Media | Articles
Piston Slap: This Sabre Rages Against a Throw-Away Society (Part II)
(Thank you for heeding the call last week, but I could still use a few more Piston Slap questions for my inbox. Please email me at pistonslap@hagerty.com if anything is on your mind. Anything car-related, that is!)
Adam writes:
Sajeev, thank you for your response. Seeing you and the other Hagerty community members rally around and support “Grandma’s Buick” was heartwarming.
When the Buick was out of commission, I rented a Toyota Corolla for a 400-mile road trip. I can see why they are so popular. The trip computer said I was averaging 40 mpg (the Corolla was over-optimistic on that front; it was more like 36 mpg). The Lane Centering and Adaptive Cruise Control features were helpful, but they didn’t make the drive any less stressful than I had hoped.
At the end of the trip, I called the mechanic and told him to go ahead and do the work as I was ready to be back in the “Grand Boulevardier” and so…
Marketplace
Buy and sell classics with confidence
…The Buick Lives!
I hope you don’t mind, but I think I’m going to have your statement printed up and hung above the Buick’s spot in the garage:
“This LeSabre was built to last, even if that was a side effect of being less innovative/fun/prestigious than its competition was when new. This Buick deserves your best, and it will give it right back to you as the months and years pass.”
Since the transmission was redone (with its proper 3.05:1 gear set) I’m now getting about 8% better fuel economy. That proves the transmission has been going out for the past 4 years and 20,000 miles. What they say is true: a GM 3800 V6 vehicle will run bad longer than a Toyota will run good.
On the way to the transmission shop, the Buick finally threw a check engine code for the torque converter that it was unable to lock up. When we got into the transmission, the torque converter seemed to be, in fact, the culprit. I think the bearings were starting to let go internally and all that metal clogged up the pump and filter and generally made a mess of things pretty fast. I have been good about monitoring the fluid and changing it to help keep an eye on things, but sometimes you don’t win.
To its credit, though, the Buick didn’t strand me when it could have, which makes me want to fix it even more. The next projects are to replace the A/C Compressor Clutch, repair a broken heating element wire in the heated seat, and replace the auto-dimming driver’s side mirror. That should keep me busy.
I hope you, your family, and the Hagerty Community members have a great holiday!
Sajeev answers:
Reading your email brought me great joy, Adam. I am glad to hear the Buick lives to see another day! The comment from the previous Piston Slap that you liked enough to keep with the car is something I feel strongly about. Very strongly, in fact.
That’s because I started my writing career when the Buick Lacrosse came out. I was highly critical of it, and that critique still stands.
***
Oh dear, that was 18 years, five months, and 11 days ago.
But the flaws present in that brand-new GM product made with W-body underpinnings are now officially assets. So many of the LaCrosse’s “superior” foreign competitors have fallen by the wayside since 2006, and I don’t have much faith in GM’s current crop of turbocharged (and sometimes CVT-equipped) vehicles being able to carry this torch for the brand or its owners.
Not that I’m suggesting a 3800-powered GM product will outlast new GMs (even with a 20-year head start), but it wouldn’t surprise me if your particular Buick LeSabre did just that. It is an honor to hear you will put my quote in your garage. All the best to you and the Buick, and have a great holiday!
Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.
In this age of both heightened cynicism and the throw-away society, it’s heartening to read both of these articles!
1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser was meant to go cross-country, pulling a camper trailer optional. You can always upgrade the braking system and add vintage air…
Most of the options that make a new-model car “better” than a 5 or 15 or 25 year old one are not options I care for. Certainly not at the price points of the last 5 years.
I concede the point thanks to my jurisdiction using a brine solution that eats concrete on the roads all winter long –I sacrifice a newer vehicle to that. Presently very happy with my 2013 daily driver –good chance it gets replaced with something 10-20 years older than it when the time comes.
The 3800 and Buick is no surprise to me. We have had a number of 3800 powered vehicles in our family.
These were cars I grew up with and worked on for years. Not much repair just service. In the decades of Toyota, Honda quality claims I saw the real winner the mid sized GM cars.
We’re the GM cars perfect, no. But neither were any of the others. My father was disabled and needed reliability. He relied on Buicks and the 3800 as he got older. Often the guy he had riding to work with him had to dropped at the Toyota dealer for his car that was in for issues.
Often the real judge of a good was to look at high school parking lots here in the mid west. The cars most seen for years were trucks and GM cars. Why because they were affordable, reliable and often cheap and easy to repair. They also would last from rust well 15-20 years. You seldom had to replace an exhaust.
Today most cars are in the same boat. They have gotten complex to meet emissions and mileage. This adds even more cost.
