Got a new wagon!

OZ40

OZ40

Active Member
I recently purchased a 1996 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon Collectors Edition. I drove it 50 miles home on the expressway it ran like a top. I exited the freeway and it started losing power and stalled out. It started right back up and ran sluggish the rest of the way home and stalled again as I pulled into my driveway. Any ideas on what this may be would be appreciated. I called two Buick dealerships and said it was too old to work on.
 
The dealership doesn't have any tech that can work on your 1996. Makes you wonder how they can even work on any cars.

First thing I buy with any new car purchase is the workshop manual.
 
GL03 said:
The dealership doesn't have any tech that can work on your 1996. Makes you wonder how they can even work on any cars.

First thing I buy with any new car purchase is the workshop manual.
Click to expand...
Agreed, one would think that in the "Motor City", the "Automotive Capital of the World", the "City that put the World on Wheels" that a Buick dealership could work on their own cars......
 
Unfortunately, the very FIRST place I would avoid getting help or working on a car like this would be a Buick or any GM dealership in a big city. They would only be interested in sticking it to you, since working on it would be a pain for them, as they have virtually no sources nowadays for information, parts or knowledge of the car. Sad, but I believe, true.

And, yes, the shop manual is your very first order of business. Even if you don't work on it yourself, most likely anyone else you find to work on it for you will not have that detailed information specific to that year/model.
 
The fact that this vehicle is on the OBD2 system the very system that is still in use today and the dealers claim they can't work on it is pathetic. Purely profit and not customer driven.
Get yourself a decent OBD2 code scanner and scan for trouble codes. Don't always expect an old check engine light bulb to be working. If there are none replace the fuel filter as your first step and if still having problems consider a new fuel pump. This could also be an ignition issue but that usually shows as misfire code. If the has been sitting for a while it could be the fuel as well. Drain flush and replace the fuel.
Having played with cars for 50 years now I often give the advice that if you don't/can't/ refuse to work on cars yourself go out a buy something with a warranty. Old cars are a hands on involved hobby. If you have to pay someone else to do all that for you it's easy to go broke.
 
@oldfoneguy - In 1972 I was a 22 year-old with a menial job and a 36 Ford that turned out to have 21 out of 24 piston rings cracked. Broke was coming quickly, so next car (53 Henry J) was when I changed my first water pump all by myself.

Now old, I'm having to pay for others to do some work for me now, and hate it. But, knowledge of all these newer cars is difficult to cram into an overstuffed brain filled with song lyrics from the 1960's, 4 million passwords, and 4 jobs/businesses.😁 Only good things are I have a mechanic who lets me source and supply my own parts, and oil changes are still simple.
 
Well then I bow to your experience and age. I thought I was addressing a 30-40 year old who actually considered a 96 as an old car. Yes I understand passing the torch as there are many days that I don't even feel like setting up the lift to get under the car. Thankfully the days are long passed of "I have to get this fixed or I can't get to work tomorrow". If you have someone you trust to do the work that's priceless.
Good luck with the wagon. I had a Teal and Tan 96 Roadmaster Wagon that I dearly loved. Loaded to the gills. First car I ever had with heated seats and a CD player. Had some engine bolt ons, tuning and suspension mods. My kids hated it especially when I picked them up from school. They called it the ugliest car in the world. That was until the dad's with the wimpy mini vans crowded around it asking all kinds of questions and wanting performance numbers. My oldest even had her earliest driving lessons in that car. That changed her thinking somewhat. My youngest not so much. Sold it in 2011 with about 175k. For all I know it's still running around somewhere in south Jersey.
 
As it turns out, Mass Air Sensor was part of the problem and another sensor in the emission system was shorting out. So far, so good. Oh and since it looked very old to me, I replaced the fuel filter too. Fingers crossed!
 
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