5th Feb 2008, 14:54

I have a 1996 Buick Regal. I bought it used with 70,000 miles on it. I have driven this car hard. I now has 207,000 mile and still going strong. I do change the oil regularly and all the needed maintenance. If I could find another one like this one I would not hesitate to buy it. The only thing is the service engine light is on, I was told that it can only be reset with a OBD11 scanner.

18th Jul 2009, 13:57

I bought my 96 Buick Regal from a friend that took excellent care to maintain it. I purchased it in 1999 and have had it 10 years. I have had brake problems from the very beginning and lost track of how many times they had to be replaced. I will never buy a Buick again. I'm not wealthy by any means, and when I purchase a vehicle, I expect it to be well designed and to last a very long time. I've been told by various repair shops that they will always need work because of the way the brakes were designed. If this is true, the repairs should be discounted by the dealer or manufacturer.

19th Jul 2009, 11:05

Maybe your getting cheap brakes. I have a Buick and the only brake issues I've had that really needed attention was the back wheel cylinder going bad. My front brake problems at first were self inflicted. Nothing wrong with the brake pads; they had half the padding left on them, but my rotors were a little under spec.

I decided to replace the brakes and rotors. I used cheap parts, I had thought they were quality at the time, and I paid for it. The rotors warped within 2 weeks. I replaced it some time later, same thing.

Finally I got some quality rotors and pads and haven't had a problem since as far as brakes are concerned. I'm a 21 year old driver and I drive pretty aggressive. Problems like brakes could be the simple result of using low quality parts, not the manufacturer's fault all the time.

6th Sep 2010, 08:07

I guess I'm riding the same boat as some of you other Regal owners out there!

What I have found on my Regal, and many that I have worked on over the years now, is that the 1996 Buick Regals are prone for quite a number of various and expensive problems such as:

#1 - Intake manifold fractures (expensive parts and labor).

#2 - Front wheel bearing wear, which is a very expensive repair on models with ABS systems.

#3 - Models with rear disc brakes having calipers fail or become "stuck" or "frozen", mainly due to their poor design, (it mostly has to do with the upper caliper slide bolts design, they are a bit slim and can/do become bent, and will not allow the caliper to slide properly).

#4 - Master cylinder piston seal leaking right into the power booster. You won't see any of the fluid anywhere on the ground, because the booster can hold more fluid than the master cylinder can, you may or may not see very little around the bolts and seal where the master cylinder bolts onto the booster, but ya won't see fluid anywhere else, and you'll wonder why you've added 3 pints of brake fluid this week and don't see any!

#5 - MOST 96 Regals and Regal Customs have the 'ol dreaded Delco V ABS module, which is a complete POS! Which would probably explain why GM did away with the Delco V modules so quickly, skipped version 6, and went right to the Delco VII system, which isn't much better!

The Delco V ABS Module IS attached right onto the master cylinder itself, which means when either part goes, the other MUST go with it and be changed as a set! You cannot successfully remove the master from the ABS without totally screwing up the ABS gear/spring settings/positions, and never getting a "Good" pedal ever again!

And it seems that you can only buy the ABS module with the master cylinder attached to it new from a GM dealer; places like poop boys, dis-advance auto parts, autoblowne, etc., etc. ONLY sell just the master cylinder (Some have it rebuilt or new) or some very few other brake system parts, sometimes you may get lucky with your local part shop if they can order one from a connection, but NONE of them sell the Delco V ABS module as it's a "Dealer Only Part" (Of course!)! Expect to pay around $400 and up for the master with the Delco V ABS module from a dealer depending upon where you live in the States or Canada. We ALL know how dealer parts prices ARE total over-priced rip-offs!, My local GM dealer in NY wanted $498 + tax for the master with ABS module attached! NOT worth it! These were terribly made and designed, over-priced vehicles, which would probably be why you don't see too many of 'em on the roads anymore!

#6 - Some models have a tendency to have the rocker-type window switch lock button pop out! You cannot just buy the one lock switch anywhere, the entire window control panel is a set, and again it's a "dealer only part", and they want $335+ for it! If you get lucky on a very rare occasion, you might find the entire door panel in a junkyard.

I really can't wait to get rid of mine! It's been a constant headache/nightmare vehicle! I only bought my wife this Regal Custom two and a half years ago to replace her old 86 Monte Carlo (which I still have in storage, and it still runs great and has only 65k original on it. The Monte was just getting too old, and starting to need some sort of part(s) and work on it just about every weekend, and parts for the 86 were getting tougher to find, and I was getting tired of working on it constantly) - so much for THAT!

The Regal came with 66k allegedly original miles on it from its original owner, just for my wife to get back and forth to her job, which is only about 5 or 6 blocks away (nobody likes walking in the winter rain or snow!). The Buick has only 70k on it now, because I never ever drive her car, and she only goes a few blocks with it, and it's been nothing but trouble from day 1!

It's now been off the road since early June! I am so very sorry that I bought it, and my wife reminds me daily of what a lemon I got stuck with! Now I have to drive her to and from work in my Civic every day, because she can't drive stick shift, and I ain't gonna start teaching her how to in my Honda now! LOL I should just put my old Chevy back on the road!.. I used to get around 3 to 5 Buicks in my shop daily, now I'm lucky if I see even 1 Buick per month. I guess people are smartening up and not buying overpriced junk boxes these days, except for those unreliable, over-rated Mitsubishi's, which I get about 3 to 6 of each day!

If you've had Buick trouble constantly like myself, then don't buy a Mitsusushi! (That's Mitsubishi) LOL.

19th Nov 2010, 10:28

I bought my 96 Regal from a friend 5 years ago, and I honestly love it. I got it with 120,000, and the only real problem I've had is that it seems to eat power steering pumps (I have replaced it 7 times in 5 years).

It plows through snow stops on a dime, and has some serious power. Sadly though, the transmission and motor are failing now at 215,000. I will be sad to see her go, but I think she has done her job.

If I could find another one, I would buy it in a heartbeat :)