Yes here in Philly these cars were a hot commodity from ‘04-13 and even now you see them all around comfortable easy to maintain and will take a beating and still get you there.
Go Baltimore! I drove my 98 Century custom through there several times ! Back in the day . I also remember in Timonium in the late 80s had a TON of Buicks of all types in condo and apartment complexes !! Especially the 80s boxy Buick centuries lol!!!
I love mine, has 307k miles all original besides the transmission, engine has never been tore into, but I’m about to build it from the ground up and add some power
I own a 2005 Buick Century Special Edition. It has the FE3 sport suspension and 16 inch tires and wheels. It also gets 29 mpg on the highway. Best of all it only has 69xxx original miles!
I would've thought that they only put the sport suspension on the regal since they are so similar. But the Century has different front seats and interior , I think Buick only comes with front bench seat right.
@@zzoinks Very rare you did see a Grand Prix SE with a bench seat. The next model up with a bench seat was optional on both base model and LS surprisingly Impala which was the last of everybody to offer a bench. It really would be nice to see someone modify a sensory into a GS / GSX model
My grandmother had a '99 Century Custom as her last car. Put 60k on it before she passed. My mom wound up driving it for about 10 years due to financial troubles. Always very reliable, never left her or myself in a bad spot. Sold it a few years ago with 175k mi still running great. Last i heard the lady we sold it to blew up the trans. Regardless, great A to B car with great reliability.
I do feel like Oldsmobile should have gone with having their version of this to replace the Cutlass Ciera instead of the Malibu based Cutlass. I think it would have better satisfied the Oldsmobile loyalists.
Ikr, Oldsmobile had no traditional front bench seats like Century here. Make the PONTIAC based off of the Malibu (since it has no bench seats) and the OLDSMOBILE based off of the Century.
I just inherited a 2003 Century Custom with only 48K miles on it. Babied all its life excepting the last 3 years. Last owner neglected, abused, misused, otherwise did nothing except put a few gallons of gas in it every so often. I’m bringing it back to life to look, drive, and ride like it really does have its original 48K miles. And yes, it’s the common Light Sandrift Metallic. I have about $2,200 in its refurbishment & maintenance updates and it has become my daily driver. Next up, new stereo & speakers, and it’ll become complete.
This design has indeed aged well. I think it's funny that the 2006 movie Ultraviolet decided this generation of Century looked modern enough to represent a police car in 2078.
@@scrambler69-xk3kv I usually hear the comment that it was because of “safety” or because “they want you to buy an SUV for more money”. But at least leave the column shifter for more counsol space and ergonomics!
@@devinbiz I like what they did. Buick Century is for buyers that want a car to resemble the comfort of bench seating like the 70s. Regal is more sporty. Makes the distinction clear. Unlike the Ford Taurus where they made everything in trims or options, making it harder to know immediately what kind of car you drive.
"Lack of noise at idle" I could barely make that out over the loud droning of the 3100. That starter lockout crap flew with the Northstar and 3800 Series III but it was a silly marketing shenanigan on the 3100 powered Ws. GM just used the same ignition across all Ws.
A well running 3100 was nearly silent at idle though. Can't judge that via microphone on a old PBS program. I've had two 3100's, and they were the quietest engines I've had at idle.
Bought a 2000 as my winter beater to keep the supra clean . A one owner century with a pile of maintenance receipts, and 87k miles. Its definitely not fast, and i drive it gently. Easily replaced the speakers and head unit to transform the audio. Easy maintenance of fluids, cheap parts. The intake gaskets were previously done. Other than a miniscule oil leak, the car is perfect. I call it my "certified hood classic"
Used to have a 99 model, the people prior didn't take care of the car, so it was having major issues at 110k (yeah they road it hard and put away wet) looked good, but wasn't healthy hah. Loved the comfy ride though. Love the sound of the pushrod 3100.
As much as I hate to admit it, if I saw one of these for under 75k miles for a decent price I'd have to consider it. These things seem to have almost legendary longevity. GM needs to build more cars like these to rebuild their shattered image. Those who "get it", will, and those who don't were never the intended market anyway.
Found a one owner car with a folder full of maintenance receipts, including the all important gaskets on the 3.1with 84k miles. It's my winter car to keep the supra out of the elements. It's an absolute gas guzzler even driving like an old man, about 15 mpg city and 26 highway. It's comfortable cruising and will get you where you need to go, very very slowly.
