Your Grandparents Were Right! This Is The Car You Should Be Buying! 

I should have bought 1 back in 2016 at a garage sale, $1100 with less than 100k miles.

My 16 year old son wanted one for his first car. What a wise young man he turned out to be!

Few things I would have brought up that you just don’t find in modern vehicles. The bench seat made possible by a column shifter made it a six passenger sedan. Not a ton of room in that center seat but it worked for kids and that just doesn’t exist anymore. I remember a lot of rides between my dad and grandfather when I was a kid in a Buick just like this. Also the light in the glove box and the floor wells. You hardly ever see that in “average” cars any more. Things like that require a higher trim level that costs $50,000+. These cars were also extremely quiet inside and the power windows were faster than a lot of modern cars. I remember a commercial about the power window speed. It will probably never happen but I doubt I’m only one who wishes we would get this kind of simplicity back in the automotive world.

Those idiots at GM needs to learn from their forefathers. GMs best years are behind and the late 80s and early 90s were the best years for GM. I think from what I remember, the steel were even galvanized and didn’t rust unless the paint chips then it may spot rust only. Amazing body panels. The 2.8 and 3.8 are legendary engines from GM.

One of the very last decent cars GM ever made. If you get a 1995-1999 model, it comes with a Series 2 3800 V6 with 205 HP and 230 FT LBS of torque, which matched the early supercharged 3800s. Just keep the transmission fluid and filter serviced regularly and keep it cool with an auxiliary cooler. The 4T60E is an ok transmission but not super durable unless it is kept cool and serviced regularly.

I just bought a 1995 with a leather interior out of California , only 55k miles- Paid $4k. Loving it!

I love this Buick. Nothing funny about it. I'm 56, and I think that's a nice looking Buick. What does he mean no style to it? What, are you kidding? That's American Luxury, built in America. Oh how I wish America would make cars they would be proud of again.

In 1997 I went with my father in law when he purchased a new Lesabre. I still laugh at the fact that the radio's clock had bigger numbers displayed than most alarm clocks! Buick knew how to take care of their customers!

Have one with Series II, I put 3k miles on it monthly and it runs great. Just 10w30 synthetic oil and transmission fluid change every 20k.

My Aunt & Uncle have had one of those since the 90s and it's still going strong, as reliable and comfortable as ever

I had one of these for a few years. Beat the piss out of it and put lots of miles on it. Never walked home. Good car.

I daily a 2000 lesabre. Paid $1800 for it with 185k. It’ll pull 30 mpg on the highways. With decent tires on it, it does pretty well in the snow. Everything on it is cheap and easy to fix. 224k on it, and I plan to drive it into the ground.

I'm in a community band where I play the tuba. I get picked up in one of there the truck has room for a tuba the backseat has room for a tuba. The ride is smooth and comfortable. I remember when these came out and I dug them. Very comfortable for passengers and tubas alike. 😊

If it was my choice I'd take the old land yacht over ANY brand new POS computer on wheels and Tommy needs an attitude adjustment

In Saudi we had lots and lots of Buick Roadmasters back in the day and I loved them

I bought a 1995 Pontiac Bonneville sse in 2021 with 45000 miles on it as my daily driver for 5000 dollars Canadian and I love it. It drives nice it's quick enough I mean how fast do you really need to go and there is loads of room in the engine bay to work on it. Yesterday I changed the oil on my daughters 2016 Dodge Journey and there is no room in the engine bay to work on the engine. I couldn't even see the belts. Give me one of those G.M.'s any day of the week.

Just bought a one-owner 2002 LeSabre with 98,000 miles for $2,000. Only problem is the drooping headliner, but thumbtacks have taken care of that. She runs great!

"This has the legendary Dynaride where they put a little bit of like a air suspension in the back with the Macpherson struts so it softened up an otherwise kind of normal ride and made this kind of ride like a Cadillac" The Dynaride suspension only refers to the deflective disc valving for the struts, which as said by Buick allows you to tune suspension for both firm handling and a comfortable ride. In other words, you can tune a regular shock for just as comfortable of a ride, but the handling will not be as good. The air suspension, which was not even standard on the LeSabres, does nothing for ride comfort, it is only there for load leveling. The reason these have such a good ride is simple, they just use soft springs, have shocks that dampen for comfort, fully independent suspension, and a front subframe. The 97-05 Park Avenues and 00-05 LeSabres ride significantly stiffer, despite still having Dynaride, the air suspension, as well as the addition of a rear subframe and longer wheelbase, because they also made the springs stiffer. Cadillac in the 90s was also going for a more modern European style luxury when Buick was going for a more traditional American style luxury. The Park Avenue and LeSabre actually rode better than the DeVille, and had softer seats.

