Chevrolet Equinox

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  • murfdogmurfdog Member Posts: 61
    Is this the same engine that they use on the Buick Rendevous. I believe that is also a 3.4.
  • joey2brixjoey2brix Member Posts: 463
    The Nox tranny is made by Aisin Seiki Co in Japan which has a joint venture with GM and Allison transmission. I wouldn't really call it a GM engineered transmission. And yes the 3.5L is vintage also, and imported!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The 3500 got a lot of enhancements, though. Look at the power output and gas mileage, it's a big step up from the 3.4l.

    -juice
  • weathermanweatherman Member Posts: 5
    Just looking at the Chevy web page and playing around to see if any Nox's had made to the dealers locally... a few showed up in OH. Dayton area and in Dublin. LT models...SD and SE packages.
  • joey2brixjoey2brix Member Posts: 463
    Yea, many of the dealers around me are showing only one in stock (probably the floor model). 1SE package listing at $29,300! Tell Lutz, I'll pay that when hell freezes over! Almost 30K for a junk Chinese 3.4L! I could get a Pilot for less!
  • zeenzeen Member Posts: 401
    I care less about MSRP than advertised lease prices. I would never buy this car due to depreciation. But if the deals were good, I might lease it. If any of you guys see any advertised lease prices, please post them. I'll do the same. I suspect we'll start seeing them early next month.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    MSRP really has almost no meaning nowadays.

    You can tell they *really* built rebates into the price. These are going to sell for $24k or less, average probably much less than that.

    -juice
  • zeenzeen Member Posts: 401
    I would bet that there will be no incentives for a while. I fully expect these to be selling closer to MSRP than invoice for the first couple of months. What's your bet Juice?
  • joey2brixjoey2brix Member Posts: 463
    probably didn't even produce one Nox for each dealer yet. Advertising won't start until April 1st. Inventory probably won't build up until summer time, then it's up to the economy and demand. Products like the Pacifica and SRX had problems when they hit the market with high price tags. I think the same will happen with the Nox if they try to sell $30K models when $24K Trailblazers are available. The shock of $3/gal gasoline this summer could hurt sales also.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I think the SUV segment is hot, so there won't be rebates immediately, but still, soon after launch. Give it 2-3 months we'll see $1000 cash back is my guess (just a guess, buy at your own risk, yadda yadda yadda).

    I think we'll see $2000-3000 eventually, but that might take a year or two, plus Chevy will have 6 price increases per year to offset those discounts, as usual.

    -juice
  • varmintvarmint Member Posts: 6,326
    Any new vehicle (okay, maybe not the Aztek) will hit the lot with a full MSRP market demand. In this case, I think prices will fall quickly, but rebates will probably hold off for at least 6 months.
  • cfilkinscfilkins Member Posts: 39
    I'm sure I just read that GM is overhauling their entire pricing system to reduce/eliminate the massive rebates offered. I believe that the company line on the new Cobalt is that there will be nothing bigger than a $500 rebate EVER on the Cobalt. As long as they get their pricing in line, that'd be fine by me. But as a leasing customer, why do I really care? Money off the sticker means a cheaper car at the end, and the same overall depreciation...
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I don't believe that for a second. Bob Lutz has said that about several models that soon thereafter had big rebates. Even Saturn is not immune.

    -juice
  • varmintvarmint Member Posts: 6,326
    I do believe that they are revamping their pricing strategy. It should reduce the need for big discounts. I don't believe they will be able to hold at $500. Not for a long time.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I do think it's a problem they need to address. But c'mon, they have 6 price increases throughout the model year, which offsets the increase in rebates. It's just getting silly.

    There should not be price increases! Look at what is does to residuals - resale is horrific on models with big rebates.

    For instance, look at ALG's list, check out all the cars that earn their worst rating of just one star:

    http://www.alg.com/news-information.asp?page=news_depreciation_ra- tings

    It's like a list of huge rebate-getters!

    -juice
  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    Saw it at the Denver Auto Show over the weekend. The wife will be getting a new vehicle later this summer and the Equinox was one of the vehicles we were interested in looking at.

