Thoughts on the Rendevouz

[jstbcuz]

Wondering what your thoughts are on the Buick Rendevouz are. I want the good, bad and the ugly.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I have a 2003 and absolutely love it. I wish it was still in production, I would buy it again in a heartbeat

 

[Pastamom]

We had one - until we were rear ended and it was totaled in 2009. We liked it a lot and had planned to drive it until it died -which I guess we did...

We had the XL (I think) version that had the 3rd row seat which was great for short trips or extra kids.

 

[mom2d&b]

My Dad has one and he loves it. He also has the 3rd seat which comes in handy when he has the grandkids (my kids). He also has the DVD in his.

 

[mollybug2]

We have one and i adore it. I no longer drive it, since I had to expand to a minivan to fit the kids (we didn't get the third row in the Rendezvous). I love how comfy it is, the big mirrors, reliable... I would still be driving it if I could fit the kids in it easily!

 

[Kathi OD]

I have a 2005 with 114,000 miles on it and have no intentions of getting rid of it any time soon. I my Rendezvous!! We have a 3rd seat.

It has been my best budget buy ever! We bought it used with 2500 miles on it. The dealer had it advertised on the internet for $26,999. When we got to the dealership, it was priced at $39,999. The sticker price was almost $46,000! Evidently someone had made a typographical error. Because I had called the dealership to make sure that the $26,999 price was correct (and had the name of the person I spoke to) and printed out the ad from the internet, the dealership sold us the car for the $26,999 price.

However, many have problems with front wheel bearings. Our front right bearings went at around 100,000 miles on it, so we just had them replaced. It was much cheaper than buying a newer comparable car. I have a feeling the bearings on the left side need to be replaced as we speak. I'll spend the $400 to have it fixed. $800 in repairs is not that big a deal when compared to 4 or 5 years of car payments.

 

[bnhasak]

We loved ours. Had the XL with the third seat and loved it. Only got rid of it to get a mini-van. I still regret that decision most days. It was reliable and fun to drive. Nicest car I've ever owned. Even beat the Volvo!

 

[HM]

My DH has one (no third bench). It's both a great car to drive and to be a passenger in, imo. The seats are comfortable, you sit high in traffic, and it manuevers very well. My kids who are both on driver's permits prefer driving his car over my Honda van. They say it's a lot easier (and I kind of agree with them).

 

[kaywoody]

I had a 2003 that I absolutely loved. I liked the way it drove, and being able to haul a bunch of kids (I had the 3rd row seats). We had captain's seats with lots of cupholders- we do have priorities after all!

The bad: There wasn't much room behind the 3rd row when the seats were up. I could either haul kids or stuff, but not both. It was even a problem to find room for softball bags. I could haul 5 kids, but didn't have room for 5 softball bags and a couple of lawnchairs.

The other bigger issue- I had several mechanical difficulties while I owned it. It was weird things- motor in the window went out while the window was down, the ignition locked up and I had to have it towed while the wheels wouldn't turn, and finally at the end something in the motor broke and the engine sort of ate itself. All of these were covered by warranty, but when the engine thing happened with less than 1500 miles left on the warranty I decided not to take the risk of keeping it any longer without the warranty.

It was a tough decision because I really liked it, but I got scared of big repairs that I might not be able to afford (most of the things wrong had been pretty expensive). So I traded it in on a new Buick SUV- the Enclave. I love it too. So far it's been almost 3 years and no mechanical problems at all.

 

[jstbcuz]

Thanks for all the input. Thats one of the reasons I like the Rendevouz is because it is a small SUV but I can have 3 rows if need by. Two of my three kids are older and one is leaving the house for college so I dont think I will need the 3rd row much.

I would love to find one with a DVD, but those are hard to find. Closest one Ive found is in Wisconsin and I live in KS. Quite a commute. LOL

 

[DZNEE4US]

We actually rented one while at Disney a few years ago (before the twins were born), and LOVED it. It was not a car we would have picked out to buy, but if we weren't going to have 2 babies in the future we would have given it more consideration. I loved how it "sat up". We have a Highlander and a Sienna, and the Rendevous just seemed to sit higher to me. Good luck!

 

[tweedlemom]

We have a 2003 and I love it! We also had the issue with the window motor dying, but knock on wood, that's been the only major issue, except for general maintenance. I'll miss it when it bites the dust one day.

 

[Kathi OD]

Thanks for all the input. Thats one of the reasons I like the Rendevouz is because it is a small SUV but I can have 3 rows if need by. Two of my three kids are older and one is leaving the house for college so I dont think I will need the 3rd row much.

I would love to find one with a DVD, but those are hard to find. Closest one Ive found is in Wisconsin and I live in KS. Quite a commute. LOL

Have you tried searching using cars.com? that's how I found my Rendezvous.

Doing a quick check I just found 14 within a 100 mile radius of Lawrence, KS. (just a random town...I have no clue where in KS you are).

 

[jstbcuz]

Have you tried searching using cars.com? that's how I found my Rendezvous.

Doing a quick check I just found 14 within a 100 mile radius of Lawrence, KS. (just a random town...I have no clue where in KS you are).

Thanks........yes I have tried that but to find one with the dvd, and the price Im willing to pay is not easy.

Ive tried cars.com. cargurus.com, wheelsforyou.com. autotrader.com, usedcars.com and yahoo.....I would be happy for suggestions tho.

 

[Kathi OD]

Thanks........yes I have tried that but to find one with the dvd, and the price Im willing to pay is not easy.

Ive tried cars.com. cargurus.com, wheelsforyou.com. autotrader.com, usedcars.com and yahoo.....I would be happy for suggestions tho.

how about Craigslist?

 

[LaurenLC]

My mother-in-law had one and LOVED it! She ended up giving to her parents (who are in their late 80's) after they went and bought a Cadillac SRX that they were scared to drive. They got the Buick and she got the Cadillac.

 

[sadiebug]

I also have a 2003 with the 3rd seat. Love it!!

One question though, I see several of you have had problems with the window motor. Mine has been acting sluggish. How much did it cost to replace it?

 

[jstbcuz]

Thank you all for your input. We decided to go ahead and purchase the Rendezvous. IT is a 2005 with 2 rows of captains chairs, and the 3rd row bench. It also has leather interior and a dvd player.

So far I love it. The only thing I am a little worried about is the back, just has vents for the heat/ac..........and they can not control it themselves.

I appreciate all of your input in helping to make this decision.