Those '90s Buicks with the 3800 truly were reliable. My grandpa and uncle bought two 1990 Regals -- one white, one blue but otherwise identical. They served through 3-4 generations of my family's drivers in great shape. I drove the white one when it was about 20 years old. Everything still worked great, and whenever I gave someone a ride they never failed to comment on how smooth and comfortable it drove and on the digital gauges, which, although dated, were still attractive and fully functional. Ultimately, the blue one began to have some issues after being subjected to abuse and neglect of my younger cousins' teenage driving. The white one was in great running shape when it eventually left the family. I wish I knew the mileage. It had 180,000-plus when I was driving it, but I wasn't the last in our family to use it.

Oddly 90s GM was just getting ragged on but now those years are the most admired American, comfortable, and reliable cars still on the road.

Other than the Buick LeSabre or Park Avenue, other cheap yet comfortable cars I would choose is the Mercury Grand Marquis or a Toyota Avalon.

Car Wizard loves these. The supercharged version is quite fast. That was usually the Park Avenue. You didn't mention the fuel mileage, about 20 city and 30 highway.

My dad had one of these in the exact same color his was a 1999 it was the last car that he owned before he died in 2020 he never was into the nicest top trim level cars he just liked simple basic gm vehicles. That was the newest daily driver he ever had in his entire life he was born in 1960 so he was he wasn't to all the new touch screens and fancy stuff they put in cars now. I drove around in it with him from time to time to be perfectly honest I really liked it and to me it takes you back in time to the 1990s when you are driving in it

Forgot to mention they can get 30mpg all day long on the road too

My grandparents might be a little older than that generation! Grandpas last truck was the last iteration of the square body GMC and their last sedan was a mid-70’s Ford Torino! 😁

As the owner of a 1989 Park Ave, 1991 LeSabre and 2001 LeSabre...I completely concur. The 3800 is bomb-proof asides from intake gaskets. The later the model, the better these were. Awesome daily-drivers and highway bombers.

That engine 3.8 GM is equal to 4.0 Jeep engine. Due oil changes on schedule and TLC. There are supercharged 3.8s in Riviera and others. Olds, Pontiac, Buick flavors. I always liked the Olds variety. Riviera has a robust and overbuilt unibody is the best of the bunch is you want to travel in Coupe style with very plush seating. Getting hard to find in salt belt.

Retired GM mechanic. My favorite car to service. I still have my father’s 1989 DELTA 88. Still driving it as a second vehicle. Over 325000. Transmission replaced under warranty at 22000.

This is the epitome of a user-friendly car - no fancy and unnecessary bells and whistles, just decent value for money.

90s Buick's were among the best cars ever built by the division. Le Sabre, Century, Regal and Park Avenue sold in record numbers. The 3.8 was bullet proof aside from the eventual manifold leak which is not difficult to replace. Over 300K miles is not uncommon for these engines. They were pure comfort given the average age of Buick drivers. The Roadmaster was also a great and reliable car being RWD compared to the others. Their reliability is why there are still so many on the road today.

Nice. I like the 2000-2005 models better.

I would drive this all day long. That 3800 V6 is one of the best engines ever made by ANY manufacturer. I've seen these with 300-450k+ mi still running PERFECTLY. The rest of the car will fall apart before the engine does.

The final car of many people from the Greatest Generation. My grandmother had one in that exact color that she bought brand new in 1994. Loved that car.

I’ve had several of these and would give them no less than a 5 star rating. Hands down, these are some of the most reliable and comfortable cars ever made, my 91 park Avenue and the LeSabre limiteds felt like driving my living room couch down the road. The only major downfall is they don’t stand up to rust very well here in the salt belt. I imagine if you got it fluid filmed regularly, that problem could probably be avoided. I will say this to anyone who wants one or is considering buying one; get one now because they are becoming more rare and the demand for them is starting to go up and with fewer clean examples left, they are starting to gain value and are starting to command higher prices. I’ve seen very clean low mileage examples going in upwards of 5 to 8 thousand dollars.

Y'all are my favorite on this channel! I had a 98 Buick Regal with the 3800 engine but it was supercharged. It was sweet. It needed some work. However, it still drove so nicely.

My Grandfather bought one of these new in 97 after he had wrecked his Park Avenue. He went in to get another Park Avenue but in was in-between body styles and didn't have any so he settled for the LeSabre. I got my learners permit in late 98 and thankfully my grandmother let me drive most of the time. It wasn't bad for the day. The one they had had every option and I always loved how the volume knob turned when you used the volume button on the steering wheel!!

