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Need Help Deciding Between Acadia and Pilot

7K views 28 replies 17 participants last post by  Narg 
#1 ·
Hello,

I am a brand new member who is looking for advice. I am thinking about buying an Acadia, but am having second thoughts. This would be the first American car that I have owned since my 67 Firebird. For the past 23 years I have driven Hondas or Toyotas. I would love to buy American this time around. When I saw the Acadia for the first time I thought “wow – this is my car!” I wanted the functionality of a minivan with the looks and performance of a car. I also wanted to improve on the 18 mpg highway I get with my 01 Sienna. The Acadia seemed to be perfectly designed for my needs.

The other car I am considering is the Honda Pilot. Based on short driving tests I think the Acadia drives better than the Pilot and the interior 7-seat configuration is better. The Acadia also gets better gas mileage (at least in terms of specs).

Here is the problem. All of my friends are warning me about quality issues. I went online and have seen some posts about transmission problems as well as leaky roofs. I understand the roof issue was fixed. What about the transmission issue? I plan on buying a 2009 - are these issues resolved? I guess I am looking for confirmation that I will not be stuck with a problem car. I will be buying a 7 year extended warranty on either the Acadia or Pilot. I just don’t want the hassles of frequent repairs.

The other issue I have is price. It looks like the Acadia is going to cost about $5K more than the Pilot after financing is factored in. Honda is offering 3 year 1.9% financing while the best I can find for the Acadia is 5%. Call it patriotism, or call it craziness, but I would be OK with the extra cost as long as the car is reliable. I was born and raised in Detroit and really want to see them get out of this hole. Please share your thoughts on this. I need to buy my new car in the next week or so.

P.S. I am looking at the SL2 with Navigation and the DVD with the sun roofs, running boards, 7 year warranty and Simonizing the car. Even after the "Red Tag" price and the rebates it looks like I will come in at $45,000 (in SoCal). Does this seem right?

PPS. On another note, my sister in law says I should get AWD because it helps when driving in the rain. Is this true? Is the AWD more or less reliable than the 2WD?

Thanks for reading such a long post!!!
Chip
 
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#2 ·
MrChip said:
Hello,

I am a brand new member who is looking for advice. I am thinking about buying an Acadia, but am having second thoughts. This would be the first American car that I have owned since my 67 Firebird. For the past 23 years I have driven Hondas or Toyotas. I would love to buy American this time around. When I saw the Acadia for the first time I thought “wow – this is my car!” I wanted the functionality of a minivan with the looks and performance of a car. I also wanted to improve on the 18 mpg highway I get with my 01 Sienna. The Acadia seemed to be perfectly designed for my needs.
Just about everyone on this forum would agree with you that the Acadia is a gread design.
MrChip said:
The other car I am considering is the Honda Pilot. Based on short driving tests I think the Acadia drives better than the Pilot and the interior 7-seat configuration is better. The Acadia also gets better gas mileage (at least in terms of specs).
As with all cars, the mileage you get will depend on your driving habits. Most are getting within the stated range, some a bit more, but some are getting less too.
MrChip said:
Here is the problem. All of my friends are warning me about quality issues. I went online and have seen some posts about transmission problems as well as leaky roofs. I understand the roof issue was fixed. What about the transmission issue? I plan on buying a 2009 - are these issues resolved? I guess I am looking for confirmation that I will not be stuck with a problem car. I will be buying a 7 year extended warranty on either the Acadia or Pilot. I just don’t want the hassles of frequent repairs.
To clarify. The transmission did not have any quality problem. There were a couple changes to the program to make it perform differently, but there were no quality issues with the transmission. I have had the 2008 Acadia for about 15 months, 14,000 miles, and ZERO issues. Of course, there are some on this forum that have had issues, but that will be true of any car you buy.
No matter how reliable the car and/or brand is, you will always have a few cars in that line up that fail. Either one of these cars could run you 100,000 miles with no issues and either one could fail on you. If you are worried about the Acadia, then I wouldn't get it because if it fails once or twice, then you will claim that GMC is poor quality. If you are sure Honda is a quality car, then get it because if it fails once or twice, then you will just write that off as a failure or two that all manufacturers are bound to have and you still have a quality car. (Make sense?)
MrChip said:
The other issue I have is price. It looks like the Acadia is going to cost about $5K more than the Pilot after financing is factored in. Honda is offering 3 year 1.9% financing while the best I can find for the Acadia is 5%. Call it patriotism, or call it craziness, but I would be OK with the extra cost as long as the car is reliable. I was born and raised in Detroit and really want to see them get out of this hole. Please share your thoughts on this. I need to buy my new car in the next week or so.
The Pilot is $5K less and it is actually less car too. However, if you are OK with the styling of the Pilot, and you can get it for $5K less, I think that the Pilot might be the car for you. Of course, we on this forum like the Acadia Better. :)
MrChip said:
P.S. I am looking at the SL2 with Navigation and the DVD with the sun roofs, running boards, 7 year warranty and Simonizing the car. Even after the "Red Tag" price and the rebates it looks like I will come in at $45,000 (in SoCal). Does this seem right?
I don't know about pricing cars with extra warrantys and Simonizing. I recommend contracting for the car only first and then once you have that price, if you want to add on the other stuff, negotiate each one indivitually.
MrChip said:
PPS. On another note, my sister in law says I should get AWD because it helps when driving in the rain. Is this true? Is the AWD more or less reliable than the 2WD?
I do not think AWD is less reliable than the 2WD. AWD is a bit better in the rain, but it does get worse gas mileage.
MrChip said:
Thanks for reading such a long post!!!
Chip
And thank you for joining the forum!!! Good luck with your decision.
 
