1984 Buick Riviera 2 door Coupe from North America - Comments

Transmission self destructed - 138667 miles.

CV joints replaced.

Water pump impellers broke off.

Fuel pump shot.

Emission control is junk.

Wheel bearings going.

Power seat failure.

This car is comfortable and roomy.

It is built like a tank, I hit a deer doing 50mph and it didn't leave a dent!

Decent off-road performance, however, lacks speedy acceleration, tranny doesn't let the rpms climb over 3500.

Gas mileage sucks, about 12mpg city, 19mpg highway.

I agree with everything this user states here, except for the performance. It's not the tranny that causes the problem with performance. It's the catalytic converter. My gas mileage is much better than that. I get 18 city 25 highway. Best car I have ever owned!

I have a 1984 Riviera rag top which I have owned since 1991. The car now has about 215,000 miles on it, but many expensive repairs have been needed to keep it going. Rear air suspension has broken twice, engine rebuild at 165,000 miles, transmission rebuilt twice (yikes!!) really expensive replacement of convertible top material, various other annoying problems and now a leaking transmission line. BUT... they have all been taken care of and I still own the car because it looks great, is very comfortable and it is the last of the full size convertibles. Driving a full size convertible is an experience that cannot be topped by ANY other kind of car. I have not experienced any of the rust problems that others have talked about with my car. It is always garaged, but I live in the north east where salt and weather usually take a harsh toll on a car. Even the original paint is still pretty good 19 years later. I will probably keep this car until a new full size American convertible with great styling is produced - which might be never at this rate (unfortunately).

I have an 85 which is identical to the 84. It has been a total joy and now has 68,000 miles on it. I do have it for sale because I just bought an 83 riv convt. I never have had any major problems, actually, not even minor ones. I love the car and wish I could keep it. Miles per gallon, 24 to 25 on the highway. In my opinion, that is very good considering the size of the vehicle and it is a v-8.

Ric harves,

Aurora IN

ROA member.

Hello, I once owned an 84 model Buick Riviera Coupe she was beautiful... I named her Bernice... she sucked petrol like a drunken vixen, but yet her ride was very smooth... I loved her. She was light-grey with light-grey velour interior... power everything fully loaded except no car phone I have seen some with the car-phone, but I digress... I am not going to pretend to know a lot about cars because in reality I don't. I do admit that I grew up around cars, but the only thing that I ever did was pump the brakes when my uncle was changing the brake fluid or whatever he was doing under the bonnet. I always loved cars the way they looked and also the way they sounded, and of course the way they rode. Back to Bernice she was lovely. I had her for a couple of years... she belonged to my uncle Chuck then my mom then me. She and I would have great times together I mean she was very roomy and the car was plush and very comfy you just don't find that in cars today you can agree the seats remind you of your favorite recliner it is soft and it feels like home and you can remain there for extended trips and none of that "are we there yet?" I would just ride around for hours listening to music because you will agree for a car factory stereo at that time six speakers plus the five band graphic equalizer was excellent. So, I would ride around listening to my Twin Peaks soundtrack and go up to Cheha Mountain and open up the moon-roof and just sit listen to music and watch the fog roll in that was so ironically the same color as Bernice we'd get lost in the fog together. I miss her. I ended up selling her because I couldn't afford the up keep, but I just wanted to tell you about a love affair that I had with a car, who I do miss so much. I would love to have you again maybe I could have treated you better, I am sorry.

To the previous poster, I too had a love affair with a car built on this chassis a Cadillac Seville. Four cars were built on this platform, Riviera, Seville, Eldorado and Oldsmobile Toronado. The styling of all four was unique and actually a stylish unlike the uniform trapezoids and bubbles of the current vintage where the only thing that varies is the shape and placement of the lights. My Seville had the dreaded GM diesel engine which after free replacement with the re-engineered version ran flawlessly to 160,000 miles when the car was totaled by a drunk from the rear.

The reason I was reading anyway was that I am about to purchase a 1983 Riviera convertible that has 98,000 original miles and is in pretty decent shape. I've waited a long time to replace my Seville but the time has come before the prices go out of reach.

Twin Peaks, cruising just to listen to music, a truly comfortable car... things I miss. I have a 2000 Cadillac DeVille which I would trade for one of these cars in a heartbeat, that is if I could find anyone who wanted it... and the price of Northstar...$350 just to change the plugs... and that didn't include the cost of the plugs.

Riviera, what a beautiful name for a car... what ever happened to those kind of values.

So I own a 84 Buick Riviera. It runs like a beauty. I don't really have too many problems with it except that my axle broke. I love this car; it's my first car ever and my ex bought it for me; the car's name is Ralph and Rita :)

Although my heater and A/C don't work, the car is great. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to take it or can I fix it myself you think?

Just wanted to say love the 83 Buick Riviera T Type Coup Buick White. It's one of the finest cars I ever owned, but I fixed a lot of things like the front axle and the radiator.

Now the transmission and belts, but still after the money I still love the Riv; it's been a great ride and I got it in 2004, and still in 2009 156,000 thousand miles and it runs good, but one day it will get a new 307 5.0. She needs the loving.

To the reviewer - nothing, *nothing*, can hit a deer at 50mph and not even sustain a dent. Not even a 1984 Riviera. I know they don't build 'em like they used to, and those old Buicks, Chevrolets, Oldsmobiles and Plymouths are tough, but a deer can do some real damage.

Let me tell you a story - not of the Riviera, but of an Electra Estate wagon. The grandson of the owner, a good family friend of ours, was starting off from a just-turned-green light at an intersection, and a smaller, more modern car ran a red light and hit the Buick's front right section at something over 20mph. Some of the body was pushed up into the car, and a headlamp and turn signal had to be replaced. The cost of the damage was enough and the car's value low enough that the insurance company wrote the car off and declared it totaled. But the owner knew better - he paid the extra cost and got the Buick back on the road, as good as before.

But here's the really interesting part- the Electra *drove* to the shop where the damage was inspected and a repair bill drawn up. The smaller, newer car - I don't know what, but picture something between a Corolla and a Camry - had to be towed from the scene. It wrecked itself doing the damage it did to the Buick. And this story is quite relevant to the Riviera, as it was built the same way and is every bit as tough. These cars, taken care of right, can last decades beyond the expected service life of a car (20 years). Having owned a similar vehicle - a 1985 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser - I can testify to their toughness and quality. Thirsty beyond a doubt, but they are tough and comfortable.

The 1984 Riviera comes from a different, and in some ways better time, when we had Ivan to duke it out with instead of bin Laden, $4.00 a gallon gas prices were a pessimistic fantasy instead of reality, and cars were not deliberately built to destroy themselves in a collision. They were built more in line with the philosophy behind the M4 Sherman tank, and had fuel economy to match, but people don't look at cars the same way. Those shiny chrome bumpers, that hard steel body, from a time when if the car crumpled it wasn't supposed to, inspire confidence in a way these collapsible plastic jellybeans of today just can't.

Today's cars are safer and more fuel efficient, but there's a wonderful 'something' that cars like the '84 Riviera possess that more modern cars cannot. Something that makes cars like the Riviera capable of driving away from accidents that destroy newer cars. I'll take a car that has that over a Camry any day.