This 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera Is the LEAST Unique Car GM's Ever Built!
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- Опубліковано 23 жов 2023
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#oldsmobile #classic #car - Авто та транспорт
This was the type of car you saw in a rural country town parked under a carport at an old person's home. Old folks bought these Oldsmobiles and Buicks new and 28-30 years later it only has 35,000 miles on it with a repaint.
Np because tell me why you are exactly right I bought mine for 800 from my pops with only 36k on it 🤣
Been a great car for me. Daddy’s last car, and he bought it from an old church lady, who put a mere 34K on it in 12 years. Dad drove it until 2011, before he retired from driving, handed it over to me at 67K. Now at 147K with it. Only issue was an electrical one. New wiring harness between ignition control
module and engine. Solid performer. Last of their kind. Tires are getting a bit harder to find, at 14inch. It’ll be around as long as possible. Reminds me of my daddy every time I drive it. Still makes 120 mile runs easily. Drove it 650 miles once, one way, trouble free operation and 29-30 mpg at 65-70mph highway running. Yes, mine is a daily driver.
I bought a 92 cierra for 3k with 60k miles on it. came with a tune up and in great condition
@@FrogmanLeapsI see a great deal for one on market, I think I’m gonna grab it based on your comment 👌🏾
I've seen kids drove this with no problem
The buick version, the Century, was one of my favorite cars I've ever owned. I loved the styling and the mileage it got.
My 91 Buick Century with the 3300 was indestructible.
@@catsaregovernmentspiesMy parents bought the ‘89 Century- the first year with the softened front and rounded back window and rear end. We thought it was quite sharp looking, actually. It was enough of a change from the ‘86 boxy Ciera that it replaced. The seats had the pillowy backs to them, with very soft velour. No oomph though, with the 4 cyl. Iron Duke. Pretty reliable.
Same had a 94
Love them or hate them at least these suckers were relatively comfortable and reliable.
Mine was definitely NOT reliable.
@@LyleFrancisDelpbad luck.
Super comfy was like riding a couch 🛋️
A full gauge package was aviliabile with tach oil temp and amp..rally pack..
@@LyleFrancisDelpWhat went wrong with yours?
The Cutlass ciera was basically a front-wheel drive Snow tractor that could cruise down the interstate with four people in affordable luxury. Rich valor interior nice trim for the time and getting decent fuel economy. It was the car in fargo. You could even get a a wagon. My grandfather had one drove it many years in Midwest weather conditions with little or no trouble.
I had the Pontiac 6000 version and the Buick Century. Say what you want, but the Pontiac got me thru college delivering pizzas and not breaking down much, the Buick had a much cushier suspension and leather interior… floated down the road. Both were simple, solid and cheap transportation!
And can go to Napa, Auto Zone, Advance Auto Parts or O'Reilly and get lucky all day everyday because they had the parts in stock. They even carry reman Jasper transmissions at the parts store for those cars. 7am, purchase the transmission, by 10:30am, that transmission is in and the car running good like nothing happened. Need and alternator or starter, trust me, its in stock. No need to order online and wait on parts when it comes down to old FWD GM cars.
@@SouthsideKidd550 agreed! As a poor college kid I was at autozone a lot instead of going to shops, fixing myself. You cant do that as much on new cars
@@Cherokeelion Thats the way to go. This is why I refuse to buy any newer car than 2015. Most older cars are designed to be worked on by the owner anyways. Parts are ready available on most older modern cars. I own a 2007 Honda Fit. Pull-A-Part and LKQ are awesome as well. So far every part I need for that car (surprisingly) has been in stock. I ordered from Rock Auto one time and that was for some ignition coils because I wanted Honda OEM. But when it comes down to a GM, even if you wanted AC Delco parts, the dealer had it in stock. Speaking of AC Delco, you can still buy GM Delco parts from Auto Zone or Napa, which is a cheaper route because I forgot parts dept at the dealer does 17% markups on parts.
aye 90s GM. My parents bought new cars in the winter of 1994. A brand new 95 Grand-AM SE for mum & a 94 GMC Sierra SLE 4x4 extended cab for my father. Memories of my mother absolutely winding out that 3100 V6 pulling out of our driveway .. the Grand-AM blew its head gasket in 2000 at like 140,000KM and was replaced with the next gen Grand-AM GT and my father drove the sierra through 3 transmissions and it was still used as a secondary work truck/extra car until 2007! After that we switched over to Subaru's for mum and Toyota trucks for dad haha.
