CAR WIZARD highlights what makes the Buick 3800 V6 the BEST engine ever!

I just bought me a buick lucerne 3800 v6 series 3 180k I'm actually falling in love with her

I own a 99 century 3.1 L v6, great car other than the intake manifold gaskets needing replaced wich was 1,450$. It was shifting a little hard from 1st to 2nd, i chsnged fluid and filter but didnt go away till i drained the torque converter fluid. Now it runs like new other than evap leak. Bought it for 800, put 1700 into it. Not bad for 2500 bucks with 113,000 miles. JUST CHECK INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKETS AND UPGRADE TO THE NEW REFORMULATED DEX COOL

My active 73 year old father had an old rung out honda and was looking for a "New" car I looked at a million camrys and they are all fithy and no maintenance.. I am not a Gm fan but I watched your videos and heard about the buick 3800 3.8. Today we bought a time machine of a 1995 buick lesabre from the son in law of the original owner.. it is as close to perfect as possible for a daily. It has 89,000 miles it was slogged and non op and ready to go. I wouldn't recommend these cars for long road trips because they are so comfortable you might fall asleep haha . Mr wizard you are the first channel I've ever subscribed too and I'm not sure how to send pictures but it's a California car an worth showing

They need to bring back the 3800

I'm not to formilier with thease but I use to like those old gm 2.8 they would run like new 300.000 and the car would fall apart around them like celebrities and Beretta had in 80s the old station wagons with tow package where amazing

Plastic parts are the bane of these engines. The plastic LIM gaskets,plastic vacuum hoses,and those coolant elbows.. Easy fixes though,get the upgraded parts,and some regular rubber vac. hose.. My '97 is still rolling at ~235k,without any of those issues for almost 10 years now. I can confirm,the supercharged version has a bit of scoot to it,and also doesn't suffer from the intake melting problems with the EGR tube,since it's a metal blower,instead of a plastic intake. (IIRC,you can swap the later model metal intakes onto the older engines...but don't quote me.)
Just the usual basic maintenance items,and the occasional water pump,etc. They're great.
Now,if they would have put the same awesomeness into the transmissions they bolted to these engines...... Go easy on the trans,and it'll last a good while. If you don't,it won't.

What do you think about the 05 pontiac grand prix with the 3800

I ran an 89 Pontiac Bonneville up to 200,000 miles. Never had any issues. Great engine!! Why would they discontinue an engine like this?

I believe your customer. I have seen some things in the last 5 years. Sales has always been a flaming asshole of a job. There is a lot of pressure on any sales force. I wish the car makes would do the research to understand where things got off track. Prior to all of this, I had one dealer in 2002 that made me so mad with inability to fix things, i found another. And the next one knocked my socks off with professionalism. As we tried different brands, and different dealers, we have had such amazing dealer service experience. Then service abruptly started deteriorating in 2018, reaching appalling by about midway 2020. There is an independent shop in a nearby city that is as honest and competent as you CW. They are so busy though. And one of our Cadillac dealers has managed to hang on to it's soul. They are pricey at $200 per hour, but they are so good.

I have a 1999 Buick Regal 3800 V6 with 107k miles it’s been very reliable for me I love this platform car with the 3800 V6 they are a good car I’ve done the upper and lower intake gasket for preventative maintenance other than that great car 😊

I've owned 5 cars with this engine. I'm sorry I have a different opinion than you. The FWD version has the worst design of an intake, which cracks and also leads to blowing the intake gaskets. Which if you don't do it yourself, costs ALOT more than $100. These engines also come in 4th gen F-bodies. I'm on my 2nd in my '99 Firebird which has 130k miles. The 1st motor, threw a rod. This one, is now leaking oil like a civ, I bought it with 110k miles and have put 20k miles. I had a 99 grand am GT, 150k miles, cracked block. My daughters 07 grand prix, intake is done, 151k miles. Mechanic wants $1100 (notice he didn't say cost of intake, just states it's easy). Now with my bad back I'm going to have to do the work on her car, while throwing away the 3.8 in my 'Bird. Sorry, I am not a huge fan of these motors. I know alot of mechanics who hate this motor as much as I do.

I love your honesty and Mechanic Truth. The GM V6 3800 engines built in Flint MI absolutely were the BEST engines ever built... (You stopped in saying WHY they were discontinued?) They were 400K+ mile engines. I had one in a 92 Pontiac Bonneville for 10 years and 210K miles. Ran like new when I traded it in. My theory is ... GM realized they had to build in Obsolescence and the V6 3800 lasted too long. That's a Shame... because It was/IS the best car motor EVER BUILT.... and GM failed by moving into something more profitable.

Lest thou not forgetteth thy Grand National.... 3.8 Turbocharged, ye be smitten

I love those engines also I've had a couple of them

I have a 2002 Buick Century Limited, the engine is still kicking ass. My mechanic loves fixing things on my car bc he uses it to teach others!

I had a 2001 and 2003 Grand Prix with this engine, the 03 was Supercharged, it gave 31 to the gallon in the hwy.

Why plastic in the first place?????

The Plymouth 3.3L V6 is also a great motor as well.

I don't know if you respond on old videos like this oh great wizard but I just bought an olds cutlass with the little older 3.1l and I was curious your thoughts on it as well since they have the same bloodline.