    It looks sharp, both inside and out, with a nice height to it (not too tall, not too short). The sliding rear seat is phenomenal -- definately a feature that sets the Chevy apart. The shelf in the rear is nice, too, as it adjusts for different types of cargo.

    Unfortunately, there is one factor that ultimately dooms the Equinox -- the fact that it would be a first model year purchase. We've done that twice in the past -- a '99 VW New Beetle (I know, the NB was introduced in '98; ours was a very early model year VIN), and a 2002 Ford Explorer. While neither was truly problematic, they both have had little things go wrong which we believe would not have happened to us had they been in production for a bit longer.

    So, the Chevy is off our short list.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The sliding rear seat is not unique - CR-V has it and I think the RAV4 does too.

    -juice
  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    CR-V is out -- wife has a thing against Hondas. RAV4 is, I think, too small, but we may take another look at it.
  • joey2brixjoey2brix Member Posts: 463
    But I've had good luck with first Generation Hondas. Some of the Nox's roots are in the Vue and we know the motors been around for 20 years!
    Can't be any worse then the Escape/Tribute owners thread. I'm always reading about a ton of problems with those models. The first major recall should have come by summer time anyway.

    Zeen: an over inflated MSRP means big depreciation which means your lease rate will be high. A loaded CRV's MSRP for 23K and the dealers get close to that. Now 30K for a Nox with leather and bigger wheels is a bit over done, but GM will try to max profit on the first few thousand of buyers who need to be the first to have one. Assuming at least 2K off to get closer to dealer cost, @28K this car is still overpriced.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    RAV4 is a bit tight, more of a 4 seater. The seat move independently I believe.

    With that engine I can see the Nox selling for low to mid 20s, definitely not 28k, not sustained any how.

    -juice
  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    well, for the most part it is just my wife and I anymore, so rear seat room is not as important as it was a few years ago. Wife liked 1st generation RAV4 much more than the current iteration.
  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    at the auto show, our friends were looking at a loaded Colorado that stickered for 32 grand! This, for truck with a 5-cylinder engine!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Now see, that's just crazy. I'm sure the residual value after 5 years is something like 20%.

    This just kills your image. You put someone in a loan and he's upside down until the day it's paid off, then it's worth almost nothing. They wise up and buy something else next time.

    You can't build loyalty with $32k MSRPs on compact pickups.

    I believe that GM should adopt a radically different strategy. Use the Saturn model, but cut the margin from invoice to MSRP to about what dealers get in the real world. So no $2000 above invoice stickers.

    Imagine that, your customers would have reverse sticker shock. It would make the buying experience hassle free, you'd get more female buyers and more young buyers.

    That Colorado might be $24 grand or so, for all that's on it people would take it seriously. Residuals would be closer to a reasonable 40%. The buyer might actually trade it in for another Colorado. What a concept!

    -juice
  • zeenzeen Member Posts: 401
    On the first year model issue, I leased an Envoy in 02 when it first came out. It was basically trouble-free with only 2 recalls. Great vehicle, just too big for us now.
    I am hoping that GM will price the residual generously to make the lease prices competitive, even if the MSRP is high. My lease expires in May and I will have a tough choice because my wife loves the look of the Nox but I'm not paying a premium lease price for it. Fortunately, there is one dealer here in Eastern PA that advertises their best possible price on leases and pisses off the other dealers.
  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    at $32K, why not look into a Silverado? Yeah, the mileage is a bit worse, but you get more bang for your buck.

    For the heck of it, I was on chevrolet.com doing some "build and price" on a Silverado for my dad ... hypothetically to replace the 1970 C-10 1/2 ton he bought new 34 years ago. To approximate what he has (which is difficult, I might say, given that his is a true work truck), I came back with an MSRP of $23-24 grand (Base trim level, 2WD, 5.3L V8, auto tranny, standard cab, long bed). He paid $2900 for his.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    And he's used it for 34 years? Wow...

    Depreciation of $85.29 per YEAR! Less if he could sell it.