#3 ·
I agree with Gar. The sunroof issue on my car has been fixed. I have a 2007 with almost 40,000 miles on it. I have not had any huge problems. As a matter of fact, most would be nonexistant if I weren't a member here.

Tranny is fine, gas mileage is good if you remember that this is a big car.

I have the FWD and live in Houston. During Ike we drove to the stables to check on my daughter's horse. It was pouring and the winds were at least 35 mph. We had a little hydroplaning when we hit standing water, but other than that it stuck like a trooper. We drove out the next day in rain just as hard, but not as much wind. No problems at all. Plus, my parents live in SoCal and rain is an annual thing. ;)

I was like you, I had one American car before this one and swore off American. Saw the Acadia at a car show and surprised the heck out of my husband when I told him I wanted it. (I was looking at the Audi and Merc.) This car is exactly what I needed and I would buy again in a heartbeat.

Good luck to you!

PS- Get Simonizing at a reputable car wash, I did and saved a huge chunk of change.
 
#4 ·
Great job GAR, that's pretty much what I would have said.  :thumb:

The only "problem" or failure with our Acadia was the XM radio would occassionally change itself to Channel 1 when you restarted the car and a new XM receiver took care of it.  Other than that, we had the sunroof drain hose recall performed but never had any leaks prior to that and had the transmission software updated.  It's been an excellent quality vehicle.  Fuel mileage has exceeded what we were getting with our 2002 Odyssey as well, but driving style has a significant effect on the mileage of such a heavy vehicle.

Other than full size pickups, the Acadia was the first American vehicle my wife and I had bought in a long time and we couldn't be happier.

As far as the AWD vs. FWD, both versions have Stabilitrack to help keep you on the road.  We've never had seconds thoughts about going with FWD.  Neither snow nor rain affect us.

As far as the Pilot goes, the Acadia is larger and has considerably more cargo room behind the 3rd row 24 cu ft. vs. 18 cu ft.
 
#5 ·
I have a 2009 and have had zero issues with it that I would consider quality issues. The first issue was the dealer somehow ruined the finish on my leather, they replaced the drivers seat leather with new no questions asked. Second the bin on top of the dash was not opening properly so I called and the service department ordered one and installed it 3 days later; I later found out I was causing the bit to lock up by placing my Xpress Toll transponder in the bin such that it was binding up the latch.
As far as MPG is concerned my wife regularly gets 18-19 in town and we get 22-24 on the highway. We are very pleased with the mileage considering the vehicle is almost the same size as a Tahoe.
We also looked at the 09 Pilot and my wife wasn't a big fan of the exterior and although it is a quality vehicle I couldn't stand all the buttons on the center stack. Otherwise it is a nice vehicle, I have read reviews that say the Pilot is underpowered but underpowered to me means you can't merge onto the highway at highway speeds and I think the Pilot can do that.
Finally if you couldn't tell we absolutely love our Acadia and my 4 year old loves it to(it has RES). My 10 month old doesn't really have an opinion yet but I'm sure she loves it.
 
