For a brief time at the end of 2017, I drove my Mom and Dad’s 2002 Buick Century with the task of selling it. My Dad was in cognitive decline and was in a memory care facility, suffering from advanced dementia, at 88. He loved to drive, but had not driven in almost 10 years due to failing eyesight. That was definitely a tough pill to swallow for him.
Mom, now 88, had been through a lot looking after him and was starting to get forgetful, but was (and still is) physically excellent. After losing her car in a large supermarket parking lot, which was extremely humiliating for her, Mom told us she no longer wanted to drive. My siblings and I wholeheartedly agreed with her self-assessment. We kept her car in the garage, battery disconnected. But to remove the idea or thought of driving entirely, we took the car away physically. I now had a total of 5 cars at the house, and it was getting crowded.
My folks bought the Buick brand new, for cash, at Rinke Buick. This sticker on this one was a “Special Edition”. Although it was base trim, it did have power seats, windows, locks, cruise, and a CD player…all firsts for the folks. Maybe that’s what made it special? More goodies on base trim. They deserved that and much more after raising 4 solid citizen kids, and being wonderful grandparents to nine. It had the old-school column shifter, and I hadn’t touched one of those since my 1980 Cutlass. They kept it dealer maintained and took many road trips, including to see my brother in Georgia twice, 900 miles each way.
When I had it, it had all of 80,000 miles on it and hadn’t been driven in months, but it fired right up. Despite living its entire life in the garage, the car was rusting badly, mainly under the doors, a common spot on these. Dad never was one to wash and wax his cars… they were there to endure. It had its fair share of scrapes, dings and dents with misadventures with shopping carts and such.
The electronic PRNDL and odometer readout were no longer visible. You could whack on top of the dash, the odometer and PRNDL would illuminate for a time, then fade away. After thousands of pulls on the passenger door exit assist handle, my dad had yanked it out permanently, and the screw holes through the headliner were shredded.
Made in Oshawa, Ontario, it was said to be one of the more mechanically reliable cars GM made in the era. Oshawa has a good reputation quality wise. And I guess that’s also because its model run was 8 years, from 1997-2005 with little changes, and the platform dated from the 80s. The General had ample time to get the kinks sorted out.
Driving the Century was driving a time capsule. It harkened back to the feel of driving my Cutlass so many years ago. A soft ride, front bench seats, room for 6, and overall a comfortable, inoffensive if generic experience. Economy was decent for a larger car and the 3.1 V-6 gave adequate get up and go. I’m not sure what drew my Dad to the Century as they had looked at a Taurus that Mom had liked a lot, a demo with leather even. But I suppose it was a good choice for them in their early 70s. Many seniors seemed to feel the same way. They had it for 15 trouble-free years and I know it had lots of life left in it.
Putting it on Craigslist, at $2,500 “OBO” I quickly realized it was in a crowded field and I was a bit too rich on the price given its condition. In southeast Michigan at that point, there were at least two dozen Centurys for sale. There were many pristine ones far nicer than ours. Some probably spent extended periods in Florida before ending up back here. I’d gather some were settling up estates or like me, selling cars Mom or Dad no longer were capable of driving.
After several weeks, I had but one nibble from a rather strange fellow, but luckily, he quickly faded away into cyber oblivion. At that point, I really needed it gone. I asked my mechanic if I could stick a for sale sign on it and put in on the busy road his shop sat on to get more visibility. He did one better… he offered me $1,000 for it to give to a down on her luck niece who needed a set of wheels.
I was glad to get it off the books, yet sad to see it go. During the six weeks or so I had it, I drove it often. It reminded me of my folks and I felt a connection with it. It was a tough last year for my dad, and it was tough to see him go through such a cruel and insidious disease. He died May 7th last year. We miss him but are glad he no longer suffers. I hope the Century is still out there in world, doing its thing. I know he’d like that.
This is it for me for my series. I’m a closet writer at heart, going back to high school newspaper. I want to extend my sincerest thanks to Paul for letting me do it. I’ve enjoyed it very much!
Thanks for a great writeup! Sorry about your Dad’s recent loss; I lose my Dad to cancer in Feb. 2017 aged 76.
We have a relative who still has one of these Buicks, maybe a 2004 model. She’s 92 and hardly drives at all anymore. The Buick replaced an ’89 Pontiac 6000, She’s had quite a few problems with it.
Dad had an identical maroon Century very late in his life. While attempting to renew his license, he could not remember why he was at the DMV when questioned by the clerk. They gave him a form which his doctor approved; but Mom intercepted the form and told Dad he had been declined. Shortly afterwards, he passed away. Since Mom didn’t drive, the car sat in the driveway until flooded by Katrina. The insurance paid off and the car was towed away.
