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2003 Buick Century Custom Sedan 4-door 3.1l on 2040-cars

Year:2003 Mileage:160000
Location:

Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States

Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
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You're bidding on a 2003 Buick Century that I'm selling for my daughter.  The car was originally purchased by my grandmother on 1/23/2003 in Carlsbad, CA, where it spent the first 6.5 years of its life.  I inherited the car in November, 2009, and drove it for work, so most of the miles on the car are highway miles.  During the time I drove the car, it was always garage-kept.  In April 2013, I passed the car down to my daughter, and it was stored outside during that time.  Mechanically, the car is very sound--it runs, handles, and stops great.  The tires are in good shape.  AC blows cold.  The car has approximately 160,000 miles, but I can't verify the exact mileage because the odometer LED stopped working about 4 months ago.  I've researched how to repair this, and it's a matter of replacing two resistors on the circuit board for the LED, which I, frankly, don't want to tackle.  I'm sure a Buick dealer would be able to repair it as well.  To help with mileage verification, I've posted the most recent Valvoline bill from 4/4/13, with a mileage of 122,579 on it.  The car has had more recent oil changes, but my daughter wasn't as diligent about saving receipts as I was, so I don't have more recent records.  The car has an aftermarket JVC stereo in it, with CD and USB input--the speakers are stock Buick.


THE GOOD: 

This car was "born in the desert" in California, so the body on this car is extremely good, especially for the car's age. There is a very small bit of rust just behind both front wheels, but it's surface rust only (photos attached).  This is the only real rust I can find on the car. I've had mechanics remark on how good of shape the body is in.  

Mechanically, as I mentioned, there is very little wrong--cold AC, and the engine pulls strong.  There is a VERY occasional transmission slip, but I had it in a Buick dealer for three days to get it diagnosed, and they couldn't get the trans to even do it so they could diagnose the issue--that's how seldom it happens.  They said the car's computer didn't record any transmission issues in its log.  

The interior is really good--no rips, and minimal wear.


THE BAD: 

My daughter is a smoker, and there is a smoky smell to the interior.  I've shampooed the upholstery, and there is still some "smokiness".  If you're sensitive to smoke, this is probably not your car.  

As with any car of this age, there are small, nagging issues: the left rear door spring popped out and won't hold the door open (the spring is in the car), the rear window switches occasionally don't work, the odometer light issue I described above.  There are a couple of dents in the body--one in the hood, and one in the left-front fender (photos attached).  

My grandmother did get in a minor fender-bender when she owned the car, and my understanding is that the hood, grill, and left front fender were replaced at that time.  I don't have more details about it, as she's since passed away.  


I've been as up-front about the car as I can be--it's a good, solid car, and I think the buyer will be very happy with it.  It's been comfortable and reliable for us.  I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone has.


Buyer requirements: deposit must be paid within 48 hours of close of auction, and must be paid in full within 7 days of close of auction.  I cannot arrange delivery of the car--it is pick-up-only at our home in Kentwood, MI.  I cannot accept a check as payment.

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Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: 1985 Buick Somerset Regal Limited

Fri, Aug 10 2018

The Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac divisions of The General's mighty army got serious about their attempts to compete with futuristic and stylish German and Japanese coupes during the second half of the 1980s, with cars such as the Cadillac Allante, Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo, and Buick Reatta. They featured edgy styling, wild digital dashes, and other interesting gadgetry. Before them, however, came the Buick Somerset. Built for the 1985 through 1987 model years, only the '85s were badged as Somerset Regals. Here's one of those ultra-rare cars, spotted in a San Francisco Bay Area self-service wrecking yard. This badging confused many Buick shoppers at the time, because the 1985 Regal was a "traditional" midsize rear-wheel-drive car, based on the increasingly antiquated G-Body platform, and the Somerset Regal was an N-Body front-wheel-drive compact. For 1985 and 1986, the car became the Buick Somerset. The interior is your standard Whorehouse Red velour, a theme used by everybody from Nissan to Chrysler during the 1985-1995 period. This cloth looks pretty nice for a car from sunny California. Digital dashes became very trendy during this period, with Mitsubishi, Subaru, Nissan, and even Toyota getting into the act during the first part of the decade, and everyone else jumping on the bandwagon a bit later. The radio face went into this weird pod perched over the HVAC controls, which looked like something from the Mars Base and made aftermarket audio-system installation nearly impossible. The factory cassette deck, if desired, had to go elsewhere in the console. The base engine in the Somerset Regal was the decidedly un-European Iron Duke four-cylinder with 92 horsepower, but this car has the optional 120-horse 3.0-liter V6. In theory, a 5-speed manual transmission was available, but I'm guessing that the quantity of so-equipped Somerset Regals was numbered in the high dozens. There's plenty of hard red plastic and fake wood inside, of course. Base price on a V6 Somerset Regal Limited came to $10,026 (about $24,000 in 2018 dollars). Meanwhile, a Pontiac Grand Am LE with the 3.0 V6 was nearly the same car and listed at $8,970. If you wanted even crazier electronics and an interior that looked like something out of a jet fighter, the 1985 Subaru XT GL had a $9,899 price tag. Give me savvy. Give me cool. Give me a car that breaks all the rules. Give me the look. Give me the feel. Give me the magic. Give me the wheel.

VW ID.4, the new Buick Envision and crossing Hyundai's N Line | Autoblog Podcast #668

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MotorWeek remembers the nearly forgotten Buick Reatta

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