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The vehicle you are bidding on is a 2004 Buick Rendezvous "Ultra" edition Sport Utility Vehicle, with a 3.6 liter V6 engine, all wheel drive, loaded with interior features, and 148,500 miles. The vehicle runs great and is amazingly maneuverable for a mid-size SUV. Very smooth ride for both in-town driving and long-distance road trips. Have driven through the mountains of East Tennessee and North Carolina several times. AWD handled snowy, winding mountain roads easily (I'm talking about you, Route 421 from Johnson City to Boone).

CONDITION

For a 10 year old SUV the vehicle is in good shape.

(1)Maintenance: Had transmission fluid flushed at 134,000 miles. Have done all oil changes myself (Castrol GTX High Mileage), most recently at 134,000, 140,000 and (pre-sale) 147,000. Flushed coolant at 142,000. Have replaced fog lights, front and rear blinkers, and the fun-to-get-to (have to remove the panel on the rear hatch that includes the license plate) brake and reverse lights. Installed aftermarket back-up camera (yours if you want it, can easily remove if you don't). Rotated tires recently at 134,000. Changed out the driver's side door window switch at 134,000(ish).

(2)Engine & drivetrain: Vehicle runs great. No problems starting up, shifting gears, or breaking. Two very minor issues. With our recent cold weather the vehicle's Service Vehicle Soon light has been coming on intermittently. The computer gives a generic P1028 error code which could mean low coolant or a sticking thermostat. As I flushed the coolant recently, my bet's on the thermostat. The vehicle doesn't run hot so the thermostat may be sticking open, but I have not noticed any serious reduction in gas mileage (which can happen if your thermostat's stuck open -- if stuck closed, your engine's going to overheat). Replacement thermostats for 2004 Buick Rendezous run $14-$18 online. A second minor issue is the front AWD fluid (P/N 12378514, I think) is getting a little low. I haven't had time to change this out myself or run it over to our local mechanic. This doesn't effect the vehicle, even when the AWD is engaged, but you will notice a grindy-moaning maybe once every other day after the vehicle starts or is idling after driving on city streets for a bit. These are the only issues I know with the engine or drivetrain.

(3)Exterior body: The vehicle's exterior is in very good shape. Again, you're looking at a 10 year old SUV. There are some minor scratches and scuffs, a couple small dings on the doors, and a light "somebody opened their door on me" hard-to-see dent on the passenger's door. Over the rear passenger's wheel the paint was scuffed (I indicate this in one photo). The vehicle bumped into a low retaining wall once, leaving a 3 inch cut on the left rear bumper, and a slight warping on the bumper near the hatch. Vehicle paint is, I believe original, and looks very sleek. Paint below the hatch on the rear bumper has faded, but you can buy touch-up spray paint online for less than $30 if that bothers you. Exterior base trim and roof racks are in great shape, no fading at all.

(4)Interior: Doors, dashboard, center console, floor and ceiling upholstery are in great shape. No stains, chips, or wear on buttons or steering wheel. I'm a non-smoker, and I was told the previous owners were not smokers. There are two very small "singe marks" on the floor near the door trim, so somebody at some time might have smoked in the vehicle, but there is no smell of smoke currently (the interior today smells of Griot's leather care, plastic, and pine). When I bought the vehicle several pieces of interior trim were damaged or missing. I've replaced or repaired most of these, except: (1)leather seats are worn - no holes or large tears, but creases, cracks -- driver's seat leather is discolored. I've used Bag Balm and most recently Griot's leather care which has helped soften the leather. If you're concerned with the discoloration, automotive leather dye is less than $40 online, and car seat covers are less than that. (2) A plastic panel is missing from the side of the rear passenger's "captain's chair" -- this doesn't effect the function of the chair, but you do see it when opening the door. The piece is available online for less than $40. (3)The passenger radio and rear center console are scuffed. A couple buttons on the center console radio stick, but I have had the radio working (don't hardly use it, just make the kids listen to their old man's music most of the time).

FEATURES

I've described all the features above. If you have a question about any specific feature, please ask and I can check.

HISTORY

I purchased the vehicle in October of 2013 from a used car dealership in Knoxville, Tennessee. I want to sell the vehicle and put the proceeds towards buying a very nice classic Jaguar for sale locally. With my wife's crossover SUV, we don't need two SUVs in the garage, and I'm sure it'll be better for the planet too.

Vehicle has two previous owners. Both were human beings, not rental agencies or businesses. One lived in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the other somewhere in Maryland.

