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Buick Rendezvous

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Comments

  • cwjacobsencwjacobsen Member Posts: 293
    Glad you followed through and joined the club. It's a shame that familiarity took some of the excitement off arrival. But there's always the "new car" smell to restoke the fires. I think you'll get excited again as you actually start using all those features about which you already know and they start becoming benefits instead of merely features.

    CWJ
  • cwjacobsencwjacobsen Member Posts: 293
    So are we going to get an apology from the basher who took the second full month's sales numbers and projected the Rendezvous' demise? By the way, where HAVE all the bashers gone? Could they have possibly accepted the vehicle's looks as attractively different from the dozen or so look alike SUVs? Could they have recognized that as a total package the Rendezvous represents superb functionality that can be built to a wide range of price points? Could they have finally understood that someone might value usable cargo capacity over horsepower statistics? NAH!! Someone will just come back and say the sales figures are all just temporary and the next new crossover model (Honda or whatever - take your pick) will kill the Rendezvous.

    Actually, the two most interesting sales stats to me are: 1. If you want to move metal be a Chevy Dealer. Look at those Trailblazer and Avalanche #'s compared to the Envoy!! And 2. No one seems to want vehicles from a condemned nameplate. Look at those Bravada #'s compared to the Aztek for pete's sake!! Maybe this is all obvious to many of the rest of you and will elicit a collective "Well, Duh!," but I've never given two whoops about sales figures before and this sort of thing is all new to me.

    CWJ
  • suvshopper4suvshopper4 Member Posts: 1,110
    cwjacobsen re #1558: Let sleeping dogs lie! Don't you like a peaceful community? Some people just like to stir things up. Good riddance.

    I agree, looking at the month's sales figures and calling a vehicle a flop is a half-baked, jumped-to conclusion. I wonder if the poster knew what Buick projected for sales of the new model. And the RDV outsold the Acura MDV (if I recall correctly), which some people like to call the RDV's competition; then is the MDV a flop?

    A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    Wow! Rendezvous is selling well. One has to figure these vehicles would sell well. With attractive price, looks and versatility how can you go wrong. Vehicles like Rendezvous give me hope GM is finally getting back on track.
  • cwjacobsencwjacobsen Member Posts: 293
  • mfarmer2mfarmer2 Member Posts: 67
    GM truck sales were up 7% and Buick sales alone were up 9%, compared to one year ago. No doubt it's the RDV that's helping to boost those figures. Also, to quote one news story I read: "As new and innovative entries Buick Rendezvous, Chevrolet Avalanche and Cadillac Escalade increase in availability, GM expects its strong truck sales performance will continue in the second half." :-)
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    The way GM trucks sales are going, they look to be on track to topple Ford's crown this year. GM needs to start working on the cars now to regain lost market share there.
  • bymclaughbymclaugh Member Posts: 103
    Glad to hear you took the plunge! And since you got the pewter one, I assume your interior is grey, which is, of course, the best color. :) (That's just to aggrivate all those "Oakies" out there :P )

    Congrats again!

    BY
  • bymclaughbymclaugh Member Posts: 103
    CWJ: I too am suprised at the Bravada's sales numbers. It's an excellent vehicle, and it even comes with the extended warranty, but people must just be nervous about buying a brand that's already been cancelled. Too bad, as they are missing out on some nice vehicles.

    Mfarmer2: Since I work on trucks here at the General, I'm glad to see our new trucks are doing well, as I think they are some great products, and I've enjoyed working on them. Unfortunately, though, since we are "converging" our engineering operations into one unit, a lot of the stuff that has made working for the truck group fun seems to be dying. I'm just hoping our future truck products don't suffer due to the changes we have coming, as most of the decisions seem to be being made due to politics more than due to what actually works. However, since the car group did do most of the work on the RDV, hopefully it shows they at least know how to do some stuff right. :)

    Oh, and since my MSU Spartans play their first football game of the year this Saturday...Go Green!

    BY
  • mfarmer2mfarmer2 Member Posts: 67
    I finally got a real world gas mileage average on my RDV for city miles. My gas average was 19 mpg; this is based on going an average of 16 miles per hour. I should also mention this vehicle is not even broken in yet.

