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Thanks,
Con
The differences here are :
1. We are likely leasing rather than buying the Rendezvous.
2. The CX is likely on the top end of our spending range (I hope that changes with a new job).
3. My wife will NOT drive a van. She will drive a Rendezvous.
I am still not convinced I need 4WD though I would love to have it. I live 40 kms out of Toronto and the snow is usually clear pretty fast around here. I know how to drive in snow well (done it all my driving life) and I have never been stuck before.
Perhaps if things change financially I will re-consider next spring. Right now, I am watching CX performance and pricing.
Thanx for the input though.
My last vehichle was a GMC Jimmy SLT which is the same as a Bravada. The RDV does not pull itself much less a load as effortlessly as the Jimmy did. The Jimmy was geared lower and had a lot more off the line kick than the RDV. But there is no comparason in smooth ride which is what I was after so I am happy.
It is Bright White with Moss Green cladding and it is GORGEOUS!
OK, no regrets...well, maybe some.
Brian
For example, if you lease a RDV at $25,000 but it is only worth $13,000 (52% residual) after 3 years, you pay for $12,000 of depreciation. Compare that to an Acura MDX which sells for $35,000 but is worth $24,000 after three years (70% residual). You pay for only $11,000 depreciation. The Acura will still cost a little more each month because you pay more tax, but you get the point.
I was quoted 70% residual by an Acura dealer about 6 weeks ago and 69% residual by a Mercedes dealer on a 2001 ML320 (which are also being discounted right now).
Unless you get a special GMAC lease rate or manufacturer cap cost reduction, I don't think it's worth leasing a RDV. At least check it out for yourself.
Brian
CWJ
By the way, I'm surprised you didn't comment on Beach15's link to the wood trim supplier.
CWJ
P.S. I just remembered that this is the vehicle you passed up to reorder with a different color scheme. Sorry.
P.P.S. Go Packers!
1) I'm hoping the lease rates will be lower next year. Not sure about the residual data, but you may be right.
2) I have a $1250 Oldsmobile credit to use towards the lease
3) I will have about $1500 in GM Card rebates by then.
I'm not sure I will get a Rendezvous, but it's in the top 3 at this point. I want to see the Saturn Vue in the fall and I also like the Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute, the Highlander and apparently Honda has a new SUV also. Who knows what else might be around next spring. Who knows, they may even fix that Aztek to look a little better... but I doubt it.
My Render Vows was ordered Feb. 28 oh, and delivered Friday night.
CLX with DE package, Captains Seats.
Light Driftwood, Bronze Metallic, with oak interior.
I have been reading your comments for the last few weeks, and was very anxious to *ignore*
see the car, I was not disappointed.
After driving app. 150 miles, I feel it is wonderful.
I would not suggest that colour (inside) for young family with many kids?
But for us it is O K
I agree that the rear door has to be closed firmly.
It was the first Rendez Vous delivered in my city.
We look forward to many small trips in and around our wonderful country and province.
Please note that I did not get any french information manual yet,
So I can not tell you how many extra pages I will find.
So for Sacre bleu, I feel, i made a good decision.
CWJ
I believe the third row is set so far back to allow an average sized man to sit in that seat with reasonable comfort. Again, when I first saw the car, I felt a little cramped while sitting in the third row. However, at the time I didn't realize the second row would slide forward which creates another 6-8" of leg room for the third row passenger. More than anything for us, the third row provides the OPTION of seating more than five people. With a family of four, we will have the third row down most of the time.
This is the first time I've owned anything larger than a two door coupe. I got the pleasure of washing the RDV this weekend and found at 5' 10", I am a little shell of a man. I needed a ladder (okay... step stool) to wash the d@mn thing! We have had our RDV for nearly a month now. With just under 400 miles on it, we really enjoy the vehicle. This weekend we will take our first extended trip to Nana and Papa's house.
Go Raiders!
R5
"It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright, sun shiney day!"
