Buick Century 1986 - good deal for $300?

[Ultima]

A friend of my dad's at his workplace is offering to sell a Buick Century for $300. Its supposedly in "fixed-up" condition. Now, my dad might pay half or even all of it if he buys it from his friend, which means I'd pay $150 or maybe even $0. However, I don't know if Buick Centuries are good cars or not. Unfortunately, its an automatic, and I wanted a standard for my first car. I can still learn standard in driving school though.

 

[Lucky]

any (running) car for $300 is a good deal. Make sure it has seats and doors...a steering wheel too.

 

[tweakmm]

<< any (running) car for $300 is a good deal. Make sure it has seats and doors...a steering wheel too. >>


and breaks

 

[punkrawket]

<<

<< any (running) car for $300 is a good deal. Make sure it has seats and doors...a steering wheel too. >>


and breaks >>

brakes are good too 😉

EDIT: Assuming this is your first car... anything that runs... goes from here to there is a good first car... I am a firm believer that somebody's first car should not be new... just so that they can learn value

 

[AmigaMan]

I had that exact same year and model back a couple years ago. It's not fast, it wasn't pretty, but it got me from my apartment to college in northern Michigan (Traverse City, MI to be exact). Then I brought it down here to NC when I went to school here in Wilmington and it worked until it just wouldn't start one day. Probably was a bad starter, but I didn't feel like putting more money into it, so I bought a another used car and had them tow mine off.

Mine did have problems with the rear brakes locking up, even under just moderate pressure. Didn't know why that happened though. But for $300, if it runs, I say buy it until it breaks down on you.

It also survived an accident when I rear ended someone. I was going around 40 they were going around 10 (and turning into a parking lot). Smashed up the front of the car, and bent a piece of the frame, but it still ran.

It also had a cool thumping car stereo (before I knew what an audiophile was). THen it was broken into and stolen. ALl in all, it was a fun car to tow four of my friends around in to the beach and around town. DIdn't pick any babes up, but hey I don't need a car to do that 😉

 

[RambleOn]

I have a 1992 Century, 3.3 liter V6. It's a bit newer than the one you're looking at, but they didn't change much in looks during that time period. Mine has 110k miles, and it's been relatively trouble free, the only thing that has been troublesome is the alternator, it's gone through 2 in the last 3 years. Other than that, it's fine if you can deal with the squeaks and rattles of older GM cars🙂

 

[d33pt]

that's a great deal but like the others say.. as long as it runs, has brakes, doors, and a steering wheel.. if it only works for a year you've gotten your money's worth

 

[RambleOn]

What engine does this Century have by the way? I'm pretty sure they offered either a 2.5 4cyl, or a 2.8 V6 that year. I believe the 4 banger is known to be more long lasting, although the V6 has much more pep, although for 300 bucks you can't complain either way🙂

 

[Ultima]

I'm not sure if its a 4-cyl or 6-cyl, I'll find out by tomorrow I think. It has about 120 000 miles on it

 

[tcsenter]

My parents bought a 1985 Buick Century and put something like 160K miles on it, then sold it to a neighbor kid for $800, and he put another 30K on it before the engine died. The car was in such good condition, he put a used motor in it and drove it for another 40K miles. I'm sure he had to do some minor things along the way like water pump, alternator, brake rotors, etc. Those things are inevitable on high mileage cars.

My ex-girlfriend's parents had a 1986 Buick Century that they put a lot of miles on until it was in a crash. I've never heard of Buick Centuries to be a mechanical headache.

 

[RambleOn]

<< My ex-girlfriend's parents had a 1986 Buick Century that they put a lot of miles on until it was in a crash. I've never heard of Buick Centuries to be a mechanical headache. >>



I agree. The 3.3 V6 in mine is actually pretty strong, it's got a decent amount of torque (190lbs@about 4000rpm) so acceleration is fairly effortless around town. The ride is pretty smooth and squishy (read: crappy handling). The only beef I have with mine is all the squeaks and rattles that come from the door, chassis, dashboard. But this is fairly common on older GM cars.

 

[tallest1]

Good deal. However, on the day it dies, push it into a ditch and start investing in another car 😉