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Anyway, bought a slightly used 00 with 4500 miles, a program car. Checked and zero warranty work on car. Dealer was really good. When I test drove the car I noticed a bit of pulsation in the brakes. I got new rotors and pads all around. Car is loaded, black w/ gray leather and the polished wheels. Man I really like it.
So, what kind of mods are out there for these things?
David
Faster cars definitely exists. Several sport cars, including some trims of not very expensive Camaro, Firebird, Mustang - all with V-8. Several luxury cars, also with 8 and 12 cylinder engines, like BMW 540. And, of course, Corvette, Viper, etc...
Any case, GS and the twin, GP GTP, have better acceleration than most other cars on the roads. I believe, in this respect GS is better than 95% of cars, if not 99%.
http://www.tolan-hoechst.com/cars/
Really really dissapointed
I have a '99 GSE with about 11k miles on it. I have nothing but problems with it. I have had to the dealership at least a dozen times. Probably more...
Sorry to hear of the irritations you have
experienced. Unless most of us are too
sheepish to say so, it seems the most
serious and frequent problem seems to be
that blasted rattling dash.
Hopefully it will stay that way.
armtdm....
As for the low pressure light for the tire;
my wife came home with the car last night
with the low tire light on.
Can you elaborate on your experience with it.
I haven't taken a reading on the tires yet, but
to the naked eye (like that's accurate....) they
all look ok.
Mark
FWIW (not much I'm sure), and to give an opposite perspective, the two worse vehicles I've owned were a Honda Civic and a Mitsu (Dodge) Conquest. The GS (and my previous '95 Regal - 140,000 miles at trade-in and still solid) has been quite a pleasant surprise over those tin cans. The only American vehicle I ever owned that had any serious problem was an '82 Mustang GT (first year bugs I guess). Although I must say that for the average driver that doesn't know the difference between a PCV and a PCM, you can't beat the foreign disposables. They seem to have a lot more tolerance when maintenance is lax.
armtdm,
I hope they solve your problems quickly, so you get to think about what a blast these are to drive instead of regretting your decision.
1. The complicated electrical switch (in the steering wheel, controlled by the single stick) was defective and disengaged cruise control every time when turning headlights on/off. Also disengaged it sometimes when using turn signals.
2. A left dash cover is loose and rattle, especially on marginal quality pavements.
The first defect was fixed under warranty - dealer simply replaced the switch. The service adviser refused to fix dash rattle, but after I complained, the service manager called me and offered to test-drive with him. It was almost 3 months ago, but I did not have time to do this yet. After all, this is just a small nuisance.
Additionally, the A/C fan is a notch more noisy than I would prefer. The fan grills are rattling a bit. I believe, this is not a production defect, just not ideal. Also, hard to send the air flow from the vents to the right direction.
I am very touchy in the department, and the only fan I really like was at rental car, Pontiac GrandAm. Industrial-looking, almost ugly, but very efficient: could point the air stream exactly where I want, and no noise from the vents.
Had no more problems with GS after almost 6 month / 5600 miles winter driving. Of course, the car is still too new for geriatric troubles, but the infant illness would already show.
I would say the car itself is very good. But the service is hard to tolerate with my dealer.
It occured to me that after lurking for so long on this board I should drop in and say "hi!" to all you folks whose discussions have both helped and entertained me while I conducted my search.
For anyone interested, my Regal is two-tone green/gray with taupe interior and about 25,000 miles on it. Overall the car is very sharp and (apparently) in great condition. The dealer agreed to remove a strange stain from the rear seat and to replace a leaking oilpan gasket (sure am glad I asked him to put it on the lift so I could check for such things!).
I feel I got a very good deal on this car and am curious to hear anyone's opinion. The car was basically $13,988. When the dealer charge and tax were added it came to a total of about $14,550 (don't have the exact figure with me). I should add that I also ran a Carfax report on it and nothing unusual came up.
I am very delighted with the car at this point! Have you seen that commercial where the guy is out at 3:00 in the morning opening the garage door to gawk at his new car - because he can't believe it's his? As embarrassed as I am to say it, that's me all over!
I don't know when or if my enthusiasm will wane (after all its only been 2 days!), but I will try keep all posted on developments with my new baby, good or bad.
About 2/3 of mileage was on highways, mostly with moderate traffic - light in places, but almost heavy on I-95. About 1/3 mileage by 2-lane rural roads. Connecticut is a hilly place, with a lot of inclines/declines and turns on the roads.
Fueled immediately before trip, and refueled immediately after. To better measure the fuel consumption, fueled and refueled at the same gas pump. Run the 140 miles on 5.58 gallons, i.e. 25 mpg. I believe, this corresponds well with the estimated 27 mpg for the ideal highway conditions.
http://www.edmunds.com/used/1998/buick/regal/4drgssprchgdsedan.html#price
more like $12k loss when trading-in. But the car mileage is low.
