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1998 Buick Park Avenue Base Sedan 4-door 3.8l With No Functioning Key on 2040-cars

Year:1998 Mileage:103000
Location:

Little Rock, Arkansas, United States

Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
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It won’t start, it smells bad and it’s ugly. Now for the bad parts-

This is a two owner vehicle with about 103,000 miles on it. When we bought it with about 84000 miles on it last year (previous owner was an older lady), it had a known electrical glitch that eventually turned into a known electrical Festival of Glitches. Which is why it won’t start. It has a newish starter, alternator and battery. We have played “find the hidden current draw” many times. Eventually we pulled fuses and relays at random (including the radio, which was a POS anyway) until the worst of the glitches (the fact that the battery would drain in about a day) was vanquished. Or at least moderated. Meanwhile, my son showed the good sense to move far away, and during that time the key was lost. A smooth $135 later, we have a key that unlocks the doors (or the ones that actually open from the outside; two at this time), causes the dash to light up and that turns in the ignition. Unfortunately, it doesn’t actually start the car. The locksmith’s view is that there must be an electrical glitch that is preventing the key from programming. Uh, yeah. He suggested that only the dealer could help, although the overarching tone was “sucks to be you, man.”

We did take it to a local mechanic, who made a couple of stout runs at it. He eventually asked us to stop bringing it in, as it made him sad.

So, the key does everything but start the car. When turned to “on,” there is an ominous electro-mechanical noise from the right rear wheel well, which I presume to be related to the self-leveling suspension, if it has a self-leveling suspension. I’m going with that because it’s less worrisome than many other possible causes of the noise, and ascertaining more info about the noise would necessitate opening the trunk. Which is full of water. We don’t know why.

Which probably has nothing to do with the fact that the driver’s mirror fell off, or that the “twilight sentinel” auto headlight switch sometimes turns the headlights on in the middle of the night, when the car is turned off. Or that the driver’s power window does not work. Or any of the other electrical devices that don’t work. Which would be most of them.

Amazingly, both power seats work, although the switches are hanging on by their wires. This seems to be a GM design characteristic; I noticed it a lot when I was looking for replacement door handles (two of which don’t work, as has been noted) at the junkyard.

There are lots of these things at the junkyard. There’s probably a Buick Park Avenue specific junkyard out there.

When it did run, it actually ran okay. The motor was smooth and didn’t leak anything and the transmission shifted gears appropriately. Which is meaningless since it won’t start, so anybody bidding on it should assume that not only will it not start, but if attempts are made to start it, it will explode. Possibly blowing away the atmosphere and ending life as we know it.

Let’s manage expectations.

It doesn’t look nearly as good as the pictures indicate (we’re not even sure how those dents on the right rear door and rear fender got there, but we suspect wayward snow-sledders were involved), and the pictures cannot convey the overall grossness of the interior. Really, wear a hazmat suit the first time you get into it. It’s not all torn up, but at some point the teenage filth treatment overcame any desire we had to make it look reputable inside. We cave (wet, muddy Arkansas caves), but one of us didn’t always change into clean clothes afterwards. The teenage one who owns the Buick, in fact.

Still, the most the junkyard will offer is $250 (if they come get it). And that’s only because of the newish alternator, starter and battery. And the fact that the tires are all the same brand and have lots of tread. It’s a sad time when the state of the tires is a major determiner as to a car’s value. Before he moved and lost the key, he thought he had it sold on Craigslist for $1000, but that person never returned. That said, for somebody with the time, tools and knowledge to fool around with it (not to mention access to a trailer), it could be made into cheap transportation. Cheap, ugly and possibly unreliable transportation, but transportation. Or not. Really, it could just explode.

Auto Services in Arkansas

Young`s Tire & Auto ★★★★★

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Address: 511 S Main St, Russell
Phone: (501) 268-3538

Waller`s Auto Repair ★★★★★

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Address: 748 New Country Rd, Little-Rock-Air-Force-Base
Phone: (501) 843-5869

Trumann Auto Parts Napa ★★★★★

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Address: 137 Highway 463 N, Caraway
Phone: (870) 483-6319

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Address: 646 Monroe Avenue Ext, West-Memphis
Phone: (901) 526-1644

Southern Pride Mech & Detail ★★★★★

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Address: 3864 Highway 62 412, Hardy
Phone: (870) 856-2505

Scott Automotive Center Inc ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, New Car Dealers
Address: 14831 Highway 165, Scott
Phone: (501) 961-9300

