1990 Buick Reatta Reviews, Pricing & Specs

I've always liked the looks. This is my 2nd one. I love the styling. Because of the composite materials used in the body you get virtually no rust. The back tail light assembly could of had a little more quality as far as how its attatched. The plastic pieces the the anchor bolts screw into are prone to cracking and coming the screw/bolts have nothing to anchor to. A few other items on the car could of had a better quality way of attachment. Like metal fasteners instead of plastic.Aug 19, 2011

Bought it when it was about 13-15 years old. Reliable until the parts started failing. Although it was old, the appearance was nice. The acceleration was slow due to the weight of the car, brakes were good and handling was very good for a first car. The build quality was good compared to its age. Although the fuel injector was a giant pain, and other minor problems due to wear and tear. If I had gotten the car in better condition I would've kept the car for a lot longer. I enjoyed driving the car.Nov 01, 2009

Performance: Better then adequate (My Reatta is a 1990). Build Quality: For 1990, build quality was excellent. For 2009, it would be an 8 of 10. Always liked the appearance; especially the tail lights. I bought my Reatta from the original owner (76,000 miles). She kept the saddle color interior near-flawless (I'd rate it a 9.5 of 10)Shows very, very little wear. Original arctic white paint is an 8 out of 10 (never been in an accident and still has luster but some minor paint fade near trim). Mechanical parts are not difficult to find (many are shared with the Buick Riviera). Aesthetic parts to find can be a challenge to find but thankfully, there is eBay! Cost of ownership is high just like any used car in limited production. But the engine is bullet proof. It's an all around good two seater, a great cruiser and in very good condition, can be found for $5,000 (and will either sustain its value or increase).Apr 11, 2009

You've heard the age old warning, "Don't believe the hype" probably a million times by now. Well, the truth is, rarely there comes a time when you actually CAN believe the hype! With the Buick Reatta, here comes one of those rare times! The Reatta has accolades upon accolades trumped upon it from years and years of owners proud to call themselves such, a very informative and robust web site dedicated to it (<a href="/Cars/Link?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reatta.net" title="http://www.reatta.net" target="_blank">http://www.reatta.net</a>) and even an owner supported discussion forum under the BCA (link on web site) that, unlike most others, is more about helping other owners than griping about what could've been done better. The hype? A near indestructible (by average car standards) engine, durability and survivability under almost unimaginable circumstances, outrageous "power" (considering it's mere 160-170hp), timeless styling which still has people asking, "what year is that" and stopping to look in awe, it's superb and comfortable interior of REAL leather covered seats and surrounds, it's excellent touring suspension which provides a mix of Cadillac softness down the straight and narrow with Camaro stiffness in the turns, etc., etc... Strangely, it's all true. Even the rumors of sometimes catastrophic brake "issues" that come with little or no warning in the '88-90 Teves equipped vehicles and GM's refusal to recall and replace the systems are true. And even this frightening possibility has not significantly deterred interest in these simple twists on the Riviera ideal. So, what can I say that hasn't already been said by owners of the Reatta over and over again? Oh, should I tell you that the magazines were wrong, the "test drivers" must have taken their ill-conceived ideals of what a "touring" car that "looks" sporty should handle like with them when they reviewed the Reatta (or maybe they just had a pre-production model to review... hmmm???), that the only truly pitiable thing about the car was GM's HORRID support and their poor marketing strategy of setting it nose to nose with the Riviera (foolishly causing people to choose between similarly equipped and designed vehicles at the same dealership on the same showroom floor!)? No, I'll just say if you truly wish to understand... Drive one!Oct 29, 2007