In the summer of 1986, on one of our many trips to Kansas City to visit my mother-in-law, we passed a car lot with many beautiful late model automobiles. We decided to look around, figuring our three year old Chrysler New Yorker had what we thought was high mileage. Actually, it was only 67,000, but seemed high to us at the time.

We spotted a 1986 Buick Park Avenue with a beautiful dark red metallic finish, wire wheels and white sidewall tires. The odometer showed 12,000 miles, and the title indicated that it had been a demonstrator for an area Buick dealer. A test drive, while not outstanding, was a satisfyng experience, but we decided to think about it awhile, and check it out on our next trip to KC.

A few weeks later we were back, and the car hadn't been sold; had it been, our lives would have been richer, I'm sure. We started negotiations, which seemed to last for hours, and finishing up with the purchase of a long term warranty, we drove away with this beautiful machine.

It wasn't long after, I noticed 2 tires worn in such a way as to indicate poor wheel alignment. I called the manager of the carlot, and he told me to stop in and they would take care of it for us at no charge. This took the better part of our time in KC, but I felt better for the repairs.

A couple of months later, I noticed that each time the brakes were applied at low speed, an erratic motion was felt in the front end. It turned out it needed new front brake disc pads and the rotors turned. At less than 19,000 miles now, this seemed highly unusual, but I took care of this myself, and we had no further problems with brakes.

Very soon thereafter, an irritating noise from the rear was noticed, and the dealer said it was the electric fuel pump, something they had had many problems with, but covered under the 3 year, 50,000 warranty except for the $50 deductible. The full bill for this was about $600, because they had to remove the gasoline tank in order to replace the pump, with labor probably more than the part itself.

About the same time, I had been suspicious of transmission problems, and the dealer's diagnosis was quite involved, suggesting an overhaul was required. So having the fuel pump replaced at the same time meant only one deductible, I had them go ahead with the repairs.

Deep into the first winter with the Park Avenue, we noticed steering problems, which turned out to be a defective rack and pinion -- another big expense but luckily only $50 for us.

But then came spring, and the need for air conditioning again brought to light a VERY noisy compressor. Another problem was frequent dying of the engine. Before we got around to having the work done, the transmission was acting just as it had the first time I was concerned. So at one visit, they rebuilt the transmission again, replaced the air conditioning compressor, and power flushed the fuel injection system. 3 for 1 on the one deductible this time.

Within 2 weeks I was back again because the engine kept dying. This time they changed the computer, which did the trick.

Sometime in 1987 I went to the public library to read all I could about the 1986 Buick Park Avenue. What I gleaned from all the consumers' research magazines was that this was one of the least reliable cars GM had built since the Chevy Vega. Fortunately this was partially offset by some good features. It was a pleasure to drive when everything was working as it should; it rode like a dream; and it was luxurious. One lady we socialized with often, said she felt like she was riding in a hearse with its soft velvet upholstery and gorgeous interior.

A lot more happened in the next 2 years we owned the car, but the capper was on the day after they rebuilt the transmission for the third time. We were going to Kansas City on the turnpike; at the toll booth near the city, the transmission went out again. The dealer on the Kansas City, Kansas side couldn't help, so we limped to Overland Park, KS, barely making it. They called the factory to ship a new unit, so we rented a car to get home. And even after we picked it up a few days later, we couldn't trust it for the trip we had planned to New Orleans. We took our 4 year old Toyota instead, and drove 3500 miles without a hitch.

When we traded the Buick, it had less than 50,000 miles, but had received $8500 in repairs. Thank the Lord for long term warranties.