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:

• 

  Watch that tranny - 2011 Buick Lucerne
  By Kirby - December 6 - 6:16 am

  Replaced transmission at 53,000 miles, luckily it was still under warranty. Come on gm your making the exports look better. Got excellent service from Moses gm though

• 

  rear brake seizure! - 2013 Buick LaCrosse
  By mel - November 26 - 1:10 pm

  I bought this car in Jan this year. Pros include handling, the 3.6 performs very well, awd seems to work as it should, I average about 22 mpg with a best of 27mpg on a trip. Cons, trunk is tiny, brakes do not like weather, I had to accelerate hard in reverse to get brakes to release, since then the Buick dealer did perform a brake service that they are supposed to charge the customer $120.00 for free. However, this did not help. This car is embarrassing to drive with the brakes squealing almost continually. I did contact Buick and they pushed it back on the dealer, they obviously feel that safety is something that the owner should pay for! The dealer told me that they have had other Lacrosses towed because of this issue. This will be the last GM vehicle I buy because of the lack of response to this serious issue. My kid is learning to drive and is scared of this car. Fortunately for her I also bought an Accord that she loves to drive!

• 

  Nothing but problems! - 2011 Buick LaCrosse
  By Shawn Wade - November 11 - 10:15 pm

  I like my Buick Lacrosse, when it works! I purchased this car in Aug. 2010. This is my first and last American made car.The check engine light was on by the 1st oil change (Feb 2011). In May 2011, they had to replace the Catylic Converter. In Sept 2011, they replaced the sunroof switch. In March 2012, I had to replace the cabin filter and they had to re-charge the battery. In Aug 2012, they replaced a speed sensor. In Sept 2012, they replaced the battery. In November 2012, the check engine light was on again but they couldnt figure out why and cleared the code. In August 2013, the battery was dead again. Instead of them figuring out what the "real" problem is, they replaced the battery again. Yesterday (11/11/15), the car stopped while I was on the highway. The transmission needs repairing. This time, the dealer is saying I did something wrong! Like what, drive my car?!?! I agree with the prior post...Lacrosse Lemon!

• 

  Not my luck - 2008 Buick Enclave
  By Dorathy - November 9 - 9:51 pm

  I bought the Enclave in Apr 2008, I have only 44,500 miles always to it to the dealership for any maintenace to include oil changes. I have to tell you the car is a money pit. I have had 2 recalls on bought the extended warranty. In the last 12 months I have spent $2500. Last December I had it checked out and they flushed and replaced the brake fluid. Front end alignment. So now I took it in for a check for a road trip. Well I found out the master cylinder and booster on the brakes needed to be replaced. The rack and pinion steering had to be replaced, also the the timing chain cover was leaking oil into the engine and needs the gasket to be replaced, front struts need replacing and the navigation system isnt working and to fix I would have to replace the entire radio system. I needed a front end alignment after they replaced the rack and pinion, another $90. The buttons to turn the fan up or down turned green after the black peeled off. The car has never been in an accident and kept it serviced and at 44,500 it falls apart. I will never by a Buick again. The repairs costs as much as the resale value.

• 

  2010 lacrosse history - 2010 Buick LaCrosse
  By Robert Carroll - September 26 - 7:27 am

  Own The car since 2010 had 400 miles, warranty work done so far is tires replaced (they were out of round), steering corrected after multiple complaints about noise when turning, body work due gulp paint mismatch on front and rear bumpers, rotors turned multiple times due to warping, @ 51000 replaced rotors after warranty expired no problems since, @ 80000 water pump replaced, @ 89000 ac compresser and condenser replaced because descident bag opened expensive fix, @ 92000 power steering started leaking car currently in shop to diagnose.

• 

  My new Buick - 1998 Buick LeSabre
  By Justyn Smith - September 24 - 1:47 pm

  Overall, this is a nice car. I bought it with 150,000 miles, and he 3800 engine is still going strong and giving enough power to accelerate to highway speeds comfortably. The only problem I have had so far (and its a big one) is the break lines rusting out entirely, which could have been more convenient if it had not rusted out right next to the ABS control. Overall though, it is a nice car.

• 

  My wife loves it but it has issues - 2015 Buick Enclave
  By Tony M - September 15 - 1:02 pm

  This is our second Enclave. As with the first, a strut needed to be replaced before 20k miles (both needed front right strut?), and as with the first one continuous transmission slippage between 2nd and 3rd gears. My second one also has motor-mounts that need to be replaced (31k miles on it)! It is currently in the shop where they are replacing the motor-mounts and have replicated and are trouble shooting the transmission slippage. They are most likely design/quality issues. I work with an exceptional dealership (Carl Black in Atl), and they have been the difference between me walking away from Buick vs. "Sticking it out" as they work out the kinks.