    I haven't done an overall average for highway miles, because I've mainly been in the city, but the couple times we took it on the highway at 55-65 mph, we were getting fuel readings as high as 27.5 mpg. One thing to note: in order to get an accurate/fresh reading of YOUR fuel averages, don't forget to set your amount of "gas used" and "mpg average" to zero when you fill up.

    Also, you may not want to include the first few days you have your RDV, if you're spending a lot of time in your driveway, trying to figure out all the features, with the vehicle running. On another subject, did anyone else notice that Edmunds has the wrong mpg listed on the RDV in their First Look article, as well as in their new vehicle information/overview ? It states (fwd 19/24/ awd 17/22) when it's actually (fwd 19/26 & awd 18/24). I sent them an email couple weeks ago and they said they would correct it. I haven't seen any changes as of yet. In the meantime, here's their email copy/pasted.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Hellwig"
    CC: "Wardlaw
    Subject: Buick Rendezvous mileage info
    Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 11:01:03 -0700

    Mary, Thanks for bringing this to our attention. You are exactly right, the rendezvous mileage figures are quoted incorrectly in our vehicle overview and "First Look" article. That article quoted preliminary figures released by the manufacturer before the actual release of the vehicle. The fact that those figures made their way into our overview is our honest mistake. We'll
    get those numbers corrected ASAP.

    We appreciate your help in keeping things straight, and we're glad to see that you're enjoying your new vehicle.

    Ed Hellwig
    Road Test Editor
  • john325john325 Member Posts: 237
    Congrats Boondocks! Islandpete1 will attest that you've got one of the best color combos out there. - Your setup is identical to ours, except we haven't purchased cargo mats yet. In fact, it may sound tacky, but I've put those paper mats that the mechanics use on top of the floor mats (in front and 2nd rows) to help keep things a bit cleaner. Of course when entertaining, we pull them out.

    We have about 5k miles so far and, knock on wood, no problems whatsoever. btw; We'll probably be getting our 2nd oil change during the next month; It seems to make sense to have the tires rotated at that time (about 6k miles). What do you all think about that timeframe. Does it seem right?
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    hmmm, we have a similiar problem with RX300 fuel requirements. Maybe there's a stack of corrections piled up on someone's desk out there and they haven't plowed through it yet.

    Steve
    Host
    Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

  • islandpete1islandpete1 Member Posts: 40
    john325 , thanks for the idea. My wife has all these placemats just laying in the closet. Some of them are real fancy. Should look nice in the RDV ;-)Have to agree, still think PewterMet/Greymist our choice is the most popular and eye catching OMO :-)
  • jp614jp614 Member Posts: 34
    Add another sale to the count. I received my new RDV last week (CX 1SD, HUD, 6 CD, Tow Package, Sedona Bronze [boy, is he handsome!]). I just did the first fill up and the MPG was 20.6 (98% city driving). I am impressed with the fit & finish, solid ride, and smooth tranny. I took a lot of heat about wanting a Buick "Aztek", but everyone seems to like the vehicle now that they finally have seen him.

    I only have a few quibbles that I hope that Buick will fix:

    I don't like the green needles with the green numbers on the dials. They are very hard to see at night. Thank goodness that I have the HUD. I hope that they can either change the needle color to red/orange or make the tip a contrasting color.

    It is difficult to "point" this vehicle. There is no indicator for the middle of the hood. I had the tri-shield ornament on the '89 Skylark that I traded in and my S-10 has a crease in the middle of the hood. I am using the bump in the resting upper wiper arm for my reference point. However when I use the wipers, it's all for naught. Maybe they can add a tri-shield ornament (the retro look is in!)

    Who picked these colors? I had to wait until the dealer had one of most every color before I found one I liked. Since I wanted the Oak interior, the colors choices were limited. If Buick wants a younger audience (I am 37), they need more modern colors like the two Metallic Reds that the Envoy has. That Medium Red just doesn't cut it (It's the same Red they have had for years!)