Your Mom sounds like a very smart lady!
I had a Regal of the same generation (and body style obviously) and enjoyed it. It was attractive, sized just right, had good visibility, was reliable and I found it to be good value, likely similar to what your folks saw in the Century.
I’ve ebjoyed your writing (and writing style) in this series and hope you write more. Thank you!
Thanks for your kindness. I actually have three more to go. I communicated the order wrong to Paul down the stretch over the last few weeks. I very much enjoyed it and have a few ideas brewing for non-COAL material down the road.
Thank you for your sensitive account of this transition. This year we are going though one very similar, Dad is back in the nursing home from the hospital as we have all agreed to let the pneumonia take its course. Pneumonia is the friend of the old man with Parkinsons. The car in our story was a ’97 Century, which would have been mechanically quite similar to yours but lacking the “bar of soap” styling. It had gotten Mom and Dad a good 140,000 miles until Dad stopped driving due to poor vision at ’90, and we took away Mom’s car keys because with her Alzheimers she was becoming too erratic to continue driving (no accidents, thankfully, but being sighted doing 45 in the hospital zone does not constitute good judgement). While we were at the Internist for Mom to take her mental status test (which she managed to pass, unaccountably) Dad let me know that, five years after giving up his license, that was still the hardest thing to face about getting really old. This was the first generation of humans to operate an automobile for their entire adult lives, so that would be a difficult passage. The Century was much as you described your drive: smooth, soft, seating for six, old-school controls, mediocre internal quality, and with nonlethal but chronic electronic gremlins. The solution to the chronic “Check Engine Light” was to place a piece of electrical tape over that spot on the gauge cover. Problem solved. But it was Dad’s car, and always felt good to drive, or to fix some little thing on, as we had done since we were klds. Brother found another home for it, and it is probably still tooling around Davenport someplace. Requiescat in pacem.
If you’re talking about the more-rectilinear Century, I believe they stopped making that (and its Cutlass Ciera sibling) in 1996. 1997 was the start of the final-generation model that Carlsberg’s parents had. I assume yours looked like the one below?
Sorry, off my feed a little here. The car in question was a ’96 Regal, as seen in the attachment. Was there ever a more “Old Person’s Car? ” But Mom had the dealer put a blue pin stripe on it and she was happy, that’s what mattered.
Oh, I see. My Great Aunt has one of those Regals, in red with a red interior. As she has Alzheimers now, she doesn’t get to drive it.
Sorry to hear that. As I recall, those interiors were really, really red-good for her! Go see her, it is a blessing for all and you will remember and cherish the visits more and more over the years.
Maybe I should. The aunt in question was rather mean, but has actually become nicer since she got Alzheimer’s. It’s not that I take joy in her condition, but it is a silver lining.
I happened to run into my old fourth grade teacher at church last fall. She is probably pushing 70 and a super nice lady. I was in fourth grade in 1975-76. She didn’t remember me physically but remember my name and remembered that I struggled with math, which I did. She had a new Cadillac CTS with dealer installed pinstripes which I thought it looked extremely out of place on a modern car, but to each his own I guess. Vinyl roofs much less common although every once in a while I will see a late model car with one here.
Aside from the usual GM 3.1/4T60, the A-body 96 Century doesn’t have much in common with the W-body 97 Century.
For 97, the previous separate Regal and Century became trim/engine packages on the same shell.
Iowahawk…..I feel for you and your family. I hope he drifts away peacefully and without suffering. Godspeed! We are presently trying to get my mom to move out of her house of 47 years….but she absolutely won’t have it. It is hard to make/force your parents into doing something but we feel like every day she is alone it increases the chance exponentially of something bad happening.
Excellent write-up, and excellent series.
My great grandparents traded a 1991 Buick Century and a 1988 Pontiac 6000 for their final car, a 2002 Buick Century, in either silver or gold. I can’t remember the trim, but I think it was close to a base model. I’m sure they paid cash for it, too.
Great Grandpa passed in late 2004. Great Grandma drove the car dutifully at least through 2006, and the premature death of her daughter (my great aunt) in 2007. I remember that she had Alzheimer’s and was no longer driving in 2008 when we went to visit. Anyway, one of her sons (my great uncle, who was taking care of her) traded the 2002 Century in for a 2004-era Cadillac Deville/DTS, which apparently caught fire and burned down the garage—which was fortunately detached. After that, he went to Toyota/Lexus products, for good. Great Grandma herself passed four years ago, in 2015. I believe the anniversary of her passing is actually today.