My father bought a new Grand Am in 1988 when I was a junior in high school. During the beginning of my senior year I decided to drag race that 105hp iron duke engine and ended up cracking a valve. I told my dad at Sunday breakfast that on the drive home it sounded weird lol. I’ll never forget my dad looking at me and saying ‘well if you say it just sounded weird then I’ll believe you and talk to the dealership (Burns Pontiac Honda GMC) about fixing it’. I felt terrible and ended up telling him what I did. Anyway terrible car every which way you put it 😂
I believe its pronounced gran dam
damn grand@@AnonOmous-hs4gb
Buyers apparently didn't care that the different models from the various divisions were just variations on the same theme because they were often that division's best sellers and went on to sell tens of thousands annually for years.
Most people aren't enthusiasts and just want a practical daily driver that's reliable and inexpensive to insure and maintain.
I drove a 1991 with the 3300 Buick V6 (same family as the famous 3800) and 3 spd auto (160 hp @ 5200 rpm, 185 ft-lb tq @ a low 2000 rpm, lower than this 3100 V6 which I think was at over 4000 rpm). The powertrain was bulletproof. It had 224k miles on it, and the only reason it quit going was someone pulled out in front of my dad when he was driving home from work in 2008. He still drove it home after hitting the guy. Didn't make sense to repair it though to make it road legal again.
Same here. 91 Century with the 3300. 210k miles, all I ever had to replace were normal wear items, brakes, water pump, alternator, exhaust. Never had to so much as pull a valve cover off it.
91 Cutlass Cierra 3.3 V6, 3 speed auto too. $600 car had been under water I found out taking off the door panels to replace the window motors. About 200,000 miles when I bought it, about double when I sold it in far better shape than I bought it still running strong on the original engine. Great car to work on and buy parts for, fun and fast enough for most with an amazing 29 mpg at 75 mph! Comfortable and quiet too, really a great balance of a cheap but quality car. I drove my car a bit hard quite often, rarely failing but keeping the fluids and filters changed early probably didn't hurt. I miss it to this day and dream of getting the station wagon, restoring it, and dropping in a super charged 3800, then putting hundreds of thousands of daily driveing miles on it. Too bad I can't drive anymore.
I still have my white with blue interior Buick century 91 3.3 wit 74k miles I mean wat can I say I can passed any car on the highway wit literally no problems.
I would like to say the cutlass ciera will always have a special place in my heart, I’m 24 now my grandmother had a white cutlass ciera of the show room floor. It was my first ride in a car after being literally being born. I remember bits and pieces but this car has to be on my bucket list for sure!!!!
The Cutlass Ciera was my first car. I used it through my undergrad years. I have very fond memories of it, even if turned into a rust bucket by the end.
My family had our share of GM A bodies. My dad had an '84 Pontiac 6000 with the carbed 2.8 V6. It was two tone green with a green cloth interior and wire wheel covers. Quite a car.
My first car was a '94 Buick Century with the 3100 V6. It had the red velour-like interior and was so smooth and comfortable. Took a cross-country road trip in it with my dad when I graduated high school. I miss that car.
Later on, my dad had a '94 or '95 Olds Cutlass (almost identical to the car in this video, except his interior was tan) with the 3100 also.
Simple cars, relatively reliable, cheap to fix. And who doesn't love the sound of an old pushrod 60 degree GM V6?
i have a 94 century 24,000 miles.
These were GREAT cars. They weren't exciting, but they weren't designed to be exciting. Everything doesn't need to be a goddamn sport sedan. Some of us actually like sofa-like split-bench seats and a column shift. Classic Americana stuff. They were designed to be comfortable, smooth, quiet, solid family sedans that cruised comfortably. They did the job exceptionally well for what they were in the 80s and 90s. Build quality was solid and reliability was quite good. I wish modern GMs were still this dependable. GM did a good job differentiating the Ciera, Century, Celebrity, and 6000. They all have their own exterior design style and unique dashboards. We rented a 1995 Century for a 1,000-mile road trip and it was a fantastic road trip car. I've liked the Century ever since. A friend owned a 1990 Cutlass Ciera with the 2.5L 4cyl. "iron duke" that he neglected pretty badly, but he still managed to squeeze out 200k miles before it croaked.
