“Hey! It’s my old man’s Buick!” Well, it could be as he owned a number of both Buick and Oldsmobile A-bodies from this generation. The listing states, “Was formerly driven by a senior…” and that’s the case with many of these GM cars from this era. We haven’t reviewed a 1994 Century or many others from this generation, so let’s take a look and see what’s here. Found in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, this ubiquitous GM sedan is available here on craigslist for $2,500 (assuming the price is in Canadian dollars, which would convert to approximately $1,800 U.S.). Curvette gets a tip of the hat for this discovery!
This generation of Buick’s famed Century nameplate was produced between 1982 and 1996 and sold well – and not just to the elderly. Offered over the years as a two or four-door sedan and a station wagon, the Century had pitched the two-door bodystyle by ’94, offering only the four-door sedan and wagon. Total production was about 122K copies – not bad for a model that was long in the tooth and indistinguishable from its Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera cousin. “Minor imperfections on body…overall in good shape given the age,” is how the seller describes this Century. It looks pretty good; the finish still has some shine to it, and the body seems straight. The only noted issues are the senior-parking-by-ear approach, which explains the rear bumper’s rear left scrape, the front bumper’s front right scrape, and the small circular hole in the front left corner. It looks like the original owner stayed with the standard 14″ plastic wheel covers as opposed to going with wires or alloy wheels.
Considering this car’s age and 136K kilometers (85K miles) of usage, the interior looks pretty darn good. GM cars of this era are often derided for the cheap, bland-looking materials employed, but in this case, the entire environment is clean and lacking signs of wear. The instrument panel is pretty much a dud, but so were many cars of this time period. Note the speedo image in the listing, it’s demarcated in KPH. Oh, and one last thing, the seller mentions, “AC not working. Probably needs a refrigerant charge.” Doubtful; if it were that simple, it would be done; a car with working A/C is a lot easier to sell than one that isn’t.
Upfront is a sideways-mounted Chevrolet 160 net HP, 3.1-liter V6 engine spinning a four-speed automatic transaxle. By ’94, GM engines really no longer belonged to an individual division, but the 3.1 was an enlarged version of the 60-degree 2.8-liter V6 that was originally designed by the Chevrolet division. The seller adds, “Car is ready to drive and was used frequently around town.” Nope, it won’t set the world on fire, but this is an adequate power train that will keep on keepin’ on if it’s maintained and not abused.
So, the likely market for this ride? Search me fish, though it’s probably pretty broad considering its reasonable $1,800 (U.S.) price. Running and driving cars in that price range always seem to find a new home, wouldn’t you agree?
This vehicle appears to feature the rare “Sans A Belt” interior option (you need to be a certain age to understand this).
Popular car at the country clubs ⛳️ 🏌️♂️
A raging steal! If only it were nearer…Comes to mind.
Fun fact. I bought a 1984 Cadillac Fleetwood that also had a battery drain problem. Back to the dealer. New alternator. Back to the dealer. New battery and new alternator. Back to the dealer. Replaced the engine! On the sixth time, an old timer got in the trunk and closed it after he was settled in. It was the trunk light staying lit. Never happened for the next year when I traded for the new front drive Fleetwood. (Big mistake)
Remember the episode of Seinfeld when they went to LA and were driving one (or the Olds version) in this color? Always made me wonder if Jerry reserved a midsize or got upgraded from a “Cavalier (or similar)”.
The definition of vanilla transportation, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
Run away run away I purchased my mom one of these and at 54k miles the distributor failed had to get it towed off the highway two weeks after getting it back it blew the head gasket and after getting it towed again it never ran quiet again I sold it soon after and purchased her a ford tempo and she drove that thing for years until she let my idiot brother drive it and we had to get her another car
Shipping it would exceed the price of the car!!!!
This was about the time that manufacturers began making wheel covers that looked more like alloy wheels. The appraiser would walk around the car and gently kick the wheel to hear if it was a cover or not. One day a lady saw this and said she thought that tire kicking was just an expression.
Years ago, I helped a friend buy one of these out of the state of Florida. It became one big nightmare expensive repair after another. She finally junked the car just to get rid of it. Whoever buys his car will have as much repairs as what the car cost and that doesn’t include getting it to the new owner the 3.1 motor doesn’t hardly have the power to get out of its own way. It’s not nearly as reliable as the 3.8.
My wife and I owned a 1983 4 door Buick Century. We bought it used in 1986. It had the optional 3.0 V6, with a 2 barrel carb. The car was no speed demon, but I thought the power was more than adequate. We drove it until 1993 with no mechanical problems. In 1993 it started using more oil than gas. We traded for a 1991 Chevy Caprice. We loved both cars.
I was given a 92 Century in this color, powered by a Quad 4.
I had to go to northwestern Illinois (across the border in Wisconsin, actually) to retrieve it. Flew up with my tools a few weeks after 9/11 (a story in & of itself) and arrived to find it in a garage, covered with dog hair, 2-flat tires and the rear drums frozen. Hadn’t been moved in four years.
Not what I was told, but after 3-hours, I got it running & moving. After a quickie oil change, drove it straight to Philadelphia. Ran like a top. My mom drove it for four more years with zero issues. Fuel line rusted out & she elected to get another car rather than repair it. Sold it on, that buyer fixed the fuel line & drove it another decade.
They don’t look like it but it was a very comfortable interior and ride. Solid, dependable, and boring. Get one for your kid’s first car.