Faults:

The steering column was broke loss when I bought the car. a few hours and it was fix.

The air conditioning clutch broke at 215,000 miles. Cost $283 dollars to fix.

General Comments:

I am sixteen and this was my first car. I love the way the car handles and the power from the 3.3 L V6.

This car isn't the quickest off the line butt it sure hauls going down the highway.

I have recently purchased a 1974 El Camino and I would have to say that the Buick Century has many more advantages when it comes to cost of driving and reliability.

I originally go the car for free because some guy didn't want to fix the steering column that he broke loose because he never replaced the bad power steering pump. Since then the car has not given me any problems except for the ones it came with.

I really enjoy driving my Buick Century to Las Vegas to visit my dad. The car handles high speeds and extreme weather conditions very well.

I have taken the car up to speeds near 120 miles per hour at times although I normally drive about eighty so I don't get ant tickets.

Overall this car is awesome and I would recommend it to anybody.

Faults:

Crankshaft position sensor failed at 108,000 miles. Original part.I usually replace at 50k miles.

Fuel pump failed at 109,000 miles. I lay part of the blame on the crank sensor, which caused a lot of hard starts.

General Comments:

Overall, a great car.

While looking rather frumpy, this is a fantastic car for zipping along on the highway without attracting any unwanted attention.

The 3.3 liter V6 has tons of power once you get it moving off the line. It will startle lots of drivers in so called "Sport Sedans"!

Fuel mileage is excellent for a car this size. I average 29.5 mpg at mostly highway speeds of 65-70 mph.

The 3 speed transmission probably hampers fuel mileage a little, but I prefer GM's 3 speeds over the 4 speeds in terms of reliability.They're indestructible!

If you don't mind obviously cheap build quality, and don't plan on taking corners to fast, this is a great, ultra reliable car that you can cram 5 people and their stuff in.

Faults:

I had to replace the torque converter (TCC) solenoid. This cost $40, the dealership still had the part, and it took about two hours for me to do this in my driveway.

The exhaust system from the catalytic converter back needed to be replaced. It was the original exhaust, a one-piece welded assembly from the factory, and was badly rusted.

I replaced the oxygen sensor.

I replaced the alternator and drive belt. This went quickly.

The paint on the flat surfaces -- hood, roof, deck lid -- is fading badly, but this is common to GM cars of this era.

There is a rattling near the firewall which I believe to be resonance in the power steering lines. A new set of lines could fix this, but it is infrequent and not very annoying or mission-critical.

I flushed all of the fluids, transmission, radiator, changed oil, etc.

The brake rotors will eventually need replaced since they are rusty around the edges -- a common problem with GM cars of this vintage.

General Comments:

This is a great car. The 3.3L has more than enough power and acceleration to move the vehicle. Parts are cheap and plentiful -- example; 02 sensor, $17, brake rotors, $14, brake calipers, $12, etc. I could go on. The running costs are extremely low, reliability is high.

These cars can be had cheaply and will last a long time if maintained. I bought this car for $350. With less than $300 into it, I had a decent-running car getting approximately 23 mpg. around town -- higher on the highway.