    Finally, the 6 CD is nice but why don't they hook it up to On-Star? That way, when I insert a CD, On-Star can look up the Artist, Album, and Song Titles. These can be displayed instead of CD 1 Track 1. This would make the Song List feature useful. How am I supposed to remember which song corresponds to each track when I want to delete a song quickly.

    On the whole I am extremely satisfied and hope that each year they improve the vehicle.

    It's all Good!
  • bymclaughbymclaugh Member Posts: 103
    Welcome to the world of RDV ownership! I hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of us are enjoying ours!

    And I love your idea about Onstar and using the internet to look up the CD info. That would be quite cool. Maybe you should shoot an e-mail to the Onstar people with that suggestion!

    Enjoy your new RDV!

    BY
  • cwjacobsencwjacobsen Member Posts: 293
    Sedona Bronze, HUD, Oak interior! JP's my new best friend!!! He even knew enough to call his ride a "he." (Sorry, slightly off-topic from one of the owner's club threads). Actually, I don't mind Brian M.'s clever O(a)kies comment. If Henry Fonda had had a Rendezvous, the Grapes of Wrath would have had a VERY different outcome.

    CWJ
  • john325john325 Member Posts: 237
    Congrats on your new RDV! I never gave any thought to there not being a hood ornament. For me, it's one less thing for some kid to pull-off, not that any would really do that. - One reason my wife liked the RDV, in contrast to some cars she test drove (i,e, Toyota Sienna), was that she can actually see the end of the car/hood. I guess that makes it easier for her to park.

    I had to laugh when you said you'd use the windshield wipers as a centering device; on a rainy day, you'd be all over the place. :-)

    You'll just love your RDV! I'm sure she'll prove to be a great one for you! ;-}
  • 90mercsable90mercsable Member Posts: 48
    Funny you should mention the "placemats". When I picked up my car, I couldn't bear to put my shoes on the brand new grey rugs, so the salesman got me a bunch of the "goodwrench" mats. I'm still using them. I only have 500 mi., but they do pick up the loose gravel and dirt.

    Anyone find any good windshield sun shades-cardboard type or other? The car-size ones are too small.

    Anyone seen an Opal Blue/Dark Graymist RDV like mine yet? I'd like to post a photo of it. When I find the software to upload it(still on my old comp.),I'll give it a try. I've only seen two others so far, pewter and black. Right now, my dealer has 3 or 4 Indigo Blues.
  • beach15beach15 Member Posts: 1,305
    I just happened to have two pics of a new Opal Blue & Dark Graymist Rendezvous so I thought I'd post them for you. This one has the Versatility Pkg, Sunroof, and Memory Pkg. Here you go:


    image


    image

  • john325john325 Member Posts: 237
    Beach: I was going to tell Mercsable that I'd post a couple of photos of an opal blue w/ gray mist that I took a few months back, only to read the next post (yours) & see your nice photos. You're fast! Not to mention your photos turned out much better than mine; mine were late at night in front of a dealership. Mercsable has plenty to be proud of. CWJ, I can't quite see the interior color on this one, can you??

    Mercsable: Yeah, I use the paper mats that have a nice plastic coating. They're more durable than just the plain paper ones. My mechanic has a whole box of them & he's a great friend of ours. So no problem in us keeping supplied, even if they might seem a bit tacky. Btw, I recently saw a windshield shade-cover at Costco that I believe was made for vans/trucks.... You may check there if you have a Costco nearby.
  • luxiluxi Member Posts: 8
    Buick RDV's August sales topped M-B M-Class' and Acura MDXs. Here are the numbers:

    Buick RDV: 3998
    M-B M-Class: 3497
    Acura MDX: 3206
  • john325john325 Member Posts: 237
    Very interesting luxi. Assuming your #'s are accurate, that's a good sign! As CWJ recently said, while trying to stir it up a bit, someone who posted here a month or so back had the RDV joining the fate of the Edsel. CW alluded to the fact that he was "off his rocker", or something to that effect. I am, as I'm sure most folks here are, in accord w/ CW.

    However, one thing I'm curious about is where are these RDVs? I believe I've only seen 2 or 3 on the road in the past 3 months. Maybe a larger portion are being sold in places like Long Island, NY. What do you say Islandpete1?

