Does Buick Even Want To Sell The Regal TourX?
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The Buick Regal TourX strikes a different chord in today’s market. While most buyers gravitate towards high-riding crossovers and SUVs, the Regal TourX sets itself apart as (of all things) a wagon. The long roofline gives it tons of extra cargo room (74 cubic-feet with the rear seats folded), while the standard all-wheel-drive system and ruggedized cladding make it decent off the pavement. All told, the Buick Regal TourX makes a rather attractive argument in a market absolutely saturated with SUVs and crossovers. However, according to some of the comments we’ve gotten from different readers over the past year, it doesn’t seem like Buick is all that interested in actually selling the Regal TourX.
“I drive an Audi Allroad and love it but tired of the service on it,” writes one reader. “About a month ago, I went to my local Buick dealer to look at the TourX. They had two on the lot but didn’t offer a test drive or to even pull the car around for me to look at. No other customers in the dealer at the time.”
Unfortunately, that particular reader’s experience wasn’t unique. “Put in my information to be contacted about the TourX,” writes another. “Dealer called me once and said they would call me back when one came in stock in ‘about a week’, and that was a month ago. Never heard back. How do they expect to sell these cars like this?”
And another: “Currently have a BMW 328i wagon but TourX really caught my eye when they announced it. Went in to test drive one. Drove it and loved it. Started talking numbers then the salesman got another customer who was looking at a truck so he told me to wait. I waited for 30 minutes… he didn’t even come back so I left.”
And one more: “I have called my local Buick dealer four times about the new Regal Wagon. They take my information every time saying that a salesperson will call me back but I have yet to hear back.”
We have even more comments from other readers, and they’re along these lines. It’s unusual for a salesperson to neglect to engage with an interested customer, and even weirder for a salesperson to walk away from what seems like a lock. Something definitely seems wrong.
There are a few possibilities here. For starters, Buick sales staff might not know all that much about the Regal TourX, making it a difficult sell on their side. It’s also possible that a Regal TourX sale isn’t really lucrative for a dealer nor for a salesperson when compared to hot-ticket items like GMC and Buick crossovers or GMC pickup trucks.
Surprisingly, Regal sales are still up for Q1 of 2019. However, those figures take into account both the Sportback and TourX body styles. What do you think is going on? Sound off in the comments section below.
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Agreed the plastic cladding really kills a white car and cheapens it too, like I said in graphite it would hide it
With a GS bagel it might work better?
The only thing keeping me from buying one is that it shuts the engine off at stops, and there’s no method to shut that off. Take it or leave it seems to be the attitude.
Warranty the starter for the life of the car, or give me an off switch.
About a year ago I stopped into the local dealer specifically to look at the TourX and took a test drive in it. We always buy wagons and the TX is a very attractive package and price. However, I found the seats very uncomfortable – that killed the deal for me. Very strange in what is otherwise such a nice wagon although it’s not as luxurious as we generally buy. IMHO it’s underpriced and would sell better if Buick would add some luxury and promote it as such while raising the price enough to compensate salespeople adequately. FWIW, we ended up with a BMW wagon which we like a lot although it’s not quite as large as we would prefer as is the TX. Shame.
I bought a TourX and my experience was the opposite the whole time. Dealers called me back often, asking if I would still be interested. I eventually bought one fully loaded for 30k that was a low mileage loner. Please don’t give up people in the comments!!! I want this car to last so I have parts 10 years down the road?. I also get comments everywhere I go. I picked my friend up from the airport and he said it was the most beautiful thing he’d seen in a long time. Buick made the right car, 20 years too late. Please BUY THESE CARS!!!!!!!!
I sort of like seeing only a few others on the road and turning heads as we go by.
Tried to make ‘Buick’ wagon work, but reluctantly paid twice the price for another new Mercedes wagon. GM can’t equip a car or market themselves out of a paper bag. I just couldn’t stomach a car with phony black cladding (that’ll just turn grey) or the cheap finishes in the interior, including the cheap seats. Really too lightweight to tow anything with the GM wagon. With air adjustable, stabilized rear suspension and big brakes, I can tow a trailer or hang my KTM desert bike off the 5000 lb hitch installed on my E450 Mercedes wagon, just like the previous one that I drove for 240k miles. Don’t need the fake look of an SUV for AWD, interior cargo space, ride of a car, fuel economy of a car, or to compensate for anything. Why GM can’t summon the guts to offer an authentic, less-is-more, all purpose wagon with decent equipment and long-term oriented quality finishes and market it as a contrarian, anti-SUV, I have no idea. Subaru seems to have figured it out to a degree…
Completely agree. GM aimed for Subaru and got pretty close, then never bothered to market it; just blamed the customer when no one new came to look at a car their current customers were not interested in. Entire new markets can be created, but nope they just crank out boring SUV’s. Just like old Detroit before the Mustang or the Caravan.
