Used Buick Cars for Sale near Sacramento, CA

The 1984 Buick Skyhawk was the pinnacle of General Motor's brand engineering. It was also sold as the Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbird/J2000, Oldsmobile Firenza, and the Cadillac Cimarron. With it's 84HP 2.0L I4, it gets you to where you needed to be, but that's about it. Like many cars from the 80's, it needed almost constant repairs to keep it running, but it did get to 207,000 miles, a feat not too many cars can claim to have accomplished. It was relatively cheap to own, with an abundance of used parts at junk yards.

I took my mother's '84 Custom Coupe about ten years after she bought it new. The car had the 1.8L OHC four from GM do Brasil and a five-speed manual transmission. It was probably the last stick shift Buick (until the upcoming 2010 Regal). The Skyhawk didn't handle too well and the brakes were weak, but the engine and transmission were fun to thrash around. The car was handsomely styled - best of the J-cars - and the redo in about '88 (concealed headlights) was not an improvement. These cars are probably impossible to find, expensive to repair and not worth the effort. Too bad. But they are part of GM's awful legacy of giving small cars insufficient development money.

This was a tiny little two door. I fixed it up to be my first car but sold it before turning 16. For a little car, I remember it had what I thought was a big V6 engine and too much power

By far, the best looking J-car, especially with the hidden headlights. It was my first new car and I'd probably would still have it except that I drove the hell out of it and did crazy things (like off-roading) that led to its engine blowing up (fire and convex dents in the hood) just 4 years into ownership. I got it up to 185km/h several times -not bad for its 96hp and 3speed auto trans. It was the car I took on a record 21 hour drive from Toronto to the Florida border on a spontaneous trip. It was also known as the crazy car thanks to the multi-coloured paint job, and toy soldiers glued to where part of the front bumper used to be. Must find photos!

It only ran well until it went over 55 mph.