#9 ·
MrChip said:
Here is the problem. All of my friends are warning me about quality issues.
Don't let your friends dictate what you buy. Do your research (as I see you're doing) for both the Acadia and
the Pilot and then buy whatever you want based on the information you find that seems logical and without
any fanboyism. There is plenty of info here and I'm sure you can find plenty of info on the Pilot online. The
majority of the owners here would recommend you the Acadia duh! just like the majority of the owners would
do so on a Pilot forum. Good luck and if you go the Acadia route we hope to see you here in the future.
 
#10 ·
ok- I am a new acadia owner, and a CURRENT AND FORMER Honda owner. We traded our Oddy in on the acadia. It was a 1999 (we bought new) and it was on its 3rd transmission when we were lucky enough to get rid of it for what I considered a fair price-
It only had 150K miles, and was the most unreliable honda I have ever owned.. I have a 2001 Accord EX with a 5-speed and the vtec 4 cyl.. 120k, and get 30mpg in town. no issues other than maintenance.

When i sold the Oddy, it was on it's 3rd transmission. Honda knows there is an issue with the V6- Auto transmission., and it is well documented in the honda and acura line by recalls and warranty extensions (based on my experience, and the musings of my service advisor), who drives a Yukon.

My Integra (1987 and I still miss it) had 260K but unfortunately onlt 2 doors (darn kids) when I got rid of it, and my wife had an accord (1991) that we traded at 140K for the new oddy. We got about 50K out of each tranny, and Honda (to thier credit) replaced all 3 for free when I pushed the issue.

The last GM car I owned was a Chevette(go ahead and laugh at me- I do), and it was a piece. GM has definately upped thier game, and I love my Acadia. The fit and finish is far superior to anything i have owned to date, and the BTooth phone is cool, but then again, i like gadgets!

When My service advisor told me to ditch the van after the 3rd trans was put in, we looked away from Honda, and landed on our Acadia.

Hope that helps!
 
#11 ·
I too, am not impressed with honda.
I traded a 2004 element, and did not think it was reliable nor low maintenance.
I will not buy another honda again.

The Acadia is by far the best vehicle I've owned.
The new DI engine is very impressive!
I would not hesitate to recommend one.
 
#12 ·
Our synopsis:
We had a 4x4 Durango and were looking into the relatively new CUV types. In the course of this, we looked at/researched:
1) Dodge Journey (brand loyalty, the Durango was our third one & we both liked them- I still have #2 to tow my cars)
Notes- Only 7 passenger vs 8 for the Acadia/Outlook (with center bench). Test drove two, and SXT (mid level) and RT (top level). Were not impressed with the air conditioning. Keep in mind we are in Florida, and Mrs. Blue does not do heat, so her vehicle has to have great AC. Exceptional value- the Acadia comparably equipped was about 25% more. Was actually steered to the Acadia/Outlook by members on a Dodge forum. :)

2) Suzuki XL7, Toyota Highlander & RAV4- all too small inside.

3) Mazda CX9- no overhead rear AC vents. Only rear AC came from the rear of the front console.

4) Pilot- didn't like the styling 2008 or 2009. No overhead rear AC vents.

5) Outlook/Enclave- We wanted navigation, and this required the XR trim level. The XR trim comes with wood trim inside, which we did not like (ditto the Enclave BTW).

6) Acadia- Liked the styling, inside and out. Also only way to get what we got (bench center seat with cooled seats w/o wood trim). Didn't like the higher price, and the "option steering" where you have to buy progressively more expensive trim levels to get certain things. We ended up spending $7K more to get the $650 cooled seats, which are only available on the SLT2. The extra stuff is nice, but we were planning on the nav radio, bench seat, trailer package, and not much else. The cooled seats are worth every bit of the $650 BTW. Lots of cool gadgets as well.

7) Traverse- Delayed availability, delayed colors, no bench seat with cooled seats. As with the Acadia, would have been a better value for us if you could get the cooled seats on the next to top level model.

As for your specific points, GAR did a great job on them. I'll add to remember AWD is not like a 4x4. It is maximum 65% front and 35% rear. If you can do so yourself, you will save several hundred dollars buying aftermarket running boards and installing them yourself. There are a few posts here with pictures illustrating how to do so- you'll just need a few hand tools and a drill.

