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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  Disappointed in Buick - 1997 Buick Riviera
  By Bruce - January 27 - 1:03 pm

  Bought as a dealer certified vehicle. Transmission went out in 5 months at 79,000 miles and at 86,000 miles intake, power steering, old pan, and transmission pan all leaks and will cost more to fix than trade value. Car was serviced every 3000 miles

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  an average car - 2003 Buick Park Avenue
  By tri-ble - December 24 - 2:00 am

  an easy ride and handling car. the doors are not a good fit to the body,noisy engine when first starting out .the colder it is the worse it sounds,gets better as it warms up... if the door problems are corrected and the noisy engine problem is soved we would like this vehicle a lot better and feel that we were getting our moneys worth. not a quiet enough car for the price

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  Disgruntled - 2008 Buick Enclave
  By ramo - December 20 - 8:26 pm

  This is my second GM car in the past 5 years, 20 previous were imports. I traded the first one for this Enclave after two transmissions over 65000 miles and like a fool bought another one! I have a loaded White Diamond and it is now in the shop for the 4th time in 6 weeks with same problem, the emission light continues to come on. Needless to say, the performance suffers immensely when this occurs. They have yet to figure out what is wrong. Sensors have been replaced, not sure what they are doing at this point. Can you say "lemon law". The car really is a nice car, when it is not in the shop! Perhaps I am just not meant to own an American made automobile. I have learned my lesson.

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  Fun car, but problematic. - 1995 Buick Skylark
  By blahblah718293 - December 19 - 8:52 pm

  This was my first car at 131k miles. As soon as I got it it started having problems. The radiator cracked and needed to be replaced, then the heater core went and got antifreeze all over the floor on the passenger side. Other than that I get about 24 mpg overall, but I drive through a lot of hills and it takes quite a bit of gas to lug the 3800 lb car around. The engine is plenty powerful and Ive never had any problems with it or the transmission. Just the cooling/heating system that needs work.

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  Got a lemon - 2007 Buick Lucerne
  By mike - December 17 - 4:09 pm

  Puchased 31 of October. Week later antifreeze spilled all over the road. Brought back for service. They replaced thermostat and gasket. Found gas pedal and steering wheel vibrates like a cell phone in vibration mode when going uphill. Four times in dealership, no result. Still vibrates. Dealer replaced motor mounts 2 times. Finaly he gave up and indicated that this is design of the car and nothing can be done. My foot going numb after 2 hours of driving. Going to return this car under lemon law. Very disapointed with Buick. Never buy Buick again!

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  Great car up till now - 2003 Buick Century
  By Screwed by GM - December 14 - 10:55 pm

  This is my 3rd Buick Ive owned. Always liked the comfortable ride and good gas mileage (33 mpg on highway), and ample room. However at 82,000 miles the car developed an antifreeze leak. Took to local Buick delearship and they had to replace lower intake gaskets (8 hr job) and water pump. Total cost over $1100. After searching the web, found other GM car owners with same problems, and most common culprit was the Dexcool antifreeze now used by GM and plastic gaskets that get eaten away by the Dexcool. No wonder Toyota and Honda are selling so many cars. Its called quality and reliability!

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  My last Buick - 2006 Buick Lucerne
  By Richard Bowman - November 25 - 1:24 pm

  Unable to read the instrument panel in daylight. Can see it fine at night or in the dark. Can read the odometer, the outside temperature, and the compass just fine in daylight, but not the speedometer.

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  Dont Waste Your Money - 2006 Buick Lucerne
  By nathanj - November 22 - 3:33 pm

  She had 4 requirements... 1) Upgraded Stereo, 2) Keyless Entry, 3) Heated Seats, and 4) a Navigation System. The Buick dealership told us that they could not locate any upgraded stereo models, but that the standard stereo was great, unfortunately, it is far from satisfactory. The keyless entry works, however the only way your memory seat will work is to push unlock, even if your car is already unlocked and in your garage. Teh heated seats work well. Imdisgusted with the Nav system. The only reason we didnt buy the Lexus ES350 was because we were told that OnStar had a new navigation program. They dont tell you it doesnt work if you are not in a Verizon wireless coverage area! Now we are trying to take it back!

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  Can Any More Go Wrong? - 2004 Buick Rendezvous
  By Gma - November 7 - 6:48 am

  Every month is a new problem. Power windows off track. Back hatch lock no good. Side view mirrors motor broke. Front end problems. Staling just started. Key start froze up. Battery died after 3 month of owning car. I used to love my Buick. Now, dont even ask!

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  Watch out for the transmission! - 2001 Buick Century
  By Asterion - November 3 - 8:17 pm

  The car has had a catastrophic transmission failure at 33,000 miles. We had a 1997 Model that was totaled in a wreck with no problems during the time we owned it. We bought this one because of that reason, big mistake. There are problems with this 4T65E model transmission used in many GMC models. They include pressure problems internally, noise, and bearing failures. These failures are often on low mileage, well maintained vehicles. Buyes of used vehicles watch out.