R5
They don't look right with the light grey interior either, although I am tempted by the aluminum trim kit, which would add some uniformity to the interior, including the (tiger stripe) strips on the doors and above the glove box.
Ultimately, I'm sure I'll leave it just the way god made it. I truly hate gaudy, overdone cars (despite my earlier stated love of chrome tubes, wood trim, neon lights, etc.). The bright white was VERY nice and I think that the greymist will complement it nicely, although I do think that all that white and grey does lack some colour.
dindak - I forgot to consider all the GM incentives, which make the deal much sweeter. I still think buying is a better deal than leasing right now, but definately go GM. That's why we all did!
habitant - Mon dieu, another Canuck! Congrats on your recent acquisition. I can't wait to hear of your Rendezvous exploits up in the great white north. No doubt you'll take your RDV sugaring off this winter, ay?
Methinks you listened to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" too many times.
Congrats on your RDV. Did you pick it up this evening or are they going to take a couple days tp detail it? If I recall correctly, our White/Light Sandrift was your original choice of colors. Just wait 'till you see our pics!
Go Raiders!
R5
Like r5, we only have 2 children, so in most instances our 3rd row will be down & usable for storage. For full bore camping, we'll use one of those Nylon-type carriers to sit on top of the roof/rack; that holds quite a bit. - When we have the 3rd row up for taking the kids' friends, it's not likely we'll have much storage needs at the same time.
R5: You're definitely in too good of a mood. I would have expected that song the day you got your RDV, rather than that scam story about your wife "just hating it"; what's going on now, are the Raiders starting their pre-season a bit early?
Fedlawman: Beatles??? Have you been puffing the magic dragon or something? Well I wouldn't think so, not in your line of work. I don't think it was the Beatles, was it r5?
Go 9ers!
John B.
Well, I received Ra1der5 pics in the mail yesterday evening, and have to say the wife and I had a good chuckle over them. You'll understand that once I scan them in tonight and post them on the web, just keep in mind R5's earlier story about his wife when you look at them.
R5, you're such a scoundrel!
BY
fedlawman : Buying is always better. We always lease one car because my wife can write off part of the payments more easily as more than half of her income is commission. We own our Intrigue so we lease the other. I think the lease rates will likely come down to the 5% range by next spring if the car market remains weakish. The Montana and Aztek are at 1.9% right now for 36 months.
PS I have enjoyed reading the previous 900 messages. Keep them coming.
dindak - that makes sense. We no longer have the ability to write off leased vehicles like we could many years ago.
john325 - You're right. "I can see clearly now" was not the Beatles. What was I thinking?
People on this board have been so generous and helpful. It's a pleasure to correspond with others who are as excited about their RDV as we are. It's also fun to see how this board has taken on it's own personality.
Again, thank you BY.
GO RAIDERS!
R5
Brian, Waiting for me to comment on Beach15's link? I was the first to respond. Now I know why you took so long.
BYM, as soon as I take some photos of Gammera, I'll send them on to you to put with R5's and Your Rendezvous'. All I ask is that you drop me a line to tell me how to do this, either here or to my personal E-Mail which is in my profile.
CWJ
Lance
We leased our RDV after ordering through the pre-sell program, and were able to get an OK deal. Not great, but OK. The lease rates for the pre-sell program were 5.5% or 5.25%, depending on the vehicle configuration (don't remember the specifics), and it also helped to use our GM discount and GM Card money. Also, the residuals were higher for pre-sells (I think it was 3% higher). If we hadn't done the pre-sell, however, the lease rates would have been too high, so we probably would have bought it. From talking to our dealer, the lease rates on regular sales at the time were $200 - $300 more a month than what we're paying, and that's a huge difference.
Good Luck with your RDV!
BY
Not a problem! Glad to do it, since now we can share some pics or our RDVs as well as potentially helping new buyers decide on colors, options, etc.
CWJ,
Just sent you an e-mail with some info an how to send me some pics. Essentially, if anyone is interested, if you have a decent digital camera we can trade pics via e-mail, otherwise, just send em via snail mail. Just let me know!
Later!