We are seeing more of the "is this a good price" types of questions. The best way to find out is to go to either Edmunds.com or Cars.com and build the vehicle the way you'd want it equipped. They will give you invoice pricing, and there will always be ad fees on top of these, usually ranging from $400-900. This will give you an idea of a starting point for the negotiation, and how any specials such as "Red Tag" stack up.

Hope to read soon that you are now an owner. This is a great forum, and between the members here we can generally figure out how to get things done. In the past two weeks, I've gotten info on getting headrests recovered, and figured out why Mrs. Blue's cell phone didn't work properly with the Bluetooth. :thumb:
 
#13 ·
Mr. Chip,

You have received a considerable amount of excelent information re: your questions. And those who have contributed are all well-qualified to offer their opinions & recommendations. If I had anything of further value to add, I would. Please send $69.85 to the Acadia Forum Fund at the address found on the Home page.

That was a joke ;) We also like to kid each other at most every opportunity! Good luck in your research, and we hope to have you join us as the owner of an '09 Acadia that'll rock your socks!

Smooth[/color] <><
 
#15 ·
teetertotter said:
If you prefer a small vehicle, the pilot is for you. If you prefer a BIG vehicle, then the Acadia is for you!
We have a Vibe and a Tracker. I consider both of them small. I would call the Pilot more mid-sized. But I agree that the Acadia is BIG. I have even seen posts where people say their only complaint is that it is too big. Those posts always make me chuckle as it's as if they did not know how big the car was that they purchased. :) Seriously though, the Acadia is way bigger than it looks.
 
#16 ·
GAR said:
Seriously though, the Acadia is way bigger than it looks.
I had a similar conversation with my brother-in-law who recently purchased a new Escalade (non-EXT). We went around and around for awhile before I went outside and parked our Acadia next to his Cadillac. The exterior dimensions are within an inch or two each other, with the exception of the Escalade being quite a bit taller. He was really surprised when we started opening doors and comparing just how much room was inside each, with the Acadia actually being roomier inside with the only exception being slightly narrower. Actual cargo volume was quite a bit more in the Acadia, with a big advantage when the 3rd row seats are being used.
 
#17 ·
teetertotter said:
If you prefer a small vehicle, the pilot is for you. If you prefer a BIG vehicle, then the Acadia is for you!
I had a flash of buyer's remorse when I saw the 3rd row seating of the Pilot and started to get real-world mileage of 17-19 from the Acadia. Maybe I should have gone with the Pilot? But then we put the wife, two kids (in car seats) and the in-laws in the car and realized anything smaller than the family truckster would not have worked.

Do we *need* the room all of the time? No, but it's great to have when we do.

I'll also add that the ability to walk between the second row seats when the kids are passed out has come in handy on more than one occasion.
 
#18 ·
Definitely GMC Acadia...just got back from a 7 hour drive to upstate NY I and sat in the 3rd row with my father-in-law, pretty comfortable being 6' 2" and not skinny. Even more enjoyable with the 2nd sky view open to provide an element of openness; also had (3) duffel bags and a single stroller in the cargo area behind me.

If you have (2) kids and transport around with your in-laws a decent amount, no other vehicle (except the Ford refrigerator) will meet your needs.
 
#19 ·
Hello everyone,

All I can say is wow!
My internet service was having problems during the past 2 days. I could not sign in to see if I had any responses. When I signed in this morning I was blown away with the number of replies!! I can tell Acadia owners are passionate about their cars. I recognize that this forum is somewhat biased (given that you are all owners). However, I am impressed with the impartial feedback from everyone. Well everyone except bonk1313. Bonk, in case I did not mention it, I actually live in Alaska and have a pet Polar Bear (just in case you decide to come looking for me). :D

I would love to reply to each individual post, but my wife and I are literally leaving in 30 minutes to test drive the Acadia (the other time we took it for a drive we were stuck in CA traffic and could not get it over 30 mph). I will definitely keep everyone posted on my decision. I may post a quick poll to see your opinions on 2WD vs. 4WD. I have never owned a 4WD. The only reason to get it would be for better traction on slippery freeways after it rains in SoCal. We may drive in snow a few times, but that will be infrequent.

Now that I have been looking at the car I have started to notice them in the street. I saw one in black yesterday that looked every bit as nice as my neighbor's Mercedes.

