Faults:

The car has never failed to start, super reliable.

Small cracks/chips in the windshield from winter driving.

Power windows are slow (my 89 Park Avenue was the same).

Some surface rust on the outside.

Front brake pads (they only cost $40).

Wipers detached from wiper motor, put it back on myself.

Oil changes, etc.

General Comments:

Super awesome, low maintenance, extremely reliable car. Has never left me stranded, starts everytime, even in -35 northern Canadian winters without a block heater plugged in.

Bought it for under $1000 and it's paid for itself. Very low ownership costs. The 3800 engine is very smooth, capable of over 160km/hr on the highway at low RPM. Amazing fuel mileage on the highway for a big older car, about 30 MPG or better; a 2500 km road trip cost me less than $200 in fuel. People don't believe me when I tell them how efficient the car is.

Power windows, locks, electronic climate control, everything still works great. The heater is super warm; better than lots of newer cars I've driven. Front wheel drive and heavy engine make it handle great in snow and winter too. The 3800 engine is very good in the cold too; you see tons of Grand Prixs, LeSabres, and Park Avenues in northern Canada as they have a great reputation as a good winter car.

The interior is super comfortable with plush velour seats, driver and passenger power seats. Everyone loves to ride in it. They don't make cars this comfortable anymore. Especially great for long road trips; you stay comfortable after long hours of driving.

All and all it's an awesome car and a pleasure to drive. Extremely low ownership costs, just buy it in cash, no car payments, cheap insurance, gas and oil changes and that's it. My girlfriend has a much newer VW Jetta and it's in the shop a lot, averages over $300/month for maintenance and repairs only. One would think that the older, domestic car would be the unreliable one, but it's her that has to borrow the Buick when the Jetta won't start. But then again, that's a common misconception that foreign cars are more reliable; other than some Toyotas I've owned which have been great, my domestic cars have been more reliable and cheaper to own in the long run.

If you find any car with the 3.8/3800 engine I'd totally recommend it. I've owned 2 and they have been amazing. Also 2 of my friends have well over 350k on their 3.8 Grand Prixs and they still drive them daily!

Faults:

Bought the car with 234,000 miles on it.

2 of 4 windows don't work (minor inconvenience).

Shocks are squishy (not car's fault - just haven't bothered fixing).

Replaced blower fan and starter at 255,000 miles ($75 and $150).

THAT'S IT! No other repairs for 3 1/2 years, and now 260,000 miles. THIS CAR HAS BEEN AMAZING!!!

General Comments:

Very little has gone wrong with this car in the 3 1/2 years that we've owned it.

The front passenger window and back window on driver's side don't roll down, the only one that rolls down with any power is the driver's door window. I try not to use it too much because I know sooner or later it will die too. Not a big deal - as the A/C works GREAT in the summer, so I don't really need the windows anyway.

I had new brake pads put in when I got it at 234,000 miles, also had the muffler repaired.

Other than that, only routine maintenance (oil changes, flushes, etc.).

The shocks are pretty squishy, but not worth it for me to fix.

The passenger door is getting a lot of rust along the edges. Don't know what that's about? Rest of the car looks fine.

Just had the blower fan and the starter a replaced at 260,000 miles (but at least it gave us several weeks of warning that it was going out).

Bottom line: I got rid of my 2006 Toyota Corolla, because my husband and I are following the Dave Ramsey plan and don't want to spend the rest of our lives in debt. Did my research and heard great things about these old Buicks. I spent $1600 on the car (more than it was really worth, but there just aren't many of these for sale around here. Now I see why - you can just drive them forever and save TONS of $$).

This car has been AWESOME to us. It isn't the prettiest, kind of big and not a bit sporty, but oh I LOVE it! It's got very respectable power - both in town and on the highway, the engine is great, no problems with transmission or any of the expensive stuff.

Gas mileage averages 22, and my commute is about 1/2 city and 1/2 interstate driving. We live in South Dakota, and it gets COLD in the winter. Even when it was 25 BELOW, it started!! It complained a bit, but it started. Handles pretty good in the snow and on ice, too. Not too bad for a car that is 19 years old. Not bad at all...

This car has been so good to us that when I saw another one for sale (same year, same color, but with 135,000 miles LESS on it) I snatched it up! The new one doesn't have any rust and the seats are firmer, and the suspension is great. We weren't even looking for another car, but once I test drove it, I bought it right away. These are hard to find, and when they come up for sale, they don't last long. If you're not too vain about how your car looks, and want something reliable, get one of these.

This site helped me pick it in the first place, and I'm so glad I did!