Buick – The Carmax Unicorn Blog

January 14, 2022January 14, 2022

Quick Hits – Seven Old Fashioned Family Sedan Unicorns

Time to get back to blogging after being totally consumed by the successful auction of my 1971 Fiat 124 Spider on Bring a Trailer – and yet another search for my next unicorn. Will post about both later, but it’s mid-January and I’ve hardly shared the cars piling up in my profile faster than a snowy stretch of I-95 in Virginia. Speaking of which, with another snow storm headed our way this weekend I thought I’d post seven sedans worthy of loading up and heading south to sunnier places. I can picture all of these with a clothes hanger bar spread from coat hook to coat hook over the back seat, with nicely pressed shirts and slacks at the ready for beach bars and buffets. Let’s start with one I didn’t think I’d see at CarMax again, a 2011 Lucerne Super.

I last blogged about a Lucerne Super here, another 2011 with 77,000 miles priced at $11,998. This one has 90,000 miles and lists at $19,000 – just another reflection of how crazy used car prices have gotten. If a front wheel drive 292 hp Northstar V-8 is what you’ve been waiting for (Mick?) this car is for you. I do find the lines and wheels to be quite handsome, actually, and while CarMax describes it as “fully loaded” (for 2011) it only has a heated steering wheel and heated seats – a bit austere for me.

Front wheel drive and a full size sedan means a GIGANTIC trunk.

You can find this 12 year old Buick here in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (where my Fiat is headed!).

Stock # 21016725 VIN # 1G4HK5ES3BU129006

September 26, 2020September 26, 2020

Quick Hit – A Buick Only Jerry Seinfeld’s Father Could Love? 2011 Lucerne Super – $11,998

Let’s not pretend this 2011 Buick Lucerne Super unicorn is an enthusiast’s car. Yes it’s extinct, with 2011 being the last year (the car suffered the humiliation of having it’s successor come out a year earlier), and it has the “venerable” 4.6l V-8 Northstar pumping out only 292hp to the front wheels. But the Super has the Magnetic Ride Control, an adaptive damping system that helps this 4,000 lb car wallow less , Bluetooth, seat heaters, heated steering wheel, and lots of room in the front, rear, and trunk. And it has the only-in-a-Buick telltale ventiports in the front fenders, four on each side for a V-8. These go back over 70 years – read here for a fascinating history of the ports in Buicks (long before stick-on ports were sold at K-Mart and added to Civics).

Does it look like someone took a crap in the passenger seat?

And to go way back on the nostalgia trail, this Buick has the rare (?) landau roof – the fake convertible vinyl that takes us back to the 1920’s and 1930’s when automobiles hoped to replicate the style of horse and carriage coach builders. While you probably think I have a deep knowledge of these automotive topics, I stole this vinyl top background too from an eBay Motors blog. Odd it has a sunroof in the fake convertible roof. No shame.

You won’t see yourself coming and going on the road in a Buick Lucerne Super – as best I can tell from the Buick forums, there were 20,000 Lucernes sold in 2011, the final year, and less than 10 percent were V-8 Supers. And I can’t imagine too many had the landau roof. Maybe this car appeals to me conceptually as a lazy, comfortable highway cruiser since I’m writing from a hotel room in Chicago, near the end of a 7,000 mile road trip in my S600 – the subject of an upcoming piece. There’s something about a living room on wheels.

For the record, I’m certainly not bad mouthing Buicks (my wife owns and Encore!), and I learned long ago that there is an ardent enthusiast group out there for every single vehicle and SOMEONE wants this car. If that someone is you, this single owner, accident free 2011 Buick Lucerne Super is here in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. And to think you can add MaxCare and protect the car for five more years, and probably another 25-50,000 miles!

September 22, 2019

1 of 2,500 – 2008 Buick LaCrosse Super. $11,599 Sleeper.

I only knew the 2008 Buick LaCrosse Super was a thing because one of the unicorn blog readers told me so last year. The “Super” was only offered in 2008 and 2009 and sold for over $32,000. Some say it’s a pretty good sleeper, with a 300hp LS4 V-8 good for 150mph and a 5.7 second 0-60mph run. Had no idea it was even close to that quick, and perhaps the sub-3,800 pound weight has something to do with that.

This Motor Trend review was quite kind, making it clear the Buick LaCrosse Super was built for a purpose – comfortable, mature performance. The Buick got Magnasteer (variable assist steering) and Stabilitrak (electronic stability control). It also was an unconventional front wheel drive V-8. Thinking the brown-on-brown look is in keeping with the sleeper profile?

I’d still spring for MaxCare – it can’t be expensive and something comforting about having a bumper-to-bumper warranty on a car through 125,000-150,000 miles and until it is a whopping 16 years old! Find this three-owner, accident free Buick here in Memphis! 2008 Buick LaCrosse Super $11,599 61k Memphis TN

January 10, 2018May 8, 2018

By Special Request – A Buick…or Two

Pleased to have reader David Masini bring this to my attention. Because my CarMax Unicorns are normally limited to 60,000 miles or less, and $35,000 or less for very well thought out reasons (all my wife agreed I could spend on my next car), this car evaded my search. But David pointed out this Buick LaCrosse Super has a 5.3l LS4 engine and was one of the last “performance” Buicks since the GNX. Car And Driver thought so, too. With 300hp, a 5.7 sec 0-60, and alleged 156 mph top speed it sounds like a nice sleeper sedan for $8,998. The MaxCare warranty is probably not a whole lot and get’s you another 22,000 miles of free repairs, but I would probably roll the dice and go naked on this one. What could go wrong with an LS4? Find the car here in Louisville, KY. If the link is dead it’s sold/on hold/being transferred.

2008 Buick LaCrosse Super

BONUS BUICK

2008 Buick Lucerne CXS — Meets the Unicorn criteria, from a price & mileage perspective, &has a V8, but not terribly exciting. How much can you expect from 275hp?