New car!

[13aceofspades13]

its a metalic dark blue 2000 Buick Century Custom, it has a 3.1L SFI V-6

well sort of new, my grandpa is selling it to me for $500, he is giving it to me cheep beacuse i have fixed it so many times for him, currently i have 177,177 miles on it, and have already paid 100 bucks for it, but i have done over $1,000 in repairs, currently compleeting my biggest job, i will have photos of the car and my bigest job on it posted with details

I have done or replaced
struts
brakes (overhaul included machining rotors and drums)
alignment
#2 fuel filters (required cutting and replacing a section of fuel line, factory fuel filter was still installed, threads and fuel filter rusted in place.)
fuel pump, fuel sending unit, fuel level indicator (required removing fuel tank without a lift!)
multiple oil changes (Lucas synthetics added)
coolant flush
heater core pype
spark plugs ( NGK V Power spark plugs for a little boost.)
throttle body cleaning
mass air flow sensor cleaning
intake manifold upper and lower gaskets (improved intake manifold gasket installed.)
#2 tire rotations
tire balance and roadforce

futur plans for car
K&N air filter element
AC Delco Super coils
re painting rocker pannels
crossdrilled or slotted brake rotors
glasspack
better tires (current tires are cheep, soft sidewalls.)


possible future plans
High performance mass airflow sensor
bullydog computer programmer
aluminom wheels

 

[Gundamhead]

Speaking as a man who went through many cool cars, I'd say save the money and just make sure it runs sound. Save the money for your second car. 177K is at the end of a cars life, and there is a point where it costs more to keep it going than it's worth. The rule of thumb was always 'never more than you bought it for' for any one repair.

 

[Quaralane]

I'd second Gundam's advice.
But it does seem as though you're working hard to get her up and running

 

[Grendels]

In college I had nothing but beaters. My first was a 1972 Chevy Nova. Five different colors of paint, but it ran like a champ. Second car. A 1970 VW beetle. I rebuilt that engine at least four times. Then a 1978 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce.

All three of those cars required repairs on a monthly basis. While I don't know if the repairs cost more than car payments would have. I suspect that on the Alfa they did. Since I had to order almost all parts from Italy.

Keeping an old car alive is good, especially if you love the car. But like the others said, if it is breaking down a lot, I wouldn't invest the money in it.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

LOL....177k is the end of the life of a car?

Hardly. Maybe if it wasn't maintained properly, however proper preventative maintenance, and they will run alot longer than that.

 

[Gundamhead]

LOL....177k is the end of the life of a car?

Hardly. Maybe if it wasn't maintained properly, however proper preventative maintenance, and they will run alot longer than that.

$1,100 into it now, and still owes $400 for a $500 car that he is still working on tells me it's more towards the end. ;D

 

[J14]

Don't forget he said its got 177 000 MILES on it. Thats in the ball park of 285 000 kms.

So yeah its getting up there but it depends on how it was maintained etc.

 

[Grendels]

Very true, I do have a Ford Ranger which I drive daily with 160K miles on it. Runs well and doesn't break down at all. So he could have a Gem on his hands.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

I realize that is is 177000 miles....still nothing if it has been maintained properly.

Heck I had a '97 Hyundai Accent that had over 450000kms on it when I traded it (about 280000 miles), and I know it would have done another 150000kms easy with little to no problems or repairs. And at that time Hyundai cars were just starting to become a decent car.

Nah...177000 miles on it, is nothing. The repairs he has done are normal wear items that would need to be done on any car eventually, and since he can do the work himself, he saves a ton of labor cost. Not to mention that the GM 3.1L V6 are all but bullet proof, I have no doubt that he can double that mileage easily with little to no problems.

 

[Black Sheep 1]

I remember my very first car that I bought with my own money (not a hand me down).
It was a 1975 Chevy Vega.
Paid $600.00 for the car, two weeks later I paid $675.00 for new brake, drums and wheels.
That car lasted me for years. It lasted much longer than the brand new Hyundai I bought from the dealer their first year out.

 

[13aceofspades13]

LOL....177k is the end of the life of a car?

Hardly. Maybe if it wasn't maintained properly, however proper preventative maintenance, and they will run alot longer than that.

the Buick Century Customs 3.1SFI V6 once the intake manifold gaskets are replaced with the improved gasket kit, will run, and run, and run, and run, and run, and did i mention it will keep running? i have seen Buicks with 250,000+K and it ran good! just change the oil, clean it, grease it, love it, and it will run a looong time!

there is a old saying that goes quite well, the cheepest car you have, is the one in your driveway, garage, ect, and Buicks are cheep and easy to fix, im going to drive that car untill it falls apart, or untill it becomes a old fashioned beater, and still i will have that car, there is a lot of family history too that car!

 

[13aceofspades13]

Very true, I do have a Ford Ranger which I drive daily with 160K miles on it. Runs well and doesn't break down at all. So he could have a Gem on his hands.

a gem!? you are right! the Buick century is made sort of in the erra when they made cars too last, it is much like the car you have, the ford ranger is a tough little truck, the engine has a aluminom intake manifold, when do you see that? well i take that back, my grandpas new Buick lecurn has a aluminom intake manifold, but there is not much plastic on that engine and most new engines have a lot of plastic parts! the car itself has seperated bench seats in the front, it is so cozy, i have people fall asleep in my back seats all the time, people are still driving centuries today, i see them on the road all the time, and as long as you take care of them, they last a long...... time! too me its not just a Gem, its a diamond!

 

[13aceofspades13]

Don't forget he said its got 177 000 MILES on it. Thats in the ball park of 285 000 kms.