The vehicle has an amazingly clean CarFax report. The first owner religiously took it in to the dealership for all recommended maintenance (wow, right?). The second owner took it to a Pep Boys regularly.

SHIPPING AND PAYMENT

All purchases should be made through PayPal. A $500 deposit should be made within 48 hours of purchase. The balance of the winning bid is expected to be paid before I transfer the vehicle and title. Buyers are responsible for all state, county, city taxes and fees, as well as title service fees in the state where the vehicle will be registered. Check your local Motor Vehicle registration office for fees and requirements in your state.

I have done my best to represent the vehicle's condition to my knowledge. I may know my way around a car, but I am not a certified mechanic. The sale is AS-IS with no warranty. Potential buyers are more than welcome to contact me and ask questions or ask for additional photos or video of the vehicle. If you wish to have an ASE Certified mechanic inspect the vehicle prior to purchase, you may do so provided you pay for the inspection -- there's a option to do that on the eBay listing. If you want to test drive the vehicle you can do so any time before the end of the auction (provided I'm not at work!), just make sure you have a valid driver's license and some insurance.

Local-pick up is preferred "shipping" option on this sale. We live down the road from the Knoxville McGhee-Tyson Airport, and have an Enterprise car rental location just down the street -- airport pickup or driving you over to/from Enterprise wouldn't be a problem. I can deliver the vehicle to you if you live within 150 miles of Knoxville, Tennessee, provided you pay for a rental car to get me back home (still cheaper than flying here, and saves you time on driving the rental yourself).

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Purchase price. I have set a reserve price on this auction sensitive to used car market conditions within 500 miles of Knoxville, Tennessee. please don't contact me about the reserve price -- I've set a "Buy It Now" price, and the reserve is a bit less than that. A couple of "no-haggle" dealers in Tennessee are selling the CXL model for more than my reserve price -- the CXL for sale at one of those dealerships has over 180k miles and is around $500 more than my reserve. Call me a nerd but my reserve price is based on a linear regression model of 22 2004 Rendezvous Ultra and CXL models for sale within 500 miles of Knoxville, so when I say I think I'm asking a fair price, I'm being really accurate/nerdy about it.

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I've included stats on the Rendezvous pulled from Edmonds.com. I believe these are accurate.

Exterior Measurements

WIDTH6 ft. 1.6 in. (73.6 in.)	HEIGHT5 ft. 8.9 in. (68.9 in.)
LENGTH15 ft. 6.5 in. (186.5 in.)	GROUND CLEARANCE0 ft. 7 in. (7 in.)
FRONT TRACK5 ft. 2.7 in. (62.7 in.)	REAR TRACK5 ft. 3.8 in. (63.8 in.)
WHEEL BASE9 ft. 4.2 in. (112.2 in.)

Interior Measurements

FRONT HEAD ROOM 40.9 in.	FRONT HIP ROOM 61.1 in.
FRONT LEG ROOM 40.5 in.	FRONT SHOULDER ROOM 58.7 in.
REAR HIP ROOM 61.1 in.	REAR HEAD ROOM 40.1 in.
REAR LEG ROOM 39 in.	REAR SHOULDER ROOM 58.7 in.

Fuel

ENGINE TYPE Gas	FUEL TYPE Regular unleaded
FUEL TANK CAPACITY 18 gal.	RANGE IN MILES (CTY/HWY) 288/396 mi.
EPA MILEAGE EST. (CTY/HWY) 16/22 mpg

DriveTrain

DRIVE TYPE All wheel drive

TRANSMISSION 4-speed automatic

Engine & Performance

BASE ENGINE SIZE 3.4 L	CAM TYPE Overhead valves (OHV)
CYLINDERS V6	VALVES 12
TORQUE 210 ft-lbs. @ 4000 rpm	HORSEPOWER 185 hp @ 5200 rpm
TURNING CIRCLE 37.4 ft.

