Questioning whether or not to buy this Park Avenue

[Colescott]

Never owned a Buick, and have no idea about their engine, longevity, durability, and how to repair the 3800. I’m an owner of a few Ford cars, so I have no experience with these engines.


1994 Buick Park Avenue base. 130,000 miles. car seems to be in somewhat decent shape Internally. No leaks that are visible. I noticed the coolant tank was very low though.

tranny was a half quart shy of being full.

The one thing that really bugged me was the oil. The car only has had two owners. A old lady, and her teenage granddaughter who inherited the car. She drove it to hell in 20,000 miles (two years).

car had black sludge in the oil. I don’t think she ever changed the oil, and it was amazing The engine was still running as good as it was. Noticed the jiffy lube sticker said it was replaced in 2017...

Car's oil pressure seemed fine. Would dip down to 10-15Psi? (almost red line) at idle and 30-40 while driving.

the car needed a sensor unplugged to act semi normal. Car wouldwant to jack up idle rpms and rpms when in drive.
Ac worked, but the fan had to be unplugged because it constantly ran.

Car is 500 dollars. Should I pull the trigger?

 

[Ultra Ego]

Unless you are completely bored and need a project car, walk away. Problems from 20k on one oil change will show up sooner, rather than later.

That engine is a good, strong running engine, but any engine abused is not good for the long run.

Someone has to explain to these kids that “check the oil” is not a substitute for “...and CHANGE the oil”. Had a young employee many years ago, whose father bought her a new car for college. She never knew she was supposed to change the oil, until her Dad asked her how often she had it done — *after* she had graduated! Her first purchase upon entering the work force was a new car.