    With or without the numbers, we know the RDV's a winner! But its nice to see that the market place is receiving her well. Thanks for the #'s Luxi.
  • islandpete1islandpete1 Member Posts: 40
    john325 ~ wish I could say otherwise Johnny, but they are scarce as hell on LI. But don't go by me. Im not what they call a cruiser. I have heard from others on LI that say they see them. One friend of mine said on his trip to Florida in July he saw quite a few on the trip south and in Florida. How about it Mary. See many. The only one I really saw was in NJ in Atlantic City in the Taj Mahal's parking . The other was a brief glimpse of a white one at night turning down a side street never to be seen again ;-).I can say I see a lot of Aztecs which makes you wonder about my fellow Long Islanders:-)
  • 90mercsable90mercsable Member Posts: 48
    Hi, Beach..
    Thanks for the quickly posted photos of the Opal Blue RDV. I have the Lux Pkg, but it looks the same as this on the outside, because the chrome wheels were deleted.

    Yeah, I like it a lot. Only a few minor items to complain about, none major. Love the smooooth tranny, especially. Thanks again for the pics.

    J&I:
    Still have only seen two others here on LI.
    I'll have to check out the shades at Costco.
  • buzzbo99buzzbo99 Member Posts: 111
    I pulled out my trailer wiring harness to get ready to pull my boat, but could not find where to plug the harness into El Trucko. Can anyone save me a trip to the dealership to ask such a dumb question?
  • thf1thf1 Member Posts: 10
    The company I work for is involved in the "GM Employee Car Purchase Program". The flier says that you pay 4% above the GM employee. Has anyone out there used this and if so how much is the savings?

    Thanks,

    By the way, any of you live near L.A. ( Lower Alabama)? I've only seen two on the road here.
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    Keep in mind, you likely aren't seeing many RDVs on the road because there aren't many there. The M-class has been selling for much longer and I don't see many MDXs around either. Add up total sales so far and it's not a large number, something like 10-15K. In time, you will see these things everywhere.
  • boondocksboondocks Member Posts: 57
    The hubby went out immediately and bought me enough clear rubber floor mats to cover every inch of the floor under the first and second rows. I have to say they look very nice with the grey carpet mats showing through, and will protect the carpet from the snow and slush we get here for 6 months out of the year.
  • bdellersbdellers Member Posts: 6
    I bought a windshield sunshade at Walgreen's Drug Store in Orlando a few weeks ago. It is too large for the RDV windshield, so I just let the ends double and it seems to work well. I think it was meant for a large truck.

    Also, I haven't seen any RDV's on the road yet.The Acura MDX has been on the market over a year, and I have seen only three or four.
  • 3ms3ms Member Posts: 14
    My plans to purchase a RDV have been put on hold until next summer. Meanwhile, I enjoy reading this board and looking out for other RDV's in my area!

    I just read a review in the Courier-Journal by Tom Incantalupo from Newsday on the 2002 RDV. I couldn't find it on their website so I wasn't able to link it here for all to read. The sentence under the picture provided in the article summed up the author's opinion. "The 2002 Buick Rendezvous is acceptable around town but out of its depth on the interstate." What? He goes on to say "The suspension - especially the rear suspension - allows too much bounding and wallowing..."

    Then, the author gives credit for a soft and quiet ride and comfortable seats which "delay the onset of fatigue." Hmmm?

    I was surprised to read this because of all the glowing "real-world" experiences that I've read on this board. Any thoughts? Oh, he did mention good things like a well-designed interior and the very functional console.

    I'm still sold on the RDV - even if I do have to endure 12 more months of waiting! :-)
  • fedlawmanfedlawman Member Posts: 3,118
    Wow. I've been on vacation in Cape Cod since Friday and can't believe how much catching up I had to do!

    Welcome to the new owners...I'm sure RDV ownership will prove to be better than RDV anticipation, as it has for the rest of us.

    I've been hoping to spot some RDV's on the roads out east but still haven't seen a one. I wonder where they all live? Perhaps a deserted island near Japan, inside a volcano?

    I'll be back home late Wednesday night so I'll wait till then to log on, catch up, and tell you about our trip (sans enfants!).