I work for a Major Rental Car and Truck Rental. The Cutlass was a reliable rental car customers trashed them and they still kept going. My Parents bought a 95 Buick Century Limited new mom gave it away last year after she quit driving I think it had about 165000 miles on it. My youngest brother she lives with is a mechanic and he said it was going strong right up to the day it left the family.
These cars defined my small town upbringing in the 90s. They were everywhere. It was these kind of cars or 70s rustbuckets.
My Mom had a 87 Celebrity Classic with the 2.8 MPFI. That car ran awesome, I did all the work on it and when it snowed it should’ve had a Polaris insignia on it. That car was haunted with so much good luck it was crazy. Great Videos Thank You 🙏
Worked at Avis Rent a Car. We had all versions( Chevy Buick Pontiac and Olds) of this and was really the perfect Rental Car. Four doors, good trunk and easy to drive. An appliance.
My first car was a 1987 Cutlass Ciera with the 2.5 Iron Duke.
Wow - I had an 83 Celebrity. I had no idea those non-descript things stayed around into the mid-90s. Truth be told, it was actually a pretty nice, comfortable car. It delivered thousands of pizzas and made the 250 mile trip between home and college (often LOADED down with stuff and/or friends) a ton of times. A blaupunkt head-unit, some pioneer speakers.... it wasn't an awful car. Traded it with a bajillion miles for a sweet 87 Accord Lxi 5mt hatch.
honestly i thought they were great cars
@@BikerJim74 They were. Solid, comfortable cruisers.
I think the Celebrity was discontinued in 1990, along with the Pontiac 6000. The Olds and the Buick soldiered on until 1996.
Me neither! Probably because they never made any styling changes for over a decade. I still remember my first trip to the dealership. When I was 5, in 1983. Walked into the showroom floor and the first thing I saw was a POS Cieara, sitting next to Trans Am. Even as a child, I could tell it was the cheapest, ugliest and least imaginative car i had ever seen. Im surprised that a single one survived the 2008 trade in bail out program.
nice car but celebrity is lineup than cutlass.
I had the 89 Oldsmobile version with a 4 cylinder. Got me through college. Drive it all over the county. It was easy to work on and parts were cheap. Perfect for a student. I have great memories in that car.
What kind of fuel economy did you get?
I had a 1993 Ciera with the 3300 V6 as my first car. Had no A/C, but I loved that car! Great to see a video on it.
Same, the wagon version! That 3300 was no slouch!
These were good cars. They were better built (simpler) than the more modern W bodies that were supposed to replace them, that is why they kept building the Olds and Buick versions until 1996. Ronnie Cox drove a real beauty in Beverley Hills Cop II. Every time I watch that movie I admire it. Some had the optional gauge package which made them pretty sharp. This car is definitely not the least unique GM car though, the 97 Cutlass was an identical clone to the new for 97 Malibu, that was a lot worse. At least this Ciera has different front and rear ends and its own dashboard.
I don't see how this is any more mundane than the average CUV on the road today.
You got a great deal picking that up for 1K.
These are so much better than the SUV'S that GM is pushing on people these days. It's what a car should be. Getting people from A to B with no fuss. The early ones were not great but the quality did improve.
I remember wanting a celebrity Eurosport 2 door in high school. With the 2.8 v6. White with Red pin stripes 😅Eventually owned a Pontiac 6000 and it was nothing but trouble.
I had an 89 and 91 in high school. Loved it. Power steering was so good you could drive with your pinky. Also was a beast in snow!
Ahh the A-body. My favorite was the Celebrity Eurosport and the cool exhaust note of the V6. I doubt anyone will regard this or any A-body as true “classics” but they do represent a big part of automotive history.
And those ‘90s door-mounted seatbelts…how GM got away with that still amazes me. I guess no one ever considered the real possibility of an ejection in a crash.
The door-mounted seatbelts were actually a government mandate. If the vehicle wan't equipped with airbags, they had to have the belts on the door from 1990 until 1997, when airbags were mandated for all models. In the owners manual, it explains that you're supposed to leave the belt connected as you enter and exit the car. This satisfied the government requirement for passive restraints. Most other automakers used the motorized belts that moved into place when you shut the door, which wasn't much better. This car being a 95, it has an airbag, but these made so much money for GM that they didn't change them back to regular belts when they added airbags in 92 or 93.
