Thinking of buying a Yukon and I feel guilty

If you feel guilty about it, go diesel. You'll have a little bit of a tough time finding exactly what you want unless you go used.

Reasons for diesel 1- lower HC emissions

2- much better fuel mileage reduces cost and dependence on foreign oil... or any oil for that matter

3- easy to convert to bio which drops your carbon consumption to almost zero

4- double (or sometimes triple) the torque

5- resale value. I'll say it again. RESALE VALUE.

6- despite uneducated opinions to the contrary, diesel has a decidedly lower cost of ownership over its life than gasoline. They typically carry more lube, and they require more frequent fuel filter changes, but having worked in fleet maintenance, start to finish a diesel will keep more money in your pocket by a long shot.

7- secondary benefits; diesel is cheaper to produce, transport, and store, meaning the distribution of it has lower carbon usage

8- diesel is a very safe fuel. If you happen to be in an accident where spillage is concerned, or refueling near an ignition source, gasoline is explosive. Diesel is very difficult to ignite without large energy inputs. In fact, ASTM biodiesel is considered a non-flammable liquid.

Your problem might be finding a suitable diesel that isn't a behemoth, but anything with the 7.3 powerstroke is a fair bet: E-vans, Excursions. Older Tahoes could be had with the 6.5L diesel, but that is hardly a wise investment given their potential for failure. Many of them are fine, but enough of them are lemony fresh that its too much of a gamble. In general, avoid the 6.0L powerstroke. They tend to have injector, turbo, and intercooled EGR issues, all of which are very expensive. Chevy vans can be had with the LMM duramax which is a slightly detuned version of the normal duramax. 250 hp instead of 300, but gobs of torque. You could tow 10,000 lbs behind it and not every have to use full acceleration to maintain speed. The only pitfall there is that I don't recommend upgrading the LMM's power much since the vans came with the 4L80E instead of the Allison 1000. They'll last forever in stock form, but its easy to double the torque with a chip and exhaust. Not nice for a 4L80E.

I also strongly suggest against an 08 and up diesel with the new DPFs and additional complications. They'll be fine once they get the kinks out of it, but right now its too new, and it was hurried along to meet EPA regs. Its kinda like buying a 1971 vehicle. They were the first of the hasty smog-compliant cars and they made weak power with a high potential for bugs. Dad has an 08 Duramax truck and it makes insane torque and 360 hp with a 6-speed allison, but whereas he could get 25 mpg in his 04 Dmax, he's only getting 16-18 with the new one.

It looks like you're thinking newer and posher though, am I right? Its my strong advice (even though I LOVE diesel) to wait out the diesel market. The new EPA-mandated changes are still new and need a few years to stabilize. I suggest you either be a soccer mom and get a big squishy SUV that guzzles gas, or find another dual-duty vehicle. Large station wagon perhaps?

I had to buy a truck for work. It pains me to commute 24 miles a day in an F150 with a 4.6L that gets 15 mpg on a good day, but once I'm at work I spend most of the day hauling engines, transmissions, car parts, trash, etc. I actually did the math once: If I left my F150 at work and bought a $2000 Tercel to commute, it would pay for itself in about a year.

Again, this board proves itself to be the biggest group of great car guys on the internets!!

Thanks again.

Lots of great options. The diesel Excursion hasn't escaped me and I want one badly. Unfortunately a vehicle that large is not what my wife wants. She is trying to help me by ensuring I have a tow vehicle for my miata since we will be getting rid of the Tundra and possibly the Mazda 6 as well.

I have tried in vain to convince her that a truck cap is the best solution and will continue to try as that may eventually work. I have time here. I do not need to buy right now and maybe not at all if I can convince her on the truck cap idea.

I am going to a NASA instructor clinic this weekend so that I stand a chance of continuing to go to the track. I also believe that instructing will improve my driving skills and am grateful for the opportunity. I do not want to go any further into debt at this time so I certainly appreciate the comments to that affect. I am just a little stuck at this time. Life and medical insurance are taken care of multiple times over right now so I at least have that.

