2018 Buick Regal Sportback GS Pre-Purchase questions

[Spartan0536]

Hello Regal owners,
I am currently in the market to replace my 1992 Lexus LS400, and one of the candidates is a 2018 Buick Regal Sportback GS which comes with every single package upgrade possible for that car in 2018, I mean THE WORKS. It's got 50,000 miles on it, and the dealer has it listed for under $30,000 (USD).

What are some things I should watch out for, or consider, and would this be a solid purchase? I ask only because Buick's reliability has come into question a few times recently, and these are RARE cars so I am concerned about parts and repair costs. Any insight and information would be greatly appreciated as I will use it in my final deliberations between this 2018 Regal GS, and a few 2018 - 2020 Nissan Maxima's that I am looking at.

 

[PrincipalDan]

Well I'd rather have a GM vehicle with a 3.6 V6 and 9-speed conventional auto over any Nissan with a CVT. (If Nissan would wise up and drop the CVT I'd give one serious consideration.)

Body parts (in case of collision etc) are going to be unobtainium or at least hard to come by.

 

[bollox74]

Standard advice, drive it first, get the quote in writing, don't buy a Maxima.

 

[Spartan0536]

Well I'd rather have a GM vehicle with a 3.6 V6 and 9-speed conventional auto over any Nissan with a CVT. (If Nissan would wise up and drop the CVT I'd give one serious consideration.)

Body parts (in case of collision etc) are going to be unobtainium or at least hard to come by.

That stung, I should have seen it coming though, the unobtainium of body parts means that the 3 years these sedans were made after the refresh in 2018 shows not many were made or sold. Sad part is, they got a good bit right with this car in the GS config, all it needed was some additional refinement and tweaking, that is if the mechanical side holds up, which I have no clue about.

 

[ZB Commodore Owner]

The major mechanical parts are not unique to this car. The engine and gearbox are made in the US and fitted to plenty of other GM products. The AWD system is used on other makes (e.g. Ford Focus) as well.

Most body parts are more than likely interchangeable with the Opel/Vauxhall equivalent which were in production well after the Buick was. Any differences are probably cosmetic.

Some body parts may be slower to source but generally not unobtainable in my opinion.

There is a slightly increased risk with this car compared to some other models but if you drive it and you like it I think there's a very good chance it will serve you as well as any other car you might consider.

 

[shs92645]

I drive an 18 with 57000 miles on the clock. My first repair was the sensor in the accelerator pedal (1hour). My amplifier was replaced (1 hour). I had a leak in the rear differential (1 hour) and just last week had a strut mount replaced. All repairs were under warranty (certified car) and the parts that had to be ordered took under a week to arrive.
When I first bought my car, another driver drove into the right front quarter of the GS, causing 10k in damage. All parts and repairs were in and completed in 6 weeks.
This car combines a number of things that you just can’t find elsewhere for the price:
V6 power with 87 octane fuel, AWD, Brembo brakes, wonderful seats, loads of room in a reasonably small car, and looks that will never go out of style. Really fun to drive and every option made.
As I write this, I’m thinking that I should have directed GM Marketing for this car!

 

[abizzle]

Hello Regal owners,
I am currently in the market to replace my 1992 Lexus LS400, and one of the candidates is a 2018 Buick Regal Sportback GS which comes with every single package upgrade possible for that car in 2018, I mean THE WORKS. It's got 50,000 miles on it, and the dealer has it listed for under $30,000 (USD).

What are some things I should watch out for, or consider, and would this be a solid purchase? I ask only because Buick's reliability has come into question a few times recently, and these are RARE cars so I am concerned about parts and repair costs. Any insight and information would be greatly appreciated as I will use it in my final deliberations between this 2018 Regal GS, and a few 2018 - 2020 Nissan Maxima's that I am looking at.

That’s actually not a bad price in the current used market and with that mileage. Most of the GS I’ve seen are $38K+. I’d love to trade my Sportback for a GS, but I need the prices to drop $8K-$10K.

You’re going to get more value for your money with the GS. I also believe it will hold its value better than the Maxima.

 

[Spartan0536]

I drive an 18 with 57000 miles on the clock. My first repair was the sensor in the accelerator pedal (1hour). My amplifier was replaced (1 hour). I had a leak in the rear differential (1 hour) and just last week had a strut mount replaced. All repairs were under warranty (certified car) and the parts that had to be ordered took under a week to arrive.
When I first bought my car, another driver drove into the right front quarter of the GS, causing 10k in damage. All parts and repairs were in and completed in 6 weeks.
This car combines a number of things that you just can’t find elsewhere for the price:
V6 power with 87 octane fuel, AWD, Brembo brakes, wonderful seats, loads of room in a reasonably small car, and looks that will never go out of style. Really fun to drive and every option made.
As I write this, I’m thinking that I should have directed GM Marketing for this car!View attachment 38617

So what I am gathering from this is, its mechanically reliable at least on the engine and powertrain, and with the mileage I have I should seek an extended warranty just in case because some of the smaller things may have issues, correct?

 

[Foxbat]

Don't all 2018 Buick Regals fall under the 2018 and 2018.5 production runs and the different Instrument Panels and Infotainment GUI, or was that just the TourX and Sportback with the I4? I know we have the early 2018 with the red needles and the old-timey GUI, but it works for what do and has been reliable. I'm not sure of the other differences between the 2018 and 2018.5, but maybe others with more experience with the later 2018 models will chime in.