By the mid 90s, the Ciera and Century were the last of the A bodies produced. And at that point they were a rental fleet special and were fairly decontented. While badge engineered...there was enough feature differentiation for each division. In 83, you had the Pontiac 6000 STE which was decent sport sedan considering its plebian origins.
If you buy your burnt umber Ciera from Gustafson Motors in MN, remember to get that Trucoat!
I love my 95 as my daily driver its fairly reliable aside from old parts wearing out occasionally and maintenance but being a 90s GM its easy to fix. I feel like this car is so underrated
Absolutely. I've had mine for 4 months and I never want to get rid of this thing. Super easy to work on as well
I got one last year, a 1994 3.1 with 78k miles for $1500. It's had some issues but hasn't ever let me down. It's become one of my favorite things to drive.
These are still going today i still see them here and there. Good cars and cheap to fix. Id buy one in a heartbeat.
Kind of funny my parents had two versions of these LOL
My dad had a 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera SL two-door it was a burgundy metallic very loaded had a luggage rack on the trunk a beige leather interior full gauge package with a tachometer four-speed automatic on the floor with a 3.8 V6. It had this gold pinstriping with gold trim alloy wheels and all the emblems were gold. It was fun to drive and had lots of power. A friend of mine his dad drove a 91 Ford T-Bird Super Coupe at the time. We would race them from one intersection to another.
The T-bird with a v6 supercharged was always faster but the Ciera always kept up which says a lot. By the time we would get to the next red light the front wheel of the Ciera would be in the middle of his driver's door so the car always kept up.
My father sold it to a friend on the job and purchase a 1994 Buick Century sedan with a 3.1 V6 4-speed automatic that we drove until he sold it to a different friend on the job LOL in 2003 when he brought a Chevy Tracker V6 4X4.
Both of those vehicles we're super reliable and both went over 100,000 miles.
These were definitely a rebadge but had differences. To me a closer rebadge that were very similar would have been the Dodge Aries k and the Plymouth Reliant or the Dodge Aspen in Plymouth Volare especially the station wagons.
Had one just like it. My wife learned to drive in it. It was a pretty nice car and very reliable.
My buddy used a Oldsmobile Ciera as a news paper car and it was so dependable. He had over 400 stops a day. Like clock work I would do brakes every 4 weeks. He kept running the car a couple years after he stopped delivering news papers.
In 2011 I bought my first car which was a 1988 cutlass ciera. I bought it of my friend’s grandmother with 33,000 miles for $1,500. It took my me and my friends everywhere and made the best of memories. I wish I still had 😢
I actually own a 1992 ciera. It was one of the best cars I have owned. It is my second car after the plymouth reliant I had blew up. It may not be the most stylish, but it gets me anywhere I want reliably
My first car was a '94 Cutlass Ciera. It was slow, had a terrible turning radius, had some issues. Sometimes I had to smack the dash to get the speedometer to work again, but for the most part it was a good car.
I had 96 Cutlass siera. Kept it until about 2010. Only had to rebuild the trans outside of regular maintenance. Solid AF car. Was my 1st modified car too. Updated the engine to a 3400 manifold, bigger injectors, rear mounted turbo, swapped in parts from the unmentioned turbo version that Pontiac produced including the vinyl bucket seats. Don't sleep on these cars
I had a 1986 Cutlass Ciera. You described it perfectly - it's a car.
When my mother was 56 she bought a new white/blue V6 in '89 after my stepdad died, it was a good car & she drove it for many years! I had the '88 Olds 98 Regency at the time! A few more stops at McDonalds & you could still sit comfortably ✌💖☮
My family got the Buick diesel brand new, probably 84ish. My sister drove it in high school in the early 90s. That was a pretty much maintenance-free engine, unlike the 6.2 Diesel we had in our suburban that always dropped glow plugs and fuel pumps. That Suburban did pull our RV trailer to Rocky Mt. National Park, though with no problems.
I watched this video from the driver seat of my 1996 Ciera wagon. 139,360 miles as of today and it’s been great.