My dear wife probably needs to reduce her requirements. Currently full size Vans are out as far as she is concerned... :( She has the shorter commute (less than 15 miles per day as opposed to my 32 mile per day) and will drive any gas hog we own to work everyday. If this was just for me the answer is much easier, however my dear wife complicates things.

Currently I am investigating cheap trucks and talking to her about that. She is very resistant right now but that may change or I could end up on the couch for awhile. She would end up with a minivan and I would still have a tow vehicle. I am pretty blessed that she tolerates a motorcycle (was 2 just sold one,) miata for racing and a truck for me to tow whatever. I am also blessed that she wants us to still have a vehicle that can tow my car to the track however infrequently that may happen. I am a lucky guy that she isn't shutting down all fun for me immediately and to reciprocate that I only want to get her a vehicle that she wants with the options that she wants. That is my goal but it may not be possible at this time...

Thanks again guys

Sounds like you're on the right track. It's tough with a significant other too, especially when she's pregnant for the first time.

Your actions all depend on her ability to spend borrowed money. My wife and I are very against debt, and together, we are paying the mortgage and student loans off at a record pace, and not taking on any other loans. It's way easier for me because she's on board. Once we had our son, it was a great reward for all of our saving and debt reducing, because you are suddenly burdened with an enormous financial issue. Not only that, but your time is suddenly so valuable to your family, you won't be working OT as much, or getting a second job, or anything like that.

If you are interested in not taking on debt, (and I can't really tell if you care or not) tell her that you are concerned for your ability to provide for your family on one income (it will be, at least for a while) with daycare, diapers and all of the other costs, and as such, you provide her at that time with a written plan. Have it spelled out that the Tundra is worth X + the 6 is worth Y. Giver her a few options that add up to less than or equal to X+Y. Use KBB to your advantage, and be honest and realistic. Tell her you understand that she has a desire to have nice features, and explain how you've attempted to make concessions for all of them, but that you simply are not willing to spend more than X+Y to get a backup camera or heated seats or 35 cupholders.

Just my opinion, I could be terribly mistaken with my assumptions about your situation.

-Brian

Brian, your post sounds very logic driven. Are you sure you know what a pregnant woman is?

Bryce

Bryce, HAHA!

Yes, not only with the first, but she's now pregnant with the second. It's easier that way because you boil the decision down to something very simple and clarify the borders. It's the same way you deal with a manager. Leaving things open ended, or going in unprepared, is a sure was to add headaches to the process.

I would recommend doing this in the second trimester if at all possible. The first trimester is "I am having baby, yay" for moments combined with "I hate you" moments and a dash of "I am crying and I don't know why". The second lulls you into a false sense of security and your wife takes pictures of her growing belly and glows a lot. The third trimester you may wake up facing your newly liberated testicles if you don't compliment her new haircut in the correct manner.

Good luck!

I also hate debt, just trying to balance everything I can right now and she IS in the first trimester. I drove a $750 Mazda B2200 for 2 years. It was beat to E36 M3 but I made it to work everyday. Looks like I will wait until September or so. The financial situation is not too bad for us right now and we both have stable and good jobs. That said anything can happen and I am trying to prepare as much as possible.

LOL at the first trimester comments. We are at 10 weeks and I have seen all of it. Sounds like I should look forward to the 2nd trimester.

Looks like I am off to autotrader/craigslist to look for an old cheap truck or SUV. No promises yet as she is absolutely ADAMANT about not putting the dogs in the back of the truck. Can't believe it, but she is. No rational argument works right now so it looks like I will wait until the 2nd trimester.

Thanks again!!

You won't hear me be an advocate for putting a dog in the bed of any truck, nor do I advocate putting them in the back of an SUV. Forgive my soapbox, but treating a pet like its something that needs to be sacrificed in order to prevent injury to you in an accident is horrific. Its not that you should sacrifice your safety to save the dog, but there are countless ways to secure a pet that is safe to them and the passengers.

