My dad just gave me his 2006 Buick Lucerne cxl 3.8L series 3 that he bought new back in 4/06. I flew to Chicago and drove it home.
I am new to this GM platform. I searched and couldn't find any
forums that were very active.
I would like to know what are the weak spots or issues to look out for? Problem areas?
History of the car: Dad only took it to the buick dealer for all the maintenace. He had all the receipts so I looked thru them. Looks like he got hosed on a few things, but otherwise
is has been well maintained
1. Gm oil changes about every 3-4,000 miles with delco 47 filter. They liked to sell him BG oil and fuel additive with
every other oil change.
2. Front brakes done twice due to rust on inside of rotors.
last done 2/09.
3. Trans fluid exchange (no filter change) at 50,000 miles
4. power steering system flush and exchange at 40,000 miles
they also added BG power steering additive.
5. had three fuel system cleaning servoces done
(injectors) I told dad he had the cleanest injectors intown!
6. air filter and cabin air filter changed at 50,000 (charged
him $50 labor to do this)
7. numerous times he had the tires taken off the rims due to
air leaking. The crome rims like to build up corrisoion
and leak air. I was shocked how bad this rims looked after
only 3 winters on them.
Some of the charges were crazy. There were "shop supply" charges for almost everything. The higher the job price the
higher the shop charge. It looked like they just added 10-20%
for every job in the form of "shop charge"
My observations:
It looks like the dexcool is original but they did sell
him BG cooling system additive.
spark plugs are original
I drove it 800 miles home and it used about 1 mark (1/4inch) on the dipstick. There are 4 or 5 marks on the dipstick's normal range.
I will need to add a block heater, so I will change the
dexcool at that time.
I changed oil and started auto-rx clean phase. I do this
with any car that I purchase.
At 60mph the car was getting 29-30 mpg, but at the normal 70-75 mph the mpg dropped to 23-26.
Any thoughts or comments about this car would be Appreciated
I am new to this GM platform. I searched and couldn't find any
forums that were very active.
I would like to know what are the weak spots or issues to look out for? Problem areas?
History of the car: Dad only took it to the buick dealer for all the maintenace. He had all the receipts so I looked thru them. Looks like he got hosed on a few things, but otherwise
is has been well maintained
1. Gm oil changes about every 3-4,000 miles with delco 47 filter. They liked to sell him BG oil and fuel additive with
every other oil change.
2. Front brakes done twice due to rust on inside of rotors.
last done 2/09.
3. Trans fluid exchange (no filter change) at 50,000 miles
4. power steering system flush and exchange at 40,000 miles
they also added BG power steering additive.
5. had three fuel system cleaning servoces done
(injectors) I told dad he had the cleanest injectors intown!
6. air filter and cabin air filter changed at 50,000 (charged
him $50 labor to do this)
7. numerous times he had the tires taken off the rims due to
air leaking. The crome rims like to build up corrisoion
and leak air. I was shocked how bad this rims looked after
only 3 winters on them.
Some of the charges were crazy. There were "shop supply" charges for almost everything. The higher the job price the
higher the shop charge. It looked like they just added 10-20%
for every job in the form of "shop charge"
My observations:
It looks like the dexcool is original but they did sell
him BG cooling system additive.
spark plugs are original
I drove it 800 miles home and it used about 1 mark (1/4inch) on the dipstick. There are 4 or 5 marks on the dipstick's normal range.
I will need to add a block heater, so I will change the
dexcool at that time.
I changed oil and started auto-rx clean phase. I do this
with any car that I purchase.
At 60mph the car was getting 29-30 mpg, but at the normal 70-75 mph the mpg dropped to 23-26.
Any thoughts or comments about this car would be Appreciated