Used 2018 Buick LaCrosse Consumer Reviews
Used LaCrosse for sale
We have a limited number of reviews for the 2018 LaCrosse, so we've included reviews for other years of the LaCrosse since its last redesign.
Senior non-techy lady
Sandy, 03/14/2019
updated 03/16/2020
2017 Buick LaCrosse Essence 4dr Sedan (3.6L 6cyl 8A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I have only had the car for a few days so couldn't really answer some of the questions. Lots of new technology which I have to look up in my manual to use. I am not fond of the auto shut off feature and wish I could shut it off when I chose to. I also do not like the fact that the gas tank door is now on the passenger side which is opposite of the Buick I last had. Why should a person have to walk around their car to out gas in!! On the plus side, after test driving different makes, the Buick seems more sound and better quality. One year later I find that I Hate the shift--why pot that extra P (park) to the side on the shift. I also think the climate control should be on a separate button rather than on the screen which is hard to turn the A/C on when driving. My car also has some weird noise in the rear that my dealership hasn't been able to fix. One very good thing is the gas mileage.
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2017 lacross
Tim, 02/25/2020
2017 Buick LaCrosse Essence 4dr Sedan (3.6L 6cyl 8A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
It is a quiet car, smooth riding and gets very good gas mileage. I'm not a fan of the automatic off at ever stop light. And the transmission and engine never seemed ready to go, it's got plenty of power but has a decent lag until it down shifts like 2 gears and reacts to your punching the gas. I do like the space, it fits the 4 of us easily. Golf clubs fit in the trunk, We have 36K miles in two years and have not had a single problem with the car.
2018 Buick LaCrosse for sale near you
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I love this car! (but not the tricoat white paint)
MMinNC, 10/28/2024
updated 05/05/2025
2017 Buick LaCrosse Essence 4dr Sedan (3.6L 6cyl 8A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I purchased a 2017 Buick Lacrosse (Essence package) as a used car in 2018. It is the most luxurious car I have ever owned. Its profile is eye-catching and sleek. (The commercial that used to run on the TV had a couple in their 20s drooling over the sight of the 2017 Lacrosse with the announcer saying, "It's not your grandfather's Buick."... SO true!) Roominess abounds. Taller people can sit comfortably in the back seats, and the trunk is absolutely cavernous. For its size, the car if relatively fuel efficient. The engine is powerful and has yet to let me down. Handling is smooth, making it a pleasure to drive. It is ashame Buick stopped making the Lacrosse in 2019 for the US market. (It is only available in China as a luxury car.) It is now 2025, and my 2017 Buick Lacrosse is a car that I am going to hold on to for a very long time! *Update: Apparently the tri-coat white paint from the 2017 time frame has problems. First it bubbled in the roof ditches. Not normal for an, at the time, seven year old car. The Buick dealership/company said they would give me $600 towards their $6,800 whole car repaint estimate (but not cash, so I could take it elsewhere). I had a pro of my own choice repaint just the roof ditches. Within a year, a front quarter panel had bubbling paint flaking off. That got fixed, too. I decided to keep my car, because nothing like it is on the market now. I know there will be other paint bubble-ups, so my search begins to find a whole car paint job that I can afford. Shame on Buick for putting their head in the sand regarding the not-so-old tricoat white paint jobs!*
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Rebuilt still Love It
Rob Joy, 10/08/2019
2017 Buick LaCrosse Essence 4dr Sedan (3.6L 6cyl 8A)
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
I bought This Car A weeks Ago.. It was Previously In an accident and Totaled because The Driver Air Bag Deployed.. Overall Nothing Unfixable was wrong with the car.. It was Repaired back to perfect condition And Drive Still Like New.. On Has 35k miles.. I only Paid 13k for The Car!
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So far so good, but transmission is worrying
Christopher Edgar, 09/14/2019
2017 Buick LaCrosse Essence 4dr Sedan (3.6L 6cyl 8A)
4 of 6 people found this review helpful
I've had my LaCrosse Essence for 3 years and 13k miles, leased, and it was my intention to purchase it once the lease ends, but I'm not so sure now. Good: This vehicle has been smooth and comfortable for the most part, so far. It's got some power, is quiet, has a smooth ride and is fun to drive. The gas mileage, while not what I hoped, is not terrible. It's got a really stylish interior design. Buick's Intellilink has an elegant look to it, and the navigation software looks much better than others I've seen, particularly with the 3D view. Disappointing/Bad: The #1 concern for this vehicle is the transmission. It hasn't been as bad for me as it has been for some people, but I noticed it shifts poorly when you slow down to a near stop then give it gas again. Does a sedan like this really need an 8-speed transmission? Will it fail for me at 70k miles like it has in one complaint? GM is not known for reliability (particularly automatic transmissions) and quality these days, but I heard that Buick was not like the rest. I'm worried that it might be, and the well-known clunky transmission is not a good sign. The stop-start, overall, doesn't bother me as much as it does other people, but it definitely seems like a waste. Beyond the unpredictability of it engaging properly, I have another concern: what's the point of a stop-start system that will only shut off the engine for 20 or so seconds then start it again, whether you move or not? I don't know why (maybe battery drain?) but it won't stay auto-stopped for any longer than that. The navigation interface is definitely clunky, and I agree with another reviewer that the climate controls are unintuitive and arcane. But I've grown used to it, even to the weird gear shift knob/system, and could live with it. I am pretty disappointed in the stereo system. I paid for the upgraded Bose system, but I suspect the head unit just doesn't put out enough power to make the speakers come alive. Feels like it has no midbass, no kick. In fact, despite Buick angling to get rid of the "car for old people" reputation, the stereo system comes off as... a stereo system for old people. Conclusion: Overall I love the car, and could live with all problems but one: the poorly-designed transmission that signs seem to indicate won't make it to 100k, or maybe even 60k, miles. That's the unforgivable sin GM is known for, and I am afraid they have committed it here. I suspect I may give up on buying the car and let the lease expire. I don't trust the transmission design to drop more money into this car, and I will not reward Buick by paying them to replace a defectively-designed transmission. Add on top of that the whole bailout thing combined with GM closing so much U.S. production anyway, and I have little inclination to be forgiving toward them. I've owned 3 GM cars, one of which, a 1999 Saturn SL-2, didn't last 6 years because of an engine defect that required 4 engine replacements -- I should have learned my lesson then. This will be my last.
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