Ownership Verified: My 98 Buick Park Avenue Ultra

Punisher Bass

He who drives a Buick
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
3,492
Location
St Louis, MO
Car(s)
98 Buick Park Avenue Ultra
This is my baby. A 1998 Buick Park Avenue Ultra all optioned out. Heated seats, automatic wipers, heads up display, 10 disc CD changer in the trunk, premium sound system, sunroof, and everything else Buick offered at the time except OnStar.

It has a Series II 3800 with a supercharger pumping out 240 hp and 280 ft?lbf of torque, along with GT Sport Suspension it's enough to handle any Mustang or Camaro at the stoplight.

My dad bought it used in 2000 and it offically became mine after he passed away in early 2006 :(.

The paint isn't in the best of shape and the interior has seen better days but it still looks nice. The only major problems it ever had was the transmission was replaced last year and I recently had the entire front suspension replaced. It's never left me on the side of the road and no matter what happens it just keeps on going like the energizer bunny.

Despite its age and being a full size luxury sedan, it's not a gas guzzler. I get on average 19-20mpg (it was rated at 18 ) in the city, but I do have to use premium because of the supercharger.

I love this car and I'm never getting rid of it. But if Buick ever decides to bring the chinese Park Avenue over here, I'd have no problem parking one next to my 98.

https://pic.armedcats.net/p/pu/punisherbass/2009/12/08/98BuickUltra1.JPG

https://pic.armedcats.net/p/pu/punisherbass/2009/12/08/98BuickUltra2.JPG

https://pic.armedcats.net/p/pu/punisherbass/2009/12/08/98BuickUltra3.JPG
 
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Any interior pics?
 
I didn't think anyone would care to see 10 year old worn leather seats and carpet.
 
We rented one of those once!
 
didn't top gear bag this car in season 9 ep 3. called it a .P.O.S. No offence mate. aslong as it gets you there
 
didn't top gear bag this car in season 9 ep 3. called it a .P.O.S. No offence mate. aslong as it gets you there

No, that was not my car he was talking about. That was a Buick LeSabre. Totally different car from what I have. The LeSabre was a midsize sedan built on GM's H body platform from 1986 all the way to 2005 when it was killed.

And incase anyone brings up the Park Avenues Clarkson destroyed on his Good, Bad, and The Ugly video, the Park Avenue's he destroyed are from when they were built on GM's C body platform and they were rather crap. Believe me, my family owned two of them.

In 97 the Park Avenue moved up to the much better and stronger brand new ( at the time ) GM G-Body platform. My Park Avenue Ultra was Buick's top of the line flagship sedan.
 
I'd like to see the HUD... Buick always have funny gadgets :p

As for the HUD, it's nothing goofy or spectacular. There is this little thing in the dash, we always called it the hologram, that projects your current speed onto the windshield so it's right there to see without having to take your eyes off the road to look down. It's a nice feature that I hate not having whenever I drive another car.
 
That Buick has got to be one of the more dignified sedans that GM made in the 90s. So much more appealing than that blobular Lucerne.
 
I've always liked the way my car looks. That's not to say I wouldn't be willing to make some changes.

If I ever win the lottery I'd love to convert the car to RWD using the powertain and suspension out of a Cadillac STS-V. I'm sure most people would't see the point behind that and say it's a huge waste of time and money, but this car is special to me.

Reason being is that this was the last (and nicest car) my dad ever drove and he loved it. He became too sick to drive a few years ago and then I had to use it to take him to the doctor or the hospital and the like.

I spent a lot of time with him in this car and I could never bring myself to get rid of it, it would be like losing a part of him. There are just too many memories.

"But it's just a Buick", well to someone else yeah, these are a dime a dozen. But to me it's no different than a parent giving their child something like their old Mustang.

I know I will have other cars but this one will always at the very least have a spot in my garage no matter what happens.
 
Honestly, if you like smooth, peaceful rides at a decent price and abandon all pretensions of sportiness, Buicks are king. The '98 G-Bodies are rock solid man, very good value for the time.

I drove both this and a Le Sabre and I can tell you that you ended up on the right side of that Buick divide.
 
Honestly, if you like smooth, peaceful rides at a decent price and abandon all pretensions of sportiness, Buicks are king. The '98 G-Bodies are rock solid man, very good value for the time.

I drove both this and a Le Sabre and I can tell you that you ended up on the right side of that Buick divide.

Yeah I wouldn't call my car sporty, but it is a sleeper. A lot of people don't know how potent a 3800 can be even when in a heavy car like mine. Which is why I've left a great number of cars in the dust.

Before this we had an 88 Park Avenue that we got in 98 or 90 and it liked to eat transmissions and alternators, when my sister got it in 98 she just drove it into the ground. "Oil Change" only entered her mind every 10,000 miles or so.

After she was given the 88 my dad picked up a 96 Park Avenue and only kept that for a few years. It never had any mechanical problems as I recall but I swear to go that car changed colors. It would look silver, then kind of tan, then maybe a very very light green. The inside was the same, the leather seats looked green, and then they would change to tan. It was trippy.

He traded that one in for for the 98 I have now.
 
Here are some pictures showing the inside, I tried to show the hologram but I couldn't figure out how to shut off the damn flash so it wouldn't show up. And believe it or not that is real wood trim.

https://pic.armedcats.net/p/pu/punisherbass/2009/12/08/98BuickUltra4.JPG

https://pic.armedcats.net/p/pu/punisherbass/2009/12/08/98BuickUltra5.JPG

https://pic.armedcats.net/p/pu/punisherbass/2009/12/08/98BuickUltra6.JPG

And last but not least the rear end.

https://pic.armedcats.net/p/pu/punisherbass/2009/12/08/98BuickUltra7.JPG

Reminds me that I need to get a new sticker for the plate.
 
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You know Buicks are intended for old people looking at the huge stereo buttons. :p
 
Last summer that tape got wedged in there (no idea what the tape is of) and I've been unable to get it out. Pressing the eject button just causes a grinding noise of sorts and then "err" shows up.
 
I took it to the shop today because the front driver side wheel had developed a strange noise. It sounded kind of like a couple rubber bushings being pressed together and twisted. I thought it was a tie rod but my mechanic said it was a ball joint. He threw it on the rack and injected lube into the ball joints on both sides and the sound has been getting better. Took under an hour to do at a cost of $5. Yes $5.

I also was told my tires were very low when I just filled them to the correct PSI two weeks ago. The front ones were down by almost half and the rear was down by about 1/4th. They didn't see anything in the tread that would be causing a leak so I took it to my local tire shop so they could pull them off and make sure nothing had found its way in.

The cause of the leak was not a nail or something, they said the inside of my wheels (aluminum) had a bit of corrosion around the lip and that was the cause. They ground it off and put a sealer on before remouting the tires. Took atleast an hour and a half at a cost of $0. That surprised the hell out of me.

I also poured in a can of BG 44K a few days ago and it has surprised me. MPG has gone up a little bit, engine sounds smoother, and accelerates faster.

I was going to have the power steering fluid flushed out but my mechanic's machine for the job is currently out of order so that is in the cards a few weeks down the line.
 
^ Five bucks? Including labour?
 
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