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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  . Not bad for a Mexican car. . - 2002 Buick Rendezvous
  By stosher - June 16 - 10:00 am

  .. never thought Id be driving a Get the Money (GM) car. This one is nice. Rides higher than a Voyager but feels better than a Ford (fix or repair daily =) or the dustbuster type minivans. Powers okay.. traction control works great .. stereo is tops. .price is what you want to pay. Onstar® is a good deal for $199/yr. if you drive a lot. 7" ground clearance is nothing; still afraid of curbs and those concrete things in parking lots. Fit and finish is okay; buy that bronze color, it looks the sharpest. Fuel economy gets better the more you drive it. I avg. 20 mpg now in and out of town.

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  Good Uff-da - 2003 Buick Rendezvous
  By NoDak Dan - June 16 - 10:00 am

  Comfortable to drive, nice to sit high again and see all of traffic, love the head and leg room to drive. Hoping for better gas mileage. Lots of static electricity on the leather trimmed cloth seats. Plenty of room. Automatic starter a plus in cold and hot weather.

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  Pleasant Surprise - 2003 Buick Century
  By Grateful Son-in-law - June 13 - 7:30 am

  I was given this car by my father-in-law, when he was no longer able to drive. Driving the "B" as my wife calls it, has been a pleasant surprise. Dad had put only 33,000 miles on it, maintained it by the book. I use it as a commuter car, primarily suburban to city driving, lots of traffic lights, little highway. MPG is great, 22-23 city, 33 highway, on a 600 mile round trip. Comfortable after getting acclimated to a "rolling sofa." Plenty of trunk space, easy to service by local mechanic. I would not have even looked at this car, let alone bought one, as I feel it is designed for the more senior driver. Still, I now have a low mileage ride which competes with our 2 VWs in MPG!

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  All around good vehicle - 2002 Buick Rendezvous
  By darren8c - June 10 - 12:15 pm

  I love my Rendezvous. We were looking for the interior of a minivan with the exterior of an SUV, so we love our Rendezvous. It has captain chairs for the second row allowing you to easily access the third row. The captains chairs are a must have if you have car seats. I am 60 and can actually fit in every seat in the Rendezvous. Also the AWD is really nice in the Wisconsin winter. You do have to keep up on the maintenance and repair them more than Hondas and Toyotas. If you want luxury, the interior design of a minivan, AWD, and the look of an SUV the Rendezvous CXL AWD is one of your only options, and its a pretty decent one.

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  Vibration - 2008 Buick LaCrosse
  By ray ham - June 1 - 1:14 pm

  I read the reviews about the vibration. We took ours to a tire shop and they told us the vibration was due to the rear struts being out of line. We took it to the dealer and they put in some shims to align the rear. They also said it was due to a factory defect. However they didnt want to accept responsibility for the ruined tires. Hope this helps anyone else with vibration problems.

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  Boring - 2012 Buick Verano
  By Jimmy - May 28 - 9:07 am

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  Never though I would drive a Buick - 2009 Buick Enclave
  By mark - May 23 - 10:15 pm

  We narrowed our choice down to the Audi Q7, Acura MDX and finally bought an 2009 Enclave CXL AWD (Carbon Black). We truly love the car. Very roomy. Great design. Super quiet. Handling very good for an SUV. The third row comfortable for three. We are a family of four. GM did a good job on this car. This is an excellent SUV Crossover that should be striving to be the best in every category, it has that kind of potential. There is need for some tweaking, such as real wood, better MPG and throttle response/shift adjustment. I would highly suggest the Enclave to anyone looking for a solid, well designed SUV.

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  last of the best - 1996 Buick Roadmaster
  By tikiwagon - May 23 - 6:32 pm

  I had been wanting a "Roadie" wagon since i was 16 and now that I finally have one im not disappointed. the best car ive owned... there are owners clubs out there for these cars (they are called B-Bodies ). parts are still readily available. i live in hilly western pa and I get 22-25 hwy mpg i have gotten as high as 28 in flat florida on vacation. the car drives smaller than it is. and is not hard to park. it will carry a 4x8 sheet of plywood with the tailgate closed. the areas to look closely at when buying one are 1. body rot particularly the 1/4 panel just past the rear tires. 2. air compressor issues (if air suspension equipped) 3. rear axle leaks 4. water leaks.

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  power window regulators failed Lesabre C - 2002 Buick LeSabre
  By Richaw - May 20 - 12:29 pm

  Overall I like the car. Serious problems all 4 power window regulators have failed within a period of 12,000 miles. I replaced the right front myself, to the tune of $375.00 for the part only. Then the right rear failed, it is being held in the up position with a piece of wood jammed under the regulator arm. All 4 have failed for the same reason. They are running a metal cable over a plastic pulley wheel and using a plastic spool on the motor. When the plastic pulley wheel breaks the cable misalignes on the spool and the window wont go up. Any Idiot that designed this should be fired. The regulator that I replaced was the same design as the original. GM has lost my business for good.

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  Cost to drive - 2001 Buick Regal
  By E. Shaw - May 17 - 9:23 pm

  Bought super clean,29k miles.Drives good. Comfortable to drive/ride. Tons of room. Great gas milage for a larger V6.I take very good care of my cars.For some reason I bought a $1500 warranty and have had over $5000 worth of work(parts and labor).Normally I do all my own wrenching. List of problems: Intake manifold(very common),5 rack & pinions(very common), catalytic converter, both front wheel bearings and control arm bushings, power steering pump, broken stabilizer links,valve cover gaskets and a few more to come.Still have a year left on the warr.I would think mine was a problem trade-in but my sisters 98 regal was just as bad,although my tranny has not crapped out yet