Suspension

MacPherson strut front suspension	Short and long arm rear suspension
Four-wheel independent suspension

Interior Features

Front Seats

Passenger seat with manual adjustable lumbar support	Driver seat with manual adjustable lumbar support
Cloth	Bucket front seats

Rear Seats

Split-folding rear seatback	Reclining rear seats
Folding with storage center armrest

Power Features

Remote power door locks	Power mirrors
1 one-touch power windows

Instrumentation

Clock

Tachometer

Convenience

Cruise control	Front console with storage
Front and rear cupholders	Front door pockets
Overhead console with storage	Retained accessory power
Front seatback storage	Power steering
Universal remote transmitter (for garage door, security system, etc.)	12V front and 12V cargo area power outlet(s)
Tilt-adjustable steering wheel

Comfort

Air conditioning	Cargo area light
Front and rear reading lights	Leather steering wheel
Front and rear floor mats	Illuminating driver vanity mirror

In Car Entertainment

Element antenna	6 total speakers
AM/FM in-dash single CD player stereo	Speed sensitive volume control
Radio data system

Exterior Features

Roof and Glass

Variable intermittent wipers	Privacy glass
Rear defogger	Rear window wiper
Roof rack

Tires and Wheels

Steel wheels	16 x 6.5 in. wheels
Steel spare wheel	P215/70R16 tires
All season tires	Underbody mounted spare tire
Temporary spare tire

Doors

Fixed lifgate window

Rear liftgate door

Towing and Hauling

Cargo tie downs

Safety Features

4-wheel ABS	Dual front with head protection chamber for driver only side-mounted airbags
Child seat anchors	Remote anti-theft alarm system
Front and rear ventilated disc brakes	Rear door child safety locks
Daytime running lights	Engine immobilizer
Front fog/driving lights	Auto delay off headlamps
Dusk sensing headlamps	2 front headrests
2 rear headrests	Rear center 3-point belt
Electronic brakeforce distribution	Front multi-adjustable headrests
Rear height adjustable headrests

Auto blog

Buick Encore takes a hit of Mokka to tackle Dakar

Wed, 03 Sep 2014

There are many vehicles we'd consider taking racing. Even on a cross-country rally as punishing as the Dakar. But a Buick Encore? That's not one that would enter our motorsports-based consciousness. Yet it's basically what General Motors is entering in the South American rally raid this year, and you're looking at it.
Unveiled at the Moscow Motor Show, this rally machine is based on (or at least billed as) an Opel Mokka - the name that GM's European brand applies to the vehicle Americans know as the Encore, Buick's subcompact crossover. Only it's obviously been extensively modified. It's got a ten-inch raised suspension, a 137-gallon fuel tank, carbon-fiber bodywork and... hold on, we're sure we're missing something here. Oh, right: a 6.2-liter V8 kicking out 340 horsepower and 487 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox.
In other words, this is not the same Encore (or Mokka) you can pick up at your local Buick, Opel or Vauxhall dealership. It's not even close. It's not even recognizable as such, really. It was unveiled alongside a more sedate Opel Mokka Moscow Edition and a slew of other local debuts for the Opel brand that you can read more about in the (translated and original) Russian press release below.

Opel Cascada close to getting green light for US

Fri, 13 Sep 2013

For a company with a long tradition of grand touring convertibles, it's almost unseemly that General Motors doesn't offer a properly relaxed four-seat convertible in North America. There's the Chevrolet Camaro, of course, but it's not big on rear-seat space and it doesn't offer that sort of serene demeanor that many open-air buyers crave. We're thinking of something more refined and, dare we say, elegant. Something a bit closer to the Opel Cascada.
The General's front-wheel drive convertible went on sale in Europe this year, and while it seemed like a natural fit for its Buick brand in America, it's never been sold here. That may be about to change, however. Back in June, CEO Dan Akerson hinted he'd like to see the Cascada available in the US, and now there's word from Edmunds that importation "could happen soon." That's according to an unnamed insider at the company.
It's almost unseemly that GM doesn't offer a relaxed four-seat convertible.

Buick dusting off Grand National, GNX and T-Type nameplates

Mon, 26 Nov 2012

Inside Line reports Buick is planning to bring back some of the more storied names from the company's past, including the Grand National, GNX and the T-Type. Those cars rose to prominence in the 1970s and '80s to become performance legends of their day.
The new models will reportedly make use of the rear-wheel drive platform that currently underpins the Cadillac ATS and all would arrive as sedans - according to an unnamed source familiar with the initiative. Odds are the T-Type and the Grand National would share a driveline, with honest money being on a new twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 as the engine of choice. Word has it the mill will be good for anywhere from 350 to 400 horsepower.
That leaves only the GNX. Inside Line seems to think that machine could get down the road with some help from the all-new GM LT1 small-block V8. The engineers behind the ATS platform have already told us the engine bay is large enough for to accommodate the big eight pot, and since GM is most certainly working on an ATS-V, a slightly less powerful, less luxurious Buick iteration makes some kind of sense. We can't wait to see these things in the light of day.

2004 Buick Rendezvous Ultra Sport Utility 4-door 3.6l on 2040-cars