I bet a lot of people’s elderly relatives in that era bought the Century. The styling was modern but at the same time familiar to those who’d always been driving GM cars. It was also a bargain.
Meanwhile, we’re about to go through the same thing with my grandmother. I helped her pick out a brand-new Alien-Green 2014 Kia Soul Plus (with navigation and sound system) in May of 2014. She drove it without incident for a couple of years, but now the rapid decline of her health means that we’re looking at long-term dependence and having to take away the keys permanently. She hasn’t been able to drive it in a while, thanks to some extended medical issues. As it sits, the car has 11,000 miles on it. It also has a couple of minor scrapes, including one blemish on the door handle that happened when I watched her get a bit too close to the garage wall as she pulled in.
I get the oil changes and recalls done, and make sure to drive it from time to time.
What a nice story. I was given my Grandfather’s 2001 Crown Vic LX when he passed in the summer of 2016 after 98 years of mostly good health and happiness. My ’94 BMW 525i’s GM automatic transmission perished in the spring of ’16 which left me without a winter car. The Vic became the replacement
Every time I drive the car I’m reminded of my Grandfather. I remember as a kid how excited I was every time I got to ride in his ’94 Towncar, which was the third of 4 panther platform cars for them, a 1981 Crown Vic, a 1988 Town Car, a 1994 Town Car and then the ’01 Vic. In hindsight, my favorite was the ’88 for it’s distinctive profile, big headrests and stainless steel mouldings on the bottom of the doors.
Oddly enough this is also my first american car, having had multiple japanese and european cars, starting with an ’88 Honda Prelude Si and currently with 4 cars total in the stable. 4 cars gets a little difficult living in Rogers Park, Chicago but I manage.
COALS to follow –
There are tons of Crown Vic’s driving around here in SE Michigan and are mostly dealer purchased ones and not police surplus. I’ve always wanted to own one. I think it’s because I never had the chance to own a full sized American sedan and there is something honest about them. I have an elderly aunt with one (2006 or 08) and I’ve told her that if she ever decides to sell it I’m first in line. I have to do a total shuffle of the current stable of course….
Thanks, CARLSBERG66! I enjoyed your series very much including this one.
Very sorry for your loss, but thank you for sharing this and all your other stories. Hope you have a happy and peaceful 2019.
Great series. My MIL passed away from dementia this past August, so I know the trials and tribulations you’ve gone through. She was in a memory care facility for 6 years. She took no pills for any ailments at 93 and was still somewhat physically active. Then she fractured her hip and died from pneumonia complications four days later.
The Century you had was notorious for rocker panel rust. It didn’t seem to matter whether it was waxed or not. If GM had used double sided galvanized steel with e-coat primer, you wouldn’t have seen that problem.
Yes, GM had licked rocker panel rust in the 60s. I guess they un-learned that lesson (along with some others).
Can relate to aging parents and car challenges. Saw Mom driving the ’93 LeSabre around her neighborhood, she drove by the house several times. Caught up to her at a stop sign, got out and tapped on her door glass. Her cell phone was ringing away in her purse, it was Dad who had fallen, was bleeding, he had called me at work and I saw Mom as I was heading to their house. She agreed she forgot where she lived, followed me home and turned over the keys for good. This was in 2008, she passed in 2010 at age 81 of Alzheimer’s.
The poor Buick was dented in both bumpers in several spots, and the right rear door was caved in. Dad had done all the body damage, he did many hit and runs without getting caught, somehow. He refused to turn over the keys and his license. I soon got them in assisted living and gave my brother the car. He wasn’t quite done yet, though. He managed to take a cab to a car rental place in 2010 with Mom and convinced them (had a walker and was shaking from Parkinson’s) to rent him a HHR, He had his valid license with him. Mom demanded he take her back to assisted living, she wasn’t going to go with him. After Dad dropped her off he was gone for almost 2 days, finally late at night he showed up at assisted living, with a trail of pissed off drivers who he turned in front of or ran off the road. The far had been driven 400 miles, was dirty and bug spatters, the drivers seat soaked in urine from a leaky Depends. Amazingly there was not a scratch on the HHR.
In 2012 he bought a ’93 Dodge Cummins Dually pickup from one of the assisted living residents, he had hidden a checkbook. Luckily the guy he bought it from called me, Dad told him I approved the purchase. He was trying to start the truck in the parking lot when I arrived, luckily the battery was dead. I jumped it, took him for a drive in it, told him it was a wise purchase as I would be able to resell it at a profit and I drove the truck home. I also took his license and checkbook. He died of a stroke at age 90 in 2013.
