One of the finest names for a luxury car of all time, Buick’s Park Avenue conjures up images of a well-dressed couple in formal wear, walking along Park Avenue in NYC just after a rain, with wet streets reflecting how fantastic it was to be rich in the golden era of America, back when rich folks had class. I mean, not that they don’t today… Whew, that was close. In any case, this 1999 Buick Park Avenue is posted here on craigslist in Galesburg, Illinois, where the seller is asking just $5,400. Wait, $5,400? Here is the original listing, and thanks to classy Tony P. for the tip!
$5,400 for this car seems like a steal to me, even though it’s 26 years old and has 110,080 miles on it. It would have cost around $32,000 new in 1999, and that’s almost $62,700 in 2025 dollars. The seller doesn’t mention rust, but they say there are a few scratches and scuffs. Fewer than I have, I’d bet.
The second-generation Park Avenue was made from 1996 for the 1997 model year until the end of 2005. They only came in this one body style, a four-door sedan. But I wonder what a two-door coupe may have looked like. Or crazier yet, what about a convertible? Enough of that, back to this four-door gem. I love the “face” of these cars, it’s so retro and modern at the same time.
The rag rug floor mats are a very cool touch. The gray leather seats look great for having traveled over 110,000 miles in the last 2.5 decades, and the entire interior looks nice to me. The back seat looks almost perfect, as does the trunk compartment looks better than perfect, and is big enough to live in, in case your Park Avenue apartment goes condo and you get kicked out. They do say that one of the power windows isn’t working. Hopefully, that’s an easy fix.
The engine is Buick’s 3.8-liter OHV V6, which had 205 horsepower and 230 lb-ft of torque spinning through a four-speed Turbo-Hydramatic 4T65-E transmission sending power to the front wheels. That’s enough to chirp the tires on this 3,800-pound luxury car when needed. They say it’s a great car with current maintenance and cold AC. Any thoughts on this nice-looking Park Avenue?
These are nice solid quiet dependable daily drivers. This Buick does not look its age at all!!! That trunk!!! The 3.8 will run forever. And Scotty, that drop top version you made, the “Coke Bottle” lines in the rear quarters really lend themselves nicely . Kind of like a glimmer of the past in the 60’s when GM vehicles had them. Very nice!!!
Thanks, Dave! I think this would be a heck of a road trip car for not much money.
Scotty, I’m loving your concepts. An 8th generation Riviera would be close to what you have come up with – one of my favorites, BTW.
Not too long ago, there was a white convertible for sale, some sort of low production custom that looked very sharp. I searched for it just now but can’t find it.
Agree with you both. And those front seats 💺, along w the silky powertrain will eat up the miles on long drives w effortless comfort 😌
Put it on a hoist. A neighbor had one of these that was perfect on the outside, but the chassis was so rotted that it had to be junked.
Awhile back there was an Ultra I think with the supercharged six. That would be the one to have. I have to admit though, I didn’t like this much new but they have grown on me.
While this generation is still a great car mechanically, I greatly prefer the previous generation PA. Less bulbous styling and less cheapy plastic parts to break. A buddy had one of these and the flimsy glove box door deformed enough that it would not turn off the glove box light when latched, and the power seat panel would crack and fall off after a few years because the seat cushion would deflect enough under the drivers weight that he would contact the top of the trim panel getting in and out of the car. Plastic (previous versions were metal) gas filler door is sort of fragile as well. My ideal PA would be a ’96 Ultra.
Too bad they didn’t build this in wagon form.
These were very handsome Buicks and made in America. Now Buicks are Chinese. GM is too. May they go broke!
Back in the day, some of the corporate big shots in my company were given this model as their company car. On an unrelated note, I find it amusing when a seller parks his car for photos and takes the time to carefully park it between the yellow lines, even though the lot is empty.
That might say something about how he cared for the car.
I have a 1998 and an 2002 Buick Lesabre with this same motor. Those big Buicks make great road cars and are very good on gas. I get 29-30 MPG. They are not the most exciting cars I have every driven but they are some of the most reliable. Like Dave Brown said three out of the four Buick models made are now made in China. I have driven a couple of them and they can’t hold a candle to their American made Counter Parts. Whom ever buys this car is going to have a very nice car for not a lot of money.
The Lucerne replaced the PA in ’06. I have an ’08 Lucerne with the Series III 3800. It’s a very comfortable road car but a few hundred # heavier than the PA and a longer wheelbase. The high decklid makes it very hard to see out the back.
Scotty, your coupe version reminded me of an extended version of the ’85 Coup de Ville, Park Ave., and 98 coupe downsize. The convertible reminded me of an Allante. I like the convertible better but both nicely done. I had a ’99 PA for awhile and one thing to look for is behind those vinyl trim strips on the bottoms of the doors can be hiding a build-up of road crud which can lead to rust issues. I know. This one looks pretty loaded up with the heated seats no CD in with the radio. it’s a good looking, clean car and very reasonably priced driver..
My wife’s uncle had an identical car to this, he had a minor accident, one step above a fender bender.We took it to body shop recommended by insurance company. When they put it on rack they found it was really rotten underneath, insurance company came and totalled it. Took him to Buick dealer and he bought a Lucerne, 2 months later he had massive heart attack while driving, and died.He had attack while at traffic light, and car idled through light and hit another car, minor damage, had it fixed, and drove it for 6 months, thoroughly enjoyed it.Had to sell it to settle estate, should’ve bought it from estate.Very nice comfortable, road car.