BY
Does anyone out there who's driven/owns an RDV have any experience with a Durango ("old" 5.2 V8 engine)? If so, how does it compare power wise and interior space wise?
Just so you don't think I'm all take and no give, here's an excellent pic of an RDV in Medium Red (with review from Popular Mechanics): http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/auto3/0103AUNCWFBP.html
Thanks for the good info. I ordered the CXL with Luxury package, so I don't know which lease rate may apply. I like the fact that the residuals are higher too for the pre-sells.
I just ended a 38 month lease in March of a 98 Tahoe that was about the same sales price of the RDV ($32,000). I was able to get a great lease rate through First Union of $380 a month on that after I used my $1,700 in GM earnings. They were also running a higher residual at the time of about 3%. I must admit, I'm being enticed by the $1,000 rebate on the Tahoe/Yukons, plus I received a $1,000 certificate from Chevy yesterday off a new Tahoe or Suburban that may be in addition to the rebate. I think it's a preferred customer certificate.
Lance
Now it might seem suspicious that my client, Fedlawman, has a slight brain lapse and forget about his original roots. To the layman on the street, his actions might even be construed to be a fib. But there is an explanation your Honor, there is an excuse. It seems that, my client merely chose another path. Aside from posts #239 and #259 suggesting otherwise, my client never CHOSE his color scheme until he actually ordered the vehicle. The white with the light sandrift lower cladding was simply a passing thought.
Now, we are not saying my client is an angel. We admit, openly, that on several occasions he considered different color options. And on one occasion he even manipulated the virtual link on the Buick web site... uh... of course this was done during the supervision of a clinical doctor.
But what we are asking of you today ladies and gentlemen is to look into your hearts, examine your own conscious, and remember this... "Judge not and ye shall not be judged!"
Hey... wait a minute... Fed belongs to that other tribe! String 'im up! Throw the scurvy dog from the yardarm! Hang 'im! Hang 'im high! Banish 'im from the island! Traitor! Light Oak is too "yellow" he says. Yea... well I hope you have a dull gray day!
Go Raiders!
R5
(humph... gray IS closer to silver)
Go Packers!!
CWJ
http://www.mclaugh.com/raiders/raiders.htm
And, my apologies to ra1der5 up front, but I couldn't resist this last one...
http://www.mclaugh.com/raiders/HeeHee.jpg
Honestly, the pics are great, and that RDV has got to be lovin all that ocean! Beautiful!
If there are any problems with the site, let me know, as I don't have access to an older version of Netscape to check it out with until tomorrow.
Enjoy!
BY
Thanks BY, I'll be taking glamour shots of Gammera tomorrow. Obviously, R5 needed the seascape to accent his beautiful ride. But here in Indiana, I'll tone down the background so that posters won't have to wear their shades to appreciate Gammera's natural beauty.
Go midwestern-ish football franchise of a Wisconsin locale involving the colors Green and Gold!!!
CWJ
habitant : I guess you are too far away to stop by and show me your RDV. ;-)
We have a townhome that is a 10 minute walk from the beach you see below. This is called East Cliff. A lot of professional surfers come from this area, and the city of Santa Cruz is used as backdrop for a lot of movies and music videos. But don't mix the East Cliff surfers with the West Cliff... "DANGER Will Robinson!"
Good job with the scans BY. That second one was perfect!
My goals were to try to capture the true color of the car (especially the lower cladding), to show how much space was behind the rear seat (I should have brought my golf clubs), and to show the color of the interior. I think some of the pics do the car justice while others have too much glare. The best depiction of the lower cladding is BackSide and BackSide2. DoorsOpen also gives the viewer a good idea about the tan interior.
CWJ - Perhaps you're right, too much backdrop and too much glare. The pics were taken after I got home from work so I'm picking up the sun off the sunset. I'm looking forward to seeing the Gammera and the cheesey Indiana backdrop. LOL! Sometimes I just kill myself!
Go Raiders!
R5
BTW: I wonder what ever happened to WoodyBuick.