    -juice
  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    my dad has told me he has been offered $7500 for it. It's been repainted a couple of times (that horrid orange color Chevy used to use back then - "puce" is, I think, the official name) and had the engine (350 with a 4 barrel carb) rebuilt from the bottom up at about 110K. One minor fender bender about 5 years ago. I think the truck has maybe 150-175K miles on it total. Back and forth to work, the lake (he used to fish quite a bit) and now, to the golf course.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    How's that for resale value. 259% of its original value. :-)

    Any chance the 'nox will hold up that well? :o)

    -juice
  • bigdaddycoatsbigdaddycoats Member Posts: 1,058
    Local dealer has a couple in stock. Maybe the wife and I will go drive one this weekend. Trying to get her to look at it for her next vehicle.
  • dan165dan165 Member Posts: 653
    Noticed while driving by the local Chev-Olds dealer they had a red Equinox for sale. Looks like they are arriving now (at least here in the Toronto area).

    Very sharp looking truck. GM will sell tons and the review in the new car and driver was very good. Hopefully GM keeps the quality high.
  • zeenzeen Member Posts: 401
    OK Guys. Please post any pricing info here. Lease or purchase.
    Thanks
  • weathermanweatherman Member Posts: 5
    zeen...pricing is available not only here in edmunds, but also at gm.com then click on the gm family first at the lower left it will allow you to look at not only employee pricing but also allow you to see all the stock from the dealers as wells as msrp. usually the employee pricing is 4% below invoice if I remember correctly. You probably already know most of this but that's my 2.5 cents.
  • dan165dan165 Member Posts: 653
    I checked the gmcanada site and all pricing is up as well as the "build your own Equinox" feature. I assume gm.com would have pricing up also. My wife may want to move down to the Equinox later in the year as the lease is up on our Bravada. She is not working anymore and really we don't need the room that we used to with kids moving back and forth to university ect.
  • zeenzeen Member Posts: 401
    I'm more interested in the real world pricing of dealers. Are they selling at MSRP? What are the best lease deals? This information will come to light at people sit down with salesmen and read ads in local papers. That's the pricing info I'm interested in. Capishe?
  • zeenzeen Member Posts: 401
    Just spoke to my local dealer here in Eastern PA. He said they were told they would not be getting the Nox until late summer. I find that hard to believe but he said there is tremendous inventory of SUV's in the East and Chevy wants it to clear out with Spring deals before they start selling the Nox. Perhaps Canada and the Midwest are different.
    If anyone hears of any Nox's hitting East coast dealer, please advise
  • bwolfebwolfe Member Posts: 4
    I saw a Nox at a Northern MD dealer today. It was an LS. I spoke to another dealer in Northern MD who has two coming in any day. Two weeks ago I spoke to a dealer in Southern PA who expected his to be delivered in April. I'm comparing the Nox and the 05 Escape.
  • btate2002btate2002 Member Posts: 64
    I sat in a Nox today at the New Orleans Auto Show. To tell you the truth, I was disappointed in what I saw. The one there was blue and looked great on the outside. However, once I sat in the driver's seat, it wasn't quite so appealing. It seemed cheap and was small on the inside. I thought it was smaller on the inside than the outside suggested. Cargo space was very limited. I didn't get to look too long, too many other cars, but this one did not impress me at all.
  • rctennis3811rctennis3811 Member Posts: 1,031
    I totally agree with you! I love the exterior, but the interior - even with the silver trim - didn't really impress me. Plus, that cargo area seemed TINY. But hey! It's a cute ute and it's acceptable for this kind of SUV.
  • dan165dan165 Member Posts: 653
    The stacking system in the back makes the cargo area better as does the fold flap seats in back and front. People looking for a cheaper Trailblazer or minivan alternative should not be looking at the Equinox anyway.

    Equinox is now in full production, no reason for late summer. The guy sounds like he was trying to sell you something he had already.
  • zeenzeen Member Posts: 401
    I think some of these salespeople are truly clueless. The guy didn't try to sell me anything. He took my number and said he'd call me with info on Nox availability. But then I started searching dealer inventories and found that the biggest dealer in the SE PA area had five LT's with the 1SD package. MSRP around $25450. (None had side airbags.) I asked for a price quote so we'll see.
  • joey2brixjoey2brix Member Posts: 463
    Finaly saw a print ad for the Nox that did not list trim level. Funny thing is the ad says compare the Nox to Honda Pilot, Yota Highlander, yea right! Starting at 20K, which I'm sure does not include the destination charge. So assuming that's the base FWD LT, they want a grand over invoice. Smart buy is being pushed on all ads with baloon end payment or turn the car in. I see Yukon's get 1.9% and most cars are at 3.5%, but better sellers like the Vibe are at 6.5% already. One dealer's still pushing '03 Trackers (for $11.5K)
  • bwolfebwolfe Member Posts: 4
    I liked the exterior looks a lot of the AWD LS. I didn't like the plastic wheel covers and the rear window doesn't open. Just all one liftgate. I have a blazer now and I open the back window all the time. The interior size was ok for me but smaller then you think by looking at the exterior. I think my husband may feel like a tight fit. The light grey cloth seats seemed cheap and I think will show dirt/stains. The salesman didn't know anything and told me an AWD LT would be $7000 more then the AWD LS. I think he just wanted to sell the LS. I really like the look but ...
  • larryt22larryt22 Member Posts: 125
    I drove a pretty loaded LT with AWD, 17" wheels and sunroof (no leather) on Saturday. Sticker was $26,5xx. It was Salsa Red with a grey interior. The vehicle is absolutely beautiful in this combination. I took it on a test drive and wanted to buy it, but it was for my wife. Took her back later and she drove it, and she didn't like the color and the rear headrest aren't removeable and hindered her rear view. Needless to say we didn't buy it. However, this thing exceeded all of my expectations. The 3.4 with the 5-speed automatic was super smooth and quiet. The vehicle seems to be really put together well and had an excellent ride and handled well. I think this vehicle is going to sell extremely well. FYI, I also drove a 2005 Ford Escape and a 2004 Toyota Highlander, and the 'Nox is a far superior vehicle all around than the Escape and the engine & transmission were as smooth as the Toyota 3.3 with 5-speed auto. Never got to the point of discussing price since my wife wasn't interested. She still wants a Highander. About the only thing I would complain about were the fact the rear seat does not fold flat. This dealer said they had 10 units supposedly in production. Just for kicks, I checked 2 pretty large dealers in our area and neither one had received one yet. My guess is these things are going to sell pretty well and we won't see any big discounts or rebates for awhile.
  • vuefor2vuefor2 Member Posts: 490
    I also took a 2005 Equinox for a test this weekend. As we have a Vue, I really wanted to see how the Equinox compared.

    First off, the interior while different still seems a bit the same. The quality of materials is a bit better than our 2002 Vue and the controls seem familiar in terms of placement. Over the Equinox feels a bit more solid than the Vue and also a little bigger though the inside seems about the same in size. The power felt as good if not smoother than the 3.0L in the Vue and the over all refinement seemed a step up in my opinion. I have not driven a 2004 Vue with the 3.5L in it and I'm only comparing to my Vue but over all I would say the Equinox is a very nice rig. If our Vue was gone tomorrow I might very well replace it with a Chevy. Good work GM!!

    I saw that one of the car magazines (Car and Driver?) had a decent review of the Equinox also. Looks to me like GM will have a big hit on it's hands. I can't imagine the vehicle not being a hot seller on looks alone.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Dang, does it really tow 5000+ lbs? That's impressive.

    -juice
  • zeenzeen Member Posts: 401
    The 6 Nox's shown in inventory at one local dealer's website are actually in transit it turns out. I asked for a quote on a LT AWD with the 1SD package. Sticker was $25,450. The price quote was $24,385. I think the invoice is about $1000 below that. Not as bad as I expected. The salesman was willing to reserve one for me. I'm not quite ready though.
  • needsahemineedsahemi Member Posts: 18
    V6 Vue is rated at 3500 LBS. towing capacity. GM states towing capacity of the Equinox is 5070 LBS.
    That is impressive. Can that info be accurate?
  • joey2brixjoey2brix Member Posts: 463
    Weight of car plus load. Towing is only 3500, and I won't tow that with only 185hp.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Oh, sorry, I read that incorrectly. My bad.

    -juice
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