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Comments
I see Rendezvous' all over the place so they just can't be that bad. We really like it and did not find it noise at all except maybe in the case of hard acceleration.
All manufacturers seem to make lemons; a word to GM's customer service department couldn't hurt. There should be an address or email on their web site or in your owner's manual.
Even better is finding a good service department in the first place.
Steve, Host
I would like to get one but no one seems to have an 05 yet period.
I now have just over 75,000 miles on it; more, I suspect, than most owners here.
Not counting the one-foot-long stick that fell off a tree by my driveway, hitting the very tip of the top front corner of my passenger-side rear quarter window and shattered it (what are the odds?), the first and only repair I've had to my car was last week. Shortly after leaving in the morning, while going about 40 MPH I saw the speedometer drop to zero (the tach still worked), then sprang back up. Then I noticed it seemed to thump into second and third gear. About 15 minutes later as I was arriving at work, it seemed the transmission was "hunting" for the right gear.
Took it to a dealer (it drove fine the 3/4 miles there). Apparently, a channel plate in the transmission broke, which they replaced. I was very glad I had the 100,000 mi. warranty, which I was beginning to think I would never use, since replacement required pulling the transmission to replace what I was told was a $100-$200 part.
Other than that, the car has been perfect.
As you may remember, GM repurchased my RDV after it was officially declared a "lemon" as a result of arbitration with GM through the Washington State Attorney General's Office.
According to CarFax, there is no title history to reflect my RDV's lemon status or GM's repurchase of the vehicle. The CarFax report indicates that my old RDV was sold at auction in Alaska.
I pity the person who bought this car without disclosure of it's history...
Did it give a name for the RDV owner?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
(source is from my own Carfax doc for my van).
Steve, Host
From the WI DOT:
Brand disclosure
A "brand" is a permanent note on a title that gives a prospective buyer important information about the history of a car.
Note: There are penalties up to $5,000 for failing to disclose title brand information.
Your title must be branded if, during the time you owned the car, you could answer "yes" to any of the following questions:
* Was your car used as a taxi or for public transportation?
* Was it salvaged? A "salvage" brand is needed if your car is less than 7 model years old and was damaged 70% or more of its fair market value.
* Was it flood damaged? A "flood damaged" brand is needed if water damage equals 70% or more of your vehicle's fair market value.
* Was it used as a police vehicle?
* Was it imported without US emission and safety certification?
* If your vehicle was salvaged, repaired, and passed inspection, your title should have the brand "rebuilt salvage."
* The brand "manufacturer buyback" on your title means the car was bought back under the lemon law.
If anyone has or knows where I can get the above item, I'd really appreciate
it.
Must be in very good condition and with oak (tan) leather upholstery.
Would prefer a Canadian source, but will consider U.S. sources as well.
Thanks,
Darren
Steve, Host
Or, I may be willing to trade 2 oak leather captains chairs for it, if someone out there would prefer that configuration.
We aren't set up for buying and selling (or trading) on Town Hall.
Steve, Host
Yeah, I got a great deal - a $33K car for about $23K, thanks to GM card $$, etc.
First, the good stuff:
Zero defects [so far]; smooth, quiet; solid brakes, fairly flat cornering, decent [6-speaker] radio, powerful [manual] A/C, tons of room and useful storage thingies, comfy, well-made seats...AND - real important - the utility of a good-sized SUV at 20 - 30 MPG!
I do wonder whether a $33K car should lack climate control, memory seats, 17" wheels, 8-speaker radio, 3.6 engine, etc.
I know - an upscale CXL or Ultra would have most of those upgrades, but, for a lot more $$. For the record, my wife's '02 Regal LS came with all of them, and more, for $28K.
What it needs - more power [a little mushy off the line and too much downshifting on the road]; stiffer springs [an annoying fore 'n' aft 'porpoising' on the interstate]; quicker steering [too much winding needed for U-turns, etc.], and some better materials for the inside trim. The great looking dash guages are nearly unreadable - HUD should be standard! Also, apparently you have to program your DIC and radio preferences for both keys or you lose yours when the other driver uses the car.
The good news - my wife LOVES the RDV, so maybe we'll just trade cars.
Bottom line so far - NOT a sport sedan [that's what Regals are/were for] but an excellent everyday driver for anything from shopping to a 6-man car pool. Nice 'n' short for city parking, too.
Is there a reason for this? Is there a way to adjust the pressure on the struts so that it's easier to lift?
BTW - I'm getting rid of a 2003 V-6 Honda Accord that I just hate (what a POJ) in order to buy a vehicle that better fits the kids and dogs but refuse to spend $40,000 and don't want to gas up every 100 miles.
Thanks for any input!
I am looking at a left over 2004 CXL and an Ultra. If I can get the price down a little more I my go for it. The Rendezvous seems very well made for the most part.
51K mi & the anti-theft igination froze. $1,600 repair. Since you couldn't start the car or move the steering wheel they had to drag the car up on the tow truck. Now the brakes are shot. Gas milage is very bad and it's so noisy I can't hear the radio. For $32K I expected more relibility.