To give him his credit James May often stated that the Nurburgring ruined the handling of cars. Specifically because they were too rough.

I had a '91 LeSabre Custom and it's true that it was kind of leisurely up to 30mph but once the speedo swung past that, the mid RPM acceleration was pretty impressive thanks to the torque of these 3.8 V6s putting down most of their torque in the mid RPM ranges.

My first car was a 2000 Buick LeSaber it was such a smooth ride. Way smoother and comfortable then my 2020 Chevy Traverse

about 10 years ago we had bought one that had belong to a 92 year old driver and it had a little marks all around it as it seemed that he never stopped parking it till he touched 10:15 something but it was an excellent car wonderful ride and decent gas mileage

The GM H-body was one of the best platforms GM ever built. I had two. These do get nickel and dimey as they get older though - everything leaks, lots of electrical bits fail, HVAC is a huge pain, brittle plastic, ect. Equivalent to most domestic stuff from this era, but far cheaper to acquire and with great bones (which is what really matters). Used to be able to pick them up for $600-$1500 in awesome shape with low miles, but those days have passed. Personally, I think they're aging out now but can still be very usable today for the right owner.

My grandparents had a 95 in red with red cloth seats. I remember not liking it as a kid. They sold it to a neighbor for $2,000 in 2004

8:54 Invaluable doesn’t mean not very valuable. It means that it’s so valuable that it’s hard to quantify the value.

My dad had A 1992 Buick regal with that same engine 3.8 v six , had it twenty five years until you couldn’t get parts any more here in Canada. The only major problem it had on the engine was serpentine belt went with only 5000 km on the odometer( under warranty) and the ac went after 18 years of use. And that it .A lot of rust got to it , suspension parts started to break and those parts were hard to find new and used.

Amazing. My mother drove that exact model. Bought it used in about 2002. 6 of us drove it for a short trip. My dad drove a 1983 Buick Lesabre until he passed in 1991.

5:51 - Above the Regal (w body), not Century (a body back then). The Skylark was also below the Century at that time. So, no, this was not a middle child. It was only below the Park Avenue.

I've owned 1992 and 1999, both were fantastic cars and truly have a "pillow like" ride. If I come across another low mileage example, I'm buying it.

Smooth, quiet, extremely comfortable, low stressed, good mid range passing power and exceptional highway mileage. Sure it's boring. It was supposed to be! That was the market they were going for. Rough day at the office? Your Buick will help calm you down on the way home. Kid borrowing the car? They'll be safe and probably not get into too much trouble, plus all of their friends will pile on in. All controls were well laid out, familiar, and easy to use.What I will say is that these car did have their fair share of electrical gremlins, and window regulators were troublesome. Cars with rear air shocks also had issues. Water pumps, ignition coils and modules and intake gaskets were high failure parts. Other than that, gas, oil and go!

My grandpa had one of these in blue and it had the pillowtop velour. I can't deny that it was comfortable. And that suspension would absolutely eat up a speed bump lol.

I'll take my H-body in Eighty Eight LSS flavor, thanks. Specifically, post-1995 so it has the supercharged 3800.

my grandma had one of those in white with the hub caps. it was comfortable as heck

I have a 1993 Buick Roadmaster Limited. These 90’s Buicks are gems

Along the same lines, I love the Century/Cutlass Ciera. First two cars were a '92 and '91 Century. Also had an '88 Cutlass and a '96 Century. I kept finding myself looking for a lower mileage Century wagon but they're hard to find.

My Grandfather had a 95 LeSabre In blue, I loved it so much and i'd love to get one at some point in the near future

I got my aunts 08 buick lucerne from her estate. It's a cx trim with 78,000 miles. And gets 26 mpg.

I had a loaded 2001 Regal as my first car when I was 18 in 2015. I miss that car dearly, absolutely bomb-proof engine, with that W body boat-float. A lazyboy on wheels. Pefect for Quebec roads where most roads look like land mines go off every day. It was sent to the scrapyard because almost 20 years of Canadian winter rotted the unibody and made it a death trap. I'd buy another one tomorrow if there were any left in good condition. (There aren't)

I still remember that interior. So cushy and that V6 was so smooth and reliable. Brings back great memories

Had a 2000 Lesabre in the same color. Loved it

I happen to think those are indeed handsome cars 🥹

I own this car. It’s comfy with dynaglide suspension, it’s big, it gets decent mpg, cheap parts, easy work. Now the bads. The transmission. However even when it looses gears and torque converter it won’t leave you stranded. Also you need a GM scan tool to connect to the OBD 1.5. I also have the clock page marked in the manual. The Delco is not intuitive. Lesabres and Bonnevilles are my favorite cars. Mostly because I can afford them.

