Car for my kid.

[RCW]

My son is nearing the faithful driver's test day.

Been looking for wheels. Repo auctions, side of the road sales, etc. Cheap cars are tough to come by. Upstate New York is rough on cars, chassis, bodies get pretty beat after 10-15 years.

Buddy has this '07 Buick Lacrosse on his sales lot. 3800 v6, 93k miles, and nice shape. Tires good, a little wear on outside edge of all 4, I'm thinking from driving underinflated tires. Other than that, car is real clean, and drives as tight as you could ask for.

The 3800 has been around a long time, probably 30 years.

He is selling his dealership, looking to get rid of remaining cars - $5,300. Per KBB, is in the ballpark, but more than we wanted to spend. Still less than he has in it, though.

Any good/bad experiences with these cars? I know many of you guys turn wrenches for a living, invaluable experience.

Never had one, but know many that have, and mostly good as I recall.

 

[Daren Todd]

I found some reviews on them. Course like they say, good news travels fast, bad news travels faster. Seems like there was an issue with the paint job flaking. But for a teenager, that wouldn't bother me as long as it was reliable.

http://www.edmunds.com/buick/lacrosse/2007/consumer-reviews/pg-1/


Seems to have issues with the door gaskets leaking. Complaints about vibration from front and rear. Some cosmetic stuff inside, like trim pieces reflecting sun in your eyes.


That car looks really clean though, and old lady owned and driven One big key for me when I look at a vehicle to buy. How easy is it to access the motor for maintenance and repairs? Is the starter and alternator easy to get too? How about the front of the motor for fan and water pumps? Does the engine have to be removed to work on, or lifted to replace a starter. Had a Volkswagen that had to have a motor mount unhooked and the motor raised to replace the starter.

Wife and I looked for vehicles in the 4k range for our daughter when she turned sixteen. Ended up getting her a pt cruiser. Had an issue with the heated seats right off the bat Didn't realize it had them!!!! and the controls were by the levers for seat adjustment Turned the bloody thing on hi with out realizing it It was 100 degrees outside, had the ac on hi. Going down the road sweating my butt off literally. Then it was like someone lit my britches on fire pulled off, and started looking it over really closely and found the buttons. It was much nicer after that

Would not buy another one though. Motor needed to be removed to be able to do any work to it at all. Found that out when the water pump went out in it

 

[RCW]

Great thoughts, Daren.

One thing is it seems if one thing is easy on a given car, another is a total pain in the toucus!! Another car, the big pain is easy, but another is a PITA.

It also seems some vehicles have certain issues: early '90's anything Chrysler 3.3L transmissions, Late-'90's Dodge trucks transmissions and paint, your truck and mine have fuel tank vent solenoid problems, Chevy Uplanders with wheel bearings, Taurus's with rear suspensions and control arms, etc.


Give me an 'ol C-10 Chevy any day!! I USED to know what made 'em tick!

I could not talk him into a pickup. Guess he's not as redneck as his 'ole man!

He's a pretty inexperienced driver, so a RWD pickup might not be good thing. He's only been driving mom's AWD Equinox.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

We have a 2005 Buick Century, we call her Ethel.

You could rob a bank driving it and no one would ever find you, the witnesses would be like...well...it was a car, and cops would just drive right on by it thinking grandma is on her way to bingo, it's that unremarkable!

So your son's not going to be the popular guy driving the souped up hot rod, and his love life could suffer from it, but just think of all the shallow girls you'll be saving him from hooking up with.

But on the safe, reliable, efficient, great handling in all weather side, you really can't go wrong.
Very few mechanical issues, cheap and easy to work on, and like you noted it's got the 3800 V6 (proven motor), great on gas, lots of power (we'll keep this quite), great braking, airbags, and safe enough that the insurance should not kill ya!

My vote go for it!

 

[RCW]

So your son's not going to be the popular guy driving the souped up hot rod, and his love life could suffer from it, but just think of all the shallow girls you'll be saving him from hooking up with.

My vote go for it!

Wolfman - thanks. You're confirming my thoughts as well.

I bought a Albany, NY area classified magazine other day. He picked out a Mercury Milan as a sharp car within our $4k price range!!

