Her aquatic face. Her distorted contortions . . . a Kermit Green 1998 Ford Taurus Wagon was coming through the auction lane. She had been loved by at least three other mommies and no doubt had an affair with at least a half dozen mechanics. She was big. She was beautiful. And for $600 she was mine. Then I put down the beer . . . “What the hell am I doing!” When the Carmax auction was all said and done, I had bought three cars that were the equivalent of automotive leprosy. The Taurus wagon was one of them of course. But the clean interior and Duratec engine took the sting out of that lapse of reason. She also drove well on the forty mile journey through Atlanta rush-hour traffic. This fat lady could apparently sing. But the other two?
1998 Buick Skylark. Even typing that on my computer causes a mild bout of nausea. This was the last year of the Skylark (thank God!) and other than clean sheetmetal and a functional interior, it had nothing to offer. I’m serious. This car has everything from a beancounted interior to seats that were built during the Spanish Inquisition. But, hell, for $700, I decided to put a bag on top of its sea bass-inspired front grille and took it down the road.
Finally the brute. Excursions, Canyoneros, and poseur boy Hummers have got nothing on a genuine 1991 GMC Suburban Diesel. This goliath of almighty Detroit brutality doesn’t belong on public roads. It belongs on a farm transporting two sets of the Duggar family through Deliverance country. The model I bought was virtually immaculate. It was almost freakish given that it had nearly 220,000 miles. Not. Even. A. Ding. Interior cleaned by someone who may be related to Felix Unger.
I bowed to the prior owner’s servitude and bought it for $700. Even though she will be briefly in my hands, I’ll make sure she ends up with a good owner. It’s the least I can do for the couple who kept it right for fifteen years.
Don’t know what you were thinking with the Skylark, but the other two should easily find homes. Anytime somebody asks me about what to buy for a second/third/all around beater car, the Taurus/Sable always makes the list. Cheap to buy, cheap to insure, good reliability, easy to fix, parts aplenty in the yards. SHO parts are also available to improve handling on the cheap.
The ‘Burb will also find an easy sale to somebody who needs it. They are very durable and tough. Sadly, the next owner of that type of vehicle is likely not to be so kind to it. Remember the movie “When men leave” where the father dies and the widow sells his pickup? The son told the purchaser that his dad always washed it once a week. The purchaser got in and said “I don’t plan on washing it very much, son”…so goes this ‘Burb…
The Skylark? Well, you just found TTAC’s entry into LeMmons…
Whoa! Steven what are you smoking man? An 18 year old domestic with 22O,OOO? Are you not aware of the perception gap. An 11 year Buick and a Ford out of the nineties? Didn’t anybody tell you that these babies were built by overpaid, drunken louts with a UAW card in thier wallet.
Didn’t you check the fender to door gap on that Buick? After all isn’t that what defines a reliable vehicle?
Can’t you pick up a 10 year old Mercedes for a fraction of the original price? Arn’t you aware of precision German enginering?
Oh wait, Mr Lang actually makes a living in the world of used autos. So Mr Lang, that deals in the real world of long term reliability,doesnt set out with preconceived notions.
Mikey –
Fair points, but if you’ve ever driven a Skylark, you know that the problem with them isn’t reliability. Buicks have always done quite well in reliability studies. It’s the fact than none of the Miss Manners drive train is directly connected to any other part. When you turn left, the steering wheel pens a polite note to the steering rack requesting action, and drops it into the mail with an RSVP. The rack,checking the mail after tea and scones, sends a memo to the tireds which then leap creep into action. As for the suspension – well- you ARE aware that the government requires Buick to put a “Dynaride” warning on the dash. They make it chrome so you can’t miss it.
The Burban is a bitter reminder of what GM CAN do. It’s the essence of American vehicle. Body-on-frame, rwd. (Usually, I’d add V8 and automatic transmission to this equation, but GM had nothing to do with the diesel engine except to install it in this case, and that’s a good thing). Yeah, here in Texas old Suburbans never die, they just keep going and going and going till they’re in a fatal accident.
