Thinking of buying a 1997 Buick Riviera Supercharged

Hello there!

My name is Florian, I am from Germany and I am thinking of buying a 1997 blue metallic Buick Riviera Supercharged.

Here's a link to the car: http ://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/buick-riviera-3-8-supercharged-freiburg/183124439.html

Unfortunately everything is German, but I'll try to give you an overview:

The price is 5,000 euros, which is about 6,600 US$.

The car has 78.000 miles (not kilometers as stated in the link) which seems to be a good mileage for such a car. It's fully loaded as far as I can see, it has power sunroof, heated seats with memory function.

Unfortunately the passenger side wheel speed sensor is defective, that's why the ABS- and Traction-Controll-Lamp is flashing when car is running. Is this a common problem?

What do you think?

Florus wrote:

Hello there!

My name is Florian, I am from Germany and I am thinking of buying a 1997 blue metallic Buick Riviera Supercharged.

Here's a link to the car: http ://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/buick-riviera-3-8-supercharged-freiburg/183124439.html

Unfortunately everything is German, but I'll try to give you an overview:

The price is 5,000 euros, which is about 6,600 US$.

The car has 78.000 miles (not kilometers as stated in the link) which seems to be a good mileage for such a car. It's fully loaded as far as I can see, it has power sunroof, heated seats with memory function.

Unfortunately the passenger side wheel speed sensor is defective, that's why the ABS- and Traction-Controll-Lamp is flashing when car is running. Is this a common problem?

What do you think?

To fix the speed sensor you have to replace the wheel hub.

what you should do is connect the car to a GM Tech II scanner (Opel dealers should have it) and find any other stored codes from other problems as well.

assuming that your information is correct, you can get a replacement wheel hub from rockauto.com,  be sure to get a Timken or SKF or ACDelco hub.  I prefer Timken for durability. It should cost you between USD$70 and USD$110, maybe a bit less.  You will find very inexpensive hubs sold by pairs on eBay (around USD$60 the pair) but they will not last.  I actually burned out a pair of them right after installation on a drive up the QEW expressway between St Catherines and Windsor (I will not say how fast I was going but let's just say the Timkens will work for you on the Autobahn and the cheap ones will not).  If you install stiff struts (Gabriel struts, available on rockauto as Auto Value closeouts) and shocks (KYBs or Monroes for the rear) and H or V rated tires you MIGHT be able to get the Opel dealer to reset the electronic governor so the car will run at speeds to match the tires... I don't know what the policy is concerning this... you may have to talk to a mechanic about this...

That isn't a 97, it's a 96. You can tell from the seatbelts and the radio. It also seems a little expensive, but it is an import so that can probably be forgiven. And as far as unlocking the governor you need someone with a DHP tuner. You're better off buying one unless you know someone who has one because most shops charge the price of one for tunes that you could do yourself. And the traction control/ABS lights are a hub as confirmed by Al.

Thanks for the answers!
@albertj
I'll keep Timken in mind, the original wheel hubs are prone to fail, at least it seems so.
Is there a speed limiter? What's the Vmax? :-)

@matt270avain
You're correct, it's a 1996 - I got the VIN yesterday and it also says 1996. That makes me a little upset, because it does not have the 4T65HD. But I don't have much choice here in Germany, and the 4T60HD isn't a bad transmission at all. Both have a weak points. :-)

I'll use the car as a daily driver, I don't drive them fast often. Maybe 130 km/h on the Autobahn ;-)

And of course, 5,000 euro is expensive but with only two cars in Germany available that's ok. :-)

Again, thanks for the answers!

The governor is set around 105-107 MPH. You hit it pretty quickly. It's not hard to take it off, the hardest part is just finding someone to do it. Other than that it looks to be pretty good. I payed $3400 and the car had 48,xxx miles on it (sorry for all the non-metric units). The only thing it needed (and still needs) is a paint job.

It seems the seller has pushed the price to 5,800 euro. That's a way to much. I think I'll wait until I find a cheaper one. Maybe a MY 1997 and earlier.