I still have my Buick Park Ave.. & I love my car.. it's very reliable, I have never had problems with it. I recommend these cars.

We had four various GM cars with 3.8. All of them ate alternators. Once or twice in two years I had to replace it. Other weak stupid issue was a fuel pump giving up without warning. Cheap parts, excellent air condition, descent mpg, lots of room sleep in and move furniture.

My dad had the Olds version, and he loved it.

I am still driving a 2003 Buick. The bench seats can't be beat for comfort. I guess when the car croaks, I am gonna keep the seats and turn them into living room furniture. I do NOT want to get a newer car. I HATE the seats in every vehicle. Bench Seating was great.

My grandma been driving her 1993 Buick Gran sport for 28 years now same motor and transmission

I love Buick’s. My dad’s first car was a ‘72 LeSaber , so the epitome of land-yacht, my first car was a ‘92 Century, beautiful and robust , and I now drive a 2017 Envision and I love it. Of money was no object I would totally jump on one of those. The perfect cheap and reliable cruising car.

Review: I've been driving the Olds variant since 2021 (Eighty-Eight). Bought it to drive 5 hours for Covid shots (left the '02 Civic Si EP3 in the driveway). From '95, they were rated at 205 hp. Mine's a '98. It's never let me down, but there are a couple of things you must watch out for: check the subframe at the suspension points as it can rust out, and, worse, the engine can destroy itself with hydro-lock. The culprit is the plenum -- the upper intake manifold includes a coolant line that is cast in. Everything is plastic, and eventually, the channel will crack and allow coolant into the combustion chambers. Watch out for a "smoky" startups when cold, and coolant odor but no leaks. It means you are burning small amounts of antifreeze. It only gets worse, and if you don't replace the manifold immediately, your engine will seize. It starts to run very rough all of a sudden as the cylinders fill up. Mine was on the way to disaster, but I limped home, bought a replacement intake (I think they re-engineer them with steel coolant tubing running through) and coasted down to my mechanic, who changed it out and it ran like a top, with no coolant in the oil (good rings, only 40K on the car). One last thing, because the front window design allowed for ez access to the door handle, the door locks are supplemented by a chip in the ignition key. The reader can go bad in higher mileage examples, shutting you down. But there are videos on how to rewire it. I have put 17K on my olds, and the "security" light is mostly always on, but the car always starts. In rural Massachusetts, I average 21 mpg, with a high of 26, and a low of 15 in more congested areas. And, one last thing about the Olds version: the A/C vents are too low in the dash, and your body parts can get in the way of the chill air. So, yeah, these are actually your great-grandfather's cars. Mine was bought by a 70 year old in 1998, and I was 70 when I bought it in 2021:)

My grandparents actually drove a 1959 Ford. I guess that dates me. There are not many on the road now, but most people who drive them are now my age.

I had a 92. Great engine & car overall.

I had one of these as a rental car about 25 years ago. I’d be willing to bet it’s still on the road somewhere.

Oh wow I was just telling somebody last week for a budget car get a mid-late 90s LeSabre! They also get remarkable fuel economy for their size. A few years ago I bought a 1991 Buick for $500 backup car, with 310,000 on the clock. It was so reliable with the original engine it was still going strong at 350,000 when I finally got rid of it.

Love that you started giving credit to your camera guys

This is a really great series of videos. There are certainly some hidden gems in these auctions.

I love these old Buicks. The nostalgia of the 3800 V6 engine sound, great music sound coming from the Delco Radio and Concert Sound II speakers, the door locks sounds like a jail cell door lock when shifting from park, the Dynaride suspension just floats and the cornering light that shines regardless when you turn on the turn signal whether the headlights are on or not. Driving an old Buick, you have to play music from Johnnie Taylor, Tyrone Davis, Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross. Or on Sunday morning, play gospel music by The Canton Spirituals, Troy Ramey, Debra Snipes and the Georgia Mass Choir.

I would absolutely drive that car. Very cool.

Don't knock the styling too hard guys It just looks like a car

I had a park ave and an Oldsmobile 98. wonderful cars. Very reliable. 200,000 miles no problem, and I thought they were spunky for the size

It is a handsome choice…they are as reliable as an axe, comfortable and inexpensive to maintain. I have been looking for a clean one with a sunroof. Can’t find a LeSabre or Park Avenue anywhere :(

i love the way this car looks! grandpa vibes are awesome! also, put some cool rims on it and add a few touches- it'll look DOPE

Undercoat them with some lanolin based undercoating if you want to keep them from rusting.

