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Buick LaCrosse

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Comments

  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    I don't know the name of the GM system in my LeSabre, but it serves my purposes fine. It has 8 speakers and CD and tape. If I wanted MORE, I would take it to a shop and have exactly what I want installed. That's what I did years ago with cars, only then I installed things myself.

    No matter what system they offer on a car, there will be some people who always want something differnet for various reasons. If they offered a JBL system that wouldn't be right for some. And that's okay, it's just that putting a top line system ain't gonnal impress me beyond what I have.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • prigglypriggly Member Posts: 642
    As for me, the poor audio system in the LaCrosse is one of two main reasons I would not buy the car. The other is the obligatory OnStar. Too bad because it's otherwise a good vehicle with an excellent engine and drivetrain.
  • bigdaddycoatsbigdaddycoats Member Posts: 1,058
    What do you have against OnStar? You never have to use it if you do not want to. In the coming years GM is going to make OnStar standard on all of their models. The stereo reason I can understand.
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    OnStar is another reason I am not interested. It gives GM at least the theoretical capability of always tracking the vehicle all across the country (either all of them or some of them, either furtively or under court order or at the request of a spouse, etc.) , compute whether the driver is exceeding the speed limit, etc.

    It is just a matter of time til at least some insurance companies start demanding that drivers of GM vehicles use OnStar should they wish to receive discounts. I, too, would not buy a vehicle with OnStar, activated or not.

    There is no way of knowing what data may be being sent to whom by such a thing, or for what reason.

    As for the silliest reason to have it, to unlock the vehicle when the keys are inside, Ford answered that years ago. It's called an outside number keypad. And it works great. No monthly fees, either.

    Not to mention that GM continued to market OnStar with analogue only cellular service for quite some time long after the rest of the world had taken all of their new equipment digital. With a tiny little warning that it would have to be upgraded (guess at whose expense) if the cell service were to be used in the near future. I have problems with people who hide such dastardly things.

    I can and do take my business elsewhere. And I haven't even mentioned those VERY annoying radio ads they run with people in distress being saved by OnStar. People who market using scare ads (life insurance companies are another good example) frequently are making very high profit margins...
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    >People who market using scare ads (life insurance companies are another good example) frequently are making very high profit margins...

    I have to agree. But there are a lot of products you won't be buying because of the scare tactics used. I don't like the scare factor to OnStar. Either. But I've found it useful at times. I am on a monthly basis. Probably will drop it unless they reduce cost for base level.

    As for the sound system..., I've driven my nephews Ford Explorer and Chrysler midsize. My system sounds better than theirs.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • hammen2hammen2 Member Posts: 1,284
    GM had no choice but to keep OnStar analog as the cellular companies have been slow to get digital coverage everywhere. I live in Wisconsin and it's been only recently that more than half the state has adequate GSM coverage (though OnStar went with Verizon's CDMA). Can you imagine the hue and cry if someone paid for OnStar only not to be able to use it in an emergency?

    Also, the analog cellular network will remain operational until at least 2008. After that it is a concern, but I don't believe GM is selling the analog OnStar system any more...
  • bigdaddycoatsbigdaddycoats Member Posts: 1,058
    You sound paranoid. You forgot to mention that aliens are secretly running the world. - just kidding, sorry I could not resist.

    You could always just disconnect the OnStar system if you are that worried about big brother watching.
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    The problem wasn't the analogue capability, that was great and remains so. The problem was the system had NO digital capability whatsoever when everybody else's DID.
  • lindseylindsey Member Posts: 41
    I test drove a CSX yesterday and was fairly well impressed. While the overall styling is a bit conservative for my tastes, the car will be my wife's, and she doesn't want a flashy car. The car seemed smooth, quiet, and well assembled.

    We will probably be buying one this year. Several questions: (1) Are there dealers out there who are substantially discounting below sticker yet or will I need to wait six months? (I'm not talking about incentives here but pure discounting). (2) Has anyone had a good purchase experience in West Central Florida? I was visiting my wife's mother in DeLand, FL, over the weekend and decided to test drive a CXS from the local dealer, Kaiser Buick. The dimwitted salesman would not let me test drive the car unless I was willing to say I was ready to buy the car that day. He claimed they were short staffed, even though it was Saturday afternoon and the place was crawling with salesman. Needless to say, I was not ready to buy. I had no idea there were still fools trying to pull that crap. (3) If you factory order the car, do you still get the factory incentives? Thanks in advance for your help.
  • fredvhfredvh Member Posts: 857
    I want to advise that you can order the LaCrosse with OnStar deleted. I am not sure that it applies to all 3 models but there is a line for OnStar Delete on the order sheet. It saves you some money too but I cannot remember how much.
  • fredvhfredvh Member Posts: 857
    If you order the car you get the same incentives that one gets if buying off of the lot(rebates, financing, etc.). However, the incentives that are applicable when you order the car MAY NOT be the same incentives when you actually pick-up(buy) the car. For example, you order the car on the 15th of March but the car does not come in until the middle of April. The incentives could have changed from March to April. You get the incentives applicable in April in this case and NOT the incentives applicable in March.
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    It is possible to disconnect OnStar from cables, power, etc. Or even to remove it completely. I had read that it is enough to disconnect it from antenna to make it not operational.

