Fuel regulator went out, but was addressed by a recall. Moderate play in front end. Front bearings failed at 84000 miles, cost over $600.00 to replace. Cam and crank sensors as well as brake master cylinder are being replaced today for upwards of 500.00. Driver's interior door panel coming loose and away from the door itself. Replaced battery last week... I'm not annoyed about replacing it, but it really doesn't need to be under the back seat. And of course, the rear window regulator failed several months ago and cost about 300.00 to fix. Transmission randomly decides to shift hard and hunt for gears.
I like Buicks. Most young men in their 20's do not, I happen to be the exception. However, I'm truly disapointed with the build quality of this particular car.
I would imagine some of the issues I mentioned above are maintenence items and are bound to happen at some time or another; what annoys me is that the car shouldn't have this many issues at under 100,000 miles.
I actually like this car a lot. I like the styling, the comfortable ride (not everything is supposed to be a sports car!) and the spaciousness of the cabin, although I swear my 89 Park Avenue had more rear leg room. But the fact that I've had it in the shop 3 times in the past 6 months leaves me wondering where my next full size car will come from. I'm hoping Buick has stepped up their quality control in the Lucerne... we'll see when the time comes.
One more concern: fuel economy!! We do a combo of local and highway driving with the Buick and average about 20 mpg... I'm reading reviews of people with similar driving habits who fare far better.
I am another young Buick fan at 22. I have liked Buicks for a long time, but now that I own one I love them. I have had my '99 Park Avenue for over 2 years now, and it has been absolutely wonderful. Fortunately this model is not plagued by a lot of the quality control issues that the LeSabre suffers from. I graduate from college in February and plan to buy myself a 2005 Park Avenue with less than 10,000 miles. I can't think of a better graduation present.
Another young buick fan.I'm 19 and own a 95 buick park avenue. I love my car and would buy another buick in a second. But the older buicks have better build quality except for the intake manifold problem. But maybe in the future when I get a real job I'll buy a newer model buick or by an older one and fix it up.
Thanks guys for commenting. Glad to see I'm not the only one who's been deliberately driving Buicks since the age of 20!
I really do love this LeSabre, and its positive qualities far outweigh its shortcomings. I'm just surprised to have to replace certain parts now, when my old car was well over 150k before I had the same issues. Oh well, at least we have taste, right?