Overview & Reviews

Owned by General Motors, Buick is one of this country's oldest brands, with a rich tradition of innovation that dates back more than a century. Though long known for catering to retirement-age customers with its full-size sedans, the automaker's lineup now includes SUVs and sport sedans designed to bring younger buyers into the showrooms of Buick dealers.

The company was founded in 1903 by David Dunbar Buick, a Scottish industrialist. He built his first car in 1904; called the Model B, it had a two-cylinder engine with an advanced-for-its-time overhead-valve cylinder head design. In 1907, Buick unveiled its first four-cylinder production car, dubbed the Model D. The following year, the Flint, Michigan-based Buick Motor Company was bought by William C. Durant as part of a new company called General Motors. By 1914, all Buicks were built with six-cylinder engines and purchased primarily by upper-class professionals, thus earning the nickname "doctor's cars."

The manufacturer proved itself a trailblazer in the early 1920s when it introduced four-wheel brakes. This technology had been seen before on custom-built cars, but Buick was the first to figure out how to successfully apply it to mass-produced vehicles. Eight-cylinder Buick cars emerged in the 1930s and became immensely popular; these advanced engines received steady improvements for several years. The '30s also saw Buick's introduction of the industry's first rear turn signal to use a flasher.

Models such as the Estate Wagon and the ever-popular Roadmaster kept Buicks happily ensconced in driveways all across the nation in the 1940s. In 1948, Buick introduced Dynaflow, the first torque converter-type automatic transmission offered in U.S. passenger cars. The 1950s and 1960s witnessed Buick continuing to zoom ahead of the curve; it was among the first to offer vehicles with power brakes and steering, and 12-volt electrical systems. The marque was also behind the introduction of the first American V6 passenger car engine and introduced the Riviera personal luxury coupe in the early '60s.

On the whole, though, Buick had made its name as a manufacturer of stately land yachts such as the Electra 225. To meet the changing times, the automaker downsized its full- and midsize models during the 1970s and began offering compact and midsize sedans for the 1980s. During the latter period and into the '90s, Buick changed things up by introducing the Regal Grand National muscle car and Reatta luxury coupe and convertible. But its core product continued to be luxury sedans aimed at an older audience.

Today, Buick specializes in sedans and crossover SUVs and is modifying its philosophy in the hopes of attracting younger buyers. Luxury and class are still common themes, but newer models have European influences in their handling and ride dynamics. As such, many modern Buicks, such as the compact Verano sedan provide a more entertaining drive and more contemporary styling than people might expect from this "old" nameplate.

User Reviews:

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  LOTS OF PROBLEMS - 2006 Buick Rendezvous
  By KIMMA THAYER - June 3 - 2:22 pm

  I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE USED, BUT IT SEEMED TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE. FOR SEVERAL YEARS THE VEHICLE WAS GOOD. THEN LIKE OTHERS SAID, THINGS STARTED TO GO WRONG...ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER IN THE ENGINE. MY BIG QUESTION IS WITH SO MANY THINGS GOING WRONG WHY HASN'T THERE BEEN ANY RECALLS ON THE TROUBLES.

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  Overpriced with mechanical issues - 2014 Buick Encore
  By Christine Meldrum - May 27 - 2:37 pm

  I've been driving this car now for 7 years, and this is what I've found which may be outdated. At 500 miles over my warranty, I had to pay $1000 to get something fixed with the turbo. The turbo line was leaking antifreeze. I paid the car off early, but within 5 months after paying it off, I had to spend another $3200 for all kinds of other issues, and the turbo was once again on the list. This was around 90,000 miles. 1 month after that, I had a problem with it sucking in air and squealing, and had to spend another $600.00. I've never bought a brand new car before, and in the past, I kept my vehicles for a lot longer with many more miles, and never spent this much money on mechanical issues. I would never buy another one. It also has very low visibility because of the shape of the back of the car. If you change lanes and turn your head to the right to check your blind spot, you still can't see if a car is there due to the slope of the back side of the car going up too high on the back window, hiding any vehicles who might be in the lane next to you in that spot. Others who have driven my car said the same thing to me.

