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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  Regretful choice - 2006 Buick Terraza
  By Bembie - October 2 - 11:18 am

  I have been very disappointed with my Terraza. The sliding doors are hard to close. There is no storage between the front seats and I have a hard time finding somewhere to put my purse when my cupholders are open. There are no air vents in the back and my kids hated this part. I had to have the rear end replaced at 35,000 miles. There are also many rattles inside. Road noise is annoying, too. I am in the process of trading, even though it is not a good financial move for me. The depreciation of this vehicle is terrible, but I am willing to go into a new vehicle after being "upside down" with this one. This is my first Buick and I have been disappointed.

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  Regret - 2006 Buick LaCrosse
  By ?? - September 8 - 5:20 pm

  I traded in a 2000 Buick Century, which I had bought in Jan, 2000 fresh off the truck, for the 2006 Buick LaCrosse in Dec, 2006. The LaCrosse had 14,000 miles on it, but besides my trade-in, the LaCrosse cost an addl $18,000. I realized Id made a mistake almost instantly, but was assured that I would get used to the LaCrosse and like it. I still dont like it and regret that I bought it. I wont get another Buick. GM has sacrificed too much in order to have higher profits and the consumer gets stuck with the flimsy trash. The LaCrosse is smaller than the Century and uses more gas, too.

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  Never Again will I purchase a buick - 2011 Buick Regal
  By Stephanie B - August 14 - 2:13 pm

  So I purchased my 2011 Buick regal at bergstrom in Oshkosh, WI. on Aug. 16th 2014. It was my first car and I fell in love with it. Not even a few weeks later I started having problems and a lot of recalls. My AC was broken and had gotten fixed. Now it has this terrible smell to it and i cant turn on the heat or the AC while in parked or when i am stopped somewhere because then my engine will make this terrible loud noise that sounds like its gonna break down. Also my trunk broke less then a year of having it so i was having to use my remote car key until that also broke too so now i cant get into my trunk anymore. My key ignition is also broke and keeps making a dinging sound when i have my door open even when my keys are not in there. Ive had to have my car towed so many times for my computer shutting down and having to be restarted and another time finding a lot of water in my fuel tank. Then driving around and my car is always making noises and doesnt want to accelerate. But my main problem here is that when Im driving my car it will completely lose power on me and shut off. Ive had it happen 3 times so far and 1 time i was driving 65 in the middle of the night when i lost power, my steering wheel locked up and all my lights shut off and didnt want to start back up. I was so scared i was going to get hit luckily a few minutes later it came back on. I told GM about this the 1st time and they said they fixed the problem it was also under warranty at that time. A few months later the same thing I took it in and they said that my warranty ran out and they need to replace the pistons and the head gaskets and pretty much replace the whole engine which was gonna cost me a few grand. They said my car is burning through so much oil way more then it should be so i had to have them document it so they could send the documentation to GM so they can cover some of the cost since my warranty just ran out but then after all of that they said its burning way more oil then it should be but it still says its up to GM standards i couldnt believe it what a joke. Ive also had so many more problems with this car and its costing me so much money. They wont do anything about this until i die in an accident. I am so scared to drive this car but i have no choice i still have 4 years to pay it off and i cant afford to trade it in. I just wish GM would take care of their mistakes. All i know is that i will never buy a GM vehicle ever again.

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  Paint it Yellow - 2004 Buick Rendezvous
  By Sassy - August 10 - 6:44 pm

  What a lemon! Back hatch lock broke, the handle to close the hatch broke, the pumps that raise a lower the back hatch have broken several times. Switch has locked up several times, overhead sunglasses compartment has been replaced twice because it has fallen down and just hangs there. Battery didnt even last the first year. The front end doesnt stay aligned, 2 new tires, now it looks like we will have to put on another 2 tires. The upholstery is stained, not scotchguarded at all. I thought Buick was top of the line, well, the one we got is at the end of the line. Will definitely not buy another GM product, will go with Honda or Toyota. Had to buy extended warranty just to stay afloat

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  Waste of Money - 2005 Buick Terraza
  By Eric - August 8 - 9:25 pm

  The Terraza was a great van for the first 6000 miles after that stuff started going wrong with it. The interior is very noisy. The back hatch rattles. The passenger power sliding door pops open after you close it. The anti-lock stabilitrak has a warning and service brakes soon message, and the dealer cant find the problem. There is a clunking noise coming from the left front. I had an Oldsmobile van that this van replaced, I wish the Buick was as nice as the Oldsmobile. I would not purchase another one.

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  Never Buy a Used Rendevous - 2002 Buick Rendezvous
  By Pat Z. - August 8 - 1:16 pm

  I bought 2002 with less than 28000 miles on it. One year later with 38000 I have had to replace/repair to the tune of over $3500. The gas tank sensor, drivers power window motor, cooling system gaskets, ignition module, a/c sensor module and rear chassis springs and finally the main computer (this is the only repair covered by Buick). I am a 58 yr old woman and the SUV was serviced regularly at the Buick garage, My Buick dealer has been great thru all of this.Supplying me with a loaner etc. Buick however, did nothing! I am trading this piece of junk in on anything that is not a Buick.

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  Why I should have got a Nissan - 1999 Buick Regal
  By Jerry - August 1 - 12:28 pm

  I hate this car. I bought the car because it was more affordable and had very low miles. I have always been wary of buying American cars, but the junk I bought off the side of the road seemed to hold up pretty well for only paying 4-500 for them. This car has had more problems in 1 year than all of my other cars put together. Rear main shaft seal, torque converter, head gaskets, the temperature control unit, gauge cluster, headlights going off for no reason...to make it easy, I paid 9k for the car and have already put 3k into it and now it needs another 1000 to pass inspection. This car is junk.

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  Who designed this car? - 2007 Buick Lucerne
  By elevator-craneman - July 23 - 8:04 pm

  For a big car it is small inside. The seats are not comfortable. Very little elbow room between seats. In the first year the car has been back at the dealership for four weeks. I have had a lot of electrical problems, erratic fan blower twice and remote entry failure. The owners manual says that the climate control is suppose to automaticly cool and heat with remote start, it does not. The dealership tells me it is not suppose to. I guess the owners manual must be wrong, not! I have had it back twice for a knock in the steering column. Turning radius is no very tight. Have to make wide turns when entering head in parking spot

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  Why did I buy this car? - 2005 Buick Rendezvous
  By Judi - June 25 - 10:28 pm

  This is not a good SUV for a short person. The huge side mirrors block view from all angles. The overhead tailgate is unbelievably difficult to close. Tailgate interior strap broke last week, and tonight, the overhead interior glasses case clasp broke and is now hanging interfering with the rear view mirror. The third row seats are extremely difficult to return to a sitting position. Overall, very poor interior design.

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  Inside design - 2007 Buick Terraza
  By brenda white - June 14 - 7:13 pm

  Drives good. Cant see to back up because of the head rests. No room. Middle seats dont slide easy. No easy way to get to back seats. Very disapointed in inside design. Had a 2003 Chevy Venture. Inside design was so much better. Im very unhappy with inside design. Noise everywhere around sliding doors. Stuck with it, I guess.