Personally, I would love an affordable 2-door personal luxury coupe. I finally have the money to buy one. Not a Chargmerostang, but a classy update to the Toronado or Riviera or Cordoba. Something for grown ups. 40 years ago these cars were probably 20% of the market. Try to find one today. If GM made one they would give it goofy colors and inexplicable features and cancel it about two weeks after the bugs were worked out.
Although I am not privy to GM’s contract with Peugeot, I suspect that GM has very little financial incentive to market/move any Regal models. Common sense dictates that GM imports the bare minimum number they are contractually required to buy under the OPEL sale agreement, not a single model more.
I have been looking for car for two years and really didnt want a SUV. I was looking for something different that had some styling. When I saw the TourX, by accident, I decided to do more research. Went through local dealers but wanted specific options so they did not seem to interested in helping me. Had to use the Buick website and the Chat option to identify the location of a TourX I was willing to consider. Had to drive approximately 6 1/2 hours one way to go pick it up. I have had for month and really am enjoying the car. I actually got the Preferred but now want to upgrade to the Essence. This a beautiful car and I still haven’t seen another one other than mine since I got it. I actually am not a GM fan from past experience but this car made me forget all that. I wish the dealers knew more about the car. As far as I am concerned GM designers nailed it with the TourX. Keep up the good work. Keep up the originality and creativity.
We bought at the 3rd dealership which was over an hour away for our 2018 Preferred.
Im an owner, and I have had so many issues, that I think dealers are avoiding the damage to their reputation. Then again, compared to other GM vehicles, its what you would expect. People usually have to be pushed into a Buick, only a few nostalgic types seek them. Just remember, GM doesnt make good quality vehicles anymore, they are about ripping off Americans.
I ALSO HAD A VERY NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE WHEN I INQUIRED ABOUT TOUR X COMING TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP. I HAD
FIRST SEEN THE TOUR X AT THE N.Y. AUTO SHOW IN APRIL 2018 AND DECIDED AFTER CHECKING IT ALL OUT I WILL BE
PURCHASING / LEASING ONE AS SOON AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. I WAS TOLD THEY WOULD HIT THE MARKET FALL OF 2018. SO I GO TO MY LOCAL DEALER IN OCTOBER OF 2018 WE SIT AND TALK ABOUT THE TOUR X AND I GAVE THE SALESMAN ALL MY CONTACT INFORMATION AND END MY VISIT WITH PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO GET THE TOUR X IN, GIVING HIM THE COLORS I WOULD LIKE AND WHICH MODEL AND OPTIONS I WOULD WANT. AFTER CONTINUALLY CALLING THE DEALERSHIP CHECKING ON THE ARRIVAL AND GETTING VAGUE ANSWERS ALL
THE TIME I FINALY WENT ELSEWHERE AND FOR CHRISTMAS 2018 I WAS NOW SITTING IN A BRAND NEW CADILLAC. WHEN
THE BUICK SALESMAN DECIDED TO FOLLOW UP WITH ME IN FEBRUARY 2019 SAYING HE HAD MISPLACED MY INFORMATION, I SAID THANKS BUT NO THANKS AND SENT HIM A PHOTO OF ME AND MY NEW CADILLAC EXPLAINING TO
HIM HOW HE MISSED THE BOAT ON A SURE SALE BACK IN OCTOBER OF 2018. DISAPPOINTED THIS DEALERSHIP HANDLED
MY POTENTIAL SALE IN THIS MANNER. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO PROMOTE AND SELL VEHICLES THEN YOU MIGHT WANT TO
CONSIDER A CAREER CHANGE.
If your in the new England area come test drive a tourx at our store we would be happy to help you with your purchase… VENDETTI Buick Franklin mass
I went to look at the tourx and the dealer couldn’t be bothered to find the keys.
I researched and bought a Regal TourX. I couldn’t be happier. If the dealerships/GM continue to neglect this awesome vehicle, creating sizable discounts, I may very well end up with two in my household. Zero complaints…I’ve even reached a level of appreciation for the auto shut off system ?
We have one owner on Buickforuns who has two TourX’s!
The TourX could be so competitive in New England, where I see a Subaru Outback literally almost every few seconds while driving. Ditto for the Sportback.
Instead, I was totally unaware of the Regal until I started looking for alternatives for my default Legacy sedan.
Really liked the rear seat pass through on the Regal (sadly discontinued on my 2015 Legacy, and not coming back for the 2020 redesign either).
Then fell in love with the Sportback design, but … hmm, maybe the new VW Arteon instead?
