Pre-purchase question/concern - 2015 Buick Regal T

[Popperoni]

Hello all,

This is my first post on this forum and am hopeful that I will be active on here soon. I recently sold my 2013 Audi A4 as it was a beauty with flaws to say the least, and wanted to find a more reliable car. I found a very nice 2015 Buick Regal T FWD with 42k miles on Facebook Marketplace. It is a very fair deal, what you would expect to see from a private party seller. I took it for a test drive today and didn't mention the two issues I found because I wanted to come to a knowledgeable forum and get an idea of the history of this car from real owners. I'll explain.

So everything felt very comfortable and smooth throughout the duration of the test drive, really does feel like a premium vehicle.
However, when pulling out of a parking lot, when I started to accelerate I noticed the car lightly "shuddered". I haven't driven a Regal before, but I would have to believe that this isn't normal. Can't really describe the feeling, it just felt like the frame was shuddering for a second or two. It didn't happen the next time I pulled out of the parking lot, so I don't know what to think of it but I believe it ties into the other issue I noticed. So, when I took it onto the highway, I gave the car some aggressive acceleration. As I was doing this, as the car shifted gear (unsure which gear it was in at the time) the RPMs shot up very high before transitioning to the next gear.

So, what I suspect is possibly low transmission fluid or a failing transmission? It's odd to me that these two instances happened in different gears, so I don't think I can pinpoint it on one specific gear causing these issues. I poked around on here for a little while and saw some threads about some transmissions coming from the factory without a sufficient amount of transmission fluid in the case. I guess I am just trying to see if I should take on the vehicle, and what you guys would do in this case. It's very hard to find a nice cheap reliable vehicle right now and like I said this guy is offering a very fair price. I already know that any repairs will be cheaper than my Audi ever amounted to.

Also, just in general, what are some common issues this vehicle generation had? By poking around online, it didn't look like much.

Thanks

 

[mitchflorida]

First of all, speak to the owner and tell him you are concerned about the automatic transmission. See what he tells you. You can ask for a price reduction.

Most people would walk away from the deal as the owner apparently didn't want you to know about the faulty transmission

 

[bugspop1]

Think I'd take it for a Test Drive again, then run it by a AutoZone, Advanced Auto, O'Reily's, etc...
They can check the car for any Error Codes and should only take a few minutes, that is
unless you have your own OBD Scanner.

Myself, I'd be more inclined to think it's an Ignition Coil problem or clogged Fuel Injectors.
But it surely wouldn't hurt if you checked the Oil Levels.

My 2015 Regal currently has about 93,700 miles on it and runs great.
I purchased the car with 88,680 miles on it two years ago.

The Headlights having Condensation in them has always been a problem in the Regals.
I really think this might be a GM issue and not just the Regals.
I was at the Dealership last week and someone trading in their Chevy SUV had the same
condensation issue.

Heated Seat not working can be another issue.
There should be three red lights that come on and they should stay on.
If the lights come on and go off quickly the element/elements are most likely bad
and need replaced.
I didn't know this when I purchased my Regal and the Drivers Seat wasn't working.
The lights did come on, but I didn't notice that they went out fairly quick.
I was sitting in the passenger seat when testing the heated seats!
The lights will go out one at a time by pressing the heated seat button, this adjusts the heat level.
But if they all three go out on their own, there is a problem.

 

[FLOW]

It's possibly one of the ignition coils. I recently had one go in my 2016, and it started to stutter in a certain RPM range(slight misfire). I swapped plugs, thinking that was the issue. I took it out, and same issue. This time, I floored it, the car shifted gears, RPM's raced, and it threw a CEL. This led me to the issue. I paid about $190 for a new one from the dealership, and another $70 for a spare from RockAuto.

As for reliability, I have had good luck so far. I bought my 2016 back in October of 2019 with 36k miles on it. I was just a few miles shy of hitting 99k today. I have replaced the tires and front brakes (bought it knowing the front rotors were in need of replacement). The ignition coil has been the only real issue I have had so far. With as many miles as I rack up on a car, it has been great. I am hoping to keep it until at least 150k if all goes well.

 

[the_jeremy_adkins]

Think I'd take it for a Test Drive again, then run it by a AutoZone, Advanced Auto, O'Reily's, etc...
They can check the car for any Error Codes and should only take a few minutes, that is
unless you have your own OBD Scanner.

Myself, I'd be more inclined to think it's an Ignition Coil problem or clogged Fuel Injectors.
But it surely wouldn't hurt if you checked the Oil Levels.

My 2015 Regal currently has about 93,700 miles on it and runs great.
I purchased the car with 88,680 miles on it two years ago.

The Headlights having Condensation in them has always been a problem in the Regals.
I really think this might be a GM issue and not just the Regals.
I was at the Dealership last week and someone trading in their Chevy SUV had the same
condensation issue.

Heated Seat not working can be another issue.
There should be three red lights that come on and they should stay on.
If the lights come on and go off quickly the element/elements are most likely bad
and need replaced.
I didn't know this when I purchased my Regal and the Drivers Seat wasn't working.
The lights did come on, but I didn't notice that they went out fairly quick.
I was sitting in the passenger seat when testing the heated seats!
The lights will go out one at a time by pressing the heated seat button, this adjusts the heat level.
But if they all three go out on their own, there is a problem.

yes the headlight condensation is an issue on all the GM cars with the shape and style headlights on the regal, equinox, SRX etc

 

[bugspop1]

My daughter has a 2015 Equinox and my wife has a 2013 GMC Terrain,
neither have had problems with condensation in their headlights yet.
I did find out that changing the Bulb in my wife's Terrain is much more
difficult than changing them in my Regal!
You access the headlight from under the Wheel Well on hers and on other
Terrains you access them by pulling some of the Wheel Well away and also some of the Bumper Cover.
There are plenty of Videos on Youtube: Here's a video on the process on my wife's Terrain
In this video the guy makes it look easy, but getting that first cover off can
be a real PITA.
I'm sure his cover has been off numerous times for it to come off that
easy, especially if he's in the Salt Belt of the USA!
The Wheel Well and Cover are both Plastic, but Salt can still do some damage.