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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  First Buick after five Cadillacs - 2015 Buick Regal
  By Daniel Wal - October 25 - 8:51 am

  So, after five Cadillacs (3 STSs, and 2 CTSs), I decided to try the Buick Regal. I liked the size and fuel economy (we commute 150 miles daily). I couldnt stand the CUE interface in the Cadillac and was a little dismayed that the same basic system is used in the Buick. I have to say, though, that it works much better in the Buick - there are hard buttons for the climate controls and radio - very nice. The individual temp controls and seat heater controls are a weird touch-panel that doesnt work very well - Buick should have just used hard buttons like the rest of the climate controls. The front seats are very comfortable and there is plenty of room. The center console is a bit small, as is the glove box, but this is a fairly small vehicle so I guess thats to be expected. The back seat looks nice, but it also looks very cramped although my 56" mom doesnt complain at all, even when she sits behind the driver seat (Im 64"). The trunk is spacious and the Premium I package includes almost everything my Caddys had (except, alas, ventilated seats). Driving dynamics are great - shes fast, fluid, and agile. Passing is a piece of cake, the brakes are monsters, and the ride is well-controlled (definitely not grandmas Buick). The Navigation, like CUE and other GM products is flaky - we end up using our phones more than the cars nav. Also, the split functionality (between the nav and the instrument panel) is a very strange design - sometimes the system initially finds a destination, but then the navigation system cannot... routing is also terrible... more than once GMs Navigation systems have tried taking us down non-existent roads. Fuel economy is great for the size and performance. The 2.0 Turbo is plenty powerful and we always use premium "Top Tier" gasoline.

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  Love my Enclave! - 2008 Buick Enclave
  By Matt - October 21 - 5:48 pm

  In June 2014, I purchased a 2008 Buick Enclave CXL at around 80,000 miles. It has been a great car. I got it in great condition. Right now it is at around 115,000, and Ive only had to replace the spark plugs(due at around 100,000 miles, but got extra out of them), brake pads, and headlamp bulbs. This car was a great buy!

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  I love my baby Buick! - 2015 Buick Verano
  By Jfinch - October 21 - 12:28 pm

  I went into the dealership planning on buying an impala. Unfortunately I couldnt really justify to myself why I needed that large of a car. So they showed me this Buick and I fell in love! Truthfully at first I didnt think I was going to fit in it. Im 64 so I get very skeptical over vehicle size. I pushed the seat all the way back and was shocked! I couldnt touch the pedals! So on with the test drive. I was averaging 40mpg on the test drive and I was ready to sign the papers before we got back! Now, Ive owned the car for 3 months now and Ive put 12,300 miles on it so let me tell you what its like living with it. I took it on a trip (360 mile round trip) and I only used 8.5 gallons. Thats 42 mpg! And it was so comfortable and quiet! The interior is holding up well, however if you have the black and gray interior, expect some frustration. Anything on the black materials you touch with turn white. Its like some sort of chemical reaction happens and suddenly you have white spots everywhere. Make sure you dont have an older style iPhone (I have a 4s with THOUSANDS OF PICTURES) as plugging it in will freeze your radio, causing it to stick where it is for about 10 minutes before restarting just fine. Not a big deal, it just gets annoying because youll never know when its going to happen. The back seat is just about unusable. Really. Unless you have someone up front who is willing to compromise on a little leg room, its really too tight back there. I really dont know how the engineers didnt notice this. Once I meet someone with three inch thick legs, maybe Ill understand. You cannot get fast food and expect both the driver and passenger to get soft drinks as they both wont fit into the cup holder at once. This is a pain too. They can, but its just in the way and they have to be at an awkward angle. Lighted glovebox is something I havent seen on a car in 20 years, and its very nice. The car is quick, although it doesnt feel like it. It will get you into trouble because youll think youre doing 60 when youre really doing 90. But all in all I really do love this car. Its comfortable, economical, powerful, smooth, beautiful (especially in the dark gray I have) and just all around nice! Also I got $7,000 off on the price which swayed my decision a little bit too.

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  Old Reliable! - 1996 Buick Century
  By BuickLover - October 14 - 3:47 pm

  Great starter car! Bought mine used when I was 17 and it had 115,000 miles on it and several dings on the exterior. Got me every where and it now has 155,000 miles on it. Motor/transmission runs great and gas mileage is great at a whopping 28 mpg and thats in the country and city. Only bad thing about this car is window motor easily goes out and so do the automatic locks. Ive put many miles on my car and driven it through snow, ice, mud, potholes and it never let me down!

