1996 98 Regency vs. 1999 Intrigue GLS...

[GMTruckGuy74]

1996 Olds 98 Regency, 43k original miles, $5,995:

vs.

1999 Olds Intrigue GLS, 58k original miles, $7,990:

Assuming you were in the market for a used car and were considering these two, which would you choose and why? Any pros & cons of each would also be helpful. TIA!

[Flybrian]

Quick hits:

Ninety-Eight - More compliant ride, roomier, larger trunk, proven 3800 Series-II reliability.

Intrigue - Better handler hands-down, more spirited performance, creamy twin-cam Shortstar, contemporary looks.

For me, it would come down to equipment levels. Does either have leather? Full power seating? Etc? Actually, I won't lie, I'm a cheap-ass plus I like blue more, so I'd get the Ninety-Eight. Seriously. But that's me. If the Intrigue has PCS, chrome wheels, and a moonroof, then I'd be rollin' it like The X-Files Movie.

[derrado]

They both represent two entirely different groups of cars. The Regency represents the big, bechromed, floaty American luxobarge, but it isn't the best example. Honestly, I think you would have a lot more fun driving an Intrigue daily than a Regency. Besides, that Intrigue looks nice and tidy, and it was one of the better GM mid-sizers in recent history so it isn't a crappy car. Love the colour, too. Very contemporary.

The Regency.... meh. If we were talking, say, a big DeVille, I would be less unanimous in my decision. But it's a Regency and, nice as it is, it's a bit dull and that is not what you want in that type of car.

[CARBIZ]

What they said. The Intrigue has better seats. The 98's seats were way too short! They only came up 2/3 the way up my back! The Intrigue handles way better and has better power off the line. If it has PCS (doubtfully in '99), then it would be a fer-sure.

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

Being Oldsmobile is my favorite GM division, and I know my division.

I would go with the Ninety Eight on one simple fact:

The 3800 under the hood my experiences with the car.

The Intrigue is a divisional car and rides and handles well has a few short comings. What is under the hood is one of them. I think long term with vehicles. I have ridden in an Intrigue and other Oldsmobiles. I do not trust Shortstar as it is derivative of Northstar and can be expensive to repair or fix. That 3800 in that Ninety Eight is common and parts are around in abundance. All the bugs had not been worked out of Intrigue in 1999 either. They had used the 3800 and switched over to Shortstar. There also were too many little electrical issues on this car too. While it looks great and is a fully loaded GLS, I would pass on it. In in terms of W Bodies of that era, The Oldsmobile looked the best, and offered a lot. The Regal and Century just were not up to snuff in appearance or performance. The Grand Prix was the best all around performer during that time. Chevrolet was the most affordable package( Monte Carlo and Lumina).

I would go with the Ninety Eight because :

1. It shares parts with Eighty Eight, LSS, and the 1995-1999 Aurora. This will prove handy.

2. It is quite the car especially on gas. I know.

3. Comfort, convenient, secure.

4. The design and quality was all ready set in and improved during this time.

5. It also has mechanical parts in common with Buick Park Avenue

Find out if that Ninety Eight is a Series I or Series II

Series I: Has no digital gauges or memory seats( control is on drivers door.It will say 1 and 2 and set)

Series II: Has digital gauges, information center, memory seats and more.

Lets put it this way.. The only difference between my car and a Cadillac is I do not have a V8. That is it. In fact The Ninety Eight had more features than a Deville. I know. The Deville did not get passenger side climate control and steering wheel controls until 1997.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Anyone else?

Thanks to those that already posted!

[intrigued]

Well I probably have the best perspective on this as my family owned a 1995 series 2 Regency - all digital stuff with all the options, and a 2000 intrigue GLS.

I's way a lot has to do with personal preference as both are great cars wfor what they are.

The 98 moves fairly well for a huge luxo barge. the 3800 is extremley reliable and parts and service on it are cheap. The car is very fomortable and has a compliant ride but it deffinetly rides handles like a large car - you feel its size another words- espically in banking highway turns where it leans into it a lot.

The intrigue doesn't have as much interior space of course. IT has better interior space than a present day acord though, and has a trunk that can almost match the cavernous trunk of the 98. The 98 will eat shocks and springs and brakes every 30-40 miles with combined city highway driving.

The intrigue is much faster. The 3.5 lx5 shortstar is the smoothest v6 by far that GM had in this era. It likes to rev to the redline when you get on the gas but it loafs along gradually accelerating most of the time and returns pretty much identical milage to the 3800 powered intrigue. We had our lx5 intrigue for 105k miles and with one tuneup at 95k miles the engine was burning no oil and ran like th eday we bought it. My friend boaught the car and loves it. It's still running strong with him.