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  Not as bad as many cars on here... - 2006 Buick Terraza
  By J. Larson - March 1 - 8:53 pm

  Vehicle has over 169k miles on it, we bought it with just 40k in 2010. Has not been a horrible vehicle overall. Strap on liftgate broke after about 3 years, shocks got replaced about one year ago, alternator replaced about one month ago. Otherwise, not too costly to maintain other than brakes, tires, oil changes, etc. Transmission has a little bit of lag when shifting, but not horrible. It has the StabiliTrak stability control system and traction control, but they dont ever make it seem horrible. Brakes never lock up. Seemingly have no issues with sliding doors either other than the drivers side power door doesnt always open from the outside. Only a few hiccups with a 13-year-old van with higher miles.

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  Mixed Bag...But Not a Bad Buy - 2006 Buick Terraza
  By J. Larson - March 1 - 8:46 pm

  My family bought this van with 40k miles on it. We have had it over 8 years now, but surprisingly, ours hasnt been as bad as a lot on here. Its got 169k on it now, and has had suspension work done only in the last year or so (March 18). Its also had its alternator replaced just about a month ago. Otherwise its been general maintenance like brakes and tires. Definitely got our moneys worth out of this van!

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  I hope this helps someone looking at purchasing one - 2011 Buick Lucerne
  By Drew - January 1 - 7:49 pm

  I bought my Lucerne from a dealership a year ago. It’s had its ups and downs. I’m only 20 and the car was previously owned by a couple in their 80’s who drove the Lucerne on a 2,000 mile round trip yearly and had grandkids out of state they visited, so it’s not super low on mileage like most of them are. The car itself is beautiful, but some of the beauty is just for show, especially on the interior. The dashboard feels quite cheap to me. Some newer Buick’s with the same price point have higher quality interiors. I have the V6 in mine, and it does get some pretty good speed, although with a V6, the gas mileage won’t be the very best, and this is not by any means a fuel efficient car. This car is also not oil efficient. I had a Chevrolet Cobalt before this and could go 6 months between oil changes. In the Lucerne, I can barely make it four months between oil changes. The Lucerne uses the “North Star” engine, which was only available in higher trim Cadillacs before it was put in the Lucerne. It’s a good engine, but North Stars knock and tick a LOT, especially when it gets cold outside. Other Lucerne owners I’ve talked to have reported hearing this from day one in their car, and my trustworthy mechanics have confirmed that it’s normal. The car has a nice touch screen radio with navigation in mine, but the GPS is messed up and is too costly to fix and I have a smartphone with maps so I just use that and my auxiliary cord for music. In the year I’ve owned it, I’ve had to put a lot of repairs into it. All 4 wheels were bent badly when I bought it, but I got the car $2500 below MSRP so it couldn’t have been perfect, so that was a $800 fix in the beginning. The car has had all headlights and tail lights replaced in it, and the tail lights are quite expensive at about $200 to replace each one, since the bumper has to be removed to replace them. The tie rods and shocks were just replaced after about a year of me having the car. The water pump was going bad, so that also had to be replaced shortly after I purchased the car. Also, please note that the steering on these cars is naturally terrible. You have to make wise turns. Oh, and forget about parallel parking; you won’t be able to make it into the spot. The reason I wrote this review is to inform others of what it’s like to own a Lucerne. A lot of young people, particularly those who don’t go to a 4 year university and choose to go into culinary work or trade school or work in customer service are buying lucernes and I will say, make sure you allocate money for the repairs. Buick’s aren’t what they once were and the repairs can be pricey. A better car for young ones starting out would be a Toyota RAV4 ,Camry or Corolla, a Honda Civic, CRV or Accord, a Chevrolet Cobalt or Malibu, or a Ford Focus or Fusion. I hope my review helps someone

