1997 Buick Park Avenue Base from North America - Comments

A couple days after I got the car, the CV joint went out, replaced under warranty.

Replaced thermostat.

The coolant temperature sensor needs to be changed.

Recharged A/C, did brakes and oil change. Other than that, nothing, and the things I did were just regular maintenance anyway, so I can't complain.

This is a one year update of the car. I bought my beloved Bertha at the age of 19 after my previous truck of 8 years in the family was recalled and scrapped. I thought after all the years with the Tacoma, and it NEVER ONCE needing anything more than ONE battery, ONE tune up, TWO sets of brakes and oil changes, that I would never find a vehicle to give me that kind of reliability and total happiness.

I seem to have been wrong.

I put about 6,000 miles on it in my first year, since I had a company car to get to work and back, so this was my pleasure ride.

Shortly after I purchased it, the front CV joint went bad and the dealer was a man of his word and picked up the tab to tow it, fix it and get it back to me in 3 days.

In the heat of July, the temperature gauge started acting up last year. At one point hitting 215 degrees (the highest it ever went) when the temperature outside was 101. Gotta love Ohio. And everyone said gotta change the thermostat, gotta do it before winter or you won't have heat. Well winter came. The -12 days came and she started every time on the first try. The heat never went out. Over the winter it didn't act up either. Spring came, I changed the thermostat, and ever since then EVERY TIME I get in it it gets up to operating temperature, but actually goes between 203 and 205, then suddenly it breaks and drops down to 184, then it levels itself out around 196 or 198. Everyone tells me its the coolant temperature sensor. 50 bucks from GM. I keep a close eye on it because of the infamous dex cool fiasco.

That has been the only major issue with it, and even then it's no big deal. I recently recharged the A/C and did the brakes.

I keep her clean, she's white so it's a chore. And wherever I go, people look when they see a young guy covered with tatoos stepping out of such a classy vehicle.

As of the fill up today, she's giving me 21.8 mpg on regular gas all city driving.

I'll be doing a full tune up for my 21st birthday and the symbolic one year since I got her, at which time I'll change out that coolant sensor and then 4 new tires.

With Obama's changes to fuel standards, I've decided after I get Bertha paid off I'm going to keep her. And I'm going to start a TASTEFUL restoration. I'm going to re-paint and re-pinstripe it. The leather is still in amazing condition due to religious conditions and the dash has no cracks, also do to frequent cleanings.

I would ideally like to do a V8 swap. Sounds crazy I know, but I'm thinking either a 5.3 liter or a 350 with duel exhaust. Newer rims from an ultra too. I'll make my grandpa car really sing. After I retire her from the road I may invest in something supremely fuel efficient, but I doubt it. When your first car's a Grand Marquis, small cars don't work.

I hope my review has helped some of you. These cars really are amazing. I get an average of 25-27 on the highway depending on how I'm using the pedal. The outside noise is almost non existent. The stock radio works great. The look of them is also timeless. They really transcend age; I'm proof that you don't have to be a retiree to enjoy all that Buick has to offer.

If you can find one at a good enough price, don't wait.

You're making payments on a 1997 car?

Yeah, actually putting a 350 in that FWD chassis would be much more difficult than talking about it...

I bought my first Park Avenue at 20. It was a 1999 with 114,000 miles and I bought it in 2005. I drove it all through college with very few problems. I've loved this model for years so as soon as I graduated from college last August I bought myself a 2005 White Diamond loaded model with less than 17,000 miles. I like it even better than the old one (it rides even softer than my '99). It is a shame Buick quit making them. The Lucerne never grew on me (maybe because I liked the Park Avenue so much) it looks like a full-size Camry to me, ugh. I'll probably trade this one for an Enclave when it's paid for.

I picked it up for 3995 last year, and since I'm only 20 I put 500 down and financed the rest. It was fully serviced and had low one owner miles. Well worth the money too. I plan on doing the same thing once this is paid off, finding an 04 or 05 hopefully. If that's the case I may part with old Bertha.

But as for the V8 swap. I've seen a 350 in a Cavalier so I'm sure I can fit one in a friggin Buick.

I'm a 21 year old Buick owner. Got my 95 Buick Park Avenue when I was 18. I even wrote a review on this website. I love this car. I have 154k miles on it now with few problems mostly age related. Still get compliments on how good my car rides and how nice it looks. Would like to get a 2005 Park Avenue if I could afford it. The new Buicks just don't really appeal to me, but they're excellent cars as their sister the LeSabre is like a dime a dozen in my area when it comes to used cars.