1989 Buick Regal Custom 3.1L

Summary:

Great buy for the low dollar

Faults:

The head gasket blew at 120,000 miles.

The transmission blew at 125,000 miles (due to rough driving).

Fuel injectors went at 122,00 miles.

Seats are wearing.

Stereo died, and interesting to replace.

General Comments:

There is general wear and tear on the car, but otherwise it is a fine piece of automobile.

The gas mileage is miserable, getting about 12 mpg in the city, and 25 on the highway.

The interior is a very comfortable interior. The seats are perfect for long drives.

The engine makes more noise than speed, but that's really no big deal.

Very cool dash, it is electronic, and it looks really sweet at night.

If the gas mileage wasn't so bad, I would have another one of these cars.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th July, 2004

1989 Buick Regal Limited 2.8 MFI

Summary:

Expensive junk

Faults:

Water pump exploded 3 times.

Ignition module shorted twice.

Tires shot after 35,000 and 50,000 miles.

Instrument panel lights light up and go out while driving.

3 blown head gaskets.

Total new engine put in 1995.

Wheel covers cracked.

Radiator leaks.

Oil leaks.

Power steering blew up.

Body rusted (I washed and dried and waxed it every week).

Seats and console ripped after 1 week.

A/C doesn't work.

Numerous other problems.

General Comments:

THIS THING IS A PIECE OF JUNK!!! I bought it expecting typical Buick reliability, but I was way wrong! Worked well for first year but after that, it just broke and kept breaking.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 9th June, 2003

7th Mar 2004, 23:17

Well it seems like you just didn't take good care of this car...It's a good car, but if the seats ripped after one week you must have been putting either something weird on it or doing something wrong to them for them to rip...

22nd Apr 2004, 19:43

Being a mechanic and also owning a 1989 Buick Regal Limited, I have to agree with the first comment. Lack of maintenance. The car doesn't cause the tires to wear out, alignments and rotations, as well as maintaining tire pressure will greatly extend the miles you get on a set of quality tires. Water pumps don't explode for no reason. If the car was maintained according to the owners manual, most of the problems would have been spotted before they became terminal. My Buick has 156000 miles and is driven every day. Sorry you had bad luck??

10th Dec 2004, 16:00

My buick regal is at 156,000 miles and it is still going! Very relialbe!

1989 Buick Regal Custom 2.8 Multi Port FI

Summary:

A nice bang for your buck

Faults:

The fan is broken, and was like that when I bought the car.

The spark plugs and spark plug wires need to be replaced, and thus I am getting sluggish acceleration.

I had to replace the exhaust system.

I had to replace the brake pads and rotors.

The power steering pump is starting to make funny noise.

The heater core needed to be replaced.

General Comments:

The car can really perform when it is needed.

It has really comfortable seats, but the drivers side does not go back as far as it could.

Also, the engine compartment and electronics are designed in a horrific way-it took me 6 hours to replace the heater core, because you can't get at anything.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th June, 2003

1989 Buick Regal Limited 3.1 Liter

Summary:

When something goes wrong, everyhing goes wrong

Faults:

The speakers will randomly not work, causing me to turn the radio off for about 5 minutes, then back on. I have only had the car about 8 months, put new brakes in at about 3 months of ownership, and I have to put new brakes in again, which from what I have heard from other Regal owner's isn't uncommon. The driver's power window button sticks down, for no reason, and the windows shake really bad on the way down. Sometimes I wonder if they will come back up...

Don't buy one with chrome around the bottom of it, because any nick or dent shows really well.

The hood ornament reminds me that I was only 6 when the car was made, but don't tare it off, cuz I've heard it causes huge rust problems. It needs a new muffler and new struts. The dealership told me that the old guy who had this car before me never took it out of state, except to Wisconsin (20 miles from Minnesota), but the car bottom has quite a rust problem, but its not noticeable from just looking at it.

Its engine is not too impressive... I just replaced a head gasket because I was "driving too fast", as I was told by the mechanic... I was doing 75 miles/hour on the way back from River Falls, WI, and 5 miles from my house, the low coolant light came on, so I turned the heat on, slowed down to 35 mph and drove it home. When I got home, steam was coming out of the engine... $1,000 dollars later... it is now fixed.

General Comments:

Comfy seats for long drives.

Poor traction in snow compared to the Lumina (which is odd, consideing that they are both pretty much the same cars...)

Not sure if it really does have leather, or immitation leather...

Stereo sucks, but don't pay to put another one in... its not worth it.

Awesome heater/ air conditioner.

Gas mileage is about 20 highway, 18 city.

Haven't heard other positive comments about this car. Most, from the 6 or 7 people I have talked to, have said that the car is good for a few years, then it goes crappy... fast and expensively...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 9th April, 2003

4th Jun 2010, 13:49

I've got Buick Regal Custom Gran Sport Limited 2.8 V6. Nice car, but seatbelts problem, no ABS and soft brakes. Buick's my second car, just for fun, nice for weekend trips to the shopping center and return.