• 

  Second Impressions - 2015 Buick Enclave
  By Paul Horvick - September 6 - 8:40 am

  I wrote the earlier review shortly after we took delivery of the vehicle. It was (and is) a solid vehicle. But...I am downgrading our 5 stars to 3. We apparently did not do a great job in test driving it. In addition to the less than smooth ride noted earlier, the middle row of seats are, for most adults, very cramped and uncomfortable. My wife, about 56", complains that the leg room is really tight when the front seats are all the way back. I tried it also (I am 510") and would never want to ride in the middle row. (Yes, we had the middle row moved back as far as we could). So, couple the relatively harsh ride, the inadequate middle row seating for adults, then this becomes just an average vehicle...one that had we done better due diligence, we would not have purchased. Yes, good looking, quiet, nice technology, ...a solid feeling car....but one that, in hindsight, we should not have purchased. Before buying, do a better job of test driving than we did!

• 

  3.5 stars... Because Edmunds doesnt offer halves - 2012 Buick LaCrosse
  By Sam - August 26 - 6:45 pm

  Performance: The acceleration and engine on the 3.6 is great. The steering is very tight. Literally if you sneeze and jerk the wheel you are off the road. The Transmission on these has some issues, or more appropriately I think it is the TCM. Paired with brake issues it can make for a nasty situation when trying to stop. When the transmission downshifts sometimes the RPMs kick up causing the car to surge forward, other times it doesnt like to shift into 6th gear and despite being at 3000RPM for a unlimited time it will not upshift without putting it in manual mode and doing it yourself. Brakes are strongly front centric. I never feel pull on the rear brakes. The only comment I can make on comfort is, that if you are tall of a big guy/woman getting in and out will be uncomfortable. The way the seat sits even back as far as it goes still puts a significant amount of your legs beyond the front of the door, thus making you pull your legs back and spin in the seat before being able to put your legs on the ground. The interior is decent. I have noticed that some of the chrome coating on some of the accents starts peeling off. I did like the LED highlights in the car, and the leather is supple, soft, and comfortable. As others have posted, the car has some visibility safety issues. Blind spots are a HUGE issue. If you are backing out of a angled parking space, best of luck youre not going to be able to see a vehicle or person approaching. Backing up is difficult in the car period, lane changing requires a full head/body turn to see if someone is near the normal blind spot. A simple though not a thorough fix is to buy 2 stick on blind spot mirrors, and put them up in the top outside corner of your normal mirrors. This helps tremendously in traffic. In the technology department there are 2 big issues. 1 the Navigation system is horrid. Half the time the computerized compass is backwards or wrong. There is also an issue with the climate control. A lot of the time the AC will not turn off without power cycling" the entire system. For instance I live in the northern part of the USA. Sometimes it is AC in the afternoon and after sunset it becomes heat time. If I use the AC button to turn off AC, then up the temperature to 75-80 degrees it still blows cold air. I have to power cycle the console with the AC selected as off, then power it on and the heat will work. Reliability is good, minus the issues Im having with the brakes and transmission. I couldnt be happier with the 300+ horsepower V6 in this car. Value is about par for the course for a mid sized sedan. The cost is a little above what I think it should have been just based on safety alone. But overall it is pretty economical. The car is E85 capable. Running E85 I average about 22mpg on a 65 mile round trip mixed city/highway driving. On Unleaded with 10% Ethanol I average betwen 24.5 and 25 on the same trip. If you keep this car at 65mph with relatively few stops over long distance it will push out high 20s low 30s mpg.

• 

  Cylinders - 2009 Buick Enclave
  By sdj - August 26 - 2:25 pm

  Bought my car with 4000 miles in 2010. A year after I bought it it started kicking back when on cruise and going uphill. Took it in to dealership. They said they replaced this and that but every year after that I kept taking it back for the same problem of kicking back when going uphill. As soon as the warranty ran out I had to take it in again and this time ended up paying over $700 to fix two of the cylinders. Have tried cleaning out carbon. It is even worse now than it ever was. Cant drive it with cruise on because it has started kicking back even on straight flat roads. Check engine light constantly comes on and we have spent close to $1500 just trying to get things looked at to try and figure out the problem. Have called GM to try and have them reimburse my dollars and stand behind their product but they wont. For such a huge company, its too bad that they treat their customers this way. Im disgusted and now looking to get rid of it with 76K miles. I do not recommend purchasing this vehicle to anyone. I wont even try to sell it outright because I wouldnt feel right selling it to another innocent individual.