As we roll into the holiday season, it is human nature to reflect on days past and loved ones who are no longer with us.  When I stumbled upon this ad for a 1974 Buick Century coupe for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Sparks, Nevada,  a lot of memories flooded into my mind.  My mother, who is no longer with us, owned a very similar Buick when I was a child.  A lot of my early childhood was spent sliding around on the vinyl seats of one of these personal luxury coupes.  This example appears to be in good condition and is offered for a reasonable $8,495.  Does the sight of certain cars immediately drag you down memory lane?  Thanks to Jack M. for the tip on this Buick!

I was somewhere around five or six years old when my parents bought a used 1973 Buick Century Regal.  I am also sure that my grandparents helped them purchase it, as they were Buick fans on the way up the ladder to Cadillacs. While my memory of that time in my life is fleeting, I remember a few details about the car.  It was canary yellow with brown vinyl seats that would hold on to heat like it was money.  Living in Florida, we almost always wore shorts, and it was blazingly hot for most of the year.  You could practically hear the back of my legs sizzle like bacon when I plopped down foolishly every single time.  This was one of the first clues I had that perhaps I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.

As for the other features of the car, it had an AM/FM radio, manual windows, and air conditioning.  The air conditioning may have been broken, as I never remember it being on.  It had a V-8 and was decently fast for the time.  My father put a starter in it and maybe a radiator, but other than those items, it was very reliable.  What did it in was a leak that filled up the rear passenger floor pan whenever it happened to rain.  For those of you who have never been, it rains a lot in Florida.  It wasn’t long before that spot became a bit spongy, and some bubbles under the vinyl top became impossible to ignore.  The Buick got traded in for a glacially slow 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass with t-tops and cloth upholstery.

Like many of you, I sometimes get wistful about cars from my past and start surfing the internet want ads.  For some reason, my parents’ old Buick never really pulls at my purse strings as much as some other cars.  Maybe it is because I was so young when they owned it.  Or perhaps it is because the car was excellent at providing reliable transportation with little fuss.  When you go to a car show, you see plenty of rare and sporty automobiles.  For whatever reason, utilitarian vehicles don’t appeal as much to collectors.  While a step or two above a Chevy, the old Buick was just another car to my parents.  I guess I felt the same way then and still do to a certain point.

Yet Buick Century-based coupes of this vintage must have a strong fan base.  The asking price on this 1974 Buick Century is $8,495.  This is in the ballpark with the asking prices I have seen for similar Buicks of this vintage and condition.  This one boasts a rebuilt engine, a new interior, a “dual-flow master exhaust,” and a new set of wheels and tires.  The seller mentions that the car “runs strong” and even adds an exclamation point to drive that message home.

The new owner will have to fix a few issues revealed in the ad’s photographs.  The plastic trim pieces at the rear of the car have succumbed to age and exposure.  These may be difficult to source, given the relatively low survival rate of these cars and the lack of appeal for aftermarket companies to reproduce the missing panels.  Another issue is that the air conditioning system is lacking the hoses and compressor needed to function.  There may be other missing pieces as well.  The good news is that the same system was used on almost every other GM product of that era.  Parts shouldn’t be an issue.  The rear-view mirror in the front seat was also a common failing of the time.  A trip to the auto parts store and a ten-spot for a little tube of glue will fix that aggravation.

Perhaps what this car is best at is being a good driver-quality car from a less stressful time.  GM cars of this era are easy to work on and can be made to go fast with little effort or expense.  That seems to be the seller’s intent with the modifications made.  Buicks of this era were solid cars that provided reliable transportation for many families like mine.  It is nice to see an example close to the one I grew up with, but I don’t love it enough to part with my spending cash for another trip down memory lane.  Hopefully, it will find a good home soon with someone who has stronger and fonder memories of a similar car in their past.

Have you ever felt a desire to purchase a car like one from your youth?  If so, what year, make, and model interests you, and why haven’t you added one to your collection?