Oh, and the resale value is so bad I'm stuck.
Pulling a parked vehicle onto a flatbed also does a trick on any automatic transmission, if not set to neutral - hopefully yours is ok.
Our Golf Tournament '02CXL still runs trouble-free. I called it that as it was used for Shell Open in 2002 and had 180 miles on it when we bought it new. Still goes as new.
I agree that fewer people are experiencing serious problems with the Rendezvous than some might suspect by reading this board. Keep in mind that through October 2004, nearly 52,000 Rendezvous have been sold in 2004 alone. And at the same time last year, nearly 56,000 Rendezvous were sold. You're talking about 150,000+ Rendezvous being on the road and we're seeing reports from just a handful of Edmunds members. I'm not saying those problems aren't real ... I'm just saying not all Rendezvous owners or Rendezvous are affected! YMMV
P.S. Shar ... I think that you may have a valid claim against the towing company; sounds like they screwed up your brakes!
Someone made a comment in Edmunds that most likely a person would post here when they have a problem rather then a happy owner. Therefore it skews the images of many vehicles to the negative side.
I noticed that I was losing coolant (Dexcool). I talked with my dealer and he said that it is a sealed system and that, in theory, you should never have to add coolant. Since I had probably added several quarts, I mentioned it when I brought it in for some other minor service items. Imagine my surprise when they called me to tell me that they needed to replace my head gasket! It was under warranty, thankfully, and it was done in an afternoon. So ... if you're losing coolant, ask them to check the gaskets! If you haven't been monitoring your Dexcool levels ... you may want to start! Hope this helps.
P.S. I noticed no performance, mileage or heating problems at all when I was losing the coolant.
I owned GMs all my life. I drove all of them over 100K miles with out major problems. I will be happy if I get 70K miles on this Rdv.
Also, check the resale value. You will be stuck, and can not sell it until you pay off the vehicle. When it is paid off, it probably worth nothing.
Manny5 said, "There is inherently something wrong with the design of this vehicle. Many things go bad too soon."
What specifically is "inherently wrong" with the Rendezvous. I've had pretty close to 36,000 trouble-free miles with this vehicle. Any problems have been promptly repaired at no charge by my Buick Dealer.
What things "go bad too soon"?
You do realize that not everyone is experiencing what you've experienced. There are about 150,000 Rendezvous on the roads now. How many of these are experiencing the "inherent" problems of which you speak? Seems like I have seen just a handful of posters who got bad apples (and which happens in every mass-produced product line).
I would definitely recommend a Rendezvous to a friend.
As for resale value? I'm not planning on selling anytime soon, so it truly is not an issue for me. Why would I want to sell a great vehicle that has provided trouble-free driving, great features, and a great ride??
1) BCM (3 times)
2) Cluster (2 times)
3) Front wheel boots (2 times)
4) Alternator (1 time)
5) Condenser (1 time)
If you do a search just in this forum on those items you will see that there are numerous cases like that. Replacing the parts with newer one should fix the problem unless there is a problem with the design itself in which case it will reoccur no matter how many time you change the bad parts.
1) BCM (3 times)
2) Cluster (2 times)
3) Front wheel boots (2 times)
4) Alternator (1 time)
5) Condenser (1 time)
If you do a search just in this forum on those items you will see that there are numerous cases like that. Replacing the parts with newer one should fix the problem unless there is a problem with the design itself in which case it will reoccur no matter how many time you change the bad parts."
If it's a design defect, as you suggest, then why aren't I (and all other Rendezvous owners) experiencing these failures? Sure, there are a few posters who have posted problems on this forum. However, there are about 150,000 Rendezvous on the road. Based on the reports I've seen here, I suspect that only a few owners are experiencing these problems ... and even fewer are experiencing repeat problems. Just my two cents ...
The bearings and AC I think you actually have to have symptoms of malfunction before they will replace. I've had both those done. Also a wonky rear differential. Luckily all this was within the last 7K of warranty after a problem free 2+ years. WHEW!!!!!!!
inherently wrong! by jdks - Just a thought - might it be your dealer looking for work that makes you return for repairs time and time again rather than faulty parts? Try to fix it at a different Buick dealer the next time.
I've made 6000mi(hard to believe) already and at purchase configured CXL with 3.6L, towing, sunroof etc.
No problems, B'H, whatsoever everythin works only following cocerns:
-gas milage is low, (heavy big city driving) ~12mpg
- not protected liftgate lip, easily scratched while loading (only one such a problem in its class. compare with MDX, Rx-330, pilot etc)
-bit of leaning at fast turns, but then again this is my first 4 door car, always had fast
2 doors coupes and I do drive my cars hard.. so it depends on your diving style. I think it can be fixed by adding 18"tires that are wider 235-245mm, could cost $900-1600.
othervise totally agree with you about RX330 and value. I'm curious , how'd you got $10K off the sticker? was it year end special? did you get the $5000 rebate?
JK27
Steve, Host
I wanted to get rid of it, but the trade in value is so bad, after 36 months of loan payments I still have to pay from my pocket to get rid of it. I am stuck.