    TTFN
  • cwjacobsencwjacobsen Member Posts: 293
    I just don't get that comment. Gamera is very stable over the bumps and through the turns. It's a very controlled ride compared to the "typical" Buick. Likewise, the interstate comment escapes me. His comments only make sense if he's one of those auto reviewers who've fallen for the cult of BMW, where everything is reviewed in terms of how far the vehicle deviates from the last (insert 3,5,or 7 here) series the reviewer had the priviledge to drive. I'm not knocking Beemers. Its just that there are other vehicles with other missions in this world.

    CWJ
  • bb1129bb1129 Member Posts: 7
    thf1: Through my employer, I used the GM discount program to purchase a CX RDV last May. The price is 4% over a GM employee price. The dealer should show you an invoice with both prices and their invoice price. The price I got was about $100 below their invoice which was 4% over the GM employee price. At first the dealer (Orange Buick in Orlando) did not want to honor the discount price for the RDV, but eventually relented. At least with this program, you will know the price upfront (unless you can haggle an even better deal). I also used my Oldsmobile certificate for another $1000 off.

    Count me as another satisfied RDV owner. Just had the first oil change at 3000 miles and no problems. I plan to have the tires rotated at the next oil change and then at every other one after that. I have seen only one other RDV out of a dealer lot and that was at the airport in Minot, ND! I am still searching for Mary's (mfarmer2) and Barbara's (bdellers) RDVs here in Central Florida.
  • john325john325 Member Posts: 237
    Buzzbo: On our RDV the harness wire was just tucked back behind the hitch & under the bumper slightly. Haven't had cause to use it yet as I've only towed bikes. Btw, I can clearly tell your RDV is a "he" (el trucko), in contrast to cwj's (Gamera). It's been said that the habitat of Gamera is where the vast number of RDVs roam, so I'd better be respectful of this & of Gammera. Although one must admit, it is confusing...

    bb: I think I'm going to take the same tack as you; oil change every 3K and rotate tires on every other change. Glad to hear your RDV is running great after 3,000 miles!
  • thf1thf1 Member Posts: 10
    Thank for your help. This clears up alot. Hope to order our RDV shortly. In L.A. we don't get much snow so our choice is the CX also. By the way, anybody got a black one? I have owned one black car in my life, and swore I would not get another one as long as I lived, but I kind a like it. (Just to be different) One more thing, does anyone know when the "Silverleaf Metallic (18)" will be available? The wife is thinking of waiting to see that color. With her the color is more important than just a new car

    Thanks again.
  • nandrewsnandrews Member Posts: 4
    I ordered my RDV on July 3 and picked it up August 24, CXL, SE, Sunroof, CD-6-Disc Changer and third row seat, Med. Red. I love the color. This is my sixth Buick in 23 years. I was 28 years old when I bought my first one.

    Fedlawman--If you went to Heritage Plantation in Sandwich you would have seen mine in my driveway.

    I have seen maybe 4 or 5 on the road in Eastern MA, but I'm lucky to say, where I work we have two RDV's in the parking lot. The other one is same as mine except it's Pewter.

    Have almost 500 miles and no problems so far. Still can't figure out how to set up the garage opener.
  • pjgptpjgpt Member Posts: 15
    I've seen a lot of posts that state how many miles people have put on their RDV's. Well I've had mine since July 28th and only have 480 miles to date. Can anyone beat that?

    By the way I love the RDV, but it is my secondary car. I also have a minivan that I lease, so I try to put all the miles I can on that.

    Islandpete1: I agree, I've only seen one other RDV on Long Island. Maybe it was you?
  • bdellersbdellers Member Posts: 6
    I had problems with the set-up of the garage door opener until I finally followed the instructions and put a new battery in the old opener. Then I started over with the instructions and it worked the first time. How about that!

