GMC Acaida, Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave

[skeeter2010]

My wife and I are looking at all of the above cars. They are basically all the same but I decide to do a search for problems on them and found a ton. Sunroof leaks transmission problems valve problems and electrical problems.
So I am looking for some first hand experience or GM mechanics who know the issues with these cars and what to look out for.
We currently have a Subaru and have had only a few minor problems but want a car bigger than the Tribica

 

[snow_monkey]

Now that I am selling alot of ex-gm employees the biggest thing they complain about are the small seats and some of the items you found. I like the Buick the best but I am a bigger fan of the Ford Edge. The third row on the outlook is very hard to access. I think the crossover to check out is the Taurus X . There are not many around but a loaded low mile limited with heated seats, leather, moon, climate cntrl, certified pre-owned should set you back about $22,900 to $23,900. This crossover is rock solid and I have trouble keeping them in stock!!

 

[eao]

My neighbors have a GMC Acadia and they say its been a great suv, they like it a lot.

The internet is full of complainers weather real or trolls bad mouthing things for kicks so I would not base my decision on bad things you read in forums like this.

The Outlook is obsolete and if you can still find one you might get a good deal. I also know someone with a 2005 and they have nothing negative to say about it.

 

[lofsfire]

I have said it before and I will say it again on this board I love my Acadia! I have had at few miner things wrong but nothing that left me anywhere. I have had the shake in the drivers seat and at taction control light come on it but that is it. The complaint I do have it is not a V8! You do not need the V8 for everyday driving but pulling a trailer it would be nice. The V6 does good but its not an 8.
But as far as getting people places it works well. You might want to check this Acadia Forum out you will find links to the other vehicles on the platform as well. By the way my other truck is a Ford F150, so there is no brand loyalty.

 

[sleddog66]

The saturn is not made anymore, so as time goes by, getting parts may be more of an issue?

 

[olddoo]

I have an 08 Saturn Outlook. I have to say that this is one of the best vehicles I have ever had, including Suburbans. All GM dealers will service it and GM does have the parts. For the money the Outlook really beats the Acadia.

 

[snow_monkey]

I just spoke with a previous owner of an outlook he has had for 30,000 miles. Everything that he commented on the car was very true after driving it myself for a week. The vehicle has ample seating and a reasonable ride. He was not happy with the transmission, plain interior with poor fit and finish, and blind spots. The outlook was searching for gears on hills and shifts were abrupt. The worse attribute of this vehicle was when the condition of the road deteriorated the ride became intolerable. He mentioned overall it was an ok vehicle. His replacement was a new Ford Flex. After driving this car for a week I would with no doubt go after the Enclave loaded up with all the goodies. I have GM's in my fleet and I am not brand loyal.

 

[skeeter2010]

We pulled the pin and bought a used 2010 Saturn Outlook XR AWD Black Carbon with black leather and captins in the second row and dual sunroofs 10,000 miles. It was very difficult for me to justify the money we spent on it but it seemed that a 08 with 30,000 on it was within 4-6K of the one we bought so for 2 years newer and 20k less miles it just seemd to make more sense to me my wife only drives 10,000 miles a years.
So far she is happy
She better like it because she is going to have it for the next 10-12 years.

 

[fastercat]

My wife and I are looking at all of the above cars. They are basically all the same but I decide to do a search for problems on them and found a ton. Sunroof leaks transmission problems valve problems and electrical problems.
So I am looking for some first hand experience or GM mechanics who know the issues with these cars and what to look out for.
We currently have a Subaru and have had only a few minor problems but want a car bigger than the Tribica

i bought the enclave for the wife and i will tell you hands down, its much more of a luxury ride, i can talk with a low voice to the 3rd row and the people can hear no problem this ride is so smooth and quiet, wood accents, i could go on, but the list is too long, only problem was the sunroof when new and it was fixed and has not leaked and we have 65k on it, its a 2009

 

[arcticman]

We bought our Enclave a year ago we just love it 22mpg at 70mph the wife followed me towing our camper and at 60mph she got 25mpg. average 19mpg. The only problem so far is the other night leaving the fireworks the Service the Stabilatrak came on. The next morning the dealer reset the sensor and it working great. The one feature I really like is the cooled leather seats in the front only. We never were big fans of leather but with option we have changed our minds. Looking for a new truck for me and this is not an option so I will order cloth seats.

 

[G]

Go out and drive them all. Also go drive an Edge. Depending on your build and sightlines one will fit you better than the others. As far as inherent problems with any one build remember you read basically bad things on nearly all customer reviews. You seldom hear from the happy customers which far outnumber the unhappy ones. We bought an Edge last fall primarily because in our small town we only have a Ford dealer. So far we really like the Edge. Some people complain of a 'blind spot' on the Edge but I guess we are tall enough to not have that problem. Good luck.

 

[mike6187]

sleddog66 wrote:
The saturn is not made anymore, so as time goes by, getting Saturn parts may be more of an issue?

For me, looking for saturn parts is not a problem, many resources are just around... ebay, forums, online store, etc... i got Saturn, and every time I need replacement parts i go to jcwhitney.

 

[vogelm1]

We have 60,000 on our 2007 Acadia now and not one problem. Only thing we've done with it is changed the oil, air filter, serpentine belt, and put a new set of tires on it last fall. There are a few more blind spots especially when trying to look out the rear corners, but once you're aware of them and learn how to deal with them, it's not that big a deal.

I think a BIG disadvantage with those forums is they attract people with problems...it's good to have a heads up on some of the issues but IMO it's a small percentage of the vehicles out there. I'm on the Acadia forum, and I'm not sure I would have bought one after reading everything, but glad I didn't take it all to heart. We love ours and would definitely buy another one.

 

[muss]

I love are Acadia, It is the perfect SUV, although we have had nothing but problems with it, one thing after another! Each time We take it in for a New problem I tell myself that we are going to have to get rid of it, but can't do it cause we like it so much. I have not heard anyone else having problems with them so maybe we just got a bad one, but everything from having the engine pulled for a bad timing belt to the power seats not working. the most recent problem was the headlight went out, simple right? I bought a new headlight and went to replace it and there was no way to do so without taking off the entire front bumper so I had to take it to the dealer to change a fricken headlight for $240.00 but after they got the bumper off the whole wiring harness had melted and it ended up being $600.00!

 

[skeeter2010]

I love are Acadia, It is the perfect SUV, although we have had nothing but problems with it, one thing after another! Each time We take it in for a New problem I tell myself that we are going to have to get rid of it, but can't do it cause we like it so much. I have not heard anyone else having problems with them so maybe we just got a bad one, but everything from having the engine pulled for a bad timing belt to the power seats not working. the most recent problem was the headlight went out, simple right? I bought a new headlight and went to replace it and there was no way to do so without taking off the entire front bumper so I had to take it to the dealer to change a fricken headlight for $240.00 but after they got the bumper off the whole wiring harness had melted and it ended up being $600.00!

I have heard of the headlight harness problem but it had been covered under warrenty, In regards to the timing chain the mechenic said that the 07 had a problem with the timing chain and that it stretched and caused a light but did not cause damage.

I was at the dealer yesterday with ours. We had two problems the first was that the mirrors always went back to the same postion when using the keyfob even after reprogramming them. The second problem is that the rail under the car on the drivers side that is to protect the fuel cell had a cracked weld which I thought was why I had a door alignment problem.
Not to mention that fact that around town we are getting 14.5 MPG out of a 3.6 Liter

 

[muss]

After 36000 only the engine and tranny are covered under warranty, so the headlight was not covered.