I still drive GM and have few issues. Like any brand there are models to own and some to avoid. I stick to the ones with little issues.
As for new cars and features. With how we drive I have to adapt to the smaller engines. I hated the Turbo 4 engines but owned one for near 10 years running 24 pounds of boost at 300 hp. Nary an issue with my 2.0. Before I bought it I made sure how it was built. Sadly it is honestly now. So yes they still get things right.
Not a fan of hybrids, cvt or rubber cam belts.
Anyway there are better ways to judge vehicle quality and often it is the guy that works on them. They are. Not marketing mouth pieces for companies.
As for new cars don’t get too crazy as some have sone great things to offer. Right now my heated seats and wheel in my truck are golden.
Hey, who stole the lead in picture of my 2004 LeSabre Limited? Mine only has 64,000 miles.
I just saw one drive by this weekend in this color. Not a common sighting anymore.
Depends where you live. Here in the Midwest we have many of these around here. A neighbor has one in while just like the photo.
That photo is actually of the 2005 Celebration Edition! I am sure it’s the same as yours from the outside, but the unique seats might be a cause for, ahem, celebration.
https://autocatalogarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Buick-LeSabre-2005-CA.pdf
The Celebration Edition was both 05 and 04 like mine.
Wow, no kidding! Learn something new every day!
I liked the one my dad bought. It was a 1997 Silver with the Touring package. It had the armillary wheels that recalled Buicks wheels from the 30’s.
The Seats would not hold you in enough for what the suspension would do but he was so proud of that car. I told him to look at one and get the better suspension. I though he would be please and boy was he ever.
The key to the upgraded GM suspensions of this time on FWD is they would hold up better. Often the stock springs would sag. Plus these packaged drove much better.
I am of the feeling that everyone would have been happier with the Dynaride suspensions as standard fitment, but maybe I needed to drive them back to back to know for sure.
GMs weak point was the stock suspensions would settle. As they would settle the mud flaps would scrap. I saw this on many FWD GM cars of the 80’s and 90’s.
Now don’t mistake the Buick Touring for a WS6 Pontiac suspension. It was smooth.
It rode better, had better on line feel and was far from a filling buster. The over stuffed leather would not hold you in place if it were too aggressive. It even had the load leveling so it was not even performance shocks.
It had Eagle GA 16″ tires. The better wheels. The steering was just a bit faster and it had a little more gear. A little more sway bar front and rear.
Same went for the Park Ave.
But in no way was it an M car killer.
But the stock suspension were basic at best.
A few years ago, I volunteered at a local Autocross event where a young woman was putting down excellent course times in a stock Honda Fit. However, as her times improved as the day went on, someone became increasingly upset and kept complaining that she had an “unfair” advantage due to her “ballast,” i.e., her own body weight in the Honda. I got called over to the timing booth and attempted to reason with the person but got nowhere, of course.
I told the person, “I’ve got a stock Buick Lesabre out there in the parking lot, and if I can put down a quicker lap time in one run than you have all the times you’ve run today in your car, you will abide by the decision and standings. ”
I beat his lap times by 2.7 seconds. And yes, it was a 3.05 gear set Gran Touring-equipped LeSabre. I did scallop the shoulders on the tires, but it was worth it!
Love it! W bodies fare pretty well in Lemons enduros too, it’s good to see you are using it to its full extent.
Artillery wheels. Spell check is fighting again.
I had a 1998 Lesabre 3.8 it was an amazing car. It was a company car I got it when new and drove it for two years and 120,00 miles. Only repair in that time was the spark plugs and plug wires which was really just maintenance. 30 mpg or close all the time on highway.
I started working at a Chevy/Buick dealer as a technician in 2004. These are great cars, they return great fuel economy, most getting 30 mpg on the highway. Great comfort and reliability. I still have a handful of these that come in the shop. Most over 300k and still going strong.
My mother sold her 89 Park Avenue to a family friend years ago, and at over a quarter million miles, it is still going strong. Those 3800 engines are amazing.
We owned 3 cars with the 3800 V6: 1987 LeSabre coupe (Gran Touring package), 1998 Grand Prix GTP coupe with the supercharger, and 2002 Grand Prix GT sedan. All of the engines were great, and got really good MPG (yes, even the GTP). The 1987 transmission was not so great.
My favourite W-platform car, though, was my 2009 LaCrosse Super, with the LS4 V8. Great looks, great sound, really good acceleration and top end, and still a decent ride. Very secure driving in the snow, with its FWD and all-speed traction control. And 30 MPG on the highway (likely due to cylinder deactivation) did not hurt, either!