Thank you Brenden. My wife had the Buick Century and she drove it like she was racing from light to light. It wasn't very fast, but it wasn't bad and it took a pretty good beating. Al in all, not a bad car.
It blows my mind that these were made until 1996. Even by 90's standards, these looked arcaeic. They defintely kept them going till the 1996 safety/emissions standards for the old ladies that didn't want those fancy high tech cars.
Really not much different than where we are now. Pretty much every manufacturer has a shared parts platform in their lineup somewhere. While some may be a little more cleverly disguised than a blatant badge swap, it's still very much a thing.
My mom had an Oldsmobile Ciara. She loved it. I remember as an 8 year old thinking it was so smooth and quiet. It died in a terrible accident, but it kept my mother safe, and she got a 95 Lincoln Town Car afterwards.
In the Bay Area, this was known as a “scraper” Can’t believe my generation used to put big rims and sound systems in these things. Very comfy from what I remember.
My grandmother stopped driving around 2014, she bought one of these brand new in 1995. I drove it, the only thing broken at the time was the gas gauge and a rather large gas leak but it was all I had. I drove it the summer before my senior year in high school, excited to have a car, i loved it, super comfortable and it had some get up and go, at least I thought. Right before senior year, the transmission went and I had no car lol.
They was good cars though my grandma had 3 of them that I can remember. She loved Oldsmobile. The first one I remember was totaled out. The second one she ended up driving until it was ready for the salvage yard and the last one was totaled from a flood down the street. She couldn't find another Oldsmobile like this so she bought a Buick.
My family had a 1984 Buick Century station wagon back in the day. It had the jankiest digital dash, with a button to switch between mph/kph for the display. I'd switch the display to kph to freak out my friends and make them think we were doing 100 mph on the highway.
My uncle had 2 of these, lots of great memories!! The first was a 1992 in blue, which was totalled in an accident, then he had an identical 1995 as the one you have in the video. In Canada these cars didn’t last long about 8-10 year before the frame would rot.
My buddy had one of those back in the day. I hit a deer doing 70 in it somewhere in Ohio in the middle of the night. The car took it like a champ only knocked out one headlight and smashed the grill up a little. Your red beard is majestic!!
Back in college in the mid 90s I worked as a valet and used to park a ton of these. I actually used to enjoy the cars as I was an A-body fan, mainly the 6000 STE, in the 80s. Of course they felt dated but it was simply a transportation appliance for those who bought them. Inoffensive styling, decent ride and somewhat roomy seats is all people cared about. I kinda want one for nostalgia.
My dad had the 96 Ciera (they dropped the "cutlass" name for the final year) and my mom had a 95 Park Avenue. The cars definitely looked and felt a decade apart, though they shared some features like the flip-out cupholders.
We basically only rode in that car to church, or when we went to town with just Dad. Riding in the front seat was cool because you could just leave the seatbelt latched and open the door to slip in and out under the belt. Somebody at GM must have had a lot of faith in those door latches never freezing open!
A lot of rural postal workers drove these where I am from. I guess the bench seat was easy for them to drive from the passenger side. My grandmother had a 91 olds cutlass Ciera with the 3.3. Good car.
My grandma had an 87 one of these, I used it a bit when she stopped driving. It was a strange blend of modernish ride and fwd with 80s switchgear and interior. She had it from 96-'16 with minimal issues. It was great for dump and goodwill runs though, big trunk and decent on gas. We gave it to her neighbor who needed a car, it was worth maybe $500 at the time, and it unfortunately burned up in a wildfire a few years ago.
My dad drove this exact color and year. It was a fleet car for the State of Montana, they bought a ton of these around 1995.
We had one growing up as the kids car. I’m the youngest so by the time I got it it was trashed. Every piece of plastic in ours crystallized and shattered like glass. Whole door panels came apart and you had to beep the horn and unlock the doors by touching wires together 😆
My grandparents had 3 of these and I was fortunate to drive them from Michigan to Florida and back in a couple of them. They were actually quite comfortable for the time.
I currently daily drive a 1989 oldsmobile eighty eight and serves me well. The 3800 in it is reliable and does 400miles a week no problem. I prefer the boxy looks of the 80's compared to later. Its much roomier than the later models.
I bought mine for $1900 with 92,000 on it. I absolutely love this car. Never had a problem with it except for basic maintenance.
