Time for a new family truckster

So I went and sold my 99 burban yesterday. On top of selling my CSPish Miata Saturday I find myself in the enviable position of getting something new. I'd bandied around the thought of picking up the Z3 mentioned in another thread but the sensible adult side of me says I should buy the family car now with the funds available and use any extra to pay off the Passat (10 payments left) so I can spend the rest of the year knocking out a bit of credit card debt and be in a more cash positive place next year to buy a new autocross toy.

So here's where I am. Dad of 4 teenagers so we need room. I like the idea of being able to haul/tow something in the future so I'm leaning more toward big SUV than minivan. I've had a 2004 Expedition and a 2004 Sequoia in the past and I liked them a lot but cargo area is lacking when seating 6. Then I had the Suburban and I really like the capacity.

So my dream truck (for these financial times) would be a 2004-2006 Yukon Denali XL without an absurd number of miles, AWD/4x4, 6.0, within 250ish miles of central Kentucky (fly-n-drive a possibility for the right ride). I have a couple of weeks to find something so it doesn't have to be today but I don't want to wait till Christmas either. Price point of around $7,000 can go up a bit, would love to go down. Reliable and boring, I don't want any road trip drama. When I load the whole family up for 1,000 miles of highway, getting there with no excitement whatever is key.

So what's out there? Anything? People tend to drive the wheels off these things and I'm finding lots of stuff with 250K miles on it. And while they may be great that much use makes it feel like a crap-shoot on reliability.

A quick browsing of Louisville craigslist yielded tons of options. For my purposes, an optioned up 'Burban is essentially the same as a Denali. Here are a few that stood out-

Not sure if it has the 6.0

Another

Another

Newer. A bit pricier, but maybe could be talked down, or recoup $ by selling ugly accessories?

Denali

Denali part duex

I didn't bother to check Cincy, Indy, or Nashville but I'd guess they have similar options too.

This looks like an exceptional deal. It does say rebuilt title but I would still inquire further to hear the details.
'04 Toyota Sequoia w/77k asking $6.5k

In reply to STM317:

I'm shopping the same trucks and where I'm looking (Texas), some of the ones you posted are overpriced by about $2000 given their high miles!

In reply to yupididit:

I believe it. Seems like basic supply and demand. You're in Texas, where 10-15 year old trucks are plentiful and mostly unwanted. Our supply is probably smaller due to being in the rust belt and being not-Texas.

Still, it paves the way for a fly and drive if the price differences are that great.

Can anyone say for certain if the 6.0 only comes with a 4L80? The 4L60/65 transmissions have me skittish about the usual 1/2 ton Suburbans. It seems like a nice upgrade to have if possible.

KyAllroad wrote: Can anyone say for certain if the 6.0 only comes with a 4L80? The 4L60/65 transmissions have me skittish about the usual 1/2 ton Suburbans. It seems like a nice upgrade to have if possible.

Typically, all 1/2ton truck/SUV chassis have 4L60/65's.... You only get an 80 when you cross over into the 3/4 tons....

But then again, in '08 or '09, the 6L80 became the std trans, which isn't that bad....

In reply to Ranger50: Ah. Good to know. But if I can find a newer one which ones have the DOD system that apparently is poised to take out the whole engine?

Can you get the dod turned off? I imagine the damage is already done after 100k miles.

In reply to STM317:

Im in southern California but moving to Texas. To be honest I'd pay more to buy outside the rust belt.

Have you thought about the 06+ expedition? It bothers me that they're better looking inside and out than the GM's but I'm not sure about the 5.4.

https://clarksville.craigslist.org/ctd/6164736110.html

This one looks pretty good. They were asking $9749 but would take $8K out the door.

Aren't most "buy here pay here" lots highly suspect of selling crap ?!? Possibly multiple times after the last buyer's default on the high interest loan?

I bought a 2005 Yukon XL Denali with ~180kmi for $3,500.

Interior had some wear in expected places and needed O2 sensors and tires with a couple small dings.

It was at an auto-recycler (junk yard) that also sells cars and trucks.

[URL=http://s265.photobucket.com/user/derekrichardson/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_15.jpg.html][/URL]

My previous truck was an 04 version of that one at the buy here pay here place. Price seems way high but I'm cheap. They are super comfortable long haul machines. The biggest issue I had with mine as it was approaching 200k miles was mostly electronic/HVAC stuff. The engine was great. If you are towing keep it out of overdrive and use the tow/haul button and you are good to go. Find the nicest one you can afford so you can keep it a long time.

In reply to ebonyandivory: That's exactly what I want!!

Iirc the Denalis do have the 6.0 but not the 4l80e trans.

Is drivetrain durability a concern with the added power to an otherwise 1/2 ton drivetrain?

https://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/6204780043.html

This looks nicely stout. Quadra steer works and he's putting on 4 brand new tires this weekend. $6,000

2002maniac wrote: Iirc the Denalis do have the 6.0 but not the 4l80e trans. Is drivetrain durability a concern with the added power to an otherwise 1/2 ton drivetrain?

High Miles Club!

So I went and bought this yesterday. $6,100 cash. Brand new tires, brakes, brake lines, fluids, and battery. Runs and drives awesome and the "Quadrasteer" system is really neat. It has a few issues but overall it's leaps and bounds better than my old '99 1500 was.

Congrats!

Congratulations! last week I snagged a 01 suburban 2500 and love it. Only issue I have is keeping my wife out of it ! I was looking for a quadrasteer, where did you pick yours up at ?

Dude. That thing is awesome. Between the color and the Quadrasteer it's 100% better than i would have expected.

I'm a big fan of the quadrasteer in mine, great choice! The only QS related issue that I have had is that I had to replace the rear outer tie rod ends, and one time the computer gave a rear wheel steering error that cleared by cycling the ignition, otherwise it has been a great truck for 4.5 years and 35k miles.

Private seller about 90 miles south of me. So far my issue with the QS system is that it wants to turn itself off. Get in to drive, hit the QS button and it goes into "4" but in 2-10 minutes it just pops itself back into "2" and won't re-engage until the truck is turned off and back on. I'm fairly sure it's a weak connection somewhere, that seams to be a thing on GM trucks and this one in particular (the odometer area of the dash is intermittently weak and blank, was quoted $125 to have it "rebuilt")

You shouldn't have to push anything. Mine is in 4 all the time without doing anything unless I tell it otherwise. When I leave it in 4 tow it stays there until I change it even when the truck has been shut off.

I have some of the QS service and training documents somewhere, I'll send them to you if you send me your email.

In reply to Sonic:

Thanks man, my email is: Armstrong390 "at" yahoo....