These motors are junk-I have had to replace several upper plenum gaskets and bypass elbows keep leaking

Thank you for solidifying my love of older Buick models. I just graduated with an MBA with a killer job right out making $72,000 .... but I will NEVER buy a new car, EVER. Not when these exist.

Just picked up a 99 regal gs with 130k miles on it. Love that 3800

Watched most of your videos. Just ran across this one. We have a 2006 Lacross with the 3.8L engine. Have been quite impressed. Have 2 Honda CRVs also. Nearly the same gas milage, but the Buick is much quieter and a better ride.

I have this same car! Has 231000 miles for only $1400. It has a few issues like ac not cold sometimes, wheel bearing maybe, and transmission fluid needed. But it starts every time and loves to float down the highway getting around 26 or 28 mpg

If this engine is related to the 3800 that is in my mother in law's 2006 Chevy Impala LS, would you know the common fixes for the low oil pressure message? I've had the car in the shop and the oil pressure sensor replaced twice. Thanks Wizard!

I am in the process of buying a 2003 Chevy Impala with a 3800 engine in it. Am I making a good decision? 1 owner 92,000 miles….

Perfect engine is the mopar slant 6

This motor was unreal .powerful. Good gas economy and lasted forever. New gm products not so....

I have a 04 Impala. It’s 3800 has oil seepage. No mixing of the oil and coolant, yet. But it’s not looking like a couple hundred to fix.

I have one and I change my alternator in 10 minutes

I really want a LeSabre ($4,799; 60,000mi) as my first car, but my parents have offered buy me a 2023 Civic ($26,000; new) or a Tesla Model 3 ($30,000≥; 30,000mi≥) due to the better styling and efficiency (even though the LeSabre gets up to 24.5 MPG). They've even told me that they couldn't care any less about the mechanics of a car, and that they will not have an "ugly grandma car" on their driveway. I am showing them this video to (possibly) convince them that reliability should be a priority, and that I really do not need a fancy car. Plus, insurance on a 2003 Buick for a 16 y/o driver should be much cheaper than insurance for a 2023 Honda. I'm also a decent student (4.14 GPA), so they might even get a discount, which would make the insurance rates even cheaper.

So the last year to get a car with this engine is 2006 ??

Only perfect engine from Mercedes in my humble opinion, 126 chassis 300 SD turbo diesel. Extremely easy to work on, no electronic ignition, all kinds of room, engine and tranny are bulletproof, you will need overhaul B2 servo piston. But overall bulletproof!

Can a Supercharged 3800 mount into a Rear wheel 5 speed Manual Drive S-10 ?

Tipical American car company , once they get a reliable and dependable engine…they discontinue it

I subscribe to your channel recently and came across this video. My son has a 97 Grand Prix GT with the 3.8. This car has been a pain in the rear. I car died unexpectedly while he was visiting his girlfriend in PA(he lives in NYC with me). Goodyear replaced the starter and he was able to get back home. Just yesterday he went to PA and stopped at a Walmart. When he came out the thing wouldn’t crank or start. Only code is P1870. I suspect it’s the crankshaft sensor. The battery is good. Unfortunately the only mechanic I trust is in the Bronx and he doesn’t make house calls 😅

I had a 1988 Buick Park Ave. Retired it with 380k on it. I had a 2002 LaSabre bought it with 120k and sold it with 300k zero engine problems and drove it 70 miles to work every day around 90mph down the interstate to my work. Road like a dream.

GM really fucked up dropping this from their lines

Replacing head gaskets on these cars are simple

I learned to drive on a Lesbare, and then bought a 2000 Camaro in 2015, 3.8 w/ 4L60e (stronger than the FWD transmissions). The car got me thru highschool, college, and even to my job for a few months before buying a new WRX as a daily. Still take the Camaro on nice days, runs fantastic.

When they replaced it with the 3.6 reliability went down the drain

Agreed! Tomcat has 4 of these buicks, all of them with a 3.8 v6. 1989 buick lesabre. 1994 buick lesabre. 2001 buick park avenue and a 2005 buick lacrosse( last year of the 3800). All have orginal drivetrains.

Do a video of The piece of crap engine that replaced this legend.

The 3800 v6 in both naturally asperated and supercharged was used in the Holden Commodore in Australia

Here's what I don't understand about cars, why don't they just keep improving over time? Most everything like computers, tv's and tools get better over time. Not cars. Why don't the manufacturers learn from thier mistakes and improve them? Seems they just keep making them worse and worse.

Hey Wizard been enjoying your channel. I found a 2003 Buick Park Avenue Ultra great condition with 155,000 miles,brand new tires asking 3,875. What do you think?

Mostly based on your videos I just bought a 2000 Buick Lesabre with 82K miles. Drove great and when I was taking it home from the dealer, the engine shut off while driving and also shuts off when in park. Mechanic will be taking a look at it. Was looking at some sites and said that it might be the crankshaft position sensor. Seems like a common problem and an easy and cheap fix. I hope it is because it drove great until engine shut off.

There IT was on the COVER of ROAD and TRACK, CAR and DRIVER the FIRST year IT came OUT! **BUICK GRAND NATIONAL** car of the YEAR! SMOKED everyone's BIG block the FASTEST production CAR of this... time! 3.8 V-6 (TURBO!) Such a *LEGEND!* ..................NICHOLAOS of TIME.....................

Didn't they have an odd firing order which made them seem to run rough? NVH was an issue with these things.