The Regal at the time was marketed as the sporty alternative to the Century. The import fighter lol. I remember the commercials. So it had less chrome, more power and costed more.
I guess they figured nobody would be driving fast with the cushy suspension. Or maybe the Regal was so close to the century, it could've been called the same name.
To bad Buick doesn't build it anymore. I had a 1984.,although its the previous generation it this. In high school, to cheap to run,and cheap to insure. Unfortunately, nobody builds a six passenger sedan,with a column shifted automatic anymore.
I was in Highschool back in '97. The Century was always to us considered Blah cars...lol Although boring they were extremely comfortable and reliable back then. But the Century's siblings the Regal was sharp.
Up here in the midwest you could count on the rockers disintegrating from rust after several years (same for the LeSabre of that time). Also, the 3100 (and 3400) V6 engines would inevitably need intake gaskets as they all failed (in fairness, the engines were otherwise quite robust). Time was not kind to these cars and the cheap plastics and switchgear aged poorly. There were better alternatives in the class.
To me the cheesy cable style window regulators were the weak link on the Regals,and the Century's,and keep an eye on the 3100,and overall they were a decent car.
The interiors felt cheap but my Buick Century actually had less rattles than my Volvo. But the Volvo has much nicer materials quality and the switchgear and plastics feel more durable. The Volvo also has less things that broke or snapped off like buttons and cupholders. But ofc the Volvo was more expensive than the Buick
Unfortunately,5.7 Vortecs,3.8s,and a host of other GM engines had more than their share of intake gasket problems.They were not forgiving on bad coolant maintenance.
@@zzoinks Yes,as long as it's caught before a major overheating, and or a hydro lock due to an undetected coolant leak, barring that,they will be good as new with new good quality intake gaskets properly installed.
Buick Century Custom/Limited is only available with one engine. It is a 160-175hp 3100 Series II 3.1 V6 which competed with the Mercury Sable GS 145-153hp Vulcan 3.0 V6. Buick Regal LS 195-205hp 3800 Series II 3.8 V6 AND Oldsmobile Intrigue GLS 215hp ShortStar 3.5 V6 competed with Mercury Sable LS 200-203hp Duratec 3.0 V6. The Ford Taurus GL (later named LX then later renamed SE) 145-153hp Vulcan 3.0 V6 competed with the 160-175hp 3100 Series II V6 in the Chevrolet Lumina Base/LS & Pontiac Grand Prix SE. The Ford Taurus LX (later renamed SEL & SES) 200-203hp Duratec 3.0 V6 competed with the 210hp 3400 24v 3.4 V6 & 195-205hp 3800 Series II 3.8 V6, both, in the Chevrolet Lumina LS/LTZ & Pontiac Grand Prix GT. The Ford Taurus SHO 235hp Yamaha 3.4 V8 competed with the Buick Regal GS & Pontiac Grand Prix GTP both with the 240hp 3800 Supercharged Series II 3.8 V6.
I feel like Buick could've gotten away with selling the previous gen Century for a few more years. I'd def rather have a 1996 Century than this generation.
The 95 and 96 box Century was great. Lots of them still going strong too. The 97 up was great too. Perfect grandma cars. Maybe that's why there are so many left.
Detailed list of my experience with a used 1998 Buick Century i owned from 2003-2010. Pros: 1.Classy styling 2.Big interior 3. Large backseat for dates and adult activities. 4. Fairly reliable until 160k miles 5. Smooth ride 6. Quiet cabin 7. Good overall performance 8. Survived a crash into a fire hydrant at 35mph with no serious damage , (hydrant was destroyed) 9. Large trunk Cons: 1. Around 8 years old with 160k brake lines had completely rusted out. 2. Oil leak at 160k miles . 3.Radiator went caput at 164000 4. So so fuel economy. 5. Brakes needed complete replacing around 165k . 6. Burnt a TON of oil after 170k miles. 7.Power steering fluid leak around 165k miles . Overall i still liked it, and would give it a B-
My Buick century never burned oil but oddly one time during the winter it did inexplicably run low on oil, but never again. If I checked the oil level it was usually good. It never leaked oil but I'm not sure if it had already been taken care of before I got the car. It had almost 190000 miles