That is one heck of a story. Dad sounds like a determined guy. My coworkers dad drove his suburban 350 miles with dementia to his old hunting cabin in which he had to access via a two track as well as cross a river. He got it stuck and damaged the undercarriage. Luckily the state police had been on the lookout for him. His follow up last fall was to go from northern Michigan to Toledo . Luckily they were able to track him via a few credit card purchases a gas stations. Finally, he headed back home, sort of, and he was caught on the shore of Lake Huron on US 23. Keys were taken away. A miracle nobody was hurt.
My condolences on your loss. It sounds like y’all are a very loving and tight knit family.
This century and the previous a body century have to be at the top of many last car/first car lists. I sold one for a friend whose father had developed Alzheimer’s and backed into something one too many times. It was a very generic car. Reasonably competent but extremely bland, you knew where everything was and how it worked and it was fine. It was a good value as well and must have been considerably less expensive than its regal sibling. It was also a popular rental car.
I bet a lot of these were also handed down to Young folks as a first car after grandma and grandpa could not drive any more.
Every generation seems to have its budget geezer mobile, and the century was this generation’s. What is today’s budget geezer mobile?
I had two of these; a 1997 Custom that was a disappointment and traded in for a 1999 Limited that was a mini Park Avenue as it had every option box checked. Moonroof, leather, dual power seats with recliners, automatic temperature control, steering wheel controls for the climate control and cassette/cd/concert sound, you name it, it had it. I enjoyed this one for several years until the 3.1 V6 developed a leak from the head gasket. I heard this was common with that engine. By this time, the new Lacrosse was out so I traded for one of those.
Looking back, I wish I had spent the money on a Regal GS…
Still with Buick with a 2017 Lacrosse which will probably be my last considering GM’s decision to stop production of sedans that I am interested in.
In 2001 as a university student I got a volunteer job with the campus/community radio station hosting a jazz program. I became fast friends with the gentleman who trained me, who turned 79 the year I met him and was also a huge jazz fan. He had a white ’97 Century which he later sold after getting (you guessed it!) an ’03 Century new, also in white. Like so many people of his generation, he came of age during the depression only to have his life interrupted by WW2 and a call to duty.
My friend was somebody who made a success of himself and wanted a car that was nice and reliable that wouldn’t break the bank. A Buick Century, particularly of that generation certainly fit the bill quite well, even if it wan’t something to get too terribly excited about. We were such good friends that I still kept in touch and regularly visited him after I graduated, although my hometown was about 3 hours away from where I went to school (and where my friend lived).
Unfortunately during my last year in school his wife of 50+ years passed after suffering from Alzheimer’s for quite a while. Also, one year a couple of weeks after I visited him at Easter he slipped on the ice in his driveway, fell and broke his hip. After that he just wasn’t the same person any more…it was all down hill for him as he seemed to give up on life. Shortly after that he also came down with Alzheimer’s, which nabbed him almost as quickly as it came on. My friend died in 2010 only a few months short of his 88th birthday…it’s hard to believe it has been that long already.
Great write Up! Sorry to hear about your dad tho, funny enough In break of traditional Century buyers, It wasn’t my grandparents but my parents who bought a 2001 Century Custom used in 2004 from our local Saturn dealer. To me, coming from the leased 02 Explorer they had just turned in, it was kind of a step down not only in ride height but build quality. The first year we had it, no major issues aside from a constant “Low Tire” light that never went away no matter what you did to it. By year 2, the window regulators failed more than once and 2 of the hubcaps had detached themselves. Year 3 introduced us to sticky parking brakes and fan control knobs breaking off, and the final straw by year 3 was the head gasket beginning to fail. Mom found out about an 88 Mercedes 300E for sale by a local and reputable euro mechanic and decided to go for that instead. The 300E ended up being more reliable than the Buick and eventually when my grandma’s 99′ Explorer finally bit the dust, the Buick’s head gasket was replaced and it went to her. It has the typical “no PRNDL” issue like your parents Century had but it runs like a champ now
Excellent post. IMHO, these were fairly attractive cars and I can see why they held appeal for the older generation. The loss of driving privileges is definitely one of the hardest things each of us will face, should we be fortunate to live long enough. After my father died in December of 2012, my brother and two sisters and I had a heck of a time wresting the keys to her ‘02 Avalon from our mother. It took her driving through the front of a dry cleaners – thankfully after business hours – to get her license taken away. Even after this episode, she felt she was being persecuted by her children. To this day, not a week goes by that she (84 years old next month) doesn’t complain about her lack of wheels.
