1983 Oldsmobile 98 Regency review from North America

Note: I had two '83 Olds Ninety Eight's. One is Regency, the other a Regency Brougham. The current 98 that I'm driving has had no problems whatsoever so far. The previous one, the Regency Brougham, has had the following problems:

Blew Transmission at 150,000 miles.

Radio doesn't work.

A/C No longer works.

Water Pump was replaced.

Carburetor needs replacement.

Power Steering Belt snapped.

These cars are fantastic.

The first 98 that drove was my grandmothers and I received it in June of 2002. It was my first car, so I was pretty hard on it. The car was very comfortable to drive, mostly because the car is so big.

The car withstood my abuse for about 2 months, until I was with my friends one night and the "Check Engine" dummy light came one. I opened the hood to discover the dismal stench of a severely overheated engine. Apprently the water pump had a breach in one of its seals. I drove the car until I could afford to repair it, and simply filled the radiator with water on a daily basis. I managed to forget this job a few times and the engine overheated again and again, yet still ran just as good as it did when I first got the car.

Other than these driver-inflicted problems, the car was very reliable, and actually got pretty decent mileage for its size, averaging between 17-25 miles per gallon. Though the car never was a speed demon, it was fast enough that I would be jerked to the back of my seat when I hammered the gas.

Sadly my first Olds was nearly totaled in early August when a 2 ton GM pickup made a left turn right in front of me. I was going 40 and I quickly turned the wheel and did a 180. The rear passenger side of my car from the passenger door back was smashed like tin can, and my bumper was sitting in the intersection when I got out of the car. This guys pickup was smashed in the same spot and the damage was even worse then mine, thanks in part to this cars rock-solid body, and neither I or the other party involved sustained any injuries.

I drove the car for another 3 months smashed up, and it ran perfectly.

The second 98 that I have has been in my possession for about 2 weeks, and has run perfectly. I made some interesting observations about this car, most notably the fact that its equipped with a 305 engine instead of the factory stock 307 (the catalyst confirms this), and this model is equipped with a factory-installed 8-track stereo system. This is by far the best car that I have ever driven.