I owned 2 of them. The first one was an 88 with the Tech 4 with 200,000 miles which I scored for 400 bucks in 2000. At 480,000 the front strut towers rusted out and that was in 2003. Replaced it with a 92 with the 3.1 with 60,000 miles and paid 2500. My ex blew the motor in 07 and was getting close to 180,000 miles on it. For the most part they are good cars for families and won't kill the wallet when they need parts. BTW both cars were used pretty hard especially the first one as it was my daily, while the 92 was my ex's daily, since I scored an 87 Grand Wagoneer for mine, which I scored for 800 bucks 😎
Three of my grandparents had this platform at the same time. 84 Celebrity, 87 Cutlass, and 93 Century. So many fond memories of these cars.
I’m from Lansing, the home of Olds…
Given the last one rolled off the line 28 years ago, and our salted winter roads…
They are ALL gone
I had a Celebrity with the 4.3 as a winter beater for 2 winters. Hakkapelita 10's on the front were the setup back in the day here in VT. I used to tow around a single place snowmobile trailer and sled. It was a beast with pretty good power. I actually liked it.
This brings back memories! Had two of those, 1982 celebrity and 1989 pontiac 6000, the 6000 was a great classic american car! You got to look out for the back brake getting stuck; one time the car made a 180 on ice and the other time it sheared the suspension from the body...some type of valve that GM cheap out on cause that...
GM sold so many A body cars. The celebrity was all over the place.
A full gauge package was available for these and was pretty popular (probably cost $35! “Good enough” seemed to be the design criteria for these.
I had an almost new 96 Ciera...my first adult car purchase. I loved it, lol. My soon-to-be-ex-wife then--hated it! But it's what 18 year old "us" could afford!
I had a 1993 Cutlass Ciera wagon with woodgrain that I got from my grandfather. It was exactly as you described it. It was a car. It served me well in the winter here in New England when I shouldn't be driving a Miata with summer tires.
I drove a Miata through several winters with Blizzacks on it. Most fun winter car ever!
My dad had a 1992 in red with the red pleather interior, I really likes how conservative it looked. the cutlass had the best styling in my opinion
I had a 95 cutlass ciera I bought for 400 bucks, total beater but it ran good, and I beat the crap out of that thing for like a year, being a daily driver, I sold it because I needed room for another vehicle, but when I needed a gas saver, I looked for cutlass cieras since I had such great luck with my 400 dollar beater. I found an 85 cutlass ciera brougham, which I still own, has the 2.8 six, and first year for EFI, it’s slow, but man it drives nice and it’s reliable, I love these cars
I remember going to the dealer with my Grandma to pick up her new 94 Cutlass Ciera S. It was replacing an 84 Omega. Even at 12 years old I was amazed at all the switch gear that was the same between the two, and all the other 80's GM cars I'd been in. The 2.2 4cyl was noticeably quieter than the Iron Duke in the Omega, but goodhess it still seemed painfully slow for the time, and felt like a lawnmower compared to Japanese engines of the time. Compared to Fords and Chrylsers of the mid 90s it seemed ancient when new. I drove a 93 SL with the 3.3 V6 later on and that felt like a different car in terms of substance and driveability. Maybe not quick exactly, but the low end torque fit the old-school American style of the car. Into the 2010s, I still knew a couple freelance musicians driving high mileage example of these final A bodies all over creation with little trouble. Personally, I'd love to own a wagon version of either the Buick or Olds with the 3.3, but those seemed rare even when new!
Love your reviews from the auctions.
I worked for Sunset Oldsmobile in Sacramento Ca when this came out with other models. The 4 cylinder was crap but the V6 was a good reliable car.
My dad owned a 1985 Buick Century. It was the custom model, 3.0 carburetor V6. I was with him at the dealership when he bought it. It was so different from our 1975 Buick Century. Two door on the 75 vs 4 door on the 85. V8 vs V6, vinyl in the 75, velour in the 85. Analog radio to digital and 3 speed to 4 with overdrive, oooooooh, it was the future. Ha! Its funny what you remember. Thanks for the video snd memories Brenden.
