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Buick Regal

3506 messages,  Last post on May 04, 2012 at 8:07 AM

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What is this discussion about? Buick Regal, Sedan

Messages Page 256 of 351

#2546 of 3506 coonhound by bennycheck

Mar 01, 2004 (10:33 pm)

The more research I do on the Buick, the more I tend to agree with you that it would be the better long term buy. I've been very lucky with the '00 Intrigue. I've got 80Kmi on it and have only replaced the hvac fan (about $180) so far. It's going in next week for the ISS lube as I think I am starting to feel the problem that others on the Intrigue board have described. I have driven a Bonneville (my brothers) with the 3.8L and it has alot of power, but I still like the 3.5L better. Just feels smoother and more refined to me. Parts could be a problem down the road, but GM says they'll support them for 10 years which would take us to 2013.
    As for the searching, not much luck so far. A ton of '03 LS rentals that don't look to bad. None have the GT suspension. Many don't have ABS or traction control. That's a must for my neck of the woods (central NY). The thing I find very odd is that there are very very few '02 Regals or Intrigues to be found. Took a test drive in an Aurora on Sunday. Nice riding car but was surprised at how small the trunk was compared to the Intrigue. No fold down rear seats either. I have to admit if I could find a 4.0 with low mi. in good shape, I would be tempted. What ever I end up with, it will have to be soon. Want to take it to NC for vacation in early April. Hope I don't have to compromise too much. I'll keep you posted.

#2547 of 3506 coonhound, the GT package... by verdi942

Mar 02, 2004 (9:03 am)

...which is a great improvement over the stock setup, includes 16" alloy wheels [not the 15's you'll see on a lot of LS's], fatter tires, AND vented discs in front [VERY good for avoiding the dreaded WARP chatter], and, I think, stiffer shocks. All '02 GS's have the GT suspension, as well as all Abboud LS's, like mine. Visually, the tipoff is the 16" alloy wheels, which they're still installing on the '04's. Good luck hunting!

#2548 of 3506 Extended Warranty? by jbm

Mar 02, 2004 (5:34 pm)

Hi all, I have a 2002 Buick Regal GS with 26,000 miles, and I am considering dropping $1000+ via AAA on an extended warranty so I'm covered for (say) up to 75,000 miles. But I've also heard that as a general rule of thumb, extended warranties aren't worth the extra expense. For all you Regal GS owners with extended warranties, do you feel they've paid off?

#2549 of 3506 bennycheck/verdi942 by coonhound

Mar 02, 2004 (6:52 pm)

I didn't know that you have a 2000 intrigue. You must just want a newer car as the Intrigue should just be broken in good and ready to boogy.
Verdi942; that reminds me of when I used to go down to Verdi Valley from Flagstaff on the weekends just to warm up. But moving along, The GT package is standard on the GS, and is in fact a little more beefed up than the LS Gran Touring package. The gran touring package has larger rotors but are not ventilated as you report the GS are. We got to stop that turbo power once we get it goin. As I see it the gran touring suspension is just about like the Intrigue standard suspension. GM supposedly purchased Carbon shock Mfg. in France for the Intrigue's shocks and struts. The French have the ride and control down as evidenced by the rid of the Renault, Peugeot, and Citron. The rest of the car ?????????.

#2550 of 3506 Re: Extended warranty by tsu670

Mar 02, 2004 (8:09 pm)

We purchased one from Warranty Direct and less than a year later had to have the tranny rebuilt in our '99 LSE just after the mnftr warranty expired. Paid $1050 for the warranty; repair came to $1554. With $0 deductible it was well worth the investment.
 
Up until then I wasn't much of a fan of extd warranties, but with the cost of auto repairs going the way of medical bills, it's almost as if you have to have some sort of coverage in the same way you have to have medical insurance.
 