    I forgot to mention that I saw my first RDV in my company garage before I ever bought mine. It must have belonged to a sales person who is normally on the road because I haven't seen it since. That makes four RDVs in Orlando that I know of.
  • islandpete1islandpete1 Member Posts: 40
    pjgpt, You never know, it could have been my RDV you saw. Where did you purchase yours. I bought mine at "Arnold Buick" in West Babylon LI NY. Pewter Metalic/Grey Mist. My wife mainly drives it. I took over her old 88 Sable and use it for work.(25K miles)still drives and looks new. Since buying the RDV in May,we have 1744mi as of this morning.
  • drew_drew_ Member Posts: 3,382
    The Rendezvous gets an "Acceptable" in the crash test. Watch tonight's Dateline NBC for the full coverage.

    http://www.highwaysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/0120.htm


    Drew
    Host
    Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    Looks like a better test than the Aztek. Good news, but on a very bad day. I still can not believe what has happened in the U.S. today. Very disturbing and sad.
  • wmquanwmquan Member Posts: 1,817
    I highly doubt if the scheduled Dateline NBC programming will air tonight, for the obvious tragic reasons.
  • spiritman1spiritman1 Member Posts: 57
    to all of you on the board.....I hope you all are well and have lost no loved ones.....my heart goes out to all that have lost friends or family....

    Spiritman :(
  • spiritman1spiritman1 Member Posts: 57
    Judging from the lack of a single post in the last 3 days I'm assuming that you folks aren't all OK......this certainly is a difficult time.....I find coming here or putzing around my car is a peaceful diversion from all the trauma out there. Peace to all.....

    Spiritman :/
  • drew_drew_ Member Posts: 3,382
    Don't worry, Spiritman, it's the same all across Town Hall. However, traffic has been starting to pick up again as people go on with their lives as before.

    Good luck,
    Drew
    Host
    Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
  • nandrewsnandrews Member Posts: 4
    Just changed the battery in the transmitter and carefully read the directions. Now I'm all set.

    With only 723 miles my gas mileage is 23 mpg which is all highway driving. No problems so far.
  • fedlawmanfedlawman Member Posts: 3,118
    Well, after a short extension to our vacation, we finally made it back to the great northwest!

    We made the best of our extra three days by going to Newport RI on Wednesday (when we were originally scheduled to go home), and revisiting Chatham for some shopping on Thursday. On Friday we went to Boston and spent the afternoon and evening enjoying the sights (bars) and the pizza (Regina's original).

    We caught our flight home out of Logan airport this afternoon with no delays whatsoever!

    Kind of interesting...Border Patrol Agents from El Paso were assisting the US Marshal Service with airport security. When we went through security, we were greeted by Boston PD SERT, US Customs, US Marshals, and US Border Patrol...Wow!

    Oh yeah, I saw two RDV's while we were in MA, one a pewter CX on Rte 6 on the way to Newport and the other, a pewter CXL with moonroof going through the drive-thru bank teller in Chatham.

    Regards,

    Brian
  • mmeehanmmeehan Member Posts: 66
    It's hard to move on with our lives after such tragic events, but as President Bush has said, to not move on with our lives would just show whomever did this that they have really beaten us down. Keep our economy strong..if you were planning to buy an RDV...go out and buy one. To all on this board, I hope that none of you has family or friends that were lost on Tuesday, and my prayers and well wishes go out to you. As a Florida resident, I feel horrified that a few of the hijackers lived literally a few blocks away from my home and my family. My children go to school blocks away from where these people lived. I think we all need to become aware of who is around us...life as we knew it has now changed.

    Now...for denis9 you had a post waaaay back about having some issues fixed on your RDV. One specifically was the noise at 1700 RPM. I'm just curious how the dealership addressed this issue.

    Crash tests look pretty good, it'll be interesting to see rollover tests, etc.
  • tbrown_4tbrown_4 Member Posts: 27
    Not good, just acceptable, which is worse than the competition. Only GM's own Trailblazer + Aztek did worse with Marginals, which is just above a Poor. Too bad...

    No one does public rollover testing, so you'll have to figure it out from real world accidents. Don't expect Volvo or Mercedes levels of performance though.
  • nosuvyetnosuvyet Member Posts: 72
    If you don't mind me asking, how did you do on price? I live just north of you and am deciding between a RDV or an MDX and don't really have a preference. Probably the first one that I can get at significantly under list will be it, so your experience will be enlightening.
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