Having a tight budget when trying to find a new car can be a tough spot to be in. New cars are essentially out of the question, unless you're willing to deal with a potentially large monthly payment. So, most of us are relegated to perusing the classified ads, checking out the CarBuzz Marketplace, or just hitting the pavement in hopes of finding a reasonably-priced, used car.Although, if reliability is your top concern, as it should when buying a budget commuter, you'd be remiss not to check out the 2008 Buick Lucerne. That's because, underneath its rather plain body lives the final iteration of Buick's famous 3800 V6, an engine that was voted one of the best ever produced by WardsAuto, second only in their eyes to the Toyota 1UZ-FE V8. The best part about the Lucerne is it is easily affordable today, meaning reliability need not be a luxury for the more well-heeled. Buick's Final Soft-Riding Flagship Buick The Lucerne served as the last bastion of the old-school Buick. It was introduced in 2006 as a replacement for the long-running Buick Park Avenue, a namesake that had been in use since 1975. When the Lucerne hit the market, the days of soft-riding land yachts were largely gone, as many of the folks who used to buy cars like that had simply aged out of the market. For the small number of holdouts left, the Lucerne was their last hope.Upon its unveiling, Buick slapped a base MSRP of $25,265 onto its window sticker and sat back, not expecting much of a sales success, seeing as the Lucerne was servicing a decaying market. However, following its first full year on the market, Buick managed to shift approximately 96,000 of them, exceeding sales expectations. It did so well in GM's eyes that the Lucerne was branded a sales success from the get-go.Buick In its base spec, the Lucerne came equipped with Buick's 3800 3.8-liter V6, a mill that had been in production since 1988. However, the bones of the 3800 had been around since the early 1960s. The engine itself is known to be exceedingly reliable, yet simple, and capable of producing a modest amount of power without sacrificing fuel economy. Buick had a near-perfect engine, and the Lucerne was to be one of its last users.By 2008, the Buick 3800 Series engine was on its way out. Ever-changing emissions standards were rendering it obsolete, and by that year, GM figured it would have been too expensive to revamp it in order for it to stay relevant. This would mark the final year the Lucerne would use the mill. However, the 3800 Series V6 would stick around for one more year, as it was featured in the 2009 Buick LaCrosse. By 2010, it was gone, and a large, engine-sized hole was left in the American automotive industry. What It Costs & What You Get Buick Luckily, you won't need to be an oil mogul or a real estate magnate to afford a 2008 Buick Lucerne. Instead, you'll need about $6,234, at least according to current market trends. Now, it's important to note that Buick also offered a Northstar V8-powered Lucerne at the same time that tends to sell for more than V6-equipped ones. Because of this, that $6,234 figure is bloated slightly. 3800-laden Lucernes tend to stick around the $4,000–$6,000 range for average-condition examples.In the late-2000s grandpa sedan market, the '08 Lucerne didn't have all that many competitors, but there were still some stragglers. Models like the Mercury Grand Marquis, the Toyota Avalon, and, to a lesser extent, GM's own Cadillac DTS all stood as adversaries. In the table below, we'll take a look at how all three of those stack up to our Lucerne in a current average used price shootout: Features In total, the 3800 Series-equipped '08 Lucerne was offered with a total of two grades. At base level sat the CX flavor, which came standard with features like air conditioning, cloth seats with a three-person bench in front, and electric windows.Buick A pair of buckets with a center console was available as an option. You also received a set of 17-inch wheels as standard, along with electric windows and central locking. In short, not much, but less to go wrong, right?Buick The optional step-up was the CXL grade. With it, buyers were treated to standard leather seats, dual-zone climate control, an upgraded stereo, and a power driver's seat. However, a litany of options was available, such as heated and cooled front seats, a heated steering wheel, memory seat for the driver, and remote start. A power-sliding moonroof and a wood-accented steering wheel were available, as well, but the real star of the show has always been that bulletproof V6 under the hood. Reliability At Its Core BuickThe 3800 Series V6 powering the 2008 Lucerne constitutes the third and final iteration of the storied mill. Its penchant for reliability is housed within numerous aspects of the engine. For starters, its block is made from cast iron, a slight rarity at the time of its production as many engines had switched over to aluminum blocks. Cast iron, while heavier than aluminum, is much more adept at withstanding high levels of heat, as well as cracking and warping.In addition, it was purposely over-engineered. Its cylinder heads were also cast iron, and it featured a simple overhead-valve design with an inset camshaft, rather than sporting an overhead cam design similar to most non-V8 engines produced at the time. It produced most of its torque at the lower end of the rev range, meaning it did not have to be beat-on in order to get the most out of it. A cast-iron crankshaft and powder-metal connecting rods are seen, as well. A balance shaft, a device that is specifically designed to counter the rhythm of the crankshaft, is installed, which reduces overall engine vibration and harshness. A smoothly-operating engine is, typically, a longer-lasting one.Buick As for the rest of the '08 Lucerne's mechanical make-up, it takes advantage of a four-speed 4T65-E automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is the sole drivetrain option. Its suspension system is fully independent, and is made up of MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link configuration around back. A self-leveling, rear-mounted air ride system was offered as an option, although this is commonly swapped out for a conventional suspension system due to its high rate of failure as the car ages. One Small Thing... There was one small problem with the naturally-aspirated Buick 3800 Series V6, however. Sitting near the alternator on the mill's accessory assembly are two small hoses, or coolant elbows, that handle coolant flow. These hoses are made of plastic from the factory and are known to fail prematurely. The fix is a pair of metal coolant elbows which, once installed, eliminate the degradation issue completely. Is It Worth Your Hard-Earned Money? BuickBoth the short and long answers are "yes", but the long answer is more interesting. For most of us who are in need of a car and don't have the necessary funds to afford something newer or gamble with unreliable cars, the Buick Lucerne sits as a comfortable, easy-to-use tool that never breaks.Think of it like grandpa's old hand-cranked drill. It's not fast, it's not particularly interesting, but when modern-day battery-operated drills lose charge, or you can't find an outlet nearby for a corded one, grandpa's will never falter. That's the 2008 Buick Lucerne in a nutshell, largely thanks to the legendary Buick 3800 V6 living underneath its hood.