1999 Buick LeSabre Limited from North America - Comments

The air conditioning system needs to be completely replaced at 210,000 kilometres.

The original stainless-steel exhaust had to be replaced at 226,000 kilometres.

The original fuel lines are about to be replaced, although they are only "weak" and still not leaking.

The power steering pump needed replacing shortly after I acquired the car - replaced, but this one is failing too.

A review of the previous owner's full repair history, provided with the car, reveals that it has had two intake manifold gasket replacements, both noticed and replaced early prior to overheating or ancillary damage. An expensive maintenance item, but his careful regular maintenance and check ups since the car was new prevented any serious problems. The previous owner also replaced the fuel tank and sending unit, the front suspension.

I purchased this car as an inexpensive replacement to my beloved Mercedes-Benz C320, when its lease was up. A change in career prohibited me from continuing to drive new cars, especially MBs, so I began looking for a reliable used car.

This car caught my attention primarily because of its outstanding condition. My predecessor purchased the car brand new, drove it regularly and maintained it meticulously. Judging from the responsible nature of the owner, I can also conclude that he drove the car responsibly as well, a good indicator of this being that the car is only on its second set of tires since new - the first set being replaced at 130,000 kms according to his records. The second set now nearing the end of their useful life.

This car has turned out to be a respectable choice for me. It is large enough to be comfortable, but small enough to maneuvre in the City fairly well. It does nothing extremely well, but, on the other hand, it does nothing extremely poorly either. The handling and ride took a little while to acclimate myself to and I've noticed a few poorly thought out design problems.

I have tried to be as objective as possible, given that my previous three cars were all brand new Mercedes' and this car, obviously fails in comparison to these on all counts. However, this car is not really intended to compete in that class and, for that reason, I find this car to be rather acceptable. The quirky little annoyances, however, include: windshield wipers that tuck away and are slow on all speeds (shouldn't they be there when you need them?) ; speaking of which, spraying your windshield with washer doesn't automatically activate the wipers - why not?; flowing from this discovery, was that if your driving with your front windows down and spray the windshield, you get soaked too!; cupholders don't contain any leaks so your seats might get wet or stained; the side mirrors are too small and set too far back, such that you have to turn your head instead of just your eyes to use them. Overall, the car just isn't as "intuitive" as my previous cars and I still feel as though I'm driving someone elses' car, not mine.

On the plus side, the engine has a great deal of power and performs very nicely, the transmission shifts smoothly and without surprises, the seats are surprisingly comfortable, despite looking like a bad sofa from the 80s, all the power equipment works fine, the factory AM/FM/Cassette/CD works excellent and delivers surprisingly nice sound and the car feels safe and solid. I was first surprised to see a number of options on this car that were also on my MB, dual climate control for one, but I now understand that my Limited version is basically the top end version (now I think it should have a few more options to be deemed 'top end' such as a moonroof or heated seats). Another great surprise is the gas mileage - my driving is about 70/30, highway/city and I'm consistently getting about 26 miles per gallon, which is quite acceptable considering the size, age and mileage of the car.

The car was rustproofed annually and has no rust. It was garage stored and kept clean, waxed and shampooed. It looks showroom ready.

I purchased a 1998 Buick Lesabre Custom with 66K miles in 2003. It currently has 115k miles and has been trouble free. The car rides like a dream, the 3800 Series II motor is smooth and quiet. The only problem with the car is peeling trim pieces. All of the mylar chrome trim on the inside has peeled off, as well as the trim pieces around the window switches. Also, the dye on the steering wheel has flaked off, turning it black, but those are very minor complaints. I would buy another Buick in a heartbeat.

I'm very happy with my BUICK LESABRE LIMITED 1998. I bought this car with 23K miles on it, in March 2008, and now in Nov 2008 it has 30K miles. And is still like new in immaculate condition. Totally free of any kind of problems.

I replaced the original tires just for safety reasons, but they were like new.

In general the car is great, the ride is quiet an smooth.

Inside you will not notice that engine is running. And the powerful 3.8 series II engine is great.

Mileage is very acceptable for a full size sedan. 45/20 (miles)Highway/City.

This is my second BUICK and I definitely would buy another BUICK, No doubt about!

"BUICK" IS A BRAND YOU CAN TRUST!

Tony Sanchez V. 11/13/08.

Hey please be aware that the OEM factory installed intake manifold is gonna fail sooner or later; please be ready for 1,500.00 Dlls (dealer repair cost) for replacing intake manifold for a new and updated manifold with one year or 15,000 miles warranty.

I'm happy with my car. The only thing I'm upset about is because GM doesn't have a recall on the 3.8 series I and II and III engines installed on their vehicles. This problem affects from 1991 models to 2005 according to Buick owners (don't install an aftermarket intake manifold with no warranty)

TONY SANCHEZ V. (HAPPY BUICK OWNER)

I just bought a 1998 LeSabre with 59,000 miles (only paid $2850 for it). Noticed right away the coolant reserve tank was out, and I was aware of the manifold situations with these cars. So I did not hesitate to brought it to an independent repair shop which I've used previously, they got a real low repair rate of $60 hour ($75 / hr is the local norm). They let me get my own parts, and I got the upper manifold part for $130 from O'Reilly's. The 4 hours labor is $240 plus replacement part $130, totals out at $370. Obviously I would rather not spend the $370. But I also have an older 1992 Volvo 960 which requires a new timing belt every 30,000 miles at a cost around this repair; so I tend to put the repair cost in proper perspective. I really don't know why folks would ever consider going to a dealer (outside of warranty work) for $1,500 repairs when if you shop around, you could probably get it done for a third of the dealers fee. I believe the LeSabre is a nice car, especially for the cost. All brands of cars have some kind of issue. You just need to do preventative maintenance (ie: watching the fluids) and shop around on repair costs.