recommend a future car purchase - wifemobile.

my wife loves her 05 rendezvous. i think it's a pile of E36 M3. she has doubled the 58k that were on it when she got it, and it's down while i gather the spare time to replace the transmission. it was having a random no 1-2 shift, trans shop told me the shift solenoid was failing, i replaced it and the thing is still the same. so i have a used trans to put in with similar mileage.

whilst under the vehicle i found some typical things for one that has spent it's entire life in Cleveland. stuff is gonna rust soon. like after another winter there will be holes in the rear wheelwells, the front fenders will be rusted off their mounting points at the bottom, and brake lines are going to need work in a year or so. due to the cladding, it still looks fine up top.

we've got a baby on the way at the end of july and she is taking 6 weeks maternity leave, and at the end we're thinking of dropping the buick to winter/backup duty and picking something up, not necessarily newer but with half the miles and from the south for no rust. she drives 18-20k miles a year on average, and the vehicle would be our travel car as well.

she loves the size of the buick - so i need something with similar passenger and cargo room, which puts her right in crossover/minivan territory. she refuses to drive a minivan, and i do not blame her.

you guys know i'm one of the biggest chevy guys out there, but i'm currently angry at GM for the 4T65E transmission, so i'm open to looking at other brands. nothing GM can be FWD or have this god awful excuse for a transmission. i prefer american companies but will consider anything with a good track record for reliability.

price - must be able to find around 10k in the 4-10 year old range.

mileage should be equal or greater than a rendezvous

we were looking at RWD cadillac SRX v6 models until i saw they are rated 15/21mpg, that is pathetic for the size and having a v6. they are in the price range with low miles, but that drop in mpg from the buick equals around a grand in gas a year at 3.70 - more if it goes up.

i could not talk her into an avalanche so we could have 2 of them, even though it's so awesomely perfect for carrying kids and still being able to carry dirty stuff/tow/etc... "we don't need 2 avalanches" she says. until we need to tow 2 cars back from some insane purchase i make. then we'll see who doesn't need 2 avalanches.

go

Can you get the Saab 97x aero down that far? Total q-ship.... Also the Mazda 5 comes to mind.

The Rendezvous was really the precursor to the GM Lambda platform and the bargain there may be the Saturn Outlook starting with '07. The bargain coming from the forgotten brand name, Saturn.

Sure, more GM fwd but...

How about the Terrain that started in '10?

The Equinox before these are likely very cheap these days (and Pontiac Torrent twin.)

Here are some more ideas for "forgotten brands" that might bring low prices.

The Isuzu Rodeo was offered until 2004. Not high tech but they always seemed like good trucks. There are many high mile example up on CL's so they must run.

Also, Trooper and Axiom as real Isuzus. As fakes; the rebadged Trailblazers.

What is the story on Mitsu Endeavors? Big SUV but not sure if I trust Mitsu repair prices and availability. What is their smaller SUV? Something forgotten like Outlander.

In the vein of the 97x suggestion, how about an Isuzu Ascender?

Dodge Magnum?

Cadillac CTS wagon

i was also going to look at the non chevy trailblazer derivatives. the saab is the sweetest of all, but might carry the snaab tax over the others of the same platform.

edit - i was wrong, the saabs are just as cheap if not cheaper on autotrader. and with a 5.3 it's basically a trailblazer SS with more goodies and a 5.3 instead of a 6.0. the lowered stance of the saab and 18" wheels plus all the other stuff is intriguing, and they can still tow. having more than one vehicle that can tow is important to me.

JohnRW1621 wrote: The Rendezvous was really the precursor to the GM Lambda platform and the bargain there may be the Saturn Outlook starting with '07. The bargain coming from the forgotten brand name, Saturn. Sure, more GM fwd but... How about the Terrain that started in '10? The Equinox before these are likely very cheap these days (and Pontiac Torrent twin.)

Love our outlook, screaminE also has an outlook too I think

Do you have a hitch receiver on that rendezvous? If so consider selling it before you sell the car?

mndsm wrote: Can you get the Saab 97x aero down that far? Total q-ship.... Also the Mazda 5 comes to mind.

I second this motion.

we're not selling the rendezvous, it'll be kept for winter and backup and driven until it can not go anymore. however, i do have a class 3 hitch for it that i would sell. my dad pulled it at the yard, cleaned it up, painted it all nice, and used it for the summer on his rendezvous before my mom rolled it. we kept the hitch along with any other good parts. so in short, i can help you out with a hitch, send me a pm/email.

the trailblazer variants fall short in the mpg category but if the buick is retained for winter duty(about 6 months a year) it would not hurt as bad. we'd buy south for no rust and only driving it while no salt on the road would extend it's life significantly - almost indefinitely. that would make lots of awesome for me in 6-7 years when she wants something new, and i get a hand me down awd lsx truck to hot rod. i mean, you know, "use for backup and not swap in an ls3 or add big turbo"

'09-'10 Ford Edge, reliable, safe, domestic, decent-ish interior, can tow... some. Pretty awful fuel economy, but I think it's bigger than an SRX, you might save a couple MPG's if you find a FWD one instead of RWD.

Not to rain on your parade, but wasn't the Trailblazer an unreliable, marginally safe, bad handling, rattletrap with a ride that never settled down? And the V8 gets... about 12 MPG city?

Why not a Tahoe? Same MPG's, more reliable, safer, better ride, same crappy handling, probably a better tow vehicle as well. I think you'd even be better off dealing with the Lambda twins (triplets? quadruplets?) than getting into a warmed-over TB. I'm a GM guy too, but I have never liked the TrailBlazer.

EDIT: Didn't see your last post before I wrote the above, sounds like a good ulterior motive to me!

Regarding Avalanche: How about a Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon/Escalade?

While I don't have parts in hand to verify, my research on Isuzu products seems to indicate that after '01 or so they went to the same MA-5 transmission used in the Colorado/Canyon which would open up 4,5 and 6-cylinder swap options from them or the trailblazer if you find a nice one with a bad motor. (Lots of broken timing belts out there.)

That is also essentially the same transmission as the Solstice/Sky, so any of the ecotec options should be able to bolt in.
With some input shaft swapping you could also get into the Jeep Ax-15 or Toyota families as well since the transmission case is essentially the same, so even more swap options.

Lastly, in most of the world those came with a darn good diesel engine that can be picked up on evilbay for @2k as a JDM takeout.

All that swapping is probably not ideal in a vehicle for SWMBO, but depending on what is sitting in your garage for parts it might be worth some poking around

patgizz wrote: we're not selling the rendezvous, it'll be kept for winter and backup and driven until it can not go anymore. however, i do have a class 3 hitch for it that i would sell. my dad pulled it at the yard, cleaned it up, painted it all nice, and used it for the summer on his rendezvous before my mom rolled it. we kept the hitch along with any other good parts. so in short, i can help you out with a hitch, send me a pm/email. the trailblazer variants fall short in the mpg category but if the buick is retained for winter duty(about 6 months a year) it would not hurt as bad. we'd buy south for no rust and only driving it while no salt on the road would extend it's life significantly - almost indefinitely. that would make lots of awesome for me in 6-7 years when she wants something new, and i get a hand me down awd lsx truck to hot rod. i mean, you know, "use for backup and not swap in an ls3 or add big turbo"

Damn

In reply to ryanty22:

Read that paragraph again, it sounds like he's got a hitch for you anyway.