With a car that has 40+ k miles on it I would check to see if it's burning oil. What I've read about this engine is that if you got a well put together one - the vast majority of them - than it will last you just as long as a 3800. If you got a bad one it will show in the first 30k miles so you should be able to tell on close inspection whether this is a good one or not. Just make sure to pay attention to the oil, and see how it feels when it drives. This is a low maitenance engine but make sure you get a good one because repairs will cost significantly more.

The intrigue's inteior is maybe a bit less premium in fit, finish and materials but is ergonomically superior and has very comfortable seats. The intrigue has a sporty yet compliant ride and handles like a smaller car when you push it. brakeing performance of the intrigue is far superior in both pedal modulation and stopping distances - larger disks and newer generation ABS are the reason.

Overall they're two very different cars. The intrigue will cost less to maintain in temrs of suspension and brakes but could potentially cost more in terms of drive train maintenance. The 98 is cavenous and a great car to stretch out and relax in but can be a little boring to drive. The intrigue is a far more spirited car to drive but is still realative roomy and much more modern.

That's my breakdown. Personally I'd get the intrigue because the 98 is too slow for my taste and too big for living in an urban area where I have to squeeze cars into parrelle spaces but I can deffinetly see reason who one would want a 98.

Cheers,

Dan

[Backup7]

Without a doubt I would choose the Intrigue.

The Intrigue is contemporary and fairly attractive even in light of today's car market. It's restrained and classy whereas the 98 is, in my opinion, just ancient and blehh. Further, while the 3800 is cheap and reliable, the Shortstar is one sweet engine, smooth and refined. The Intrigue has far superior suspension and brakes as well (in terms of performance).

[gm4life]

The 98 without a doubt, I like big FWD GM cars. Actually love them I have owned 4 and still currently own 2 out of the four. I like the 3.5L DOHC in'all but uhhh I don't like the looks as much as the 98 or say an Alero or Aurora.

[Delta Force79]

Get the 98....I like American luxo boats....

[vonVeezelsnider]

Yeah go for the 98, the 3800 over a 3500 any day. If I was to consider a W Body of that era it would be a Regal, Century, or GP.

Edited July 5, 2007 by vonVeezelsnider

[frogger]

Intrigue.. its a GLS and thats my favourite colour combo of it, Bronzemist with cream leather. Probably has the Bose sound on it too which sounds very good on the Intrigue.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Again, thanks for all the replies... I'm passing your info on to my friend to aid in his decision making.

Now another question... anyone know of websites that give detailed information about the 2002 Intrigue Final 500 edition? I found some pictures online, but no site that lists what model the Intrigue 500 is (GL or GLS?), what equipment was standard, what options were available, etc. Any help will be appreciated!

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

Again, thanks for all the replies... I'm passing your info on to my friend to aid in his decision making.

Now another question... anyone know of websites that give detailed information about the 2002 Intrigue Final 500 edition? I found some pictures online, but no site that lists what model the Intrigue 500 is (GL or GLS?), what equipment was standard, what options were available, etc. Any help will be appreciated!

As you requested:

http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/delval...e/intrigue.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_Intrigue

[Drew Dowdell]

I really think it's a matter of personal taste. Both are fine cars.

[torobud]

Either one is good with me as they are both from Olds!! :AH-HA_wink:

[Sixty8panther]

NEITHER!

I'd pick the last REAL Oldsmobile they ever made.

[Flybrian]

I'd pick the last REAL Oldsmobile they ever made.

Fixed.

[vonVeezelsnider]

God, I love that colour! Every time I see it, I ask myself why only ~500 Auroras got it.

[ponchoman49]

Being Oldsmobile is my favorite GM division, and I know my division.

I would go with the Ninety Eight on one simple fact:

The 3800 under the hood my experiences with the car.

The Intrigue is a divisional car and rides and handles well has a few short comings. What is under the hood is one of them. I think long term with vehicles. I have ridden in an Intrigue and other Oldsmobiles. I do not trust Shortstar as it is derivative of Northstar and can be expensive to repair or fix. That 3800 in that Ninety Eight is common and parts are around in abundance. All the bugs had not been worked out of Intrigue in 1999 either. They had used the 3800 and switched over to Shortstar. There also were too many little electrical issues on this car too. While it looks great and is a fully loaded GLS, I would pass on it. In in terms of W Bodies of that era, The Oldsmobile looked the best, and offered a lot. The Regal and Century just were not up to snuff in appearance or performance. The Grand Prix was the best all around performer during that time. Chevrolet was the most affordable package( Monte Carlo and Lumina).

