Modern aerodynamic styling might just be man’s great equalizer. In 1995, when this Buick Regal Custom was built, a 30-year-old Buick would have been a 1965 Skylark, Riviera, or Electra 225. Everyone would have known it was an old car and it would have taken a special kind of person to consider driving it daily with its carburetor, comparatively poor fuel mileage, and lack of cruise control and (probably) air conditioning. Most people who look at this Regal, however, will see a clean older commuter car, but nobody has to know that it’s 30 years old and cost $4,499. And with 86,361 miles on the odometer, the 3800 V6 is just getting started. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette, who found it at a dealer on craigslist in Seattle, Washington, and sent us the tip.
The reason why this Buick is so comparatively desirable is its driveline. While the Regal Custom came standard with the 60-degree, 160-horsepower 3100 V6, the original owner of this example wisely chose the 170-horsepower 3800. It doesn’t sound like a big advantage in power, but the bigger V6 had 40 more lb.-ft. of torque than the 3100 (225 to 185). That the Regal still carried on with the Series I version of this famously durable engine shouldn’t matter to most buyers, and the super-clean engine compartment tells us that this car has been extremely well-maintained. The transaxle is a four-speed automatic, GM’s 4T60-E according to my materials, and the final drive ratio was 3.06:1.
The 1995 Regal came standard with driver and passenger air bags, anti-lock brakes, and cruise control. Interestingly, this Custom has leather seating surfaces, which were not available in the Custom line according to the dealer brochure (which isn’t always accurate, being printed before the model year begins). There aren’t enough close-ups of the interior to tell if it might be a Limited model, so we’ll just have to trust what the dealer tells us. The interior looks a little worn, but it is 30 years old, after all.
Here’s a picture of the odometer; with a car this “new,” it might be worth running a CARFAX report if you have the capability and are interested in buying the car, simply to cover as many bases as you can.
Still, the price is not too bad and there’s probably some room for negotiation. Additionally, its paint is a handsome Ruby Red Metallic and the styling still looks fairly modern, even 30 years on, so nobody needs to know you’re driving an old car unless you tell them. Like I said, it’s the great equalizer, but there’s a big part of me that wishes that my 30-year-old car looked it. You can’t have everything.
Those are very reliable, comfortable and can pull 30 mpg on the interstate. I had a 96 Regal GS white over gray with gray leather AND the fake trunk luggage rack! One of those cars I should have kept/driven longer. $3,500 would be great deal then spend a little money on Car Wizard 3800 upgrades.
Buy a car like this and drive it for many more years. I wish I could find cars like this when someone tells me they need reliable, low cost transportation.
I drove one of these (an earlier year) around Tucson when I was in college running errands for the college office I worked in. Nice car for sure.
This is a late Series I with a plastic intake. Earlier Series I engines (pre-’93, I think) had the gray painted cast aluminum intake and matching gray injector rail cover. I’ve owned both and never had intake issues with either intake leaking. Just watch out for the plastic water inlet fitting just above the water pump (in both versions of the Series I). It can snap off and dump all your coolant in seconds. Dorman makes a steel replacement. (Note: this fitting is NOT the Series II coolant elbows that also had issues). Great cars for the money and getting harder and harder to find in good condition. I joked when I got my 3rd of these 3800-powered cars that I probably wouldn’t ever need to buy another car. I still own 3 of them, so I’m still taking that bet. Super-reliable drivetrain with the perfect balance of power, economy, and serviceability.