I had a 92 Cutlass Ciera with the 3300 V6. It was a decent car for what it's worth. The engine was almost indestructible. It drove well. Got me from A to B for 4 years. Didn't have many issues. Didn't have to dump too much money into it. It had about 230k by the time I got rid of it. Just basic maintenance and care is all it really needed. I'm sure not everyone's experience is the same, but for what it's worth, it was alright. It wasn't pretty by any means. The clear coat was peeling and some of the paint was fading, had dents and dings all over it, but it ran well and got me where I needed to go.
I had an 84 as my first car that i bought with my own money($450). Drove it from 07 after i wrecked my 3rd car(first one had a title issue and second one i drove for a week then decided i wanted my moms car instead) until 2011 when my dad traded me his truck, he drove it until 2016 then gave it back to me and i sold it for 450 bucks. Rode like a Caddy unlike the newer ones. Also had a super tight turning radius. 3.0 V6 Carburetor engine that got 14 mpg city, 20 highway. Super easy to work on. Excellent on snow. I miss the car sometimes though.
My parents had one jazzed up with option two tone paint. It got the job done well for over a decade. The iron duke 2.5 four was rough.
Both my next door neighbors had an 86 and an 88 olds Siera. At the time my mom owned a new 85 Olds Delta 88. Great cars that lasted just 15+ years.
I just sold mine that I used for a winter beater. It was a final year '96 and it never had any mechanical issues that left me stranded, engine and transmission are perfect but it completely rusted out, so bad the rear axle was starting to fall off and the gastank couldn't hold more than a few gallons.
There were plenty of people in the 1980s who were put off by the swoopy wet-soap look of the Ford Taurus (and later Chevy's Lumina and Pontiac's Grand Prix) - many older buyers, especially for the brands positioned above Chevrolet like Buick and Olds, had a preference for more traditional styling. It's not a surprise that the Buick Century and Old Cutlass Ciera were the two surviving models of A-car past the late 1980s, even gaining slight styling changes like a more formal roofline before the decade's end.
By 1995, these were runout models, the investment GM made in the cars long since paid off. They offered basic, honest transportation - and were the cheapest cars offered by their respective brands. As unexciting as they were, and they were miles behind more modern cars in terms of styling and driving dynamics, there was still a small number of people who just wanted an affordable, high value car. The options list was kept short and all of the engine choices were pared down to the basic low-tech (but proven) 3.1L V6. As with the car shown, the last A-cars were not particularly luxurious, not exciting to drive, had lots of cheap plastic in the cabin and were basically an anachronism by the mid-1990s. That Delco radio looks like one that my mom had in her 1987 Chevy Nova (that car didnt have a cassette player, how rude!) Yet the Cutlass Ciera and Buick Century also had comfy seats, a very quiet comfortable ride, and appealed to those who preferred the straighter, squared off styling and less fancy mechanicals compared to newer vehicles made by GM and other companies. While I never would have given this car a second look in the 1990s, I'd love a good well looked after example now...for as common as they used to be, you rarely see any on the road now and even fewer in good condition. Ah, nostalgia is a funny beast.
My mom still has her 94 and runs really well still and Ac and heater work 😂👍🏼😎
At 18 I had a 1983 Olds Ciera 4.3 V6 Diesel. I actually Loved the car even though it could barely pass a grain wagon pulled by a tractor. Strangely enough 0 to 60 was rather zippy. For a 1983 it was white with burgundy leather interior. It had a moon roof, digital dash, trip computer, and went through snow like a bulldozer, even with bald tires. I pulled a friends Mercury Cougar home with it once and couldn't even tell it was there. As i got older I ended up getting a 1987, I think, Ciera with the 3.0 gas engine and really wasn't impressed with it and was rather trouble prone.
This was my first car. . I got it when it had 90k miles on it, and when I got rid of it, it had 283k miles on it. Changed the serpentine belt and water pump a couple of times, a few batteries and brake jobs, fluid flushes, but the car was as reliable as the sun. Actually, you still see several of them on the road today! Mine was a 1992 3.3 litre V6.
I can not vouch for that exact car, but Mother had a 1992 Century from '93 till she sold it still running still on the original engine and transmission at 268k miles in 2016. And literally everyone in the family loved driving that car! Wish they still made them that comfortable and simple today!