I wouldn’t worry about it too much. You’ll find a home for all three. Someone needing a cheap, strong tow vehicle will snap up the Burb. Someone completely ignorant the infamous transmission in the Taurus will buy it in their quest for a cheap family hauler. And someone will buy the Buick because a low enough price will cover a multitude of design sins.
Lokkii
Yeah, I hear ya,I owned a couple of Grand Ams. Can one say FWD and responsive steering in the same sentence?
I read thousands of comments to the effect of
GM has built nothing but junk for the last 30 years. In the real world its just not true. A well maintained domestic will hold up as well as any import/transplant. As an added bonus the domestic won’t kill you with repair costs.
Used car people like Mr Lang are very aware of this fact. Sucessfull used car buyers use thier brains,not thier heart when buying cars.
The Taurus and Skylark are both ripe for transmission failure, especially the Taurus. Many “rebuilt” Taurus transmissions seem to struggle to go another 50k miles.
Nice try, guys, but I’ve actually owned a ’97 Grand Prix, so I’m immune to your domestic cheerleading. First-hand knowledge wins (or in my case, loses). As an added bonus my domestic DID kill me with repair costs.
Anytime somebody asks me about what to buy for a second/third/all around beater car, the Taurus/Sable always makes the list. Cheap to buy, cheap to insure, good reliability, easy to fix, parts aplenty in the yards.
+1
The wagon versions, especially, are good for young families with 1-2 kids just starting out that need utility and a clean ride but don’t have a lot of cash.
Check this out, for example:
http://richmond.craigslist.org/ctd/1303058377.html
The skylark doesn’t have that Buick cushiness that makes it so easy to eat highway miles. This was an after-thought of an entry level car so that Buick dealers could field a full line-up and it shows. The styling is aggressively ugly even for late-90’s GM, and the NVH is brutal. I used to work at a Buick dealership, and driving one after a LeSabre or Park Avenue was quite a shock.
The Taurus, on the other hand, is nice and functional for an anonymous daily driver. The transmissions were weak points on that vintage, but you can increase your odds by maintaining it properly.
@ Jason… You had some bad luck with a Grand Prix
I don’t blame you for being pissed off. I know of Grand Prixs with 300,000 KLMs used as commuter vehicles.
I followed a fairly new Altima not long ago. Blue smoke belching out of the tail pipe. Does that mean all the Nissans are poor quality junk?
Any of the B&B know the cost of transmission for a Honda van vs a Taurus?
I owned a Ford Taurus wagon – in fact that exact one (btw the picture attribution link on TTAC stinks but I’m glad you could make use of it). I got mine on the cheap from my brother who had actually lived in it for a while. After a couple bottles of Febreeze it was a decent driver. I did worry about the transmission but it served me well for a several months until I sold it on cheaply. Lovely engine – the rest of the car is ok.
RE: The Skylark, I’d take a Century of the same vintage over a Skylark if you’re talking entry-level Buicks. Much better car. Boring as hell, yes, but a good commuter car.
It will cost you roughly $1000 in labor to R&R a transmission in the Taurus, or pretty much any FWD vehicle for that matter. That’s just labor. For the transmission you’re looking at roughly $2000 for a Ford reman, ~$1500 to have it rebuilt, or ~$700-500 for a used one. The problem with a car like the Taurus is that the AX4S tranny has such a poor history that buying a used tranny is a complete crapshoot.
In my limted experience with this transmission in the Windstars I would probably put my money on a rebuild done by a trusted professional, but bottom line you can buy a whole other used Taurus for the price of the reman or rebuilt tranny.
it doesn’t matter if you “maintain it properly,” the transmission on the Taurus is going to blow within 60-80k miles..
mikeolan : it doesn’t matter if you “maintain it properly,” the transmission on the Taurus is going to blow within 60-80k miles..
Some do, some don’t. The 1996 Sable I had the displeasure of tuning up had 180,000 miles on the original transmission, but it was barely hanging on for its life.
@Mikey
“I followed a fairly new Altima not long ago. Blue smoke belching out of the tail pipe. Does that mean all the Nissans are poor quality junk?”
Funny you would use that example. I had a bulletproof Pathfinder for 13 years, before I purchased my Grand Prix. After my GM experience, I ran back to Nissan and I’ve had an ’02 Maxima for four years now.
