Find or Sell Used Cars, Trucks, and SUVs in USA

1998 Buick Lesabre Custom Sedan 4-door 3.8l For Parts Or Repair on 2040-cars

Year:1998 Mileage:79102
Location:

Decatur, Georgia, United States

Decatur, Georgia, United States

This was my daughter's college car.  She worked really hard to keep it running, but the constant struggle is too much for her to deal with while she goes to school.  This is not for sale as a daily driver that is expected to be in running condition.  Getting it through inspection this year may be touch and go.  This is what you need to know.  Please read carefully because there is NO WARRANTY.  If you buy it, this belongs to you.  There are NO RETURNS AND NO REFUNDS.  This is LOCAL PICKUP ONLY.  It will probably roll wherever you want to take it under its own power, but I DON'T RECOMMEND a multi-state road trip to pick this up.

Known:
  • My daughter changed the oil and filter, carefully measuring out the correct amount (she said that was important) every 3,000 miles or less since October 2012.
  • She says it dirties oil faster than it used to.  The oil looks worse coming out than it did at the start.
  • This car is on its second engine, but, as far as the very honest dealer in North Carolina knew, the odometer reading was still within 1,000 miles of accurate.  (None of us have any suspicion about his honesty.  We flew up from GA to buy a used car for her because he has sold us such solid vehicles that were in exactly the condition he said.  My daughter and some of her mechanic friends have wondered whether someone lied to him, though, and represented a very old engine as newer when he bought the replacement.  She got it running well at around 65k and says she's shocked at how fast it fell apart).
  • The transmission fluid and filter are coming up on needing replacement.
  • It needs front tires pretty soon.
  • It shifts kind of badly.
  • The engine is struggling, maybe due to the transmission and manifolds.  While the AC works and often runs ice cold, she says it sometimes cuts out just because the car isn't up to keeping it on.
  • The suspension is not perfect anymore but really pretty okay considering the car's age.
  • All the power stuff and the radio works.  The leather is in decent shape.  The speakers seem to work fine.  The remote unlocker doesn't work.  (She tried changing the battery.  It's just broken).
  • The interior smells like coolant sometimes.
  • It has some scratches.
  • The suspension is okay but not perfect.  This is an old car.
  • It runs fuel trim codes.  It runs lean.
  • The ABS is broken.  My daughter heard noises that make her think the problem is the pump, but she knew she was getting rid of it and didn't look into it too much.  Stability controls are off.
  • It probably needs a brake job pretty soon, too.  The ones in the back were done within the past 18 months.  They should be fine.  The ones in the front will need work.

Unknown:

  • This car's history before 2012.
  • Its problems seem kind of systemic and related to each other.  Several very good, very experienced mechanics have different theories.  No one really knows.
  • Whether the engine was accurately represented to the guy who bought and installed it.
  • If not, how old the engine really is.

This is:

  • for PARTS, SCRAP OR REPAIR
  • unlikely to pass inspection without work
  • a TWO TON + vehicle that DOESN'T STOP OR GO AS PREDICTABLY AS IT SHOULD

This isn't:

  • A GOOD FIRST CAR FOR A NEW DRIVER UNLESS YOU WANT TO PUT IN SOME SERIOUS WORK
  • a reliable daily driver

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Auto blog

General Motors shaking up its marketing... again

Wed, 13 Mar 2013

One of the things that dogs the full comeback of General Motors is the instability of its marketing. That part of the automaker got yet another big shakeup today when GM confirmed what I have been tweeting for a few days - strong rumors that the Chevrolet and Cadillac ad accounts are walking to new ad agencies.
Cadillac, GM's luxury brand, is going into review from Fallon Worldwide, Minneapolis and the indications are that Campbell-Ewald, Chevy's old ad shop, will end up with most or all of it. C-E just announced that it was moving from its long-time home in Warren, MI to a new downtown Detroit office next to Ford Field, just blocks from GM.
The other shoe to drop shortly will be the shift of GM's most important brand, Chevy, from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners of San Francisco to McCann-Erickson of Troy, MI. McCann used to be the agency for Buick and GMC, as well as GM's corporate advertising, and has retained some pieces of business over the last few years. Sources have even told us that it was McCann that did a lot of the creative work on Chevy's new ad platform, Find New Roads. (Not to be confused with a former McCann tagline for Saab, "Find Your Own Road.")

New Takata problem results in recall of 414 GM vehicles

Mon, Oct 19 2015

An airbag-inflator rupture discovered by Takata during testing has resulted in a new recall affecting 414 vehicles from General Motors, including 395 of them in the US. This latest campaign covers 2015 model-year examples of the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Camaro, Equinox, Malibu, and GMC Terrain. There are no reported breaks in any of these vehicles on the road, and the company estimates only one percent of them actually have the faulty parts. According to documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (as a PDF), one side-airbag inflator failed a cold test at -40 Fahrenheit "releasing high pressure gas and propelling the separated components apart." The supplier told GM about the failure the next day. In these vehicles, the safety device might not only burst but the bag could inflate incorrectly, as well. GM and Takata say that a cause is not yet known, but they are "conducting an investigation." GM will begin notifying affected owners via overnight mail on Oct. 19. Dealers will replace the side airbag modules on all of the affected vehicles with new components outside of the suspect lot. All of the removed parts will also be collected for further study. Takata's faulty front airbag inflators have resulted in a serious scandal for the supplier. Initial figures indicated 34 million US vehicles are need of repair, though more recent figures have knocked that down to 23.4 million bad parts in 19.2 million automobiles. GM was already among the dozen automakers with models to fix, and some of its pickups were affected, along with the Saab 9-2X and Pontiac Vibe. GM Statement: General Motors is recalling 395 cars and crossovers in the U.S. because one of the front seat side air bags inflators may be defective. In the event of a deployment, the air bag's inflator may rupture and the air bag may not properly inflate. The rupture could cause metal fragments to strike the vehicle occupants, potentially resulting in serious injury or death. GM is unaware of any incidents involving vehicles with these components, which were part of a lot in which one inflator failed acceptance testing at the supplier. Dealers will replace the side air bag module or modules in affected vehicles. Including Canada, Mexico and exports, the total population of the recall is 414, GM estimates 1 percent of the recalled vehicles may have the defect.

GM issues CUV stop-sale due to Goodyear tires [UPDATE]

Thu, Jan 22 2015

UPDATE: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that only 6,281 tires were installed on the CUVs, when in actuality, there were 6,281 CUVs affected by the stop-sale order, totaling 25,124 tires. The story has been edited to reflect this. General Motors has issued a stop-sale order on some 6,300 of its Lambda platform crossovers due to a pending recall on their 18-inch Goodyear Fortera HL tires. The affected vehicles include all three flavors of GM's large CUV platform, consisting of the 2015 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave. Goodyear is recalling a total of 48,500 Fortera HL tires after discovering "very small" cracks in the tread, found during internal testing. Of the affected tires, 32,100 were made for GM, Goodyear told Automotive News. According to GM, 6,281 CUVs were fitted with the questionable rubber, totaling 25,124 of the company's 32,100 tires. The remainder were stocked as replacements, a GM rep told Autoblog. The remaining 16,400 tires were built specifically for the aftermarket. Goodyear reports that the cracks do "not indicate a safety issue." Meanwhile, a GM spokesman told AN that stop-sale "will eventually lead to a non-compliance recall by GM." Featured Gallery 2015 Chevrolet Traverse View 21 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Recalls Buick GM GMC Safety Crossover gmc acadia chevy traverse goodyear