 

[shs92645]

Mine is early red needle model. I consider the history as outlined to be average for a car, particularly the first model year. I looked into extended warranty and I think it is way too expensive. I guess you’d say I self- insure.
To me, the Japanese and Korean cars are too bland with the exception of Stinger and G70, but they are not fuel efficient and require 93 octane. Last winter I hit 37.5 mpg on a stretch across Florida. I feel that the GS is in a class by itself.

 

[Spartan0536]

Mine is early red needle model. I consider the history as outlined to be average for a car, particularly the first model year. I looked into extended warranty and I think it is way too expensive. I guess you’d say I self- insure.
To me, the Japanese and Korean cars are too bland with the exception of Stinger and G70, but they are not fuel efficient and require 93 octane. Last winter I hit 37.5 mpg on a stretch across Florida. I feel that the GS is in a class by itself.

Interesting that you should bring up the octane requirements and the MPG, these are things that I have been considering. When I test drove the GS someone managed to get 35 MPG best on the car which I found rather impressive for a 3.6L V6 without Forced Induction. Also the fact that 3.6L runs on basic pump gas and does not specify premium makes it an attractive feature as well.

As for the Maxima, while it does recommend premium I have been told by many people including Maxima owners on Nissan forums that you can run 87 Octane in the newer models and the ECU will just retard the timing, you lose some performance but it will work, just don't buy crap gas, but crap gas is crap gas and will make even the most reliable engine have issues if its got a bunch of water in it.

What are your thoughts on the GS not having a spare tire and instead you get the "fix a flat" system?

 

[abizzle]

What are your thoughts on the GS not having a spare tire and instead you get the "fix a flat" system?

That can be fixed and you can keep your subwoofer. There’s plenty of info here about spares and which solutions work best for GS.

 

[ZB Commodore Owner]

My thought on the "Fix a Flat"?

How often have you had a flat where you've had to change a tyre as opposed to pump it up in order to be able to drive it to a shop for repair? Having said that I ended up fitting a spare tyre.

You can fit a spacesaver tyre. There's a place for one under the floor. I ended up installing one. There's a couple of threads on here about fitting a space saver tyre.

Installed spare tire for 2018 essence today

Anticipating a long road trip in the spring, I spent several hours this past weekend mining spare tire parts from various self-serve junkyards in the STL area. Ended up with a 125/70R17 from a 2009 Cadillac CTS (this is the same size spec'd in the Opel wagon verified from the tech specs in...

buickforums.com

SpareTire

That’s a nice project log. I haven’t put my spare in the well yet, but I’ve previously installed a layer of CLD and another layer of CCF. That should add enough bulk to prevent the rocking and any noise. I’ll let you know soon.

buickforums.com

 

[shs92645]

I installed tire and tools around my Bose subwoofer.

 

[shs92645]

I also installed smart stop/start so that the engine doesn’t turn off.

 

[Somebody Else]

As a fellow new Regal GS owner, other things to look at besides spare tire
Opel Insignia or Malibu rear headrests for visibility
Fifth gen Regal extending sun visors
Lacrosse Key Fob (so you can pop the trunk from the key)
Envision or XTS frameless rear view mirror

Ok that last one is just for looks

 

[Spartan0536]

Just incase you guys are curious this is the carfax for the car I am strongly considering, again this thing is LOADED, like every option for 2018 was put in this thing, and that HUD is pretty sweet. This car has lived 99% of its life in Tampa Bay (where I live), and it looks like its got a clean record.

Free VIN Check from CARFAX

Don’t settle for anything less than the genuine CARFAX Vehicle History Report when buying a used car. Carfax helps you avoid costly hidden problems and gain valuable insights into any car’s ownership history.

www.carfax.com

 

[lLePunisherl]

Just incase you guys are curious this is the carfax for the car I am strongly considering, again this thing is LOADED, like every option for 2018 was put in this thing, and that HUD is pretty sweet. This car has lived 99% of its life in Tampa Bay (where I live), and it looks like its got a clean record.

Free VIN Check from CARFAX

Don’t settle for anything less than the genuine CARFAX Vehicle History Report when buying a used car. Carfax helps you avoid costly hidden problems and gain valuable insights into any car’s ownership history.

www.carfax.com

What are you waiting for? Buy it or your will regret it. By the way some other member state that because a recall it's open on this model with no remedy dealer cannot sold you the vehicule???

 

[Spartan0536]

What are you waiting for? Buy it or your will regret it. By the way some other member state that because a recall it's open on this model with no remedy dealer cannot sold you the vehicule???

I have not heard that, the dealer Gettel Kia in this case is more than willing to sell it to me, I must be missing something here.

 

[lLePunisherl]

Recall 30/06/22 Regal 2018-2020

I saw someone post this recall on facebook page. I validated on my Buick app. No de rappel GM N222370090 No de rappel de Transports Canada 22347 Date d’émission : Jun 30, 2022 Titre du rappel : Increased Stopping Distance During Certain Brake Vacuum Loss Events Description du rappel ...

buickforums.com

Reply #4