I would go with the Ninety Eight because :

1. It shares parts with Eighty Eight, LSS, and the 1995-1999 Aurora. This will prove handy.

2. It is quite the car especially on gas. I know.

3. Comfort, convenient, secure.

4. The design and quality was all ready set in and improved during this time.

5. It also has mechanical parts in common with Buick Park Avenue

Find out if that Ninety Eight is a Series I or Series II

Series I: Has no digital gauges or memory seats( control is on drivers door.It will say 1 and 2 and set)

Series II: Has digital gauges, information center, memory seats and more.

Lets put it this way.. The only difference between my car and a Cadillac is I do not have a V8. That is it. In fact The Ninety Eight had more features than a Deville. I know. The Deville did not get passenger side climate control and steering wheel controls until 1997.

Actually the 1996 Regency would only have the series II 3800 as the series I motor was dropped in 1995 from the LeSabre, Regal and the Dustbuster vans. The 1995 88, Regency, Park Ave, Riviera and Bonneville all debuted with the series II 3800 motor with 205 HP.

And to answer the which one would I buy question: I would be very careful of the Intrigue because it WILL have the 3.5 Shortstar in the GLS models which had that engine as std equipment in 1999. The GX and GL had the 3800 as std and could get the 3.5 as an option in the first half of 1999 and then mid year they all got it as std. All 2000 and up Intrigues will have the Shortstar as std. I used to own a 1999 Shortstar Intrigue but the engine went on it at 36k with faulty pistons and bottom end. It all started as a light cold knock and progressed from there. I have started up dozens of these on dealer lots and they all have quite a cold knock to them which seems to be notorious on these engines. Excessive oil consumption is a big issue on the early year Shortstars and they seem to suffer piston problems with miles on the clock. That is not to say this 1999 your looking at is bad. It may have been a "good one" as the saying goes and could offer you many miles of trouble free service. I would go start that Intrigue up when it's cold and pop the hood and rev that motor up both fast and slow to see if it knocks and then get it up to temperature and test it then too. If it does have a cold knock, I would walk right away from that car at not look back. The Recency would be a better bet for reliability. But keep in mind that the 3800 series II motor does have the upper and lower intake issue and the 4T60 trannys in those have a limited life. Good luck.

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

Actually the 1996 Regency would only have the series II 3800 as the series I motor was dropped in 1995 from the LeSabre, Regal and the Dustbuster vans. The 1995 88, Regency, Park Ave, Riviera and Bonneville all debuted with the series II 3800 motor with 205 HP.

And to answer the which one would I buy question: I would be very careful of the Intrigue because it WILL have the 3.5 Shortstar in the GLS models which had that engine as std equipment in 1999. The GX and GL had the 3800 as std and could get the 3.5 as an option in the first half of 1999 and then mid year they all got it as std. All 2000 and up Intrigues will have the Shortstar as std. I used to own a 1999 Shortstar Intrigue but the engine went on it at 36k with faulty pistons and bottom end. It all started as a light cold knock and progressed from there. I have started up dozens of these on dealer lots and they all have quite a cold knock to them which seems to be notorious on these engines. Excessive oil consumption is a big issue on the early year Shortstars and they seem to suffer piston problems with miles on the clock. That is not to say this 1999 your looking at is bad. It may have been a "good one" as the saying goes and could offer you many miles of trouble free service. I would go start that Intrigue up when it's cold and pop the hood and rev that motor up both fast and slow to see if it knocks and then get it up to temperature and test it then too. If it does have a cold knock, I would walk right away from that car at not look back. The Recency would be a better bet for reliability. But keep in mind that the 3800 series II motor does have the upper and lower intake issue and the 4T60 trannys in those have a limited life. Good luck.

The Series I and Series II I referred to are the "trim levels" they offered on the Ninety Eight in 1995-1996. They used the on mid 1990's Oldsmobiles. I was not referring to the engine. The Series I died in 1994 rated at 170 hp. The Series II showed up in 1995 rated at 205 hp. Thank you for the background on the Shortstar engine. That is the info I could not remember, but you went into detail.

[vonVeezelsnider]

The Series I and Series II I referred to are the "trim levels" they offered on the Ninety Eight in 1995-1996. They used the on mid 1990's Oldsmobiles. I was not referring to the engine. The Series I died in 1994 rated at 170 hp. The Series II showed up in 1995 rated at 205 hp. Thank you for the background on the Shortstar engine. That is the info I could not remember, but you went into detail.

Actually, the Series I technically died after 1995 as the Dustbuster vans carried the 3800 SI until the 3.4L took over in 1996.

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

Actually, the Series I technically died after 1995 as the Dustbuster vans carried the 3800 SI until the 3.4L took over in 1996.

Again.. I was referring to the Ninety Eight. I was not referring to the other GM cars.

[Sixty8panther]

I do like the 2nd gen. Auroras...