While I admit that my Grand Prix is one vehicle only, I’m personally faced with a “fool me twice” situation.
@ Jason I’ve owned GM new and used my entire adult life. One complete P.O.S 89 S15 4/4 that was a headache from day one.
In all honesty I wouldn’t of bought GM again were it not for the GM logo on my paycheck. Since I waved goodbye to my paint delaminaited “S” truck, I,ve owned 5 new and 1 used GM. I still own
three of them with only minor problems.
Mikey, I guess I miss your point— he’s buying these cars for peanuts.
Last year I sold a 1993 Honda Accord with moderate body damage for 1800 bucks. For an extra two hundred bucks II could have picked up these three domestics, one which was immaculately maintained, and two of which are 5 years younger than my one Accord.
It’s really nothing for the domestics to brag about.
My grandmother owned a 1992 Buick Skylark.
It was an absolutely perfect car for her and other members of her demographic group. Not so much for the younger set.
1990 there were some halfway professional old time workers left, that one may have wanted to support.
Further when buying used for a few hundred the factory and dealers will never see a dime, as they are usually repaired with bone yard parts.
@ taxiroach …Right, Steven is picking them up for peanuts. Mr Lang lays some TLC on them and resells them for a profit. I assume Mr Roach that you didn’t sell your Accord at the auction. I don’t know the American market,but a 93 Accord wouldn’t fetch a thousand CDN at one of our auctions.
My point is that an 11 year old domestic is still running and there is still a market for it.
Ah yes, the Skylark. What a strange, strange looking car that was.
I remember helping a co-worker change a flat. I don’t think they’d taken the wheels off the car for anything in 100,000kms. I had my eyes closed in case something came flying. I yanked and yanked and felt it starting to give. Relieved, I opened my eyes only to discover I’d bent the wheel wrench into an s-shape. Do people not even read maintenance schedules anymore?
The key to a long-lasting Taurus transmission is picking the right engine.
Supposedly the 3.8 V-6 was too powerful for the transmission. I know people with 3.0 V-6 Tauruses who were able to get well over 120,000 miles out of the original transmission.
For the post-1995 cars, avoid the 3.0 overhead-cam engine. The transmissions (allegedly) last longer when the car is equipped with the overhead-valve 3.0 engine.
Was kind of amused to see the portion of the write up on that vintage Skylark/Taurus.
Last 6 months or so I’ve been driving a ’96 Cavalier – picked it up from a family member for $1. Drove it to work the other day and parked it in between the weird looking Skylark of that vintage and mid-90ish New Yorker. I thought to myself – we’re in a 10 year time warp. Had to laugh.
The Taurus and Suburban sold this weekend along with a 1993 Saturn station wagon. They all sold cheap. The Suburban sold for $1500 to a fellow that came from Athens, Tennessee to pick it up. His first question to me after driving it was, “Why are you selling it so cheap?” He has a 1982 model and is thankfully well versed in maintaining Suburbans.
The Taurus was financed to a family that had already bought a 1990 Volvo 240 from me for cash six months ago. The tranny looks to have been replaced recently, and I’m keeping the payments down to a $50 a week level. It should serve them well and everything from the interior to the Michelin tires was top notch.
The Skylark… I just don’t like. The interior ergonomics and material quality is the absolute nadir of that era. I think it will take a couple of weeks for it to go down the road.
My grandmother had a 94 Skylark as her last car. It was a awful POS. No power, 4 speed automatic that hunted like Elmer Fudd, and the worst ergonomics I have ever encountered in a car.
With proper care the Diesel ‘burban will live another decade plus.
A lot of people are grousing about Taurus transmissions dying way early. From what I have experienced, the vast majority of early failures was from the first gen. Not excusable, but I think that most people get at least 120-140K out of the trans in gen 2-4 cars. I know of no owners that have experienced failure any earlier than that. Most of those people do have the Vulcan, not the Duratec….
And someone will buy the Buick because a low enough price will cover a multitude of design sins.
I never understood who the hell in GM approved the last gen Skylark design. The previous gen was reasonable in an anonymous Buick sort of way, but the last run of N-bodies (all versions) was horrific.