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  Loved it until... - 2010 Buick LaCrosse
  By Mark from Franklin - January 22 - 8:30 am

  Overall the style, ride and comfort is awesome. Then came the repairs! It started with an issue regarding the sun roof. Out of no where it would not fully close. I noticed it on the highway at greater speeds than on city streets. No leaks but whistling. Brought it to the dealer and they "reset" the computer stating it was misreading alignment in sensors. Problem solved...sort of. 3 times this happened along with them reseating the entire sun roof unit. It happened again after the reseating and then they stated the next try possibly costing me $$ because they needed to bring in a GM consultant at a cost. After MANY back-and-forths we agreed to let him at least look at it before deciding on a course of action. He said that they didnt follow the service bulletin properly and pointed out the instructions state to remove glass from frame BEFORE reseating sensors, aligning the frame then reinsert glass. OOPS! Cant make this up. All is fine. The above was not the "cars" fault but the stooges working on it. The straw that broke the camels back? At 59K miles (still under warranty thankfully) it required a Catalytic Converter on Bank 1. Here I am at 96K miles and I need the same Cat replaced and it is NOT under warranty! $1K! Also - Rear Hub & Bearing at 70K miles!, Front hub & Bearing at 80K miles, and the brakes seem to need replacement a whole lot more often than my Lincoln. Going back to Lincoln...thanks for nothing Buick!

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  NOT a family car - IMPOSSIBLE for REAR FACING - 2015 Buick Encore
  By glamar - December 30 - 4:45 pm

  i jumped on this lease deal and have not owned the car for long but want to let others know this car does not accommodate a rear facing car seat. i had a car seat in my lexus that fit fine but was a larger foot print. i had a car seat specialist come out to help me properly install into the new buick. it absolutely would not fit. we went to the nearest store to "try on" other car seats. the ONLY car seat that did fit is the chicco nextfit. and it did require installation on the side (not center which would have been preferred) and the passenger seat has to be moved VERY far forward. I wish i would have done more homework on this as i would have reconsidered this vehicle.

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  2012 Buick Verano - 2012 Buick Verano
  By cutecar - December 23 - 1:33 pm

  Brought the car in May 2015, I liked it at first. It was a cool looking car. After about the 8 time in the shop with different problems from the ac being completely replaced to noise from the left front. I trade it in December 2015. We have an older model Buick and love it. I was really disappointed in this car. It will make me think twice about getting a Buick again.

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  Night mare - 2009 Buick Enclave
  By JK Mir - December 21 - 11:27 am

  Bought it new 2009 1. All steering wheel hydraulic parts had to be replaced 2. Water pump went bad 3. Now transmission is gone.

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  16 year old beast - 2001 Buick LeSabre
  By Howard Collins - December 13 - 1:55 am

  You probably couldnt find a 2001 Buick LeSabre for sale anywhere thats been maintained as well as mine for 151,000 miles. The reason being is because so many things have been done to it to keep it running, and in decent shape. Those of you who own one are familiar with the LeSabre problems. I have replaced the upper and lower intake manifold gaskets, upper plenum, valve cover gaskets, oil pan gasket, transmission pan gasket, the window motors and regulators, fuel filler pipe, front lower control arms, CV axles, inner tie rods and tie rod ends, struts and shocks, water pump, fuel pump, alternator, radiator, AC compressor. and a host of minor things to numerous to mention. Hood pistons, sensors, brakes and rotors front and rear, tires, so many things. All in all its in perfect shape, but only because of all thats been done to it. You can imagine the cost of keeping this beast running if you had to take it to a garage for the work. I do my own wrenching and all the parts are from EBAY, except tires. Thats a huge saving believe me. Much more than several thousand dollars. If you cant do this work its probably not worth keeping the vehicle. Its probably no better than any other vehicle it competes with and may even have more problems than some of them do. You hear about how great the 3800 engine is, but consider everything that has to be replaced around it, and on it, to keep the car on the road. That said I think Ill squeeze some more miles out of it, and replace more things as needed.