I'm not a big equal-opportunity pet owner, but I do value their safety. My wife absolutely totalled her Tercel by hitting a cement wall at about 50 mph. Not only was she protected by her belt and airbag, but our two dogs were strapped into harnesses in the back seat. My wife had a broken nose and a bruised hand. The dogs had nothing wrong with them. Had they not been strapped in, not only would she have had a 30-lb dog thrust at her, both dogs would be dead and that is far more an injury than a broken nose.

Putting a dog in a cage in an SUV or the bed of a pickup is just such an invitation for instant pet death if anything happens, as well as instant passenger injury if they're not belted in.

You can still restrain them the same ways inside of a truck bed...

I still think a 7.3 PSD excursion is a smoking deal...

Hey what about leaving the dogs at home every once in a while, I'm just saying

My wife has never been pregnant but I have faced this issue on several occasions. Despite every rational arguement for a 4door pickup, my wife always insisted on SUV since we would be sharing the vehicle(her business and my hobby). It usually cost about $10k more. I usually drive a used sports type ie RX7, MR-2 or Miata as my dd and she prefers 5sp sports sedans ie Maxima or Mazdaspeed 6.
I dont know what your towing requirements are but you really need to think about having excessive towing capacity. Towing is without a doubt the most dangerous part of this racing/.car hobby. It is very tough to beat a 2500 Suburban or Excursion when you are competing with 18-wheeler on I-75 or I-40. My mantra is that I have to be back to work on Monday!

In reply to mattm:

You will be amazed at the amount of stuff your wife wants to pack on the first trip with the NEW kids. My wife absoutly filled a 93 suburban on the first trip and we only had one child.

I am on my 4th Suburban/Yukon XL and I have bought all of them with around 100k miles and driven them to 200k miles. There are some killer deals if you look.

My currnet is a 97 Suburban that I paid $3500 for and it has been great.

You have not stated a budge number to start with....Lets say

$4-8K Suburban 97-99, getting long on the tooth but easy to repair drive pretty good and there are a ton of them.

$10 - 15K Suburban/Yukon XL 02-05, Better chassis than earlier ones, tighter turning radius, better fuel economy. My personal fav is the Yukon XL with "traction assist" & "Autoride" shocks, its a 50/50 weight distrubution and can do killer drifts but is very stable when driver by average people and the Autoride stiffens the shock valving in mili-seconds when needed.

Note on the Excursion...Much more unstable/tail happy in emergency lane changes than same year Sub/Yuk are.

I agree with what was written above--the dogs will become dogs once the children come. Many of us have been in the situation that our dogs were our babies. It certainly happened to me and my wife. Don't get me wrong, we still loved our dogs, but once we had kids, things changed. Personally, I would spruce up the bed with a bed rug and maybe mount a small heater and throw a on a shell... .

Just to close the loop on this, I got a Lincoln Navigator. Wife loves the truck and it is a good compromise lengthwise between the Suburban and the Yukon. The wife is still getting used to driving it but I have already taken it on a highway trip of 350 miles and it is absolutely in its element on the superslab. They are fantastic on the highway and the gas mileage is surprisingly good on the highway but is downright pitiful around town. Such is the price of 8500 lbs of towing capacity and a non-diesel motor.

Oh, and the depreciation is FRIGHTENING on these. These are the same price or less than the Expedition and every available option including the upgraded tow package. So far so good and it costs less than it appears to other people. Also, the dealers who have them are willing to negotiate a pretty nice price for what you get.

The important part is SWMBO is happy and this is one less thing to get done in the next few months. Thanks again for all the help.

2WD 1500 'burb, no questions. It will get better mileage than your tundra, last longer and haul everything you need.

curtis73 wrote: Forgive my soapbox, but treating a pet like its something that needs to be sacrificed in order to prevent injury to you in an accident is horrific.

that's not always the issue, though. it's nice that you could harness your 30lb dog in the back seat of a tercel, but try that with two 75 pound dogs that (literally) don't know how to sit.