My mother’s 1997 Park Avenue has 245k miles on and it runs like a dream.

I had a 92 Park Ave, was a wonderful car. Just floated down the road. Was pretty quick also. It also saved my life when I went about 60mph into a tree. Walked out of that thing no problem.

When i finally park my ‘99 F-350 with the 7.3L in the garage for winter i’ll be buying either a buick with the 3800 or a panther platform ford as my winter vehicle. The F-350 will only be a nice weather vehicle.

I just recently, last November, bought a 2001 3.1 L V6 powered Chevy Lumina with ~198000 miles. I bought it to drive back and forth to work. It now has almost 201,000 on the clock. It’s super smooth on smooth pavement. I’m hoping the 3.1 is as durable as the 3.8. That’s what I wanted but I found the Lumina. Thank you for the video.

I bought a 92 Buick LeSabre same color custom for 2850 drove it for 21 years at 100 and 258,000 miles on it when I got rid of it it was a great car and I like the style and the color you can’t go wrong with these cars if you can still find them I now have a 2000 Buick LeSabre which I love to 3800 motor with 94,000 miles on it for 2400 you can’t go wrong with these cars I don’t care what anybody says

I had a used Bonneville with this engine years ago for a short time. When you got on the highway u seriously barely touched the gas cause its a rocket. i didnt own for long but no issues the few months i did.

My parents had a 93, 95, and 2001 Le Sabres. Yes the styling was snoozy. But even I’ll admit that they were a smooth road trip car with an engine that was bulletproof. I’d buy one as a daily even now.

If anyone is considering one of these. PLEASE, replace the sub frame bolts and bushings. I owned a clean '96 Lesabre . At 90k miles, the subframe bolts snapped, disconnecting the steering column from the rack and pinion. No steering, just brakes! Lucky that it happened at 25mph. As an added bonus, the steering wheel spins past 180 degrees breaking the airbag connection! No air bag if you crash! When I had it towed to the repair garage, thier reply was "yeah this happens often" . I live in the rust belt, but the undercarriage on my car was very clean. Never expected something like this to happen.

I miss my 96' Park Ave. every day 🥲

Most people pass them up because they are old. I wish one of these was available when I needed cheap transportation. I work from home mostly but need something for a couple road trips a year and one office day a week. What I would have saved over a corolla,camry would buy a lot of gas and I'd be riding in old style comfort. There are stereos that have back up cameras, blue tooth, after market LED bulbs so it's easy to add modern safety features.

Hard to beat an old Buick. We had a 98 LeSabre and an '02 Park Avenue, both with the 3800. The serpentine belt is easier to change on the P.A.

My parents had a 1997 Bonneville 40th Anniversary Edition (basically, an SSEi without the supercharger). They drove that car until it was almost 20 years old and had about 250k on it, at which time they replaced it with a Buick LaCrosse.

I had a 89 Pontiac Bonnie bought new It was one of the best cars I have owned 65 yrs old now Got great mpg was great in the snow. Very comphy. And had better styling than the Buick

Reminds me of an old Jag. Like it

If your car has a bifocal line across the windshield, you're driving a Buick. 😂

My buddy had a ‘97 that was baby blue and we abused the crud out of it! Great car that a bunch of high schoolers had many adventures in! I think they sold it when it had around 320,000 miles on it!

I've heard the transmissions are the most common failure point. My parents had a 93, and it quit shifting around the 200k mark. I would recommend any buyers factor this in before purchase.

Cars are meant to get you places. That's it. That's all. Tommy's attempt at humour is appreciated. Make all the fun of practicality you want. Smart money makes you money. It doesn't rot and depreciate in the driveway.

This was my first vehicle when I first started driving 😊

I owned that exact car in green, got it in 2007 or so, hated it but drove it to about 400k-500k miles (not sure on exact the speedometer and odometer quit working at 378K). Almost everything in the car had stopped working, lights, AC, Heat, wipers, windows, locks and I mean everything, but i drove it to work and back only. Never changed the oil as it leaked about a quart per 2k miles and I just changed filters every 5k-10k miles or so. I hated the car and wanted it to die so I could buy a new one, wife agreed I would stop putting money in and when it died I would get a new one, and that car refused to die. It made it 6 more years with zero maintenance and I drove it to the scrap yard over a dead battery. The car had been totaled 4 times over hail dents, a tree limb falling on it, a car backed into me and a small rear collision, plus I drove the car and was paid mileage for my job at the time, all together this car made me about $20K and I was happy to sell it to the scrap yard. Still ran fine though but blue book was $230 at the time with all the damage, scrap yard gave me $350 since I had a title. Absolutely the worst best car ever.