He wanted a larger sedan or SUV over a pickup. He's 6'4" - same height as dad, just not as wide. I couldn't talk him into nice the '95 Suburban I found, but the 20 year old 4WD system on that could be a problem, too.

Most of his buds drive 4-door sedans - WTF???

My first was a '67 Caprice, 327 4bbl, L60's/Cragars, H70's/rally's, Cherry Bomb Header Mufflers hooked to Doug Thorley headers - remember that stuff, guys?!? Got some tickets for the Cherry Bombs "For off-road and track use only."

 

[tiredguy]

Rock solid investment in my book and my middle son is still running his
3800 with over 300k miles. I'm in the rust belt northern Michigan and have
had to retire 3 of the mid 90's Olds Pontiac full size due to the engine
cradles rusting thru and falling off one of them. Actually had welded patches on all 3 replaced bushings bolts and washers etc. The last one with 298k had sat over the winter and in the spring when I fired it up to drive it up on the trailer heading to the junkyard I had to get out and listen to see if the car was running it was that sweet.I had no problems with the 3800 but do know others that have and it resolves around the intake gaskets failing that lets coolant into the engine. If you buy it you might want to invest in changing it just so it doesn't become a problem being you're spending a big chunk of change. It's not a difficult job for the average DIY'er and not very expensive either to buy the best gasket kit. Think of it as an insurance policy in hopes your investment runs him long enough to get thru high school and college ( mine did ) and he can buy his next one on his own. Long gone are the days when you can pick up a decent C10
also an excellent choice for $1 to $2k unfortunately.
Al

 

[RCW]

Al - thanks! Really appreciate it!

I thought I remembered something about intakes with these, too. But never had one so wasn't sure. GM also had a 3.0 or 3.1L early on? Wasn't sure if that was the engine with the intake issue. Now I know its the 3.8 to watch.

It's amazing your family has gotten so many miles outta them!!

Like you said - good chunk of change for it - more than I wanted to go. The son is picking up some of it, and he's also buying new tires for the front with better bite, and maintenance from here out.

This has 225/60-16 and steel wheels. I hate aluminum wheels. Unfortunately, can't see the brakes well though the steel wheels.

My friend is pretty careful with his cars, so I'm sure the brakes will be fine for some time. Felt good driving it.

 

[RCW]

Al - I mentioned the little bit of wear along the outside edge of all the tires.

I'm thinking underinflated tires? Sound right? Had a similar thing on my own truck many years ago......

A 225/60-16 is common. Has a Goodyear something on it. Looks like a touring tire. Want something with more traction on the front. Haven't been a fan of Good Years since their OEM tires in the 80's.

I've had good luck with Firestone/Bridgestone. Like the FR6xx or FR7xx as an all season with a little more bite.

 

[Grouse Feathers]

Just something else to consider, not a recommendation. I started my sons out with manual transmissions. I figured they wouldn't have a better opportunity to learn to drive a manual. They have both since moved on to automatics, but just like riding a bike it's still there if needed (and one is an auto mechanic). If you could get him interested in a manual it might also by necessity get you back to a truck.

 

[Greenhead]

Tire edges worn? Old people love to drift into Bingo...
Kids with 4 doors = bigger back seats...

Seriously; GM has always had head gasket issues. Since the Vega. All GMs have had their share. There is a reason someone got rid of the car. It's your job to find that reason.

 

[car compulsive]

The Buick would be a good choice: safe, fairly reliable, lots of indie mechanics, not flashy, good price.

Then again, if you want him to go diesel, you could opt for a nice, slow Mercedes 240D with a 4-speed manual that I should go look at:

http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/5417133225.html

 

[Tooljunkie]

Well, hand him 50 bucks for not wanting a truck. At least any of the later big 3
Just in the middle of a 5.3 transplant and it sucks on so many levels.
A typical engine swap was about 8 hours back in the day. Think that included painting a few parts.

My opinion on first car?
Kid has my wife's old pt cruiser. -30 and it starts.everytime.
Buddys daughter drove an 02 impala to hell and back-twice.
3.4L,30 miles to the gallon. Would be a first choice for me
Older 3.8L gm engines, not great, intake manifolds used to burn through
Between egr and coolant passage, drowning cylinders and hydro-locking them.
Newer ones Dont.

