Just got a new car for free! 1994 Buick Century w/ 47,000... questions

[Mölyapina]

...so our minister's father-in-law bought this car new in 1994, but he has not been able to drive for a while now, and after using the car for a little bit, they decided that they really don't want it, so they drove it up to his place in NH last November, and it has been sitting there ever since. He was telling us about the car over dinner about a month ago, and I talked about it a little bit, (intake manifold gasket issues, etc.), and mentioned that I like those cars. A few weeks ago, he was talking with my parents and mentioned something about me and the car. They told me, and I said that while I wouldn't have the money to buy it, I would be happy to sell it for him. My mother relayed that message to him, and we set up a time for me to pick up the car. I sent an email the day before (yesterday) listing the documents I'd need to sell the car for them (minister + wife). He replied by email in the morning and said, among other things, that "our plan is to give you the car. If you sell it, you are welcome to keep whatever you can get for it."

Me: ....................... ..................





So went to pick it up today! It hadn't been run since October, but with the help of his thick jumper cables, (thicker than ours, anyways), we got it going! I drove it home (~45 Minutes) and took it to class tonight. It's great! Before I picked it up, I was thinking that I would sell it. After about ten minutes of driving, my mindset switched to wondering whether it would be financially feasible for me to keep two cars. It is extremely quiet on the highway -- I kept going over the speed limit by accident -- and drives better than I had expected. It is also extremely comfortable. In my driving, I've only noticed two issues with the car.

Issue 1) Shaking. The car seemed totally solid until I hit 50 MPH, at which point it started shaking more than my 300SD at idle (it was shaking enough that I contemplated pulling over). Soon after, it calmed down, but each time I increased my speed it would come back for a little while only to disappear. I "erased" it enough so that I could drive it at 65 MPH in total serenity, but it still showed up at 70 MPH. However, I didn't do 70 MPH for an extended length of time, so I'm guessing that that would probably disappear if I did so. What on earth is going on here? It seemed slightly more pronounced and more frequent under load, although it also happened while I was coasting and braking.

Issue 2) Squealing. I first noticed this when driving to class tonight. When going to class, it seemed to come from the front, and when driving back, it came from the rear. It disappeared around 35 MPH and when applying the brakes (even slightly). Do I need new brakes? I figure I'll pull some wheel off tomorrow morning and see... but is there anything else that this could indicate?

Thank you! Sorry for the long post...


...and yes, this does mean that automatics are allowed...