Buick LeSabre/Electra Wagon
What it costs to keep fuelled
$2,667a year, fuel only
The 1989 Buick LeSabre/Electra Wagon is EPA-rated at 18 MPG combined (15 city / 22 highway). Over 15,000 miles a year that is about 833 gallons, $2667 a year in fuel, or $0.178 per mile at $3.20/gal.
Across its full 1985–1989 run it averages 17.7 MPG, essentially flat across 5 model years.
The band is how far one gallon carries it: 18 of the 60 MPG this scale runs to. The square tick is the midsize-large station wagons average, 19.6.
- Fuel, per year
- $2,667 at 15,000 mi
- Per mile
- $0.178
- Per kilometre
- $0.110
- Gallons burned/yr
- 833
1 mile = 1.609344 km · fuel at $3.20/gal, fixed JUL 2026
Test figure — not a road resultSOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
How this is worked out
- Start from the EPA combined figure for the model year — a laboratory test cycle run to a fixed procedure, not a road result. Where a year sold several engines or drivetrains, the trims are averaged and the trim count is printed beside the row so you can see how much averaging is behind it.
- Fix a pump price. This site keeps one reference price, $3.20 a US gallon, fixed JUL 2026 and printed next to every dollar figure it produces. It is an assumption with a date on it, not a quote — put your own price in.
- Fix an annual distance. Every annual figure on this site uses 15,000 miles a year, roughly the US average. A cost per year with no stated distance is not a number, it is a mood.
- Divide distance by economy for gallons, multiply by price for the year's fuel, divide price by economy for one mile. The per-kilometre line is that last figure divided by 1.609344 — the same money, in the unit most of the world drives in.
- Stop there. No depreciation, no tyres, no insurance, no servicing. This is the fuel line of the ledger and it is labelled as one; depreciation usually dwarfs everything on it.
gallons/yr = miles/yr ÷ MPG fuel $/yr = gallons/yr × $/gal cost $/mi = $/gal ÷ MPG cost $/km = cost $/mi ÷ 1.609344
The full method, the licence note, and what a test figure cannot tell you →
Re-run the ledger at another pump price
Every line above rests on one pump price. Here is the same entry re-costed at six others, because the price is the part that changes while the test sheet stays put.
| Fuel price | Per mile | 10,000 mi/yr | 15,000 mi/yr | 20,000 mi/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2.50/gal | $0.139 | $1389 | $2083 | $2778 |
| $3.00/gal | $0.167 | $1667 | $2500 | $3333 |
| $3.20/gal | $0.178 | $1778 | $2667 | $3556 |
| $3.50/gal | $0.194 | $1944 | $2917 | $3889 |
| $4.00/gal | $0.222 | $2222 | $3333 | $4444 |
| $4.50/gal | $0.250 | $2500 | $3750 | $5000 |
| $5.00/gal | $0.278 | $2778 | $4167 | $5556 |
SOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The whole service history, sheet by sheet
5 model years on file. Read down the combined column: a nameplate that got heavier shows it here long before any brochure admits it.
| Year | Combined | City | Highway | EPA fuel cost/yr | CO₂ g/mi | Trims |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 18 MPG | 15 | 22 | $3450 | 494 | 1 |
| 1988 | 18 MPG | 15 | 22 | $3450 | 494 | 1 |
| 1987 | 17 MPG | 15 | 22 | $3650 | 523 | 1 |
| 1986 | 17 MPG | 15 | 22 | $3650 | 523 | 1 |
| 1985 | 18.3 MPG | 16 | 22.3 | $3667 | 510 | 3 |
Where a model year offered several engines or drivetrains, the figure is the average across all EPA-tested trims that year — the trim count is shown so you can see how much averaging is involved.
SOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Marked against the rest of the midsize-large station wagons bay
Among the 21 midsize-large station wagons models tracked here, the Buick LeSabre/Electra Wagon ranks 13 on current figures, against a class average of 19.6 MPG — the square tick on the gauge above.
Closest more-efficient alternatives in the same class: Volvo 960 Wagon (18.5), Ford Taurus Wagon (19), Mercury Sable Wagon (19), Mitsubishi Expo (20), Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser (20).
Tailpipe CO₂ is rated at 494 grams per mile, which works out to roughly 7.4 tonnes a year at 15,000 miles.
Questions asked across the counter
What MPG does the Buick LeSabre/Electra Wagon get?
The 1989 Buick LeSabre/Electra Wagon is rated at 18 MPG combined by the EPA — 15 city and 22 highway. Across all 5 model years in the database it averages 17.7 MPG, ranging from 17 to 21 depending on year and trim.
How much does a Buick LeSabre/Electra Wagon cost in fuel per year?
At 18 MPG and 15,000 miles a year, it burns about 833 gallons — roughly $2667 a year with fuel at $3.20 a gallon, or $0.178 per mile. The EPA's own published annual figure for the 1989 model is $3450.
Has the Buick LeSabre/Electra Wagon become more efficient over time?
Barely. It sits at 18 MPG today against 18.3 in 1985 — essentially flat across 5 model years, with efficiency gains offset by weight and power creep.
Is the Buick LeSabre/Electra Wagon efficient for its class?
It ranks 13 of 21 in the Midsize-Large Station Wagons class on current figures, against a class average of 19.6 MPG. That is 1.6 worse than typical for the class.
Pull another logbook off the same shelf
Same class, nearest economy first — the ones a buyer is genuinely choosing between.
SOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Cost per mile, per kilometre and per year are computed at a reference price of $3.20 a gallon over 15,000 miles, fixed JUL 2026 — set your own pump price. Estimates based on official test figures and average fuel prices. Real-world consumption varies with driving style, load, terrain and maintenance.
