Hows it going everyone, new to this forum, but quite active on a few others (not W-Body related though).
I just bought a 98 Buick Regal LS for a DD/Winter Beater. Was really kinda hoping to find a GS, but they were all beat to hell and rusted at the price I wanted to spend. This car is just going to be driven in the winter, and in rainy weather. I spend most of the nice weather on my motorcycle, and I also have a ZR2 Blazer that sees some miles.
Body wise its fairly clean, nothing I wouldn't expect for a 15 year old car with 182K on it. I purchased the car from the 2nd owner, he has owned it for 7.5 years. The body has its fair share of dings and scratches, but its damn near rust free - total rust on the rear wheel arches is less than the area of a quarter. Most of the other Regals I was looking at in this price range were cleaner dent wise, but rusted out bad. I figured a dented car is going to last longer than a rusty one And in reality, if the body issues really bother me, I am good friends with a body guy.
The motor and drive-train have quite a few new parts. Rebuilt trans this spring, new water pump and radiator in the past month, 1 new coil pack, new plugs and wires this summer, new starter last year, new Cooper tires last summer, and brakes were done about 2 years ago. It runs and drives great, and should have a ton of usable life. There are a few issues though, one of which is the ABS Module, the other is a wheel bearing/speed sensor I think. I'll probably just expand on that in another post. It does need a new AC compressor, there is currently not one on the car - it froze up and the guy put a dummy pulley in place.
The interior is also in pretty good condition, there are a few issues though, part of the reason I joined - hoping to find some parts for sale! Its light gray leather, and the drivers side seat has 2 rips in it. The car came with a repair kit, I'm going to try that and see what happens :lol: The wood trim around my shifter is broken, it would be nice to find a replacement. And the cover for the back of the center console is missing, I'd like to find one of those as well. If anyone has either of these parts for sale let me know. The only other thing I need to fix in the interior is the driver side heated seat. It doesn't work and I have no clue why. never had to mess with one before.
Anyways, here is a picture of the Regal.
- Kevin