Buick called these Regals “the Car for the Supercharged Family,” and you’ll search a long time before finding a cleaner example than this 2002 Buick Regal GS Joseph Abboud Edition in Sonoma California. Not only does it have the supercharged V6 but the special Joseph Abboud leather interior and all the luxury features you’d expect in 2002. The claimed 81,000 miles sedan looks great inside and out, and comes with upgraded replacement parts. Check out more pictures and details here on Craigslist. The $8500 asking price buys a car with more performance, utility, and economy than modern family haulers costing ten times more. Thanks to reader Jack M. for spotting this sporty and practical four-door.
General Motors’ leather and interiors from this era have proven tough and attractive, and the switches and knobs do well too. The Monsoon sound system shown packs a wallop, but be careful replacing the head unit which also controls some of the car’s security features. Need a new key fob? Order two on eBay for $18 and use buttons on the stereo to code them to the car for free. Try that with your BMW!
Coil packs from GM 3800 specialists ZZP promise more zap in the combustion chamber. The Series II 3800 (231 cid) V6 got its start when Buick chopped two cylinders off its legendary 350 cid V8. I daily drove a non Joseph Abboud GS for 11 years and spiced mine up with a Stage I kit from TKO Motorsports, bumping the stock 240 HP at about a half bar (7.x PSI) to around 300 HP at 12.x PSI, enough to bury a host of pricier performance cars if you could feather the launch. Even with the extra HP I got 30 MPG highway by myself and 27.x with four passengers and luggage.
Clean lines and slippery CD help fuel economy, and sedate styling renders you nearly invisible to law enforcement, especially in this plain vanilla wrapper. I used fishing line to remove the “SUPERCHARGED” script on the rear deck on day two. One foible affects the brightness of the instrument panel. Resistors fall off the back of the instrument circuit board over time, dimming the display. Thankfully there’s an easy DIY solution; my daughter and I soldered on new resistors for a permanent fix. Total cost = $2.80.
This California classic looks great underneath as well, and the seller claims $4000 of recent new parts. My GS hit 292,000 miles before roasting its transmission. I could have revived it, but I was ready for something different. Even then my leather interior remained immaculate, and potential buyers should not be afraid to buy this car and rack up the miles. Fewer engines are simpler to sustain than the 3800. Will you introduce this pristine Regal to your supercharged family?
Love how you de-badged yours J.O. 🏁👍
Peak front drive automobiles.
Love sleepers like this!
I currently daily drive a 2019 CT6 Platinum with the 3.0TT. Although the 0-60 is only 4.9 sec, so many people see a big black Cadillac and immediately think slow. Always love showing how well it corners and accelerates.
This is one impressive sleeper!!! Love it!!! I’m sure its suprised more than its fair share at red lights!! Really like the interior too, the two tone leather looks great.
In retrospect, they probably would’ve been better off driving this instead of pampering it because 99.4% of observers are going to wonder why you’re driving a 25 year old car from the airport Hertz. It will take a special kind of Buick geek to buy this.
Love the minor tweaks on this one. Cars like this are simple enough to work on and enough modern conveniences to make it a reliable daily driver. If I had my way, I’d drive cars and trucks from this era for the rest of my life.
Beautiful car. I drove a 2003 Regal LS. I wish Buick continued to make cars like this. But I thought that the GS used premium fuel?
This is the sort of car people complaining about a lack of affordable cars should, but likely won’t, consider. It offers lot of bang for the buck, looks good, handles well, comfortable and offers good performance while not breaking the bank at the gas pump. This car was obviously well cared for and has well thought out modifications, yet seems overpriced for the market based on how long the ad has been active. Hopefully it finds a buyer that appreciates it.
Steve R