Nice car to drive? Toyota camry. But there was a couple years the head bolts pull threads out of block. 1000 dollar fix if you can find someone willing to touch it.

 

[Diydave]

On all GM;s that I have experience with, the main problem I ran into, with them was that after 15 years or so, the wiring harness would chafe along the firewall and cause weird, intermittent electrical problems. A frien who is in the business (auto electric) would grab the harness, push, pull, and massage it, problem would go away, for a while...

Another thing I always check is how hard is it to put the battery in? Mom's Lumina needs 8 different wrenches, some metric, some standard, to take all the crap out of the way, to get at the battery... I schedule a half a day, and a full page of invective case words, for that job.

 

[Lil Foot]

Another thing I always check is how hard is it to put the battery in?

Try a '99 Chrysler LHS. You have to pull the air cleaner housing to reach the hold down & cable bolts from above. Then you have to jack it up, pull the right front wheel, remove an inner fender well panel, and pull the battery out through the wheel well. Marvelous engineering. Great car other than that.

 

[Tooljunkie]

Try a '99 Chrysler LHS. You have to pull the air cleaner housing to reach the hold down & cable bolts from above. Then you have to jack it up, pull the right front wheel, remove an inner fender well panel, and pull the battery out through the wheel well. Marvelous engineering. Great car other than that.

Cirrus same, but in left fender.

 

[RCW]

Well guys, pulled the trigger on the Buick.

I think - not sure - battery is left front and easy to get to. Looked at a lot of cars last couple weeks. Like you guys said, an important feature I look for, too. Just hope I remember it correctly!!

I've talked to him about learning manual shift. Something he needs to do. Unfortunately, only standard I've got left is the Harley Davidson....and that ain't happening!!

He has a buddy with a standard, and he wants to teach him. Good thing!

Still can't figure out this thing with boys wanting 4-door sedans, but I remember being 16 and 17, too!!! And we had Drive-Ins back then!

 

[Changnam 59]

The most likely explanation for the tyre wear you see on the Buick is incorrect front toe.

Toe is the angle of the front wheels in relation to a the center line of the car front to back.

Reasons for incorrect toe:

1. Somebody set the toe wrong. Set it to factory spec at a tyre shop. Cheap fix.

2. Suspension or steering wear

3. Poorly repaired crash damage.

The first reason is by far the most common.

In saying this I am guessing that the tyres on the back were at some time on the front.

No point in buying new tyres unless you check the front toe as if the setting for toe is out the new fronts will wear in the same way.

 

[RyeThomas]

Being a Professional Firefighter on the I95 corridor and busy Norther Virginia I can tell you from running the calls buy your loved ones the safest vehicle you can afford. Reliability is a concern, but parts can be fixed, families and loved ones hurt or lost in accidents can't.

Not trying to be that guy, but I have seen first hand people walk away from major accidents with nothing more than being shook up while others sustain major and at times life taking injuries. It's a shame we all can't afford to purchase the safety that some of the high end cars have, it's criminal to be honest.

Anyway I'll get off my soap box, be safe everyone! Rye...

 

[RCW]

The most likely explanation for the tyre wear you see on the Buick is incorrect front toe.

The wear is very minimal, but I notice it. I've had similar wear on my own tires once for running my truck a few pounds under pressure.

I think otherwise the alignment is good, but have already decided I will watch it carefully.


Thanks.

buy your loved ones the safest vehicle you can afford.
Anyway I'll get off my soap box, be safe everyone! Rye...

Thanks, too.

This is our baby - 2 older sisters did well before with a Taurus sedan.

Thankfully - we don't live anywhere near the I-95 corridor, or even 4-lane highways for that matter.

The Lacrosse is a sizable car - formerly the Park Ave, or is that the Lucerne? Anyway - good, safe car with a long lineage, as a couple of the car guys here mentioned.

 

[OldeEnglish]

RCW you should be fine with that car, my buddy sells a lot of used Buick cars and they rarely come back with major issues. Used is used, there is always the unknown. Just make sure all of the recalls have been performed especially that ignition problem.