I got one, a '94 that my now deceased dad bought brand new so my mom would have something simple to drive when he died 6 months later (as predicted by his doctor). She sold it to me in 2003 because the cops told her that they didn't want to see her on the road anymore (she was 84). Took it imediately on a 600 mile road trip and only had a flat tire issue. Took it to a mechanic so they could flush and refill the coolant and something happened after they hooked up a pressure flush because the head gasket blew and the transmission has big issues. Today I'm changing the modulator. Last year used a youtube protocol for a head gasket sealer and so on and on and on. My momma wasn't perfect either.....
I have a 96 Ciera that was in perfect shape untill I ran it into a guard rail 3 years ago bent part of the frame but hey still works perfect
Mom and Dad had both the 1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera and a 1996 Buick Century version s of this car. The 1992 was the 4-cylinder version and for some reason the engine was a lemon. It used oil and even for what it was it was slow. The 1996 with the 3.1 liter V6 was an improvement. My sister had a 1987 Cutlass Ciera 4-cylinder and that one the engine was good and while not fast was better than the 1992.
I had two of these a '90 with the 3300 V6, and an '87 with the Iron Duke. Both were reliable and comfortable. I might buy a third...
Grandma had the 1995 Buick Century, it was luxurious, comfortable, and amazing for long trips.
We had the 92 88 Royale all new that year, larger and more advanced. I still remember many of these though and soo many other GMs on the road in the 90s. May seem dated even for its time, but it was common folk car during a time between traditional period and futuristic today's modern times.
Brendan, buddy. I owned both the Pontiac 6000 with the 2.6 liter 4 cyl and the Ciera too with the exact same motor and for highway cruising they were both like driving your couch. Around town not so great though although the 6000 with 4 banger did get better mileage by a hair. Lol
The differentiation between brands may have mattered less in this era. My family owned part of a GM dealership in rural Montana in this era. At the time GM supported single brand dealerships and people were loyal to their local dealer. If your local dealer was a Chevy dealer, you bought a celebrity, if it was a Buick dealer you bought a Century and didn’t think anything of it. It was what was available to you locally in rural America and you could get dealer service without driving 50 miles or more away. Many dealers held Chevy and Olds franchises so they could offer an entry level and a “luxury” option. I also remember many GMC and Buick pairs - presenting the allusion of selling GM’s premium brands.
The Buick version, 1995, was my son's car at 17. Like you say, it was just a car, big enough to be considered safe and parts and service were dirt cheap. It served him very well.
A friend in high school had a 2 door model, thought it was called a "International" version🤔 but it seems like every teacher or granny owned the 4 door😅
I have been daily driving a 1988 Cutlass Cruiser for the past 5 years and It's been the best car I have ever owned. Reliable, comfortable, roomy and gets great gas mileage. Mine uses the 3.8 V6.
02:20 how do that open the door in an emergency if unconscious if the seat belt is on the door?
You’re still my favourite presenter on the TFL channels.
Cheers Pat🇦🇺
I graduated college in 1997 and started my first job. I replaced my 1989 celebrity for a used 1995 Ciera in 1998. My grandmother passed away in 2003 I inherited her low mileage 1989 pontiac 6000 LE. I drove these cars from 1994 all the way up to 2010. They got me where I needed to go!
I rented an early 80's coupe with the center console and four cylinder. Drove it over five hundred enjoyable miles with great gas mileage. The big problem is the bean counters who want to spend nothing on improvements. So the coupe and the center console went away and the four door remained with plastic moldings slightly changed so salesmen had something to point out as an improvement.
I had a 90 buick century 3.3. Loved that car.
Back in 2018 I bought one of these in the same color, also a 1995 as shown in the video for $225 running and driving. I believe it had somewhere in the ballpark of 130k miles. It lasted me 6 months with very little trouble until I traded it in for my newer car. Selling it for significantly more than I paid for it.
thats less than the price of scrap, holy hell, ide twerk to get a price that low and I am a man 😂
Somehow I talked them down from the original agreed upon $250 after buying a brand new battery for it and a few dollars worth of gas. Threw the battery in and drove it home like I stole it. Did I mention it had decent tires on it too? 😂
Perhaps GM should actually look back and build these cars again because they were so good. Cutlass was Dad's car back when I was growing up and don't remember him ever having a single problem with the car, it drove nicely, decent power (for the time the 3.1 was actually pretty good), reliable, looked nice.