    Personally, I did not remove yet the gizmo form the Regal I bought recently. OnStar is in the trunk, attached by two big bolts to the rear left wheel arc. Removing them, most probably, involves removing rear wheel liner, than put it back. Had not time to do it, and the winter weather is not inviting. However, I am planning to do it in spring.

    Some people even sell removed OnStars on e-bay.
  • brood1213brood1213 Member Posts: 27
    All Cars today have a computer that with a court order can tell how fast you were going when airbags deployed. Onstar cannot track you without you calling them first to ask for directions. IF you want to use the stolen car feature you must have a police report to activate the tracking. It was the federal goverment who said cell phone carriers no longer had to carry the analog signal. So GM had to develop the digital system for Onstar to work.
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    And you can believe that the tracking cannot work without your consent if you wish. It isn't true.

    GM was YEARS behind in adding digital capability for OnStar.

    But lets go on and talk about the LaCrosse...
  • vanman1vanman1 Member Posts: 1,397
    Are you still talking about the audio system in the LaCrosse? Given you are the only one complaining about it, I can only assume you were sitting in a defective car.
  • vanman1vanman1 Member Posts: 1,397
    You are starting to sound a little paranoid John.

    Are you one of those guys that hang out at the grassy knoll in Dallas?

    ;-)
  • prigglypriggly Member Posts: 642
    Is John indeed paranoid . . . or are you naive?

    http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20031126-044216-1812r
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    Or does John have a job such that he might have already read that decision and know of countless other unpublished decisions? Just wondering....

    Thanks priggly, for pointing out what I probably shouldn't here...

    --john who can speak ironically when he needs to be furtive...
  • robw64robw64 Member Posts: 76
    I've recently begun the investigation process of buying a new LaCrosse or Ford 500. By using GM BuyPower, Orange Buick GMC in Orlando offered an internet price $4,000 below MSRP on a CXS. I would recommend trying the BuyPower website and selecting a couple of the vehicles currently in their inventory. Good Luck!
  • vanman1vanman1 Member Posts: 1,397
    Nothing new in that article. Government has lots of ways of tracking people and since 9/11 that's only become worse. OnStar is no different than a cell phone really other than the better ability to find your car. Luckily up here, we do not have black government helicopters, we don't even have military helicopters that are less than 30 years old. LOL.
  • brood1213brood1213 Member Posts: 27
    Why would GM want to know where you are at?

    Maybe if you were at a chrysler/ford dealership they would secretly call the nearest GM dealer and tell them you were looking at competitive make???????
  • bigunit67bigunit67 Member Posts: 62
    Jumping back to the discussions on page 56 or so, I went to the St. Louis auto show the first part of February. I'm sure it's not much different than the auto shows elsewhere around the country...just not as many of the "what-if" vehicles.

    Anyway, being a Regal GS owner, I checked out the Buick floor-space and found...tumbleweeds. They had very few onlookers checking out what they had to offer, unfortunately. The Rainier SUV was getting a few cruise-bys and "butt-on-seat" comparisons, but that was about it. The LaCrosse did get a few folks to check it out, but nobody was lingering for very long. The auto show was a Thursday - Sunday event and I was there all day Saturday, so that is as wide a cross section of people as any day would offer, I'd say. Maybe more younger people but also more "older" people not having to be at work, also.

    At the Toyota site, though, they were drawing a comparative crowd around the new Avalon. I had to wait in line for several minutes to get my quality time behind the wheel. When you're talking upper 20's - mid 30's price for a full-sized car packing a 280 HP/260 Torque engine, hwy mileage estimates ranging up to the low 30's, and Toyota quality (whether real or imagined)....it's hard to pony up nearly that same amount for the top of the line LaCrosse.

    I'm not knocking what I don't own, trust me. I've had my Regal for 4 years now and am mostly satisfied with it. I've talked with two guys I know that have bought the LaCrosse and they both feel it's a quality car. That isn't my point. But I'd think most folks would look at the LaCrosse as evolutionary versus revolutionary (something that Buick could use, judging by the latest sales numbers for the brand).

