The only silly questions are the ones not asked. You all probably know that I drive the Pontiac Vibe, with a manual transmission. I wonder what I may drive when the Vibe rusts out, or I get tired of a clutch. Yikes, I do not like automatics.
I see Buick near the top of Consumer Reports’ reviews of different cars. The last Buick I [tried] to drive was a 1978 Electra. I couldn’t feel the road, it was uncomfortable. Fat chance of me getting a Buick with a manual transmission; anywho, has GM updated the steering for Buicks by now? (I think most current models are re-badged Opels.) The most current GM vehicle I drove was a rented GMC Terrain; fun, but a yucky automatic transmission. Before the GMC, I drove a Mazda B-Series (non-Ford Ranger) in Mexico.
Are the Lacrosse, and Lucerne like driving clouds? Even the last of the Lesabres/Park Avenues.
The only way to know if any car will work well for you is to test drive it.
You won’t get a Buick with a manual tranny. Other than a few sports cars and perhaps an econobox or two, manual trannys have pretty much been discontinued. If that’s a requirement of yours, you might be disappointed.
I suggest that when the time comes you get some consumer review magazines from the bookstore. Most have an annual “new car issue”. Read and contrast, circle the ones that look interesting to you, and spend a number of weekends test driving the cars. Everyone is totally different, and cars that I might like you might hate… and visa-versa.
I’ve got an 05 Buick Lesabre as my daily driver. It belonged to my grandmother. It’s the last of an outgoing body style.
I’ve got to say, as unsexy as it is, it’s probably the most practical vehicle I’ve ever owned. Keep in mind my past consists of Fox body gt’s and V8 4wd truck’s and Jeep’s.
The new Buick’s are probably very nice and worlds apart from what I drive. No idea on reliability, but probably the same as GM. If I was in the market for a sedan, I’d probably shop Toyota myself.
We have an 07 lacrosse that has 106K and still rides smooth. But if you get it 2nd hand, you won’t be warned of the recalls. Back in 2012, it had 25,000 mi and was a gift to us. In less than 10K mi, there was an electrical problem for the electric seats. Long story short, go to carcomplaints.com and whatever car you buy, first find an attorney that handles consumer fraud, then go to his website. If he doesn’t mention anything about recalls, keep looking. The only cars out there in 2015 are recalled. And if a 2017 is not recalled, 1 of 2 things – the problem didn’t happen yet, or it wasn’t reported to the NHTSA. Good luck.
Do you hire an attorney to assist in purchasing a car? You have mentioned the need for an attorney before a car purchase more than once, seems unusual.
You see, my wife wants a new car and asked me for advice.
Well, every car we were going to buy, (actually every car make and model) has been recalled by the NHTSA. So, if you need a car, you most definately need someone to look after you back when these dealerships dupe you with lies.
Go to carcomplaints.com and play with it a while. You’ll hear what dealers say. Some executive that handles this said “Your Kia it out of our hands, you’ll have to contact South Korea” I ended up paying $200 just to get my car back, and waited 3weeks with an appointment.
Most cars have had recalls issued on them, it easy enough for the average person to check for incomplete recalls on any vehicle without the assistance of an attorney.
I am familiar with what service departments tell their customers but what customers hear is more entertaining. You call tell a customer one thing, what they comprehend and repeat is something else.
You could get the Regal GS with a 6spd manual for a few years but the 2018 model only comes with an automatic. Might take some searching to find one with the manual though.
It’s pretty safe to say that even the worst car on the planet is improved today over what was being made in 1978.
Buick has been trying to target the 30-something crowd of late, so the cloudmobiles of yesterday are gone. They still aren’t what I’d call up-to-par in the handling department, but then I like my sedans to be able to at least somewhat keep up with the sport-compacts. If you want excellent handling in a sedan without going into the luxury market, look at Honda.
The Regal GS sounds intriguing, but most manuals are on cars like the Mazda Miata/Fiat 124 (new models), and several others. It takes searching to find one now. Actually, it is the Lesabre/Park Avenue that appeals to me. My best friend’s '95 Lesabre finally bit the dust, and it was replaced with a Camry. The Lesabre rarely became disabled. My friend in San Francisco loves his Park Avenue, I’m not sure if either of those cars is like driving a cloud, or not. The only complaint I’d have about Lesabres, or Park Avenues is the automatic transmission. When I get into the market for my next vehicle, I’ll search by transmission before the brand. Yes, the M series of BMW is commonly manual, but the cost to maintain European cars is outrageous. The Mazda, Toyota, Subaru; even the Ford Ranger ('93), that I owned spoiled me on maintenance. I’ve also owned 1 too many Saabs.
The Honda Accord is keeping a manual transmission in the Sport model, so that’s an option for you.
What do you dislike about automatic transmissions? Although some are balky, some are quite good. The automatic transmission in my Lexus GS shifts smoothly and quickly, generally stays in the right gear, and gives me paddle shifters for use when needed.
I have posted this statement before : with the large number of people that do not know how to drive a manual shift vehicle if a person becomes to ill to drive the passenger might not be able to drive the manual shift but the automatic will not be a problem.
I’ve been there. When I had the Soob, I became too ill to walk for a month; fortunately, it was parked in my driveway. My roommate moved it as needed per the city laws (from driveway to street, and back). I could love my manual trannies any more. The best manual I’ve drives were Mazda transmissions; I had on on the RX-7, the Ford Ranger, and the B-Series. All were nice, and smooth. This Toyota tranny is not bad, it is just boring.
