1989 Buick Century Limited from North America - Comments

Well this was a decent car up until about the 75,000 mile mark. After that it seemed to take the usual downhill slope that most American cars do at one point or another.

My problem is with the poor engineering design that made up the doors and the body work. Water found its way into the door paneling and if you're a Century owner of the late 80- early 90's you know what I'm talking about.

As far as the engine goes I loved the 3.3 V6. It was powerful enough to get you going when you needed it. The problem is after prolonged driving my torque converter and transmission started to go. Now the car doesn't accelerate without a hefty push of the gas. Then about 3 seconds later it starts to go. Shifting gears was very rough for the automatic as well.

My rear breaks were also a problem once I hit about 80000 miles. I'm not talking about the shoes or drums. It seems that mechanically there is a problem with the whole braking mechanism. When you first start driving the rear brakes seem to lock up and being in a snowy area I can tell you this is not fun. The car easily will swerve on you.

My last bicker about this car is handling. I read that one guy with a Century drove it to 110 mph. I say he's crazy. This car is not stable enough to do 80, let alone 110 mph. I would say steer clear if you're a speed junkie. After feeling how smooth and stable foreign cars are this car seems dangerous at higher speeds.

For a get you where you need to go car the Century is a perfect vehicle. It is comfortable, and a nice pleasurable ride as long as you're not going too fast.

I would say on the whole for being a 14 year old car it is not a safe bet with all the newer features that are available.

From my experience with this car it got me where I needed to go. No more, no less.

Overall it cost me more money than it was worth to maintain. In my opinion it wasn't a very reliable vehicle.

I have an 89 Buick century with the 3.3 engine, and I don't think that this review doe the car justice. I have an exhaust and intake on mine and with 150000 miles it still keeps up with my friends hondas. The handling is great, and I've had no problems with it at all.

I had an '89 Century Custom 2dr, with the Grand Touring Package and 158,000 miles on it. My 23 year old daughter just bought it off me last week for transportation for herself and her 8 month old daughter. In my estimation it is the only car I have ever owned in which I feel comfortable having my granddaughter as a passenger.

This car has been the lifeblood of my family's transportation for the last 15 years, and I am trading in my 1995 Olds Aurora this Monday night for a new Century. I'd take the reliability and stability of this class of car over the "LUXURY" I am supposed to be getting with the Olds any day.

Best car I have ever owned.

Hey buddy I don't have my car posted, but I have a 1989 buick century with the 3.3 liter. it has 172000 miles on it is faster than heck, been in 5 s beat on mistreated and any thing else you can think of, but my point is that this is the most reliable car I've ever had and I love it to at 170000 miles, it doesn't leak one drop of any fluid at all. its just the classic american built dream.

In all honesty, these cars rust out easily in those particular parts of the US where rust is a problem. They take turns pretty flat for a cushy car, but ride too "floaty" to be safe handling at higher highway speeds. The bodies are solidly built and hold up well with time, but the interiors are cheap and plastic looking. The safety is not terrible, but not great. The body design from a safety standpoint is OK of a car of this era, but door-mounted seatbelts are an invitation for occupant ejection in a severe enough accident. Parts are cheap and plentiful, and these cars are typically easy to work on. Resale value from a used car shopper's perspective is great. These cars can be picked up pretty cheap. If you don't have a lot of money to spend and need a reliable, cheap to fix car, I highly recommend the century up to '96. If you can afford to be fickle and not want a car associated with blue hairs, it may not be your cup of tea. An excellent value car.

Dude, who the hell buys a Buick Century to go fast? I mean a Rietta or a Grand National sure. Even a T-Type Century... but anyone will tell you that if you're looking for a sporty car, Buick shouldn't be your first try. I mean look at them, Do you see any racing... ANYTHING on them. That's because they're luxury cars. For people who enjoy driving cars... not for people who need to speed everywhere they go.

I have a 89 Century with the 3.3L. It has 200000 miles on it. I bought it from my grandpa for $300 when my truck died. Anyways, at first it had troubles where I would be driving down the road and the speedometer quit working, then the car would die and it would sound like it ran out of gas. The problem was the computer. I spent $200 and not only do I get better gas mileage, but I have better acceleration too.

I bought my 89 Century Custom in 1997. It now has 173,000 miles on it. I live in NJ so the weather can be pretty extreme from ice to heat and humidity. Its the best car I've ever driven in the snow (using all season tires). Its not to big or too small. Its had normal maintenance and of course, parts replaced due to age and wear. To say this car has been reliable would be an understatement.

It still runs like a champ. Of course, the max speed on the speedometer is only 85 and at 20 years old I wouldn't even ask it for that. It gets a respectable 65 easily and since I don't have any intention of being a scrambled egg on some highway somewhere, that is fine by me (yes speed lovers, I drive in the "slow" lane so not to annoy you).

The radio and tape player (ha ha - remember those) still work, the power windows work, sadly the power door locks died, but they still work the old fashioned way and the heat works too.

If I had the money I would restore it to its original state. I will replace parts till it falls apart, which hopefully won't be for another 20 years.