    (Personal Rant Section) It's just sad that GM has to pigeon-hole a brand in so many way. Buick can't go out and build a hot, top of the line car because we don't want to take away from Pontiac or Cadillac sales totals and we have to maintain a certain pecking order. Maybe shaking up the order once in a while would do the company good. It's ironic to see a 1987 Buick Regal Grand National on sale in my home town for $15,000 and see people checking it out each time I drive by. Yes, I've slobbered over it a few times myself.

    It's not a business unit's only standard for success, but I wonder if there is anything that Buick is putting on showroom floors in 2005 that will be similarly fawned over come 2023???
  • vanman1vanman1 Member Posts: 1,397
    Unfortunately Buick has a poor image with the under 50 crowd and I'm not convinced that Tiger Woods does much for the brand. Nobody thinks Buicks are poor quality, they just think they are old people cars and it takes a LONG time to change that. Olds started down that road but GM cut the trip short. Hopefully Buick will continue down this more modern car path. The Rendezvous is quite popular with young families and the LaCrosse could be a great Camry fighter if GM would really take aim and stop saying it's a Lexus fighter. Only in CSX form would it be close to a Lexus fighter and 60-70% of sales will be 3800 powered CX and CXLs. Marketing should be aimed at Camry buyers.
  • lindseylindsey Member Posts: 41
    fredvh: Thanks for the incentive information. I hate to pose that type of question to the salesman. I like to have as much or more information than the salesman, if possible.
  • lindseylindsey Member Posts: 41
    robw64: Thanks for the reply. Is the $4,000 below MSRP exclusive of the incentives? I often find that salesmen talk about big discounts, but without saying so they are including the incentives. If that is exclusive of incentives, I might have to give Orange Buick a ring.
  • brood1213brood1213 Member Posts: 27
    One answer I think that would attract younger generation is the Velite. That is s very sharp convertible.
  • 02electronblue02electronblue Member Posts: 22
    I agree with the above post that thinks the LaCrosse should be marketed to compete with the Camry rather than the Lexus.

    We looked at the LaCrosse as an alternative to an Acura TL or Lexus ES330. Even in top form, we came away underwhelmed, mostly due to the lack of the following available options:
    -- Navigation -- although many think it's a "toy", we've come to enjoy greatly the nav in our 01 Lexus RX300. GM makes it optional in cars like its Trailblazer, so I am mystified at this misstep.
    -- Gauges -- An 05 Corolla LE now comes standard with Optitron gauges. While I will admit that LaCrosse has the nicest gauges I've seen in a Buick, they don't convey an image of anything more than "OK."

    The different equipment levels has me puzzled, too. Acura is highly successful with a 'one level of equipment' platform. It's the car plus optional Nav, and that's about it. A TL is a TL is a TL. I think a LaCrosse should be the same...fully loaded, for $27K including an in-dash nav.

    But hey, we're only government workers who happens to be in the age (38 and 42) and income bracket that Buick aims to attract.
  • vanman1vanman1 Member Posts: 1,397
    I think the coming Lucerne may be more of a Lexus / Acura fighter than the LaCrosse. It seems from pictures to have a nicer interior. I may look at a base CXS to replace my Intrigue in a few years though. Like you, I'm not rich and with kids and an eventual move to a bigger house, the Buick will suit our needs just fine. It's near luxury feel is pretty good value, especially when the incentives really hit in late summer.
  • brood1213brood1213 Member Posts: 27
    Look at the pictures of the Lucerene and the new DTS. The controls are exactly the same from the pictures. They would be built side by side.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    What pictures are youi talking about? Links?

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • brood1213brood1213 Member Posts: 27
    Go to www.gm.com