When calculating lease payments, even GMAC assumes about 50% depreciation for Regal after 36 month / 36k miles. I forgot, was it 49% or 51%. For other W-body cars the depreciation is even worse.
This morning received a e-mail message from Buick, offering a $400 coupon toward a new 2001 Buick, if it will be bought this week. On top of the current $1000 rebate and/or most other available incentives. Cannot be combined with other Internet or direct-mail coupons, though.
For me this is not relevant: already bought a new Regal in October. The second car, a 98 Malibu, with 39k miles, also is fairly new.
Though, it may be useful for the readers who are planing the purchase. FYI, the Internet coupon is available here:
http://www.buick.com/promotions/spring-incentives/regal.html
After 4,500 miles, I have no complaints. But..the dealer did have to replace the EGR valve after 520 miles. It was a painless inconvenience for the dealer gave me an Ultra to use for the 1/2 day the car was in the shop.
..and one last thing. Am I the only one who feels that the back end of the Regal is just too light to take twisty roads aggressively?! We also have a 2000 DTS and I find that FWD car much easier to drive aggressively on winding roads (having little fear the back end will let loose). As an experiement, I put 6 cases of bottled water in the trunk of the Regal (weight: 210 lbs) and went driving along Mulholland (here in L.A.). I found the Regal to be easier to control with the added weight in the back. Am I the only one who feels the car is just too light in the 'butt'? Is there something mechanically that can be done..Does a large amount of blame get placed on the GoodYear LS tires?? Or am I stuck with bottled water taking up valuable trunk space.
Did not repeat this since. Of course, there is a huge difference between our states: CT is hilly, but not mountainous as CA.
Of course, tires are important. After changing tires at my other car, Chevrolet Malibu, I am turning about 15mph faster on dry pavement, more on wet. Replaced the touring Affinity tires by performance Firehawk SH-30. Limiting factor is driver comfort. The Eagle LS are much better than Affinity, but no match for SH-30.
210 lbs in trunk, probably, is somewhat too much. The car manual says something about the permissible weight.
AguyinD---congrats on your purchase. The GS is a great car and fun to drive. Since you are about 23000 miles ahead of me, I'll be interested in what your experiences will be as the GS ages! Enjoy!
For those of you talking about rattles, etc.: Haven't noticed any dashboard area rattles. We did notice a brake pedal squeak at the dealer, but its completely gone now. I am very pleased with the overall sound level in the cabin - pretty much as I experienced with all previous tests drives.
My first commute in the car this morning was glorious! First mileage for the trip - S.W Denver to Boulder (mostly highway but with periods of stop-start rush hour traffic) was 25.0 mpg, according to the monitor.
Had my chance to fill up with 91 premium for the first time - that kinda stings!
In other news, I know there has been a fair amount of discussion here regarding tires. Can anyone quickly remind me what the stock tires are? I have Goodyear Eagles and don't know if they're original. Thanks.
One final cost issue: I got about what I was expecting in terms of insurance costs. After looking at the insurance institute's claims numbers, I expected relatively low insurance cost since the Regal had at or near the lowest claims rates for all cars in its class. We will be paying only about $100 more (/6mos) than our 1988 New Yorker for the exact same coverage. Keep in mind I am comparing a 13 y/o car with a 3 y/o car.
Good Luck and happy you are enjoying the machine!
A couple of questions too. I have traction control. Does it really work. Last night I launched in a hurry and I spun the left front tire (turning left) for a long while. Should I have the dealer look at it or is this normal?
First tank was just under 25 mpg (calculated)which considering I was playing a bunch, I felt was good. Current tank shows 27 or so with more normal driving. Is the computer pretty accurate? And next, what is the max boost? My Cummins will generate 32psi of turbo boost and I kinda laugh when I have a 7.2 psi here. That is all I have been able to generate.
Thanks
David
Salesman called to apologize for the problems as well. This could be a great car, I just want to not have leaks and non maintenance items to deal with. Seems to be using oil too although with the leak it is too early to tell. I was bothered by the fact that everyone in the waiting room in service was over 65. Buick and Cadillac sure do have an image problem with younger consumers!
The max rating for the GS is around 8psi, but you can swap out the s/c pulley for a smaller diameter unit and increase the boost to about 11psi. I wouldn't go any higher unless you install an intercooler, or make other modifications.
I was directed towards a 2000 Buick Regal LS (w/o leather seats and no supercharged engine). This car is loaded. It is a GM Executive driven vehicle w/ less than 6k miles. The dealer is offering it to me for $17.9k.
I would appreciate any feedback on this vehicle especially putting on very high highway miles.
The "universal" stalk (turn signals/high beam/cruise/wipers...) behind the steering wheel is connected to an electrical switch. The switch is located inside the steering column. It is rather complicated, and therefore prone to defects. First place to look with your problem.
