Imagine that Car Jeopardy! was a game show and you entered “Final Jeopardy” in a dead heat with your two competitors. The clue was this: This car, sold by a manufacturer based in Flint, Michigan, wore three separate nameplates in four model years, and begat a T-Type version that sold 3,558 units in 1986. The question (of course) is “What is the Buick Somerset?” Between its 1985 introduction and 1988 rebranding, this car was sold as the Somerset Regal, the Somerset, and the Skylark. Just when you thought that the ladies and gentlemen behind the Tri-Shield had it all together, huh? This one is about as clean as you’ll find these days (when have you seen another?), and it’s for sale on eBay with a current high bid of $1,625.
All, however, is not raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, as Rodgers and Hammerstein might say. In one of the more unintentionally funny turns of phrase, the ad lists some mechanical and cosmetic gremlins before finishing with “the car needs nothing.” Perhaps the most unnerving is the fact that the transaxle was rebuilt to cure an intermittent vibration under acceleration. It didn’t, and the seller has made it clear that no more money will be spent trying to figure it out. At the very least, you get a rebuilt transaxle out of the deal, which is a good thing when considering a GM front-wheel-drive car (in my experience).
I wonder how bad the vibration is, because the seller claims that the car can be driven as-is. Shimmies can be extremely hard to diagnose, and when you’re spending money with a mechanic who is having a tough go of it, I can understand the frustration; perhaps a new pair of eyes on the problem will get it solved. Regardless, under the hood is Buick’s little 3.0-liter V6 with 125 horsepower. The air conditioning doesn’t work, but everything else does.
The interior is like-new except for the standard-equipment sagging headliner that has been “tacked up nicely.” I know that a lot of people loathe digital gauges, but I’d prefer for my ’80s survivor to have them, thank you. This one does.
Also endemic to 1980s GM products (I swear I’m not intending to bash them – I’m a GM booster) is peeling paint. Unfortunately, this Somerset’s fenders have suffered, but the rest of the original paint is still holding up. I imagine that some touch-ups on the fenders are doable for a skilled paint matcher.
This looks like a really nice car with a few flaws that probably aren’t as bad as they sound; nevertheless, they sound bad enough that they will probably hold the price down. (Kudos to the seller for being forthcoming; too many aren’t.) That may be good if you are willing to do your own work and are looking for a solid example of a car that may be one of a handful to survive. It has not met the reserve yet, so let us know if you’re willing to take on the challenge. (Seriously, I’m invested now. I want to know what’s causing the vibration.)
The history report shows had 104K in 2004 so I’d assume 160k
I don’t know, it looks like that reading in 2004 is an anomaly that doesn’t match the other odometer readings in the service records. Maybe someone was having a bad day when filling out the forms?
Possibly. The whole history doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s an 86 that wasn’t titled until 88. Then the registration wasn’t renewed for another 8 years until 1996.
Rather have the other T-Type model Buick offered in 86′ 🏁
I liked these when they came out. More meaty looking then the the wimpy J body Sky Hawk. Does it have a turbo though, or is T type just an appearance package? The vibration is concerning. It could be motor mounts is my guess but some forums mention turbo balancing?
I also thought T-Type meant turbocharged, but it looks as though it was trim package. I seem to remember it being offered on the Celebrity as well? Perhaps I’m getting that confused with the Eurosport trim package…
T-type was just Buick’s sporty trim/spec package (akin to their Grand Sport/GS package before and since then), usually including some driving-enthusiast amenities beyond mere trim such as tauter suspension tuning, maybe a mildly tuned engine, growly exhaust, etc.
Counterpart packages in that era were Eurosport for Chevy, SE for Pontiac, International Series for Olds.
I knew a lady with one which had a Quad 4 , I think it had almost 200 hp? Not sure. Was decked out sounded very good. Quick little car
T-Type doesn’t necessarily get you a turbo,the Quad 4 sucked, this V6 and the 3.8 where very good engines..
The Quad 4s were bad? I can’t say I ever really knew anyone with one, but GM sure hyped that engine, at the time. I recall someone sticking it in a Bonneville streamliner and doing well. The 3.8l was as dependable & stout as a small block V8, I assumed the 3.0l was based on the 2.8l, though? Also a decent engine, but not as bulletproof as the 3.8s.
this body style with this drive line had vibration. customers complained about this when there were new. they installed balance shafts in later models to fix this. i would check all the mounts and the balance. these are quick with the 3 liter in it.
Yup, the 3.0 V6 in this car would be an earlier variant of what later became the legendary 3800, which latter got balance shafts to tame the vibrations inherent to any V6 with 90° bank angle, itself a result of this V6 family being derived from the Buick 215 V8 (which later became the Rover V8).
I am always amazed while watching Jeopardy of how often the contestants do so poorly on car related questions, yet they know opera. Go figure.
At 160k? That shimmy’s standard equipment, unless the owners replaced just about everything on the front end.
The vibration could be the CV Shaft. Usually when everything else has been checked, this is the culprit.
Clean, straight and complete. The vibration/shimmy/annoyance will probably be obvious in arrears.
Good luck.
Ended at $2,436.
Reserve Not Met.
SubGothias checking the T-Type ✔️box on an 86 Regal brought alot more than a trim pkg bigtime.
Like what Stan??
Rw.. to be fair, im referencing a different car..on the rwd Regal platform, it brought along the mighty 3.8 intercooled V6 Turbo and all the trimmings, oddly except Posi-Trac… that was an option on GN and T-Types.
The neat thing about the T-Type model was the options. They made a liteweight one, and i remember seeing pics online of a column shift too lol.
Actually a rather smart looking car. I think it had an identity crisis being another small offering between the J and A-body cars. OTOH the Grand Am proved to be the high achiever the three while Buick and Olds struggled with middle child.
These were good looking versions of the GM N-body. Too bad they couldn’t hold up. Almost completely vanished from sight, as are most 80’s fwd cars