BYM, RA1DER5 - great shots of your white/sandrift beauty. It looks great! I especially like the license plates...hmmm.
Your pictures bring back a lot of memories...
In 1990, my brother was stationed at DLI. I rented a Piper Archer and my girlfriend (now wife) and I flew to Monterey for the Army Ball. My brother had dated her before me and didn't know that we had hooked up. It was my first cross-country flight in a fixed-wing aircraft and, after I landed in Monterey, I realized that I had forgotten to switch from the left to right fuel tank during the flight and had almost run out of gas!
P.S. Another former girlfriend once gave me a box of banana slug shaped chocolates. Probably more than you needed to know.
Here's what our pewter w/ Gray interior looks like, although you obviously cannot see the gray interior here. R5, our house is just above the top of the road... just kidding; thought I'd try to "sucker you" since you are one of the only folks around here who hasn't seen the RDV brochure. Needless to say, but I will, the Pewter w/ storm gray & gray interior looks just great! We're really enjoying the RDV. We may take it camping this Thursday.
Fedlawman: great stories about plane, banana slug, etc... Hey, I just got a great idea for r5's team, the Oakland Banana Slugs. New owner, new name...
Go 9ers!
John B.
I was surprised to see how the photo just popped-up on the screen; Anyway, it's not too difficult at all. I just followed the instructions on the Townhall "Help". I believe you do need some kind of a web site to place your photo(s) on; I never even used a personal web site b4 this; but I just went to my Prodigy ISP web page & followed it's directions to post a photo on a personal web page that I could use.
Like BY, I'd be happy to help w/ posting photos.
John B.
And if we are going to continue to post pics and links to pics, we may want to consider setting up a RDV owners club here at Edmunds where we could then have a seperate area just for posting the pics and the links, and therefore could have them all in one spot whenver anyone wanted to take a gander at em. Just a thought. Either way, I'd love to see more pics of people's RDVs, so post em if ya got em! And if ya need assistance getting em on the web, looks like both John and I are ready, willing and able!
BY
BB1129 - I too am purchasing a CX and am curious about roof racks - please let me know if you get any info
We are going to pick up our RDV tonight. The dealership ran into some problems with our invoice (apparently it kept getting rejected because of the leather (our CX was one of the first, if not THE first, to have leather and it apparently has confused the masterminds at Buick). Hopefully she'll be spending her first night in our garage tonight.
Bym- I'm going to post some photos once we get get the RDV although they're going to look an awful lot like yours (without the roof rack and chrome wheels). Anyway, this will give people both perspectives.
P.S. Thanks to whomever it was that gave the link for the dash trim - that's a pretty extensive selection, but I was hoping they'd have something to cover the door trim and the glove compartment trim but I didn't see any.
Brian
Just my inquisitive mind trying to see how creative we can get with messages. I'll go stand in the corner now.
BY
We must designate two spokespersons in order to request it be created.
It's a thankless job, but couldn't this world use a few more heroes?
Brian
Regarding pictures, feel free to post them here, but please make sure that they are no larger than 640X480 (that is, no larger than the one that John posted in post #941) so that they do not skew the screen width. Also, embedding copyrighted images is a no-no, however, feel free to provide the link for us to see if you like.
Carry on :-)
Drew
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BY
I don't remember what color interior you have, but if it's grey, The synthetic brushed aluminum trim looks good, and the basic 7 piece kit costs about $160.
I checked out the 2002 Mercury Mountaineer again today to see how brushed aluminum trim looks with a grey interior. The 2002 Mountaineer interior looks very nice. If you have any complaints about the grey RDV interior plastic, you should take a look at the Mountaineer to get an idea of what it could look like.
Wooddash.com says that there are no refunds on the brushed aluminum kit because they are made to order. I wonder if you could order just the pieces you want. If I decide to do it, I would only install the front air vents, center dash panel, strip above glove box, and strips on doors. I think any more than that would look cheap and gaudy.
I'm curious to know what you decide. Keep me posted.
CWJ