive.

John Davies
Spokane WA

Ditto on that. I've always put polish/wax with UV protectant on my Miata headlights and tail lights since new in 06 and they still look good (it is in the garage a lot since I retired).

Haven't taken nearly as good of care of the Ranger, will probably just replace them at around $75 on Amazon.

I'm always amazed at how many newer cars have very hazed plastic headlights, at the price they want for replacements seems they could go back to glass covers.

[BrokenolMarine]

We got the opportunity years ago to pick up a Grand Marquis that had been a patrol supervisor's vehicle. It had never been a marked unit, but had come set up from the factory with the police package. Had the goodies: Heavy duty electrical, suspension, and performance pack. It had been issued to the Sergeant as his take home car and been well treated, he drove the car until he retired. Leather interior and wood trim. A big jump up from the Crown Vics the officers were driving.

We were offered the car at a flat cash price and we jumped on it. (We knew the wholesaler that picked up the car from the department.) We knew the car would be perfect for our purposes. Tina drove the car daily, as her "soccer mom car." But, we installed a radio charger base in the slot that had once held the Sergeant's, and in went our Rescue Squad radio. The missing Blue Light slots were filled with Red/White Combos that stayed covered, unless responding on rescue calls. The big fiberglass divided gear box left in the trunk now held our turnout/jump bags for "First Responder" calls when we'd meet the ambulance on scene, and vests/rain gear in case we rolled up on an accident. We lived "way out" in the country. Everything was a long way from everything. The car was "solid" at speed, and let us safely respond to rescue calls to save lives. We saved a bunch of them over the years.

That car rode like a dream and we kept it for a long time, until we got the Titan. We needed the Titan to pull the Sixteen Kayak trailer for the Veterans Charity, and it now became Tina's luxury car. A member of the Rescue Squad was thrilled to buy it Mercury from us. We never hesitated to put money into preventive maintenance or repairs, though we never had to choose over sell or make the major ones. We would have made them. You can't buy GOOD used cars at a reasonable price anymore. Unless you know someone.

[JEBar]

last Thursday I took our Park Avenue to a local garage for an assessment .... she'd developed an engine knock that I figured had to be a valve, valve spring or something similar in the motor .... what I needed was an informed guess at the cause of the problem and a repair cost estimate .... the agreed at the most probable cause .... they said it could take 2 or more hours labor for the assessment .... while the cost of the repair could vary considerably, there best guess was something over $2,000 and could easily run considerably more .... knowing several other things that need to be addressed, we decided it was time to let it go .... this morning we drove over, cleaned her out, gave them the title and keys ,,,, they have a fellow who comes by on a regular basis to buy such vehicles for junk or parts .... so, she's gone and the only thing left is many years of memories

[Sir Henry]

R.I.P.

[clovishound]

I'm currently still driving the beater 2000 Taurus I picked up 5 years ago as a stopgap vehicle. Now that I'm retired, I don't put many miles on it. The transmission is weak, 200K in the headlights. I'll drive it till something expensive goes bang, or the transmission starts really complaining. It's been shifting hard for the last couple years, but I doubt it will leave me stranded without warning. It's not pretty, but drives well, and everything works except the power door locks.

It's got a top end oil leak, likely cam cover. I'm debating on replacing the gaskets for the cover, plugs and intake manifold because it's leaking enough to drip on the exhaust manifold and stink at lights. I'm just afraid if I finally get around to this repair, it will implode a week later. $50 and a couple hours if nothing unexpected crops up, but I don't want to tempt fate.

[markiver54]

Not foolish at all as far as I'm concerned. Over the past 3 years I have put about $5k into my 1998 4Runner that has over 194k miles on it. IMO, it's always cheaper to fix old than to buy new. Besides, I have my 2016 4Runner as well.

[JEBar]

just got word that our 2000 Park Avenue has been bought and we can pick up the money in the morning .... so ends that era for us

[GFK]

Good for you! We have a 2010 Acadia with 150K and a 2006 Tacoma with about 185K. The way that I look at it, a person will pay to keep a vehicle running or make payments on it. When it cost more to repair a vehicle that what it is worth, it may be time to replace it. Currently, my Acadia seems to be getting to that point. The little things seem to add up. The latest was a AC repair. Of course, AC is not a show stopper. But, it was for my wife. Yet, it ended up being a value on the low charge side, which costed $1.50. So, both values were replaced. Overall, it has given good service. But, it days seems to be numbered.