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  Love It - 2002 Buick Century
  By Bob - October 8 - 11:34 pm

  I have had it for 12 years and have put about 100,000 on it. As far as reliability, the car has failed to start only one time-when the original battery gave out after six years. It has never been in a shop for repairs. A few things have gone wrong such as power windows, a blower resistor, led resistor in gauge cluster, and a/c clutch coil. I fixed all those things myself. The cost and level of difficulty were low, though. I have done all of the regular maintenance such as oils, filters, brake pads,coolant, tune up, -again cheap and easy. This year (2015), the car was showing some signs of wear, and since it ran and drove quite well still, I decided to do a semi restoration. I repaired the rusted rocker panels. New tires, brakes, struts, motor/tranny mounts, tires, headlights,exhaust system, wheel bearings, paint touch up, a few other piddly things. It runs and drives like brand new no issues at all. In 12 years time I have spent under 4000 on maintenance and 2500 of it was on the semi restoration this year. It has spent most of its life outside, but the paint still looks very good. It has been a great car for 12 years and it will most definitely last another 12. Good solid reliable car.

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  This is a 2004? - 2004 Buick LeSabre
  By *likesthatcar* - October 4 - 7:41 am

  I cant believe this car. A curvy, sharp, eye catcher. Whats funny is that people associate quality Buicks to old people, the catch 22 is that I can pass people with ease in less than 15 seconds without jamming the pedal to the floor. Attractive styling inside and out. Great sound system and the controls are even on the wheel. Wish it had auxiliary instead of the tape, but I can always go to Walmart a get a tape to mp3 thingamajig. Good reliability, great in the rain. Seriously though this car looks like one from 2011 if it had a updated stereo, possibly Bluetooth. And this is a 2004?!?! Love that little 3.8 super reliable with some step in its pace. You know why old people buy Buicks? Well, keep these 4 factors in mind COMFORT, RELIABILITY, SAFETY, WONT BE RACED BY SOME PUNKY TEEN TRYING TO SHOW OFF. To keep supporting buick, and looking for a cheap, reliable car with great materials, and power? What are you waiting for buy this!

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  Believe in Quite Tuning - 2014 Buick Enclave
  By Rattler - October 3 - 7:23 pm

  The Enclave is an EXCELLENT value. Very quite, very smooth, spacious, well appointed, comfortable, elegant appearance, perfect drive train package, excellent Infotainment unit with redundant manual controls, no service issues, excellent gas mileage for the size of the vehicle. Does it get any better?

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  Fun, Sweet Interior, Efficient - 2015 Buick Encore
  By JIM NICHOLS - October 1 - 10:58 pm

  The Encore is an ideal car for someone who ants more carrying space than a car, but not the 14MPG of a big SUV. The interior is really well appointed for the class that it is in. The engine is small but more than adequete for this speed limit driver. Acceleration speed is good, though the RPMs go a little high with foot onthe floor. But for me that situation doesnt come up much. Its comfortable, easy to park, and has lots of features that sont expect for a car in the $20Ks. Its quite cute, and people are generally surprised that its a Buick. Its made in the US in a UAW plant which matters to me. Update: I just submitted a review of this car and made an error in it. I said that the car is made in the US and it is not. It is made in South Korea. Otherwise the review was an honest assessment, but I want to be cognizant of people (like me) to try to buy US made products

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  best bang for the buck - 2015 Buick LaCrosse
  By edward - September 29 - 6:17 pm

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  225,000 miles and no problems... - 1992 Buick Century
  By tiffany - September 29 - 8:32 am

  owned my 92 century for about 4 years now. i got it with 208,000 miles. in the past 4 years ive put under $500 into this car to keep it running (brakes, oil changes, cracked exhaust manifold, harmonic balancer, heater core, a couple of hoses.) all of these repairs were very easy and affordable to have repaired. the parts for this car are very cheap and easily found just about anywhere. this car is very comfortable with plenty of leg and cargo room. the trunk is huge and the back seat is so comforable, ive slept back there. this car has been incredibly reliable. no one can believe the mileage on it and how reliable it has been. i am planning on getting another buick when this one dies someday...