Sometimes they have promotions at warrantydirect.com. There's a link from the Edmunds home page ("Get a free extended warranty quote"). When we signed up they had a $100 discount, but that was a few years ago. I'd be curious if there are any better deals out there with different companies these days. Be careful, though. You need to be comfortable that the company you pick will still be there for the entire term of your agreement.

#2551 of 3506 Life is full of surprises! by bennycheck

Mar 02, 2004 (11:28 pm)

Coonhound, My brother found a link for the Dex cool info. It's not the same as the first one he sent me but states the same things in a shorter form. It's http://www.imcool.com/articles/antifreeze-coolant/dexcool-johnbru- nner.htm
    The big surprise is that I hit pay dirt today. I was out working at Syracuse University (about an hour away from home) and when I left I took a wrong turn and got lost. When I found the right road I noticed a small Chevy dealership and pulled in to see if they had any Intrigues or Regals. A salesman was on me before I had my car in park. Asked him if he had an '01 or '02 Regal. He had one that had just come in yesterday. An '01 LS. It had 16" alloy wheels and when I checked the options sticker it listed the GT package. It also had every other option you could get including the monsoon stereo, on star, and heated leather seats. It's a two tone paint (sliver/gray) and when I asked him how many miles it had I couldn't believe my ears. Just 10,700. Ran a carfax on it. One owner lease. Clean. Took it out for a drive. What a great car. Needless to say I took the wife back after work so she could test drive it. She LOVED it. Crunched the numbers and traded in my 95 Mazda with 144Kmi on it. I'm picking it up tomorrow night after work. I can't believe that after a month of looking all over I stumbled on this car by mistake and in less that 2 days the whole deal is done. Guess its better to be lucky than good sometimes. Hope it turns out to be a good car. They're trying to sell me an extended warranty with it from a company called Heritage Plus Warranty Insurance. About $1300 for 75,000mi bumper to bumper (0 deduct). They didn't have a copy of the contract and I never heard of this company before. Says I have to buy it when I take delivery of the car. Anyone ever heard of them? The cost seem to be about the same as Warranty Direct or 1Source. Can't find out much about them on the web or BBB. If the dealer gives me some time to think it over I might go with them, but not tomorrow.
   Well thanks again everyone. The advice has been priceless. Sorry the link for the dex cool has to be typed. For some reason I couldn't paste it as a highlighted link. Hope it helps. Later

#2552 of 3506 Guess by bennycheck

Mar 02, 2004 (11:30 pm)

The link did work.

#2553 of 3506 Lucky benneycheck by coonhound

Mar 03, 2004 (7:32 pm)

There was another site that had a lot of info from Texaco and GM about the same info, Keep it full and use the radiator cap, on some models, with the spring loaded small valve. I changed these on my Astro and an S10 I had. Also on a Dynasty that I switched over to Dexcool. Changing the water pump on a 3 liter Dynasty one time is enough.
I'm glad you found a fine Buick LS with all the whistles. The wife,s does not have heated seats and on star but has all the frivolous stuff, dimming heated mirrors, lighted vanity mirrors, driver side airbag, traction control, tire pressure monitor, auto temp control dual, and the mileage monitor. And probably some more stuff I haven't found yet.

#2554 of 3506 The lost message board? by bennycheck

Mar 04, 2004 (3:28 pm)

Anyone know what happened to the Intrigue board. Did they kill it (like the car) or is it under repair or something? Hope not. I've gotten alot of helpful info off it.
    Thinking of an extended warranty for the new (to me) Regal. 1Source looks like the best all around deal. Anyone have any experience with them or other companies? Talked to a few macanichs who said they haven't had much luck dealing with 3rd party warranties. I'm a little gun shy to spend $1,200 just to buy a headache. Any thoughts?

#2555 of 3506 by pat

Mar 04, 2004 (7:46 pm)

The Intrigue discussion was MIA for a bit. It's back now.
 
Heh, yeah, I guess it was under repair ... under repair from a host who clicked a few things too quickly, but said host would be happy if we would not go there.
 

Messages Page 256 of 351

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