At $6,400, Is This 2005 Buick LeSabre Limited a Cut Above?
I’ll bet the last time many of you thought about a car like today’s Nice Price or No Dice Buick was… well, never. That’s too bad because they make for typically comfortable and reliable cruisers. Today, I’m gonna make you not only think about this LeSabre, but also what it might be worth.
Fast station wagons never represented all that big of a chunk of the automotive market. The number of them available have dwindled to just a couple of very expensive hold-overs. Thankfully, there’s still the used car market populated with some pretty fast wagons like the 1999 Volvo V70 R we looked at yesterday. At $2,500, that worn but seemingly not worn out estate wasn’t all that expensive either, a fact noted by you all in both the comments and the solid 80 percent Nice Price vote.
While it’s been some time since any of those fast wagons played much of a role in new car sales, it’s surprising to see sedans falling from favor as well. Maybe they are not just dying off. Maybe, they are in fact being murdered.
Take this 2005 Buick LeSabre Limited as an example. This represented the last year for the long-running (1959 — 2005) nameplate, and upon its discontinuation at the end of the 2005 model year, it had the unique distinction of being the best-selling full-size sedan on the market. Now, that very well may be about as important as being the fattest polydactyl cat on the farm, but it still points to the LeSabre having its fanbase. Let’s see if it could still be a draw.
The car is built on the GM corporate G platform, which is shared with the contemporary Cadillac Seville, Pontiac Bonneville, and Oldsmobile Aurora. And yes, it’s not lost on me that all of those models (and two of the brands) have long ago been kicked to the curb.
Power for the big Buick is provided by the company’s stalwart 3800 Series II V6 which offers a fairly unstressed 205 horsepower and 230 lb-ft of twist. That engine sits side-saddle and drives the front wheels through the standard 4T65-E four-speed automatic which, righteously, has a column shift.
According to the ad, this Silver Metallic over gray leather LeSabre rocks a mere 100,000 miles and is claimed to run and drive “perfectly with no problems at all.” The exterior appears to be in great shape save for the rear bumper which shows some scratches and scuffs in the paint. Per the ad, the car wears new tires on its factory alloy wheels. Those, by the way, look seriously like plastic wheel covers in the photos. There’s limited yellowing on the headlamp lenses and body fit seems par for the course. Speaking of courses, this LeSabre’s big booty will hold three sets of clubs.
Inside, it’s much the same story. The leather looks to be in surprisingly good shape even if the seating surfaces it is covering are all as flat as day-old PBR. One of the interesting features of these cars is the front seat seatbelts which are mounted to dumbo ears on the backrests rather than the B pillars. That means a better position especially if you’re short. There’s pretty much power everything in here, plus dual-zone climate controls with the passenger getting their own little temperature switch on the door-mounted armrest. Très chic!
The car comes with a clean title and a $6,400 price tag that the seller says is negotiable. When was the last time you heard that word in today’s crazy market? Regardless of such refreshing flexibility, we have to start somewhere and that will naturally be at the $6,400 initial asking.
What do you say? Is this Buick worth that $6,400 price as it sits? Or, is selling a sedan like this just living in the past?
You decide!
Charlotte, North Carolina, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to jdmayhorn for the hookup!
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