Test drove a 2018 Sportback, yet the actual price in person bore no resemblance to the “Asking Price” on the dealer website, and was even higher than 2019 vehicles! Really made me wonder about Buick dealers in general…and the dealer closest to me has only 26 new vehicles for sale, which makes me wonder if they’ll be around for very long?
Buick makes it even worse by bringing in many Regal vehicles to New England with FWD, which makes no sense for a supposed luxury vehicle here.
And to get the standard safety-related electronics, you then need to step it up to the Essence trim.
Even then, all of the New England has only six such vehicles in the Sportback, with another two in NY. During the weeks I’ve been looking, none of them sell, while meanwhile my local Subaru dealer sells half as many Legacy sedans during that time period as the entire New England Regal Sportback Essence AWD DC I+II inventory. Same sales rate for my local VW dealer with the Arteon, even though it just arrived.
I feel like Buick could have had a really winner by bringing in the Opel Insignia yet instead botched it in so many ways.
I bought a TourX 8/31/18 and have 7,500 miles on it now. it has been a great car for us. It was assembled in Ruesselsheim, Germany with an engine from the U.S. and the transmission from Japan; a real world vehicle. It is Rioja Red Metallic and I agree some colors look better than others with the cladding.
The TourX has not had a single issue. I have read some complaints about the Auto-stop system but it has worked just fine for us. An all-wheel drive vehicle that gets 30 MPG, rides great, and is trouble-free. What more can you ask for?
Unfortunately (with profit at mind), the Opel/PSA deal and the CUV onslaught sealed the current Regals fate until the PSA contact dies. Will Regal/Commodore die again , or (I’ll sound like a broken record) GM will put Regal and Commodore on Alpha?.
I like the Tour X but I will never buy a vehicle that doesn’t have a spare tire. A can of stop leak and a toy air compressor. What a joke.
Some info here on how to buy a spare:
https://buickforums.com/forums/threads/space-saver-spare-tire-size-tourx-essence.51727/
… but in general, yes, no spare on a “rugged”-image slightly raised wagon with plastic body cladding, AWD, and non-RFT tires is really weird.
(By contrast, on the VW Arteon — close competitor to the Regal Sportback — trims that use the tire well for the subwoofer, the compact spare gets *upgraded* to a full size!)
The Regal twins are GM at it’s best, except for the interiors. As Insignia they are grabbing Euro market share. They do alright in Oz.
Selling Opel was a mistake. It was nearly profitable and GM only needed to copy some of the PSA reforms like a six model Vauxhall line, shorter work weeks, new methods of dealing with factory utilization.
@Steve I agree – I’m a TourX owner and while the interior is good, it could be a little better vs. Acura, etc. Perforated leather would have made a big difference. As it stands, for 25% off msrp on a heavily optioned Essence, I’m still VERY happy and telling everyone I meet about it. But would’ve gladly paid an additional few k for an Avenir / GS trim. Lacrosse Avenir seats / interior are just amazing.
Opel – yeah, they should’ve hung onto it. PSA made Opel profitable within a year or two of taking ownership. Opel also gave GM some great platforms they’ve used the past few decades, and many GM vehicles and tech came out of there, among other benefits. I will be driving my TourX for a good 5-10 years, and looking for another when it comes time to replace. PSA should be back in USA by then and I’ll give their wagon a good look at that time.
This is the second time that this opinion came up about the Regal TourX. It’s not that Buick doesn’t want to sell it. It’s that the stealership salesmen do not want to sell them. The first article i read about basically pushed people away from buying this badass wagon because they want to sell them an SUV or crossover. Andcthis car I cannot see how it could be money loser for them when this car basically averages over 30k. This is why I rather buy directly from the car company than buy from these vultures who do not give you what you want. They should be all eliminated.
I bought a TourX without much trouble earlier this year. The local dealership had two leftover 18’s. I was able to test drive one, the salesman didn’t try to steer me to anything else, I got a stupid discount (25% off, probably could have done better) with competitive financing, and drive out the door a couple days later after some aftermarket accessories were installed. But that’s the probably the point that they had leftover inventory they were willing to move. Ordering a ’19 or trading from another dealership might have been more complicated because of a reluctance to carry any more in inventory after poor sales. A station wagon is probably inventory poison like a stick shift or a diesel or a weird color. The other local dealership had one, but in white. Next nearest dealerships were 50-100 miles away. Buick treated this like a halo car, without any incentives or discounts for a long time, when it probably should have been pushing it more aggressively to establish a market and a reputation. Where’s the marketing and advertisements? I agree with other commenters that it was probably a low-margin vehicle for GM and dealers didn’t want to spend a lot of money and energy trying to move it.