Wow, Michael. Has yours always done that well, or did it improve after, say, a spark plug replacement? My little gold beast, with 64,000 miles on it, runs perfectly -- and my regular mechanic says, "With a modern car, if it's not smoking or stalling or getting 9 mpg, leave the plugs alone," so I have.

But I get an average of 24 mpg at this time of year, when I don't have to run the A/C. This is including a 9-mile, 1/2-hour commute each way, mostly city but with a chance to run at 50 mph over the bridge in the early morning, offset by the bumper-to-bumper stuff in the evening. On weekends I do some short city trips, though I take every chance to get in some highway miles. Air filter is new, tires are at 30/34.

Is 24 mpg within the acceptable range for this car?

(Believe me, I'm happy with it as it is. The 420SEL, wonderful to drive though it was, gave 17 mpg on a good week.)

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-- Paul W. (The Benzadmiral)
('03 Buick Park Avenue, charcoal/cream)
Formerly:
'97 C230, smoke silver/parchment; '86 420SEL, anthracite/light grey; '84 280CE (W123), dark blue/palomino