I have a new question. My mother-in-law is saying not to buy GMC because they will go bankrupt and then my warranty will be worthless. I would guess there is a 50/50 chance that GM will go into Chapter 11 sometime in 2009. I cannot imagine they will go away. I think one way or another GM needs to shed a few brands and renegotiate some of their pension/health care costs. Whatever car I buy I will get an extended warranty (7 year). Does anyone know what would happen to the warranty if GM does file Chapter 11? I realize that no one can predict the future. Maybe someone here is a lawyer or has background in knowing how this worked in similar past situations.

Thanks again!
Chip
 
#20 ·
NEVER LISTEN TO AN IN-LAW ;D
actually that is a concern, only for warrenty reasons but we have posts about the warrenty processes/have to's. search and you will find. asking us what we think about our car is like asking blagojevich if he is crooked!
 
#21 ·
News Update
Hello everyone. I want to thank you all again for your help. I have not yet made up my mind, but am trying to select the Acadia over the Pilot. :confused:

I have a new question. Regardless of which car I buy I plan to get a 6 or 7 year extended warranty. Here is my question, with the latest news that the auto rescue plan fell through, I think there is a fairly good chance that GM goes Chapter 11 in order to re-work its cost structure. I'm not sure what other choices they will have. When I buy the extended warranty is that through GM, GMC, or some other division? What would happen if GM goes Chapter 11 to reorganize. Would my warranty be worthless? Take it to the extreme, what if a year or two from now GM closes GMC? What happens to my warranty then? Did GM continue to honor the warranties for Oldsmobile customers after they closed the brand? My wife is really nervous about this. She can tell I like the Acadia more than the Pilot. It comes down to price and peace of mind.

Thanks again. One way or another I may be signing the dotted line this weekend.

Chip

P.S. Hope this makes sense - I am typing it at 2:30 am.

After I posted this question I just found this on a Saturn forum. It is good news for us but not so good news for Saturn owners.

General Motors hasn't officially announced the end of Saturn, but in a restructuring plan submitted to Congress, the automaker said it would concentrate resources on four core brands -- Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.
That leaves Saturn, along with GM's Pontiac, Saab and Hummer brands, with a dim future.
[/color]
 
#22 ·
MrChip said:
That leaves Saturn, along with GM's Pontiac, Saab and Hummer brands, with a dim future. [/i][/color][/b]
Take a look at this post. http://www.acadiaforum.net/forum/index.php?topic=4999.0

If you look at the whole thing, it said that Pontiac would remain as part of the GMC/Buick network. It also says more about Saturn too.

I know that my GMC/Buick/Pontiac became an Oldsmobile repair center when Oldsmobile closed and they had signs up saying that all Warranty work and repair work on Olds could be done through them. If they repeat what they did with Olds, then they will honor the warranties.
 
#23 ·
I don't know the legal specifics as far as warranties go when a company goes into bankruptcy, but I do know it would be economic and public relations suicide if GM refused to honor any warranties if they filed for Chapter 11 reorganization. I cannot imagine they would ever consider it, if they did they would be the dumbest executives on Earth. No jokes please. ;D As bad as things have been at GM in the past, the current leadership has at least got the company headed in the right direction product wise. Warranties are not a significant cost that would have to be restructured.

As far as the situation with Oldsmobile, their warranties remained completely intact and service work was handled by other GM dealers.
 
#25 ·
GeoHawk said:
I don't know the legal specifics as far as warranties go when a company goes into bankruptcy, but I do know it would be economic and public relations suicide if GM refused to honor any warranties if they filed for Chapter 11 reorganization.
Thank you everyone (this is for all of today's replies). I agree, if they were to cancel their warranty they might as well close up shop. The warranty is important because it addresses my wife's overall concern about reliability and my concern that if something did go wrong, given that the Acadia is like a mini computer center on wheels, any type of repair could be very expensive.

I also think I will finance it through GM assuming their rates are anywhere close to being competitive (which I think they are).

Now it comes down to price and availability - I need to buy before the end of the year.

Since I have been getting such great help here, what is everyone's opinion on 2008 vs 2009? Either way I would get the SLT2 with NAV and DVD. I think the rebates on the 2008 are $2,500 to $3K more than the 09. Is the extra HP and having a newer model worth it?
 
#26 ·
It's a tough call. I would not trade my 08 for an 09 because I really like the extra things that they dropped with the 09 (glove box light, cup holders at read of console, etc.) After the last flash, I am totally fine with the way it drives and given that we do mostly highway driving, the fuel economy is fine too.

But from what I can see, the 09 does perform better overall, so I would suggest driving both and making the call that way.
 
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