Summary:
I've been thoroughly happy with this car, and I still think it's underrated
Faults:
I've had frequent oil / ATF leaks, but they only started after I was in a minor fender bender several years ago.
General Comments:
I was able to get this car cheap, because big sedans have gone a bit out of style in the last few years or so. Good news for me, since the last of the LeSabres is basically the perfect car (they couldn't improve on perfection, so they had to start making something else instead... or at least that's what I tell my friends).
Seriously, though: this is a big, old school family car with a tried-and-true V6 engine, that still somehow gets good gas mileage in spite of all that (check it out on Wikipedia sometime - this engine has a pretty ironclad reputation). It's got plenty of pedal power and internal room to spare... that 90% of its drivers will never even use, because - let's face it - this is the classic grandpa car. It floats like a boat over bumps and potholes, gives you big, soft seats... and actually has a pretty awesome stock sound system. I'm a 29 year old musician - that means a lot to me. On that note, I can just barely fit my full-size keyboard right on the back seat, door to door. And it's actually pretty easy to pack a full drum set inside this beast.
I think the reason LeSabres have become so inexpensive, is just from changing public tastes and that "grandpa car" image. But the later models like this don't even look much like the grandpa car we know and love. Or even if they do, it just means the cops won't look twice at you.
Can you tell I still like this thing?
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 3rd August, 2012
3rd Aug 2012, 18:24
Hold on to it for as long as you can. I had a 2005 Buick Park Avenue that I traded for a brand new 2011 Lucerne; I hated that car, and only kept it 10 months. Now I am leasing a 2012 Enclave, which I really like. However, I still miss that floaty ride in the Park Avenue, and all the traditional features. Not to mention that the Park Avenue was just a lot more effortless to drive, and could get over 30 MPG. It couldn't haul half of what the Enclave can though. I don't think we will ever have true American cars like these again.
4th Aug 2012, 17:08
I second your praise of the LeSabre. My family sold one three years ago that had gone over a quarter million miles with nary a repair. And yes, they do have a "Grandpa" image, but I don't agree that the police won't notice you. Police use radar, and radar is color blind and has no style sense.
