Alright, this isn't actually my vehicle - it's actually my mom's. I don't have my own car, so I basically borrow my other family member's vehicles, and most of the time I end up with my mom's car.
What can I say? I love it! I'll go over some of the main points here... (Note: I don't know what things are available only to the Century Custom, but I'm sure you can look that kind of thing up on the Buick website).
Exterior:
The Century is attractive to a wide variety of generations. I'm a teenager and I think it is a pretty slick looking vehicle; I know that my mom likes it (and she is in the middle aged generation), and I know a lot of my Grandparents friends have bought other Century models after having seen my mom's, so obviously it appeals to them too.
My only complaint would be the air foil underneath the front of the hood. It scrapes when you're leaving steep parking lots, but other than that it hasn't caused any problems, and even that can be minimized if you leave the steep drive at an angle.
The trunk is operated with hydraulics, and I'm pretty sure the hood is too. One of the neat things that I like about this car is that if you accidentally hit the trunk release while you're driving, the drunk is heavy enough to stay lying down - it won't fly up while you're driving! All you need to do is give it a bit of a push up, and it'll fly up by itself. The trunk is extremely roomy - I have a family of five, so we get overflowing carts of groceries when we go to the store. We've never filled up the trunk completely, and even if we did the back seat has ample enough room to put more groceries in. It's also low enough where you don't have to lift too high to put stuff in it (which is great when we have to go get 50 lbs bags of bird seed).
Interior:
As I mentioned in my pros and cons, the seats (to me, at least), are almost ridiculously comfortable. The front seats are especially comfortable; you can adjust the seatbelt level so you don't hang yourself. This isn't available in the backseat, which can be kind of annoying. My other complaint about the back seat is that the seatbelt doesn't adjust out - if you lean back, it clicks tighter and tighter; if you want more room, you have to un-click, let it wind completely back in, and put it back on. I recently went on a trip all the way across the state to Detroit (about 3 hours), sitting in the backseat; we didn't stop once on the way there, and I was very comfortable the entire time. Though leg room might be a little cramped for people over 6 feet in the backseat, I didn't have any problems (I'm a little under 5'8"). Headroom wasn't too bad, either - and it definitely isn't a problem in the front seat. I wouldn't suggest trying to put 6 people in, but 5 people fits fine - and 4 is great. Plus sized people can fit comfortably in any seat of the vehicle (I know from personal experience); overall, it's just a really comfortable drive.
From the drivers seat... It's adjustable for about any height, and the height adjustable steering wheel is great. Visibility is fine, and the "anti reflection" option on the rear view mirror is pretty nifty for we night drivers. There is an option for putting up or down all of the windows (or locking them all in position) from the drivers position, which is very useful (especially when driving children - or childish teenagers! ... of course it's also neat just to play jokes on the other people in the car).
The transmission is on the steering colomn, which is definitely useful. The buttons are within reach, though they have a tendacy to wear a tad (not too bad though). We have an AM/FM radio, which comes in fine, and a cassette player, which is fine. The volume has click things on the wheel so you can't fine tune it, which can be kind of annoying when you're super particular about your volumes, but it's not that bad once you figure out how to mess with it.
The upholstery isn't showing any signs of wear, and trust me it's been heavily used for 4 years - including by many teenagers and youngers kids!
My only interior complaint is that the cup holder isn't that great. Don't get me wrong - it works, and it's still there after 4 years, but it is kind of flimsy looking.
Performance:
This car is very powerful! I didn't realize that until just recently, when I had a bit of an oopsie. I hadn't driven the Buick for a while (I had been driving my brothers jeep), so I got into it and went to leave; I forgot how much more responsive and powerful this car it, and I peeled out of my driveway! Right in front of both my parents of course... Oops. Live and learn, right? So anyway, the pedal is responsive and the car is powerful - I haven't had a problem yet accelerating to highway speeds, and as for passing... No problem. Or, the only problem is that policeman sitting on the other side of the hill with a speedometer.
The steering is good and responsive, but not overly touchy. The vehicle also goes over bumps and everything very well, and doesn't pull too bad in heavy winds. It's a very very quiet ride. The gas milage is also pretty good for a car in it's class, and emissions are also fairly good (you can compare milage and emissions at www.epa.com). We almost didn't have to visit a gas station in our trip to and from Detroit, which was about 380 miles.
The Century is a heavy car; not only does this help for a smoother ride, but it makes it handle very well in snow. I live on the top of a hill with a backwards S driveway, and as I live in Michigan (the water winter wonderland), it can sometimes be a little perilous to get to my house (to say the least!). The car has only not made it twice - and those were the only two times it's ever gotton stuck. Not bad considering last winter was the worst we've had in a long time, and this winter had it's doozies too. Also, I can say that I have taken a few wrong roads, but I never had to fear getting stuck - the Buick is a moderate snow beast! All in all, it has handled wonderfully in even the worst of conditions (given, this is no excuse to drive recklessly in bad weather), and the ABS system is great.
All in all, it's practically a luxury vehicle in it's comfort and appearance, it performs great - it's just a wonderful car!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): a lot
Condition: Used Model Year: 1999 Model and Options: Custom, Automatic
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.