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SUVs Chevrolet Equinox Chevrolet Equinox
2239 messages, Last post on Nov 15, 2009 at 5:07 PM
You are in the Chevrolet Equinox Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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Replying to: grosloup (Jul 28, 2008 9:11 am)  If your Equinox is in good running condition then I don't see a need to trade it in. The trade off is that if you keep it you won't be making car payments (!) but as the car gets older you may have to put more money into maintenance. My personal choice would be to drive it as long as I could but it's your decision in the end. If you feel the need to have the latest and greatest then you have to include that into the equation too. tidester, host SUVs and Smart Shopper |
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Hi there, One of the vehicles I've got on my long list of considerations for next year is the Equinox. I have looked at them, and I think they are very intelligently laid out, comfortable, good size (not too big, not too small) ,etc. The only reason I didn't buy one last time I was car shopping was that I was not crazy about how it drove. I thought it was very underpowered. Have I been given to understand that some of the engine problems have been worked out? Or that you can now buy one with a slightly bigger engine? The other big issue that I'd be curious about is their long term investment worth. My current vehicle is a lease, but I don't think I want to keep doing that time after time. In looking at this forum, I don't begin to see the number of "problem topics" that I see under the Jeep forums for example (scary!) and I haven't heard too many people who have had them talk about a lot of repair issues. Would like to hear from some longer term owners, and info about the engines? Many thanks! Karen |
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Replying to: kmauss (Aug 18, 2008 4:48 am) First of all, a car is not an investment. It is something you buy as a necessity. North American cars are some of the worst for holding their value. Generally speaking most North American cars are worth less than 1/2 their original value after 3 years. The Equinox would be the same. The retail value may be slightly higher than 1/2 of the original value after 3 years however the wholesale value( what a dealer will pay for one is surely less than 1/2 of the original value. I have had my Equinox for 18 months (2007) and I currently have 36,000 miles on it. I don't find it underpowered at all. I live in Eastern Ontario in Canada; the car was built up here in Ingersoll for the North American market. One thorn in my side is that it does not have heated mirrors. To me that is a necessity in Canada. The centre console is very poorly designed; if you drop something down there it's like gone in a big black hole. I got this car because I ended a GMAC lease early and so I was tied in to getting another GM product to avoid penalties. I will drive this car to the end of its lease at 60.000 miles. I don't anticipate any catastrophic failures. The major components seem to be holding up fine. What I have observed is that there is better value in a Hyundai Santa Fe or even a Veracruz. Hyundais have come a long way over the past few years and have become serious players in this market. Just this W/E I did a brake job an a 2001 Hyundai Elantra. This vehicle had 150,000 Kms (90,000 miles)on it and it was on its second set of rotors and pads. I replaced the rear shoes the front calipers and pads and rotors. All else on this car is solid. The engine is quiet and runs like a top. My point is, don't jump in to an Equinox before having a thorough look at the Hyundais. The value for the dollar is far superior in a Hyundai than it is in an Equinox. I have owned Hyundais since 1986 and not one of them has ever cost me a dime over and above regular maintenance. In fact the Hyundai vehicles cost me less per mile to maintain than my North American cars. I hope this give you a little bit of fuel for thought when picking your next car. Phil. |
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Replying to: philw (Aug 18, 2008 6:48 am) First of all, a car is not an investment. It is something you buy as a necessity. North American cars are some of the worst for holding their value. Totally agree with you there! I think when I said investment, I meant more as in something worth keeping after a lease would expire than not. I know all cars are really just a money pit! And no worries on jumping into anything -- I am definitely taking my time and have promised myself that I will look at everything out there. I am more seeing what long term issues might be out there. Thanks! Karen
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Replying to: philw (Aug 18, 2008 6:48 am) For us it is a long term commitment and good investment. We will probably keep it 10 years minimum. It is my wife's vehicle and she bought it for hauling our two boys, and for her business. She fell in love with this (New at the time) 2005 Equinox LT, which has a sunroof, leather interior and exterior is in Galaxy Silver. One of the features that sold her was that the arm rest moves out of the way, and opens up the center to put her hand bag and other things. This GM innovation has made alot of women happy. Almost all SUV's have these space robbing clumsy center consoles, with no place to conveniently put you bag of goods or a womens bag. My wife has her own business. She can fold & lock down the front passenger seat flat, and put her LapTop PC on the flat seat platform. It will stay there while she drives and she can use it when she is parked, very convenient and smart. Totally Cool! For safety, Equinox has airbags, traction control, antilock brakes, 5 star rating and the newer ones have stabililty control. All these safety features are there if you need them. We live up North and she drives the Equinox thru the winter snow with great handling and control. As for resale value, it depends how much you paid below List Price. For us, we got a great deal with incentives and rebates, that after 3 years, we could sell it for $2000 less than what we paid for it. So far, we had the Equinox over three years and has been trouble free for 37,000 miles. GM has made the Equinox reliable, with extreamly low maintenance, and easy to drive. The best part is we save $600+ every 60,000 miles, since I don't have replace a timingbelt/waterpump that you would have to do in alot of these other foreign vehicles. So far, the Equinox is still a keeper for us. 
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Replying to: jim_dandy (Aug 18, 2008 5:13 pm) Thank you very much for that post. I too am very impressed with the interior design of them. I think they definitely had some women helping to design them -- seriously, no offense to any guys out there, but a lot of SUV type vehicles were clearly designed to look tough and macho and not have an ounce of practicality in the interior! (i.e where to stash your purse, etc.) Whatever I end up getting next, I'm looking at keeping it on the long term, so I'm trying to be a smart shopper. I am also happy to hear that they handle well in bad weather. I live in southern PA, which is hit or miss for bad winters. Sometimes we get off easy, sometimes it's a snow/ice/sleet mess every week, so bad weather handling is another thing I put into the mental mixture. Thanks again! Karen |
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Replying to: kmauss (Aug 18, 2008 4:48 am)  daddysangel
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Replying to: daddysangel (Aug 28, 2008 10:03 pm) Karen |
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I'm looking for the build date of a 2008 LT AWD Equinox. Last time I did this,a helpful GM tech searched the last six or eight numbers of the Vin and told me on which day and week it was built. So if someone out there could help me again here is the last few #'s of the VIN F086035555 Russ
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Replying to: rvoth (Sep 06, 2008 6:08 pm) tidester, host SUVs and Smart Shopper |
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