Comments: 1-15, 16
At 24,000 miles, we had to have new front brakes.
At 25,000 miles, the driver's door window motor was replaced, by the dealer. My cost was $315.00.
At 25,002 miles, the car would not start. Back to the dealership.
At 25,013 miles, we were told we needed a battery, $120.00.
We also needed an alternator, at an outstanding price of $305.00.
I'm not sure if is poor quality, or if it is coincidence.
The dealership, in Kentucky, doesn't want to take any blame.
Even if it isn't their fault, at least they could have a nicer "bed-side manner".
GM doesn't make a 3.6 Liter.
This Century sounds like a real lemon! Yes, new cars can be lemons too. A surprising amount of new cars have some type of problem.
I just got rid of my Century 2000. No problem with the car that you had. The only problem was with the dealership not putting the oil cap back on the crank case and resetting the exaust system. Car nearly died out on the expressway on the coldest night of the year! Never went back to that dealership again. Another Buick dealership took good care of me, but I decided to upgrade to a Lexus ES300.
You have my sympathy. We had a '95 Century and it was as bad as yours. My in-laws have a '96 and have also had problems.
I own a 1995 century. I think it's a great car. The only problems I have with it are the one's I cause. It's extremely dependable and safe too. I've gotten into two accidents with her and no one has ever gotten hurt in it. The fact that we decided to fix it twice is indicative of how much we love her.
I have a 1996 Buick Century with 82,000 miles and the only problems I have had are electrical. One window motor was replaced at a cost of $150. I replaced the alternator at a cost of $125. Presently, the power seat motors are not working well. Overall, the car rates well.
I own a 96 Century Special. I'm the third owner and here's the problems the car had : Early alternator replacement, power window motor replacement, premature trim rust, brakes that never stop squeaking no matter how new, water pump, and worst of all, blown intake manifold gaskets. Everybody that owns a GM (especially a 91-99 Buick) with a 3.1, 3.4, and a 3.8 motor needs to pay attention around the 50,000-60,000 mile mark to check for loss of coolant in the radiator and unusual deposits in the crankcase oil. GM has been installing Intake Manifolds with a design flaw that leads to premature gasket blowing for the last 15 years or so, and still refuses to admit that something is wrong with the production design. Repairs run around 175.00 to 600.00 and are neccesary to avoid ruining the motor. Buick motors tend to be the most notorious culprits when it comes to this problem, as EVERYONE I have ever known that had a 3.1 or a 3.8 engine has had the same problem (Even my hometown police had to replace the gaskets in their 2001 3.1 equipped Impalas, at 30,000 miles each cruiser blew one within a few weeks of each other, three cars total.)
On the upside, the 96 Century is the best car I've ever had,
roomier than a lot of sedans on the road and the smoothest riding front wheel drive I've ever felt, even at 100,000 miles.
I have a 1996 Buick Century, and I've had nothing but problems with it. Complete new computer system, new brakes, new wheel bearings, new alternator, new water pump, and now my head gasket is going. I'm done with Buicks!!!
My 1996 Buick Century seemed great. At 93,000 miles coolant began disappearing. Discovered it was going into oil pan. It presently is in repair shop. Comment about bad intake gasket looks very helpful. Thanks. We bought the car a year ago with 69,000 miles and this was the first repair problem we had.
Never buy ANY GM car with the 2.8 or 3.1 this was the 2nd worst moter Chevy ever (1st of course is the Vega moter)
If you are going to buy a Buick, you can't go wrong with the 3.8 V6, those engines are the best!
Too bad the motor is the only thing that's "best"
The 3.8L V6 also has the same intake problem. My landlord's '98 Park Avenue blew the intake, destroying his engine. $4,000 later, it has a new motor. He told me he was so glad he got the extended warranty that covered it. The culprit is the plastic intake. They used to be made of cast metal, but probably to reduce manufacturing costs, they switched to plastic, which is when the failing intake problems started. If I'm not mistaken, they started using the plastic intake on the 3.8L in 1993 or 1994. My 1991 Park Avenue with the 3.8L had the cast metal type and hadn't had any problems with 96k miles.
I have a 1996 Buick Century with 180K miles on it running strong a lot of little things go on Buicks. This is not my first one so I know. The Century rusts very quickly the window motors are crap and I have replaced 2 and working on a 3rd as well as a 4th, but at this point I'm just going to fix it with tape and a trash bag. Buicks run great as every little thing on em falls apart real solid cars comfortable and surprisingly powerful. If you don't care how a car will look after 6 years then the things that go wrong can be fixed with stuff from around the house. Windows stuck down back of trunk completly rusted out. But hey alls that matters is that it gets from point A to point B safely.
I had a 1995 Century.
I loved it AND hated it a lot of times too.
I would be AMAZED if the original poster of this thread even reads this, but I just got off the phone with a guy selling a 1996 Century!!
It is a TEASER!
It only has 103,000 miles on it, had a new gas tank, computer, ETC ETC ETC, alternator belts put in recently, JUST LIKE MY 95.
RRRR, not much rust at all. Mine turned into a RUSTBUCKET, and the frame finally rotted out, sold it for salvage.
ANYWHOOO, he only wants around $1500!
I am being teased like nobodys business.