1989 Buick Century 3.3
Summary:
Reliable, affordable, quick, comfortable transportation
Faults:
These cars require ball joints regularly.
The weather stripping comes loose a lot.
The headliner falls down on aged cars.
Needs undercoating in Canadian winters. Confirmed rust areas:
- rear sub-frames
- dog legs/wheel wells
- fenders aft of the front wheels
- trunk shock towers
- wheel wells
- inner quarter panels
Other than routine maintenance, this car has no other faults.
General Comments:
This car is awesome for reliability.
The 3300 engine and transmission are bulletproof. I've owned the similar '91 Olds Cutlass Ciera with same engine and tranny, which still runs perfectly, has plenty of power at 349k and doesn't use a drop of oil, just rusty now. Bought the '91 for $750, and drove it five years until it needed too much.
Always run synthetic oil in these cars, and change it at every 10k; they'll run forever.
Cabbies say that the 3300 engine will run a million miles with a 500k tranny change.
Has a big trunk and seats 5 people very comfortably.
This car will cruise at 145kph all day long, and will lay a strip 20 feet long!
Mileage is around 25-27mpg combined.
Many parts are compatible between the '91 and the '89. The '89 Century has same running gear as '91. Brakes are the same size. Parts are cheap and readily available.
These cars are pretty comfortable as well and pretty quiet inside. Seats aren't the greatest, but then again, none of GMs seats are very good.
I love these cars! The great thing is that there are granny's out there who have these cars that are in perfect shape with low kms... 200k+ is like brand new for these cars. Everyone that I've talked to loves these cars, and many times, the seniors don't want to part with them because they've been so reliable. The fellow that I bought my '89 from really, really didn't want to sell it to me... the car was perfect! But his kids convinced him to buy a Honda...I felt bad for him.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 28th September, 2010