I had the same problem, only with high beams. Every time I blinked to pass, cruise control dropped. The turn signals disengaged cruise too, but at random: often but not every time.
The dealer replaced the switch under warranty, and I had no problem with cruise since. The work itself took several hours.
The switch is expensive, and my dealer did not have it in storage. He need to order it. Probably, the same with your dealer.
It is very important to verify that the part is already received before let mechanics to start disassemble the steering column. Otherwise you will be without your car for longer time, possibly for several days, till the dealer will receive the switch. It happened with me, even while the timing of appointment was set when they expected to have the part
BTW, you can get idea about the switch pricing here:
http://store.yahoo.com/electronman/roscruiscon.html
It looks as the stalk/switch costs more than the cruise control unit itself. $250 vs. $160.
2. I spinned wheels couple of times. The light "low traction" (or something of this kind) appeared on the dash, but I did not feel the traction control.
I saw the link for power upgrades. Do you feel the pulley is a good addition to the car? Forced induction is just way cool. My wife just shakes her head at me. I've got my Cummins up to about 300 RWHP and 700 lbs RWTQ. When I told her AFTER I bought the car for her that I was sure we could tweak it since it had a SC, I got "the look"!! LOL
My truck group is making a trip to the strip next Friday for some testing. Since I am not running my truck due to a clutch that is not strong enough for the abuse, I might just have to make a couple of passes in the wife's grocery getter. Good for a baseline anyway.
Though, I read about available modifications. Most of them are marketed primary for Grand Prix GTP - the same powertrain, the same lower body, and a lot of common parts. So, you can find a lot of links here:
http://www.grandprix.net/links/
It looks that some modifications cannot hurt. In my list, the first would be better brakes: 12 inch front rotors, and pads. Replacing oil and the transmission liquid by synthetic also would not hurt, as well as to install a big transmission liquid radiator. And, if you want to modify engine, this is necessary: it looks as the transmission barely can cope with the power from a stock engine.
I, probably, would not replace the pilley. This is not street-legal. But SLP is selling some street-legal stuff: cold air package ($200) and exhaust ($350). $50 or so less when on sale.
http://www.slponline.com/main.asp
Xenon or superbright headlights available
for the Regal?
I've seen a Sylvania "cool blue" bulb at Napa
auto parts, but got the impression it wasn't really that much brighter than what we already
have.
Would love to pump up the brightness.
"The real things" Xenon headlights, as installed on MB and other luxury cars, are very expensive. I had read they costs more than thousand dollars. This is crazy.
Any case, I would rather avoid the bright lamps. Especially if they are not installed at factory.
First, for the sake of common civility. I do not like to be brightened, and do not want to brighten anybody myself.
Second, the lamps probably will attract unnecessary attention. Including the attention of law enforcement. Weather and traffic permitting, I often drive 10 mph above the posted speed limit. This is rather common in CT, and New England in general, but still not strictly legal...
Adios,
Saile
Take a look- http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=912729&a=12353397&p=45187678&f=0
fastdriver
Best wishes, Bob, for many miles and years of driving excitement!
Ken
Good luck!
TIA
But I am dissapointed that you did not go out at 1AM and check.....NOT.
Thanks for the info.
First, I pressed it when driving, in Auto mode. The air flow direction and speed behaved as usual. Did not feel the difference comparing with driving with A/C.
Then played with controls after returning. Engine was hot after a trip, the outside temperature was 41F, while the inside one was close to my usual 71F.
First I set air flow to mid (to feel the flow by my hands), and moved Temperature setting down, with Vent on. The air that was blowing from the vents feel cold, but not very cold. More or less the same as the outside 41F.
This continued while I moved temperature setting down to 61F. Nothing changed: neither fan speed nor temperature of the blown air.
As etharmon wrote, the minimal temperature setting (60F on display) is a special case. As soon as I get here, the fan speed jumped to the maximum. Though, the air temperature still was the same not very cold - probably 41F.
Then I set Vent off. The same air flow, but the air temperature diminished very noticeable. Probably, to almost freezing.
I also played with both Vent and Auto set, with different temparature settings. It works.
So, I believe, the A/C does not work with Vent on, and started to work when I switched Vent off. Even more, Vent works together with Auto - as long as it is cool enough outside. This contradicts a bit what etharmon wrote about his father's Aurora.
Probably, when it is not very hot or wet, there is sense for me to drive with both Auto and Vent on. In CT it will be about half of year.
I also believe that the loud noise with the minimal temparature setting is from the fan itself, not from A/C compressor. The same noise as if you set high fan speed with any other temperature.
By the way, did anybody notice that the fan is somewhat noisy even at low setting (two squares on display) with air flow set to "Mid"? Though not noisy at all at the speed when pointed to floor or windshield. Probably, because the vent grill rattle a bit.