Faults:

Other than a bit of body wear and rust thanks to not being washed often by the previous owner, this car has been rock solid for me.

Routine maintenance has kept the car running perfectly for the little over 30,000 miles I've owned the car.

General Comments:

I really feel that a lot of thought was put into the design of this car. After having driven quite a few other cars, I'm consistently impressed by how user friendly this car is. Things like the lights shutting off after twenty minutes if left on really impress me about the car.

The build quality has held up well inside, and the interior is good in a conservative sort of way, which is my preference.

Excellent gas mileage out of the 3.1 engine, beating the EPA estimates by quite a lot in my case.

Off the line acceleration isn't the greatest, but this isn't a sports car. Highway power is fine.

The transmission is a weak point on this car, but fingers crossed it hasn't failed me so far. Another common issue with this car is strut tower rust, but that hasn't been an issue on my car yet.

Overall if I had to do it again, I'd still choose a Century. Maintain it well and it will take care of you.

Faults:

Struts needed to be replaced, just too soft for my taste.

Temperature sending unit.

Front brakes.

That's it.

General Comments:

This car is great, absolutely great. I drive slow and easy, and it suits my temperament to a tee. It could be a bit more comfortable and handle better like the Mercedes E Class that I wish to own, but when you can pay for a Buick Century, why bother buying other cars. Some cars are marginally better in some respects, but not worth the cost and fuss that fancier cars carry. Any mechanic can handle repairs, and they don't come often.

I did switch out the coolant to the old normal green stuff to avoid hopefully any intake gasket problems.

I get consistently 28 mpg around town, and up to 36 on the highway. During a long 5 hour highway trip with my lead footed friend driving, we averaged 32 mpg at 85 mph. He was amazed. I wished he would drive my car as nice as I do.

It also looks reasonably nice, and when compared to an Camry or Accord, I do prefer my Buick, and it is not because I am stupid. I just like a comfortable riding car. So keep your ego for things that don't cost thousands of dollars, and give good consideration to buy and drive what old wise people do, BUICKS.

Faults:

My 2003 Century transmission was shifting slowly and engaged harshly when it did engage in gear. Flushed the ATF and had the filter changed. Seemed to work better after running 10 minutes.

I dropped the transaxle and replaced all four solenoids after being convinced that was the problem.

Transmission shops quoted 1600 to 2200 to fix, so I figured it out myself and replaced the parts. The car ran 50% better, but still had a few hard shifts and would not always start from a stop without some delay. But when warmed up was more reliable. Made me think that there could not be anything wrong with the transmission parts, because sometimes it worked flawlessly.

Tried a Luca's transmission treatment and it helped some more. Then I read on the Seafoam additive and after adding it, it cured the problem 100%. Why didn't I try that first. Dropping the transmission in the garage at home was no easy task. Glad that's behind me for good.

General Comments:

I love the Buick. It feels solid on the road and runs as you would want a car to.