Auto blog

GM cars and SUVs recalled for leaking transmission fluid

Thu, Nov 5 2020

General Motors is recalling more than 194,000 vehicles from 2018 to 2020 due to transmission fluid leaks. The leaks stem from an auto stop-start component that may have been installed with loose or missing bolts. The leaking fluid can affect the transmission's performance, and if it leaks onto a hot exhaust component, could potentially cause a fire. GM says that to date, it knows of no accidents or injuries related to the defect. The issue affects models from all four GM divisions. From Chevrolet, the affected vehicles are: 2018 Malibu, 2018–2019 Cruze, 2018–2020 Equinox, 2018–2020 Traverse, 2019–2020 Blazer At Buick, the following models are included: 2018–2019 LaCrosse, 2019–2020 Encore, 2019–2020 Enclave, At GMC, the recall includes: 2018–2020 Terrain, 2019–2020 Acadia Cadillac has two affected vehicles: 2019–2020 XT4 and 2020 XT6 The recall is scheduled to begin in mid-December. Owners of the affected vehicles will be contacted. Dealers will inspect the transmission accumulator, and replace those with loose or missing bolts.

2018 Buick Enclave First Drive Review | Fortress of quietude

Fri, Oct 6 2017

ATLANTA, Ga. — The 2018 Enclave is part of Buick's effort to reinvigorate its brand, positioning itself as a maker of "attainable luxury" vehicles. That means a total redesign, a number of safety and technology upgrades, and the introduction of the Avenir sub-brand (think of that last one as sort of the Denali of Buick). It also means more space and more luxury. With this in mind, we traveled to Atlanta to get to know the new Enclave, both in the city and on a long drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains into North Carolina. Our first impressions of the new Enclave came not from the driver's seat, but from a captain's chair in the second row (which is the traditional seating arrangement for a true captain, of course). We were riding from the Atlanta airport to a studio to learn more about the vehicle. That very first impression was, "Wow, this interior is really nice." The leather upon which we sat was soft, smooth to the touch, and interesting in its shapeliness. Looking around the cabin, we saw a lot of gentle curves and thoughtful accents that made the inside of the Enclave feel downright premium. It was a fresh and airy sense of taste though, and definitely not the seasoned wood-and-whiskey stodginess one might expect from the Buick name. Our second impression: "Boy, it's quiet in here." Heading toward downtown Atlanta on the freeway, we were unable to pick up wind noise, and only just a smidge of road noise as the Enclave trundled over the occasional rough patch of pavement. This is, of course, completely intentional on the part of Buick. The windshield and front windows use acoustic glass. The doors are triple sealed for a tighter, quieter fit when closed. Buick has insulated the Enclave with more sound deadening and included active noise cancellation. "Our goal is to make it as social as possible," said Dean Perelli, chief engineer for the Enclave. And social it is. It is easy to carry on conversation across the Enclave's three roomy rows. When we got out of the Enclave, we had a chance to take it in from the outside. It features attractive, wing-like lighting front and rear. The front signature lighting uses technology called "Evonik Acrylite," (a mouthful, even for the engineers) which is a polycarbonate material arranged in a dazzling, faceted and delicate array. The paint finishes we saw were attractive, with depth.

2022 Buick Envision mostly costs a little less than in 2021

Mon, Feb 14 2022

When Buick gave the world the second-gen Envision for the 2021 model year, the brand also gave Buick shoppers big discounts, cutting $1,700 from the entry-level Preferred trim's price compared to 2021. Buick's done the same on a smaller scale for 2022, albeit this time the brand made it an exchange, not a freebie. Pricing for the 2022 Envision after the $1,195 destination charge, as well as the differences from 2021, is: Preferred FWD: $32,695 ($300 less) Preferred ST FWD: $34,140 ($180 less) Preferred AWD: $36,345 ($1,550) Preferred ST AWD: $37,790 ($1,670) Essence FWD: $36,795 ($400 less) Essence ST FWD: $38,290 ($230 less) Essence AWD: $38,595 ($400 less) Essence ST AWD: $40,090 ($230 less) Avenir FWD: $41,045 ($550 less) Avenir AWD: $42,845 ($550 less) Buick's publicized list of changes for the 2022 Envision are the addition of a new Sapphire Metallic exterior color, and the Sport Touring package now including the "ST" logo embroidered on the front seat headrests and alloy pedals for all trims, plus contrasting red stitching on the Essence ST trim. What Buick left out, as GM Authority reports, is that some previously standard equipment is now optional, explaining the discounts of a few hundred bucks. Buyers need to buy a new $200 Safety Package to get blind spot and rear cross traffic alerts, which used to be standard with the Driver Confidence Plus suite. Powered lumbar for the driver's seat is also a new option that was formerly standard, bundled with different items and costing a different amount depending on trim. The real shocker is the four-figure price leap tacked onto the Preferred all-wheel-drive trims. In 2021, it cost $1,800 to send power to the rear axle. For 2022, it costs $3,650 to get AWD on the Preferred, but the AWD option on Essence and Avenir trims hasn't budged from $1,800. We aren't clear on the reasons for the change. Every Avenir is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 230 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, shifting through a nine-speed automatic transmission. Related video: