Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Funny you should mention the headrests. I don't have any issue with the front headrests, but I think it may make a difference whether you get the standard second row seat or the captain's chairs. The captain's chairs have the same large headrests as do the front row seats, and even though there's a hole in the middle of each one. I find that for me they tend to line up so as to obscure what little rear quarter visability there is. On the other hand, I think you'd be able to see over the standard second row headrests rather easily.
I hope this is of help.
CWJ
A few quick thoughts on the head rests: first of all, the Rendezvous has not been crash tested yet, and there are no real life stats, so no one can really say for sure how they'll rate. But overall they seem quite solid and well designed to me.
There's been lots of focus/criticism on certain makes for having their headrests too low, especially in the starting position. So it appears to me that Buick is trying to address this issue with these large head rests. At the same time, the design/holes do allow for better vision. Perhaps even more so, than with shorter headrests that have no holes at all, imo.
Secondly, the NHTSA recommends that "horizontal placement should be as close to your head as possible, without pushing your head forward." It seems to me that the Rendezvous head rests are very well designed in this respect, especially since your head will fall back into them a little, and not be pushed forward.
One other thing I've heard is that head rests are really designed for protection, not so much for resting your head against. I prefer to adjust my seat back (to tilt back a little), so my head is an inch or two away. Hope this is helpful. Good luck with your decision. :-)
Mary
Lessons learned? Special ordering's worth the wait to get what we want: It's like the best part of a great vacation is the waiting (and my kids keep leafing through the RDV brochure in anticipation -- same thing I did when my parents ordered a car!) Also, the Internet sure levels the playing field for the buyer. I wouldn't have gotten my price without Web sites like Edmunds, Priceline and the Town Hall. And except for two in-person test drives with dealers, all contact and negotiations were via emails (which were really flying on Friday).
So thanks for input from rkeuhn and especially tonychrys. You'll all hear from me again.
Viva the free market!
PS: This all started when I couldn't test drive an MDX (no demos were available), and the dealer wouldn't take less than MSRP ($7000 more than I'm paying for the RDV). Hope it's good!
Enjoy the miles.
Your P.S. in #1459 struck a chord with me. I'd been looking at cars for over 2 years. I loved the Acura TL, Honda Odyssey,Lexus RX300 and Acura MDX. All were hyped to death before introduction. NONE were even available to test drive or see, let alone the attitude of the dealers...get on a list and wait forever, or wait until the 2nd or 3rd year of production.
I can look at a $10 toaster before I purchase it, but I can't spend a half-hour with a $30-40K item?
Invest the $7000, and enjoy the RDV. I'm enjoying mine tremendously. You'll love it when you get it.
http://www.autonews.com/html/main/stories0827/fpasia827.htm
Acura MDX: Acura's sport wagon arrived last fall and has been a hot seller since day one. A more powerful 3.8-liter V-6 will replace the 3.5-liter V-6 for the 2003 model year.
Honda Passport/sport wagon: A sport wagon based off the Acura MDX will bow for the 2003 model year as a replacement for the Isuzu-sourced Passport. But the unnamed vehicle will not be an MDX clone; it will have a longer wheelbase and its own styling.
Honda Odyssey: The minivan gets a more powerful V-6 - 240 hp compared with 210 - and a five-speed automatic transmission for better power delivery.
To Doug- Congratulations on your RDV! I also have the Light Driftwood. Great color. We look forward to hearing more... when it arrives! :-)
Mary
I don't need a third row, I just need a people/stuff mover. Minivans are ok, but I'd like something a little bit "cooler". Certainly minivans are the most economical route to take as I would save thousands over a RDV.
Time will tell. I will likely make a decision after the 2002 Auto Show in February. In the mean time I will continue to lurk here and elsewhere on the board.
In addition, people should be aware that GMAC is offering some very low interest rates, and special lease programs, right now. Of course, I realize that leasing is not for everyone; most people don't understand how leasing works. But with a little research on the subject, you may find that leasing offers some interesting advantages depending on what your vehicle needs are.
Also, you do have the option to purchase at the end of the lease. At our lease closing, our salesman actually told if we were considering purchasing our RDV near the end of the term, to return to him and he'd work with us on the residual! I guess GMAC does not want their leased vehicles returned. Anyone else experienced that with a gmac lease?
In any case, I'm moving into a whole different subject, and don't mean to take this discussion off course, but I just wanted to respond to your comment about "minivans being the most economical..." Good luck with your decision. :-)
Mary
Spiritman
Glad you love it, as we all knew you would. Keep us informed of your new ownership experiences and discoveries!
Brian
BTW, had an experience this past weekend on the way to a camp-out that shows the brakes work very well on the RDV. While driving behind my friend & his children doing about 60-65 mph, one of his sleeping bags flew out of the bed of his truck onto the road ahead of me. The RDV responded well to the sudden braking on the Freeway. We retrieved their bag & all was well!. I was impressed w/ the RDV's responsiveness.
Re: 1st Oil Change - I remember Fedlawman did his 1st oil change fairly early, like 1,000 miles or so. I waited 'til about 3,500 miles, although I believe GM recommends oil changes at about every 7,500 miles. I try to keep my oil changes to about every 3,000 miles or so (We currently have about 4,500 miles on our RDV). I wonder what everyone else is doing re: oil changes?
Once again Spiritman1, congratulations & enjoy!
p.s. Hi Brian. Just saw your post. Hope things are going well!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=594794960&r=0&t=0
(If the picture doesn't show up correctly, right click it and select Show Image)
http://www.boards4less.com
PS to the board: My 9-year-old daughter wrote out "10 reasons that an RDV should be our next car" right after that first test drive. If anyone's interested, I'll post a scan soon.
John - I wanted to change the oil at about 500 miles but I didn't get around to it until 690 miles. I have about 2500 now and will change it again at 3000, and every 3000 thereafter. I'm thinking about going synthetic but haven't decided yet...
Until now, I've just been reading the posts every day to gauge how things were working out for RDV owners. By the way, I fit typical Buick age profile (51), but this is my first GM car. I've had an Audi, Subaru and my last car was an '86 900 S Saab 3 door hatchback. My intention was to wait until December before getting a car, but I either had to replace my tires or the car. I chose the car.
I ruled out the Saab 9-5, because it runs about $35K which is out of my price range. One great feature, however, is that it offers air conditioned seats!
I also considered the Highlander, but you can't order one with a center console, and I really liked the RDV's center storage options. Also, some of the Toyota dealers in Orlando do not have a great reputation for service, and I want a service department that I can trust. There is a Toyota dealer across the street from the Buick dealer, and I compared the looks of the two and decided that buying the Highlander was about as interesting as buying a new pair of Dockers.
I was looking for a car that my 87 year-old mother could get in and out of easily, and she has no problem at all with this car. I do a lot of weekend gardening, and the RDV can handle all the bags of mulch and plants I care to buy!
After ruling out the MDX, Highlander, Mountaineer, RX300, etc. for some of the same reasons you all have listed, I bought a CX RDV (Luxury package) with Leather seats two weeks ago. I probably could have done better with the price ($27,400), but I don't have the time or desire to go back and forth among all the Buick dealers to get a lower price. It is more important to me to develop a business relationship with the dealer and service department than to take time to get the best price.
I called my salesman to ask him if he'd call me when he had a Pewter CX with the SD package in so I could see the color. I wasn't expecting to hear that he had one with leather! I thought I was going to have to wait until Buick decided to add leather to the CX list of options. After a 2nd test drive, I decided not to wait any longer and bought the car.
All was well until 5 days after driving it. I noticed small pinkish spots on the garage floor. A leak was coming from an area between the front wheels. I took the car in the next day on 8/22, a Wednesday. The service tech thought it could be a bad seal in the transmission, and the only way they could verify that was to take it out. That meant taking the engine out too. I'm on shaky ground here because I'm not a mechanic. In any case, I left the car and they later called to tell me that they'd have to keep the car a day because they needed a tool to take the engine out. This tool should have been included in the RDV "tool kit" that GM sends out with their new models, but it was missing. Mine was the first RDV that they would have needed this for, so they needed to find one before going any further. They found one Thursday afternoon--too late to do any work and get the car done by the end of the day. On Friday, they called to tell me that the transmission was defective. The metal itself was porous and was leaking, not simply a bad seal. Buick was shipping a new one in and it would be here on Monday. On Monday the work was done by late afternoon, but they had to do a realignment because the motor had been out and the wheels out, etc.
I finally got my car back last night, Tuesday, and it is seems just as great as it was on the first day. I have to say through all this, the salesman and the service department kept me informed and called me when they said they were going to call. They also were honest and apologetic about what was going on. The salesman called me again today to find out if everything was all right.
To make a long story short, this may be a fluke since Buick has been using this transmission in the Century since 1999, so it has some track record in the field. Just to be on the safe side though, you may want to go out and look for spots on your garage floor. Here's wishing that none of you see any spots!
I hope this experience doesn't discourage any potential RDV buyers. Knowing what I know now, I would still take the leap of faith and buy the car. It is exactly what I want and fits my list of requirements without making any compromises. It comes close to the flexibility and agility of the Saab without the road noise. I love the overall comfort and the huge rear view mirrors! My insurance company, USAA, once published a tip in their magazine about how to reduce blind spots in rear view mirrors by adjusting them properly. I can't repeat it here verbatim, so when I get a copy of the tip from them, I will add it. It's helped me in the past, and it could help prevent an accident.
Sorry this is sooo long.
Dougster - Like Brian F., I too would like to see your daughter's ten reasons for buying a Rendezvous.
Barbara - I'm so glad that your dealer treated you right, and that you still like your vehicle. You mentioned several things that have put me to thinking. The first is that I believe Buick created the CX to have an attractive price point from which to coax buyers up the food chain to the CXL. Listening to you, Mary and Mmeehan, I think Buick has realized that down south, they are just not going to get that many people to plump for the added expense and slight mileage penalty of AWD. So if they didn't come through with fully loaded options like full leather or the uniroyals and chrome rims on the CX, they could kiss some sales goodbye.
Second, the issue of step in height and easy access was VERY important to my wife. One of the things she most dislikes about traditional SUV's is the tall step in height. Sure women are almost as likely to be in jeans and sneakers as men these days, but the thought of being dressed for "going out on the town" and trying to get up into and down from a traditional SUV really turned her off. You should have heard the scorn she heaped on the Lincoln Navigator ad from a couple years back where they showed a couple in formal dress going to the Opera in their Navigator and handing the keys to the parking valet. There were shots of "her" in the vehicle and out of the vehicle but for obvious reasons not a single one of her getting in or out of it. Any way I'll gladly sacrifice an inch or two of ground clearance in Gamera in order to have a vehicle that my wife finds easy to get in and out.
Finally, you mentioned the stuff you're hauling in your Rendezvous. And it seems that's lots of the buyers of this vehicle, myself included, have been making good use of this vehicle's 109CF of cargo space. It really is a full size vehicle with a midsize wrapper.
CWJ
To Barbara- Good message. Glad to have you in this forum. I also bought an RDV for very much the same reasons you describe, especially the overall comfort and storage options. Being new GM customer myself, I don' t feel discouraged by your story at all. In fact, it's very helpful and reassuring to get honest information from owners that have experienced problems, and had them quickly resolved. Thanks for sharing the details.
Just curious, how many miles were on your rdv when you noticed the spots? Also, since we live in the same area (Orlando), I'm curious to know what dealer service you're using? And did you get the name of the actual mechanic? In the event that I have a serious problem, I'll know where to take my RDV. :-)
One thing I've learned about dealer services (any make), is that even the best intensions don't help when the mechanic is subpar. It sounds like you have a very good dealer service, as well as a good mechanic.
To everyone- 400 miles, so far everything's good. The only one small issue we've dealt with is a small piece of plastic molding on the side of one the second row captain seats tends to move a little when we move the seat arms back/forth. It's not effecting the function of the seat, but to be safe, we decided to show it to the Orange Buick service. The service manager there (Fred) was very accommodating. No arguments at all; he immediately ordered a new piece and they'll replace on our first oil change.
Other than that, everything is running great. The vehicle is starts right up, runs smoothly, no hesitations, no rattles, and no spots on the driveway. We're very happy with our decision. My husband has serious new vehicle syndrome: he's always out in the driveway detailing it. :-)
Mary
Regarding the mirror adjustments for reducing the blind spots, you can see the procedure here, at the very bottom of the page:
http://www.curtrich.com/november1999.html
For what it's worth, personally, although this method works, I choose not to use it because in my own vehicle, I like to be able to see the vehicle behind me using the outside rearview mirrors. Instead, I have 2" convex stick-on mirrors on the outside, as well as a wide-angle German police Autobahn mirror to cover my blindspots. Works extremely well too! If you're curious as to my setup, here is a picture.
Drew
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Barbara: Sorry to hear of your misfortunes. At least now you're back on the road.
CWJ
link
ymmv
Steve
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Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
CWJ
drew_ Aug 30, 2001 10:31am
Yes, I know the mirrors are quite large ;-)
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
I did not get the names of the actual mechanics because there were at least five sets of initials on the worksheet, so I don’t know who did each stage of the process. I do know that the “alignment tech” was not available Tuesday morning, and John wanted him to do the work rather than his back-up. One more day wasn’t going to hurt after being without the car for six days, and I wanted the job done by the best person there.
To Drew:. Thank you for the picture, and those were the same instructions I was referring to. Out of curiosity, where did you find the German police mirror?
I think that I have the same problem as others have mentioned with the right side rear view mirror. It is programmed to tilt down when backing up, but it is not working. I’ll have that changed when I go in for an oil change.
To all: My sales person mentioned that I may want to use Mobil 1 synthetic oil to help improve mileage even more. He says that one should start when the car is new for best results. He also mentioned that one begins to get optimal mileage when one has about 6000 miles on the car.
Does anyone have any more information about synthetic oil? Are there any reasons for not going that route besides the difference in price?
If you're in Canada, you can get the autobahn mirror at Canadian Tire. It is available on the web in various places, including these sites:
http://www.seriousauto.com/interior-accessories/autobahn-mirror/mirror.html
http://www.autogeek.net/autobahnmirror.html
Good luck with the new vehicle! We hope to see you more often :-)
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
Serious Auto ($20 + ?) told me shipping was not available to my address - in New Jersey!
They put it back on the lot, and held it for us with a "sold sign" for a whole day; but after thinking about it over night, we decided not to purchase it, because we decided that we really wanted the third row seat. Also, we couldn't work out the right terms with Orange Buick, on the one we wanted, so we ended up purchasing from Kissimmee Coggin Buick.
We do plan on using the Orange Buick service though. They seem to be the largest, and most well equipped, facility in the area. And so far, the staff there has been very helpful. Gee, what a coincidence! :-)
Mary
Mary
Barbara : Congrats on the Rendezvous and the story. Glad to hear the Buick dealer is doing a good job. I think Buick generally finishes fairly high in customer satisfaction so your story sounds consistent with that.
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accesories message boards
See you, Barbara
Dougster
MY DAUGHTER'S TOP 10 REASONS WHY WE SHOULD BUY THE RDV INSTEAD OF MDX:
1. More roomy
2. Costs less (but is better!!!!)
3. We don't have to wait for it
4. Two arm rests in middle
5. Beeps if there is something behind you
6. Speakers in the middle row
7. We (i.e., my daughter and son) can control the radio
8. Cupholders in back row
9. OnStar lady
10. Middle row seats fold right up to front row seats
CWJ
No, to answer your question, I do not have a Rendezvous, just the RAV4. My brother was interested in one for his family of four, so I started checking them out on this board. Alas, he could not get the RDV to fit his budget; his family still soldiers on with an Intrepid, while he still drives a Buick Regal back and forth to his work. He would like to stay with an American vehicle (even if in name only), as he works thru a union, and some anti-foreign vehicle nameplate sentiment remains.
Regards,
eric
The one we ended up getting only has the leather trim/cloth upgrade, but we did get our 3rd row seat. If you want to see it, I posted pic in the Rendezvous Owner's section. Also, I have another picture of it in the Women's Auto Center "Vehicle Pics Show/Tell" forum. I've been a little enthusiastic with my new purchase. Also, as you suggested: let's do keep in touch. Perhaps we'll even run into each other sometime at Orange Buick getting our vehicles serviced! :-)
To Erik (suvshopper4) - Thanks for your response. I was just curious, because I'd seen your posts here off/on. Hard to keep a track of who's who. Also, sorry the RDV didn't work out for your brother. Hope he does well with his current ride.
To fedlawman - Rdv Top 10 list: "Onstar lady" Haha, you're so funny. Are you referring to that taped Onstar message? Just curious, is it always a women that answers the real line? Okay, I figured you were joking, but I guess that is a fringe benefit for the lonely; they can always speak to the Onstar staff.
Mary
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
To everyone- All kidding aside, this brings to mind another question. I realize the Onstar is a cool feature to have, it's been fun telling all my friend and family about it. But can anyone here convince me that the cost of Onstar would really be worth continuing after the first (free) year? $200+ per year.
Not to mention that with the Buick warranty, we will still have a free 24 hour road service (with 800 number) for 36 months /36k miles. And my husband and I both have cell phones. I do realize the Onstar offers other advantages over your typical road side service, such as vehicle location and air bag deployment notification.
But on the down side, I've also heard onstar will not be able to locate your vehicle, unless it's in a wide open space outside. In that case, a thief could simply drive drive your RDV into a parking structure or building. Right? In addition, my insurance agent also told me that with a little "know how", any car thief could disconnect the OnStar system; also there's really not been enough research done on the Onstar system to know for certain the system would not be disconnected in a very severe crash. True/False?
I'm also aware of the good old argument: "you get what you pay for." But especially for those that may be a little budget minded, the question also comes down to is this something we really need. Or is this more of a luxurious device that many people will want to keep, so they can brag to their friends about? Has any one else here thought about this? :-)
Mary