My Roadmaster Wagon has a new friend.

Discussion in 'General Station Wagon Discussions' started by 81X11, Aug 29, 2016.

  1. 81X11

    81X11 Well-Known Member

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    My Roady wagon has a new friend. We now have two big bulbous Buicks at the Massey house. Bought this 2012 Enclave Premium over the weekend. Pretty neat, but not sure it's a real "Buick". I do like that the grill is mounted to the hood like on the Roadmaster. Feels familier!

    The Enclave is really loaded, and I don't know half of what it does or how to work it! Ha! It has every option except running boards and AWD (not needed in Texas), and even has GPS and rear roof DVD (my kids love it), a power sunroof with a second vista roof over the second row, and the interior is full of black leather, and a surprising amount of wood and chrome trim. I highly doubt it'll ever be a classic like our Roadmasters are, but it makes a nice family car and commuter for my wife and looks nice next to my Roadmaster wagon in the garage. The more Buick tri-shields I have to clean, the happier I am.

    I sold my trusty 2001 GMC Yukon Denali to buy this Enclave. I doubt the Enclave will be nearly as reliable as that Denali was, but at 170K miles it was finally getting a little ratty around the edges. My wife wanted something with three rows again, but used Yukon prices have gone totally insane, and besides she wanted something with better mileage too so she could have it for her commuter, so moved to this Enclave.

    My Roady wagon is not going anywhere, but I mainly use it as a weekend fun toy these days. I want to keep it forever.

    Will miss my big Yukon, but in doing this I've now inherited Misty's "old" 2008 TrailBlazer to use as my commuter, so we both kinda got new vehicles. The TrailBlazer is a little boring but it's reliable (only 62K miles still)...and my only real issues is I have a feeling I'll have to LOOK for my vehicle in the work parking lot now! I feel so...normal. ;) Oh, I didn't plan it but the TrailBlazer and Enclave are the exact same color brown....will save money on touch-up paint!

    New toys. Take Care All!

    -Texas Mike

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    I really like the painted-on pinstripes
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    And here was my view this morning, with my new daily-driver TrailBlazer and our new Enclave. Same color brown! Ha!
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    fannie and dmfconsult like this.
  2. OrthmannJ

    OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

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    Nice addition Mike. I really like those Enclave's. My Aunt and Uncle have one. They are very nice, roomy and comfortable. It will be a good companion for your Roadmaster.
     
  3. 81X11

    81X11 Well-Known Member

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    I researched these a lot before buying. Some folks have had no issues, and others have had a lot of problems. I'm hoping this is a good one. In typical GM fashion the first years, 2008-10, seemed to have the most problems. The 2012 models are actually rated pretty well for reliability, as they had a lot of the updates built into them. It is a really smooth and quiet vehicle. We'll see!
     
  4. fannie

    fannie Well-Known Member

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    The driveway looks awesome. Was it tricky for your dealer to find that Enclave in the just right shade of brown to look that good parked next to the other two?

    :happy:
     
  5. 81X11

    81X11 Well-Known Member

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    Haha, it was a total fluke. We drove the 40-miles north to look at a silver Enclave and this brown one was parked on the dealer lot across the street. Was much nicer than the silver one. And yep, I'll save money on touch-up paint since the Enclave and TrailBlazer are the exact same colors.
     
  6. Krash Kadillak

    Krash Kadillak Well-Known Member

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    You're always doing little factory-correct add-ons or mods on your new vehicles. Anything planned yet for this one? (Might still be too soon....)
     
  7. BlueVista

    BlueVista Well-Known Member Charter Member

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    "Is that a Buick?" :LOL:
    Maybe you should paint your Roadie brown and then you could save even more on touch-up paint?? :D
     
  8. 81X11

    81X11 Well-Known Member

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    Nothing too big. This one is a 2012, so the C-piller is body color. In 2013 Buick blacked-out the C-pillar and added a chrome Buick emblem there as well. I'd like to do that to ours, since to me it lowers the roofline and looks better. Beyond that I may try to find some factory running boards so my wife doesn't wear the set bolsters out sliding in and out. That's about it....for now!

    -Mike
     
  9. 81X11

    81X11 Well-Known Member

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    Aaannnd....back to the dealer. Bought on Friday evening with 50,200 miles and just dropped back off for service with 50,400 miles. Ha. Nothing horrible, the dealer installed new front struts on the Enclave right before we bought it, but didn't do the rear shocks, and should have. Also, a few times when backing up while turning to full-lock, we heard/felt a thunk in the steering. I looked last night and the right front sway bar link has a tear in the boot, where it mounts to the new strut. I'm guessing that got torn when they did the struts, and am hoping that's the thunk. Other than turning to full-lock it steers and handles fine. SO we'll see. Dealer ordered new shocks and will check the front, and put me in a loaner. And so it begins... ;)
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  10. 81X11

    81X11 Well-Known Member

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    I'm not griping, the dealer was very nice and gave me zero issues about replacing the rear shocks. They also put me in an Infiniti SUV, and I was expecting a VW or something. Starting off with brand new shocks and struts is OK with me.

    Here's some interior pics. We looked at the Chevy Traverse and the GMC Acadia models too, which mechanically are the same, and the Buick won hands-down. I like the exterior styling of the Buick OK but love the wood, chrome and leather interior. And of course I'm a Buick guy! ;)

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  11. 81X11

    81X11 Well-Known Member

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    Something goofy, these Enclaves don't have glove compartment or footwell lights....things even my '81 Chevy Citation has. Nice work GM.
     

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