1986 Pontiac Parisienne from North America - Comments

The air conditioning needed to be completely replaced.

The transmission required repair to fix a faulty reverse gear.

Rear drums and shoes required replacement.

I remember driving this car with friends in high school and loving every moment. When the time came to buy a winter car, I managed to find one in a rural community. It was in perfect condition and owned by a former GM factory employee. This car looks like it is brand new and runs especially well considering its age and mileage.

It easily passed a government inspection and emissions test.

After some repairs due to age, the car is back on the road and running well.

It has a lot of room, is extremely durable and very cheap to repair.

Don't use the dealer as any good mechanic can keep it in tip top shape for a very low price.

While most of these cars have the V8, mine is equipped with the base V6. The V6 would not be my first choice as it lacks the power of the big V8s. It's advantage, though, lies in the electronic fuel injection instead of an old carburator.

If you can find one of these cars in good condition, buy it. They are fun to drive, very practical, cheap to run and amazingly durable.

Only major downside is the poor fuel economy.

I also own a 86 Parisienne. A friend of mine found it sitting on the side of the highway, sat for a while. The only problem I've found so far is the power seat chord fell off but, other than that the car is top-notch.

Some of the best cars I ever owned were found abandoned on the side of the highway.

Was that before you owned them, or after?

I recently bought one of these. Mine is an 85 it has a 305 V8 The car is in remarkable condition. only cosmetic problem is the dashboard is cracked. It rides great and good on the highway.

My wife and I used to own a 1986 Parisienne. I'm surprised by all of the positive comments about these cars. We must've gotten the only lemon they made, because ours was trouble almost from the start. The engine always pinged under light acceleration. If I really put my foot into the throttle, it would run okay. Nobody was ever able to determine what was wrong. Nothing I did or replaced made any difference. The transmission shuddered at around 25 MPH, like it was trying to run in 3rd and 4th gears at the same time or slipping... if I put the lever in "regular" drive (3rd gear), it was fine. The engine leaked oil from the pan gasket. Had it replaced and the leak came back... then the rear main seal started leaking... then some other gasket went and I had to dump in a quart of oil every 100 miles. It practically changed its own oil. Towards the end, I think the catalytic converter plugged up, because all of a sudden we had no power and couldn't top 50 MPH. The tilt steering column broke somehow, so the steering wheel was always loose. One of the front stabilizer links broke. The final straw came when I noticed that the frame was rusting through big time-to the point where I didn't think it was safe to drive anymore... big rust holes. It was really strange because the body itself was still pretty nice. It was nice and clean when we bought it and the frame only had normal surface rust at that time. We purchased the car in November 1998, when it had 76,000 miles. We traded it in February 2002, when it had 104,000 miles on it. 104,000 miles and it was basically junk and the dealer probably had it hauled off to the salvage yard. We only got $50 trade in value. The car we traded for was a 1991 Buick LeSabre that we still have, and that car has been everything the Pontiac wasn't, namely well built and mostly trouble free. There were some things I liked about the Pontiac: it had a really nice smooth ride, and I loved that "big American car" look. It was really comfortable and great for road trips, as long as I carried a case of oil in the trunk and added some every so often. And I can say that in spite of the problems, it never left us stranded anywhere. I'd buy another, but only if I knew it were as trouble free and sturdy as our Buick. As a side note, the engine in our Parisienne was an Oldsmobile 307 cubic inch V8. No doubt some of you reading this will say that the Parisienne didn't come with an Oldsmobile 307 V8. I know most Parisiennes came with a choice of the Chevy 262 V6, Chevy 305 V8 or the rarely ordered Oldsmobile 350 diesel V8, but a handful of the '86's came with the Olds 307...I know an Oldsmobile V8 when I see one, and I know a Chevy V8 when I see one. Ours had the Olds gas V8. And yes, it was the original factory installed engine according to the VIN engine code. Anyway, I hope all of you Parisienne owners enjoy your cars and have better luck than we did.

I bought my 1986 Parisienne in 1995 from my husband's Grandfather. Grampie had originally purchased this car as his "retirement" car, but alas he became ill and was not able to enjoy the luxury. He had ordered this car with a beefed up suspension for pulling a 31 ft travel trailer.

Both of our boys played numerous sports (they are now 19 & 25 years of age) so we travelled a lot. Every kid on those teams begged to travel with us in what they called "The Big Comfy Couch" car.

I have to date invested about $2000.00 in this vehicle all of which has been spent on gas, tires and oil changes.

It is realiable, good on fuel (even at today's prices) and a cherished member of our family. Every September for the last 3 years I have vowed to sell "The Tank") as named by the football team), but alas we continue to use this car as our relaible backup vehicle.

This spring (2006) I signed it over to my 22 year old son who has the task of replacing the heat riser valse.

Do I love this car, you bet. Good strong body, drives like a dream and can always be counted on to be reliable. I only wish they still made cars like this one... it cost Grampie about $18000.00 new and I challenge you to find a car built today for the same price that can last as long!!

I agree with the last comments on this vehicle. My parisienne has the chevy 305 with the overdrive transmission, with over 120,000 miles on the vehicle, a little over 3500 miles on the motor, not the original, but a replacement, bought new from the factory and already installed when I bought it for $1300.

It could use a bit more horsepower, but it suits me just fine as it is. I put in the k&n filter as well as a set of flow-master 40 series mufflers, and it keeps up with traffic and will do all of 95 miles and hour when I need it to.

I recently drove it from dallas to new orleans and back and the trip used 1 full tank and slightly past 1/4 tank, total trip at 70 to 75 miles an hour. It cranks up everyday like a champ, and if I don't stomp on the gas thruout the day, a full tank can last me all week driving to and from work.

I plan on keeping this car as long as I'm financially able to, not just keeping it, but keeping it maintained also. Good minds went into manufacturing this vehicle.