So yeah its getting up there but it depends on how it was maintained etc.

my grandfather maintained it regularly, oil changes religiously, greasing, filter changes, car washes, its a well loved car, he even has a log book for the matenence on it, lots of miles from trips with my grandpa, lots of memmories, the NO1 reason i want that car! good times!

 

[Zemmix]

I'd at least skip the glasspack and x-drilled rotors. It's a buick. Do what you need to keep it running but don't put more than that into it. Save for something better.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

I'd at least skip the glasspack and x-drilled rotors. It's a buick. Do what you need to keep it running but don't put more than that into it. Save for something better.

Don't listen to them Ace, Buicks are hot rods and were made to run, have at it buddy!

 

[Zemmix]

Don't listen to them Ace, Buicks are hot rods and were made to run, have at it buddy!

Hey now I speak as someone who once bought a set of x-drilled rotors (for my Toyota MR2). They did nothing. And actually they can be a potential safety hazard if you buy cheap ones.

http://www.ebcbrakes.com/cross_drilled_rotors/dangerous_cross_drilled_rotors.shtml

I wish I had saved my money and used it to buy more models instead! ;D

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Don't listen to them Ace, Buicks are hot rods and were made to run, have at it buddy!

Hey now I speak as someone who once bought a set of x-drilled rotors (for my Toyota MR2). They did nothing. And actually they can be a potential safety hazard if you buy cheap ones.

http://www.ebcbrakes.com/cross_drilled_rotors/dangerous_cross_drilled_rotors.shtml

I wish I had saved my money and used it to buy more models instead! ;D

Yeah, I "do it yourself" set of cross drilled rotors....that is just dumb and asking for trouble.

Honestly...unless you have an open mag wheel that you just don't want an ugly normal rotor behind it, or you are going racing with your car, then cross drilled rotors have little effect on your braking.

The holes in them are better for cooling, and cosmetically look good, but just putting them for something to do is just a waste....I do have to agree with that

 

[13aceofspades13]

I'd at least skip the glasspack and x-drilled rotors. It's a buick. Do what you need to keep it running but don't put more than that into it. Save for something better.

its a buick? have you driven a buick before? they are faster than they look, my car will go 0-60 in about seven seconds! have you ever heard of the buick GNX? it had the 3.8 V6 but was stomping all over some V8 muscle cars, they stopped making them beacuse they would out run police cars with ease, did you know that the GM 3.1 and 3.8 V6 are so durable that engine builders will use the blocks and supe them up and push hundreds of horsepower out of them? Buicks are seriously underestimated for what they are, i have driven lots of cars in its class that are typically called "better." and in my opinion they do not compare, the Honda, and Toyota of its erra, cars in which the Buick Century was designed to compeet with, driven and worked on them both, will take the buick over them hands down.

get a better car? im sorry, i have driven what is supposed to be newer and better, my grandpa has the new 2011 Buick Lecern and i have driven it quite a bit, and i don't really like it as much as the Century, under the hood is a ton of plastic made in china, Heated seats, automatic AC, all these fancy features, buttons up the wazoo, and i don't like it, my girlfriend has ridden in both, and the only thing she likes about the newer models is all the buttons, she says the older car is much more comfortable, i would rather continue doing engine tune ups and transmission overhauls on this one for about $2,000-$3000 over getting that car, and paying out the butt, and then dealing with all these stupid features, new cars like it only get minimal fuel economy improvement! like 5MPH and this thing is 12 years old! you would think these new cars should have better fuel economy with all the plastic parts on them to reduce weight. the auto market has people thinking its easier and more cost efficient to keep buying new cars, if you have a car you like, the cheepest alternative is the car in you r driveway, keep fixing it till the frame falls apart.

PS, a glass pack only costs about $30-$40 bucks, K&N air filters only about $50 and clean it and it never has to be replaced, increases horsepower, and fuel economy, for about 100 bucks i could be looking at fuel economy increases that will rival or match so called "up to date." cars that dont have the sentemental value or the quality this old girl does.

 

[Zemmix]

Eh, when I say 'better' I don't necessarily mean newer. Being from Michigan I figured you would be interested in something more along the lines of a Camaro, Mustang or some other RWD Detroit muscle. As a turbo fan I agree with you that the GNX was a great car and something I wish they would have continued to produce.

 

[13aceofspades13]

Eh, when I say 'better' I don't necessarily mean newer. Being from Michigan I figured you would be interested in something more along the lines of a Camaro, Mustang or some other RWD Detroit muscle. As a turbo fan I agree with you that the GNX was a great car and something I wish they would have continued to produce.

Corvette is my idea, but the parts i have listed do not cost much, a glasspack costs about $20-40 and the muffler will need to be replaced so i will get a glass pack instead which might be cheaper than a factory speck muffler, free up exhaust back pressure and make my car a little more quicker, sound a little better, and be a little more efficient, . a K&N air filter costs about $50 bucks and will pay for itself after around 3 air filter replacements beacuse you clean it and re oil it instead of replacing it, it increases airflow into the intake increasing your horsepower slightly, and your fuel economy beacuse your engine no longer has to work as hard drawing air into the cylinders increasing fuel efficiency, something i just added, was a set of 6 NGK V Power spark plugs, they only cost me 12 bucks, and there is a noticeable difference in performance, and a slight increase in fuel economy.

my dream car is very expensive, and i will not be able to afford it until i get a lot more money, i may at least be in my 30s before i get it, i want a Corvette, those are not cheep, besides that i'm happy with the Buick!