Reminds me of my dad’s last car, a Skylark. It was really dinged and scraped up by the time my parents consented to stop driving. My mom, who had some cognitive impairment, drove, while my dad, who had failing eyes but was sharp otherwise, navigated. Between the two they had enough faculties to keep driving for a while. But we were all relieved when it stopped.
Great post and sorry for your loss of your Dad. These Buicks embodied much of the old school Detroit attributes that many of the greatest generation appreciated. They were very popular with that generation and seemed to serve them well.
I enjoyed you COAL series, it was great reading.
Wonderful writeup – I almost bought a 2000 Century Limited…it was fully loaded and felt like a mini Park Avenue or Sedan deVille. The car was my friends grandmothers…and the family forced her to stop driving in 2006 (sound familiar?). I had to do the same with my Gram, and that’s how I ended up with her 07 Grand Marquis. Her dementia is getting worse, so I have a health care worker at the house now to look after her and make sure she’s OK – when I talk to her she usually says that someone stole her car, or that she wished she still had hers. I hate to take away her freedom, but the thought of her behind the wheel scares me.
Back to the Buick – my grandfather rented one for the family vacation in 1999 – we drove from LA to Vegas and back, and it was smooth, comfortable, and able to haul around four people with luggage and not complain. The “Concert Sound II” system sounded nice (I forced them to put on K-Earth 101 in LA and Kool 93.1 in Vegas back when they were oldies), and my 6 foot 6 grandfather had plenty of room behind the wheel.
Always have my eye out for a Century limited, or a Regal GS from that era. Love the Dynaride W bodies…
It is both funny and sad that so many of these “the last car before my parents/grandparents had to stop driving” stories involved a Buick. It was the case with my own mother as well.
This generation of Century became “the car” for so many seniors who, by finances or temperament, wanted something nice but a little smaller. Say what you will about GM, but they owned that generation for their entire driving lives.
Selling older cars on craigslist or other classifieds is always an interesting exercise in reading the marketplace. On one hand, having a common and popular car with an automatic transmission opens you up to the largest slice of the buyer pool, but on the flip side, as you note, it ends up being a crowded field of other sellers. With my Ford Rangers I got a lot of hits, but I had to price smartly to be in the thick of the market and stand out (with low mileage and a well presented truck). Now I’ll be listing the Audi in the not so distant future (stick shift), I think it will be a very different experience.
So close to home, but I dealt with 2 of these, my mother’s last car and her sister’s. Both were Centuries, but Aunt Nita sprung for the more optioned one. She ended up with dementia, and had to move into an assisted living facility, and we inherited the car, sort of. It was used to take her to doctor visits and to visit my mother at her home. Since it was nicer, Mom ended up driving it (a bit) to drive to visit Nita at the ALF. Mom ended up stopping driving when she realized her vision was too far gone to safely see if she was in the lane or not. Her Buick went to a granddaughter (who ended up totalling it fairly quickly) and the nicer Buick ended up going to a grandson, who drove it for a few years until he saved up for a new Mazda.
The Century was about as good a GM car as one could expect. I drove it on road trips of 600 miles each way to take Mom on vacation at a Casino, and it was great on the highways. Cadillac comfort with Buick anonymity.
My condolences on your current situation. I have been through it, and will be going through it again soon, as our Parent’s generation near the end. It’s never easy, but it is inevitable, and a part of life. Focus on the good, and enjoy the time you have together.
A nice warm story. Condolescences on your father’s passing.
Interesting that the Buick Century is the final car of choice for so many aging parents and those parents succumbing to dementia or alzheimers.
This echoes my personal experience with my mother. I bought a beige 2003 Buick Regal Custom (former car rental) for my then 77 year old mother. The Century had bench seats (more comfortable than my 1997 Camry’s bucket seats), transmission selector on steering column, and push-pull headlight switch. The car rode smoothly and quiet. My mother drove the Century for almost 10 years, giving up driving when she felt she unable to drive. The following year she had a major stroke that weakened her left side such the left arm and left leg are now useless. She also has vascular dementia.
I still have the car despite having recurring window regulator problems and use it as a backup second car. My mother, now 92, still enjoys riding in the car (now as passenger), depite afflicted with dementia. I’ll probably keep the car and drive it with her as long as she’s alive, then donate it to her favorite charity when she dies.
I rarely comment just on the quality of a post alone, because I try to add something to a conversation when I bother to speak up. However, this was a superb article. Easily the best I’ve read in a long time.
I’m sorry to hear about your father, and you have my deepest condolences.