    General Motors main site
    You would see The company
    It would drop down click on auto show
    Click on Chicago
    Then the menu
    you would see a picture of the DTS Steering wheel and the Lucerne's which look the same.
    Open those up and look at the interior and the place of the controls look like the same car
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,132
    Thanks for the link info.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • cboy_24cboy_24 Member Posts: 6
    Recieved a price quote of $17,500 (after discounts and rebates) for a CX model. Seems like a pretty good price. Is there much of a difference between the CX and CXL?
  • fredvhfredvh Member Posts: 857
    That seems like a very good price. No sidebags however if that is important to you. CXL adds leather seats, a rear split folding rear seat, driver info center, power driver lumbar support(NICE), theft alarm, lighted vanity mirrors, aluminum wheels, and a leather steering wheel. Some of these are available as options on the CX. What options are on the CX and what is the MSRP?
  • cboy_24cboy_24 Member Posts: 6
    The MSRP is $23,625. The only option on the quote is the power driver lumbar support. The only other option that I would really like to have is the sidebags. The salesman is also checking to see if I am eligible for another $1,000 discount for customer loyalty.
  • fredvhfredvh Member Posts: 857
    Hi cboy. Can you break it down so I can see how we get from the MSRP of 23,625 to his price of 17,500? Thanks
  • cboy_24cboy_24 Member Posts: 6
    He started with MSRP of $23,625 and discounted it down to $22,198. Then there were about $5,000 of rebates. There are a couple of incentives for $1,500 (end 3/31) and a car show rebate of $500 (end 3/16). We have $1,500 GM points and an additional bonus of $1,000 (end 3/31). I don't know where his other $500 comes from. Also, I think I can only use $1,000 of GM points.
  • fredvhfredvh Member Posts: 857
    I only thought that there was a single $1500 rebate on the LaCrosse. The dealer told you that there were TWO separate $1500 rebates?
  • bigdaddycoatsbigdaddycoats Member Posts: 1,058
    Do you get any GM employee pricing?
  • cboy_24cboy_24 Member Posts: 6
    Sorry for the confusion. There is only one $1500 rebate
  • cboy_24cboy_24 Member Posts: 6
    I do not get any GM employee pricing.
  • fredvhfredvh Member Posts: 857
    I just do not see how the dealer can get down to $17,500 with only one $1500 rebate.
  • bobgwtwbobgwtw Member Posts: 187
    I had high hopes for the Lacross; but after driving it, studying the equipment list & options, I'm underwhelmed. 4 speed transmission, no GPS, no side airbags - even as an option, lots of wind noise as speed and a $33-34,000 sticker? I aplaud your effort GM, but you still have a long way to go.
  • vanman1vanman1 Member Posts: 1,397
    Even the reviews that don't like the LaCrosse as much commend it for a super quiet cabin. Your wind noise was likely caused by a windy day.

    Your air bag comment is also inaccurate, SABs are indeed available as an option. Perhaps you should check the facts.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    Read the guy's post again. He is getting $1500 rebate, $500 car show rebate, $1000-1500 in GM card points, and $1000 in bonus GM card points. Only about $500 is not accounted for, which is most likely a dealer coupon that is thrown in to seal the deal. $17500 is attainable with this combo of rebates and makes the Lacrosse an excellent buy.
  • fredvhfredvh Member Posts: 857
    Thanks for your clarification.
  • a_l_hubcapsa_l_hubcaps Member Posts: 518
    So it looks like a normal non-GM-card person can pick up a base LaCrosse for around $20,000 after discounts. In that light, it starts to look like a great deal for what you get. $17,500 is an amazing deal, but most people don't have the GM card.

    -Andrew L
  • bobgwtwbobgwtw Member Posts: 187
    Side curtain bags, yes. Seat mounted thorax bags, no. They're not listed as an option & sales mgr's at 2 dealerships say they're not available.
  • vanman1vanman1 Member Posts: 1,397
    Curtains are the more important ones from what I read.
  • robchemistrobchemist Member Posts: 37
    Just wanted to give our impressions of our Lacrosse after about 6 weeks of ownership (CX with various options). The ride and comfort is absoluely fantastic. I don't know of any other midsize under $30K that comes close. In particular, the quiteness both around town and on the highway is extraordinary. The transmission, that old-fashioned 4-speed that so many folks are so dismissive of, is by far and away the smoothest transmission that I have driven. For both upshifting and downshifting, the only way one I notice the shift is the change in engine speed. Gas mileage wise, we are averaging around 23 mpg. This includes about 2/3 local and 1/3 highway. The Lacrosse is clearly not a sports car, but we specifically did not want a "sporty" feel. If I had to find a negative about the car, I would say it is the pocket behind the drivers seat. When I am driving, I put the seat in a position where the top of this pocket is the perfect distance for my 8 year old to rest his feet. Thus, I will occassionally get this very unwanted "foot massage" in my back.

    The question of which are more important, side impact vs. head curtain airbags, is unclear. The only way to get an approximate answer to this question will be to compare the injury rates of cars that have side impact, head curtain, or both side impact and head curtain airbags. To get statistically meaningful numbers, a comparison of injury rates in a large number of cars will be needed, and this will likely require several years of data collection. My hunch is that the head curtain will have the greater effect since; i) head impacts are more life threatening and lifestyle threatening than impacts near the throracic cavity, and; ii) the vehicles that do the greatest damage in a side impact due to their greater mass/momentum (SUVs, trucks, minivans) all tend to hit up high.
This discussion has been closed.