In addition to wide-scale manual transmission availability, one of the other things I miss most about modern cars is that manufacturers don’t consider a 2-door model of their mainstay offerings important anymore, and that’s a shame. The Buick LeSabre coupe had a sleek appearance even in basic form back in the late eighties, but when the T-Type package was added, the sportiness level went up considerably on the outside, with an added air dam up front and blacked-out trim all the way around. This 1989 model is said to be an all-original survivor, with just 75k miles put on by three owners, so if you’ve been in the market for an unusual Buick from this era, this one’s probably worth a close look.
P.B., thanks a lot for your great tip here! LeSabre customers who ticked code WE2 between 1987 and 1989 received the T-Type option, with nearly 5,400 buyers choosing this package during the last year of production. The seller says everything we see here is original, and it’s probably not fair for me to judge the quality of GM paint from 1989 as my last car from this company was an ’87 model, but I can vouch that it didn’t take very long for the outside finish to fade and get dull on my Cutlass manufactured two years earlier. However, the black exterior seems to have held up nicely here, and I’m not spotting many body blunders either, just a beautiful Buick that reflects the amount of care it’s received over the last 35 years.
By 1989, the LeSabre had switched to a front-wheel-drive platform, with the T-Type receiving the 3.8-liter engine, a sequential fuel-injected V6 offering 165 horsepower and praised for its reliability. It’s paired with a 4-speed automatic transmission, and with the low miles there are probably years of good service left for the drivetrain. A Grand Touring suspension was also part of the package, which provided more aggressive handling capabilities for the T-Type.
Things inside appear to remain in overall satisfactory condition, with those leather seats looking comfortable and inviting. It’s also a fun touch to find a tach and real gauges in the cluster, plus the dash also appears to have gotten an upgraded Stereo at some point. This one definitely seems like an excellent cruiser, and if you’d like to see it in your garage this 1989 Buick LeSabre T-Type is located in Metamora, Michigan, about an hour north of Detroit, and can be found here on Craigslist. The seller has set his asking price at $14,500. Is this a reasonable cost for what we’re seeing here?
Boy I had forgotten all about these. This one looks real nice and clean especially the underside. Paint looks great and yes those leather seats do look inviting. Those 3800’s go forever. Almost be a shame to buy it as a DD. I’d be more around 10k GLWTA
I think it is a very fair price for this car. Even though I don’t think I have ever seen one. Love at first sight!
When I took my road test years and years ago, a buddy of mines brother had this car and I used this as my road test car lol I’ve driven it so many times back then and it was a nice car. I wish I had one now. It was the first car I drove that had rack n pinion I had to get used to that at first lol was very different from driving my moms 1979 Lincoln Continental that used for training lol using the steering wheel on the continental, I could turn that whole car around with my pinky not the t-type lol definitely took some getting used to at first
I was the fleet manager at Fanning Cadillac-Buick in Chicago at this time.
I ordered several dozen of these `87-`89.
Most in the Midwest zone per our Buick zone manager Jim Pitcher.
Total ’89 LeSabre T Type production was 5,389.
I owned a silver `89 from 2009 to 2016.
It had been a one owner GM employee car from Janesville Wisconsin.
`89 was the only year with the 100mph speedometer, and the thicker leather wrapped steering wheel pictured.
`87 had black seats with grey inserts in cloth only, and no rear spoiler even though the brochures showed them with them.
There is a registry and a Facebook page if anyone is interested.
Always admired these T-type LeSabre coupes and thought they at least looked the part of a worthy successor to the Grand National, too bad about the FWD, but a later supercharged 3800 should swap right in to give it the power to back up the looks.
Not sure who the seller is but thisseems to be the same excat car that sold in rockford illinois a few weeks ago – asking price was 9500 at that time – I assume he bough for less ands is just flipping. $8,500 seems to be the right price for this car – cloth seats more desireable than the leather.
Yup, looks like the exact same car
Not sure who the seller is but this seems to be the same excat car that sold in rockford illinois a few weeks ago – asking price was 9500 at that time – I assume he bough for less ands is just flipping. $8,500 seems to be the right price for this car – cloth seats more desireable than the leather.
I was in management for a dealership back then. We sold exactly one LeSabre coupe and it was gray T-Type that was a customer order. We ordered another in red and it grew fast to our lot. We finally traded it to another dealer. THAT’s why you don’t see many LeSabre coupes.
I worked for an Olds dealer back then and I always wondered why Olds didn’t offer models as sporty as these. Or maybe they did and weren’t good sellers!
Olds offered the “International Series” cars starting in 1988, but only on the N-body Calais, the Ciera, and the new FWD Supreme. They did have an Eighty-Eight Coupe those years also, so it’s a shame they didn’t get the I.S. treatment as well.
I owned a rare 1988 Buick Electra T-Type, bought it used in 1990 from a local Toyota dealership that had taken it in trade on a new Cressida. What a great 4 door cruiser but had the sporty interior of the Le Sabre etc. Loved that car!
Back in 2000-2001 I had an ’89 T-Type, Maroon interior with the same black leather interior. It had 98k miles on it when I bought it, and I drove it 300 miles a day, 6 days a week. It was a great car, the only problem I ever had with it was one of the power window motors went bad, and one of the gauges on the dash went bad and had to be replaced. Looked really cool at night with the whole dash lit up red. Never see these around anymore. $14.5k is a strong ask, though, as there’s not a lot of interest/demand for these.
Deleted already.
This is the second one of these to be featured here on BF in 2 months. Not bad for a rare one.
I’m a member of a Facebook group devoted to these rare and cool Buicks. A member linked this listing a couple days ago, and reaction within the group was lots of laughter. Nice examples of these trade hands for about half this asking price. Guys who own them were highly skeptical.
These are one of the few Buicks that I would love to have. I always loved the looks and size of these too.too bad these were overshadowed by the grand national.