Should I stay or should I go.

So my old suburban turned 205k miles. It has been very reliable but is long in the tooth and is  needing a little love.  Despite the body rust the mechanic had it on the rack and noted it's totally sound underneath.  It does need new front axle seals and a oil pan reseal. Typical Gm stuff. It also needs rear brakes.  This old tank really turned me from a ford/Toyota/Honda fanboi to being open to gm's.

anyway long story short. Wife and I rented a motor home last year and liked it.  We'd like to rent a couple trailers this year before seeing about buying in the future.  I don't trust big booty Judy to tow anything with a 200k mile 4l60e and middling brakes.  Also our bike rack and mountain bike habit is a bit silly. The velocirax plus the bikes is about 400lbs of tougne weight.  The minivan can handle it but it doesn't like it one bit.  We'd like to have a newer one in the spring.  

So time to start looking for a newer one. wife wants a newer suburban/expedition.  I want a truck for associated home owner truck duties. Three kids means that a smaller suv(reallly want tdi touraeg or x5d) won't work. 

Recent experiences at dealerships have been terrible.  Some places aren't even really cleaning their cars the stuff is just junk.  And those that have nicer things want all the monies(though it is softening some).  I see private sales on Facebook dropping prices more regularly than I did 6-8 months ago. 
 

So  the question is. Go for something now (2015-2017 sub/expedition) and drop over $30k or pay the mechanic(about $1k) and wait a bit.  My suburban can certainly make it though the winter.  What say you give mind?

Jeez I rambled there. 

I would definitely wait a bit.  Another thing to consider is, people have been hanging on to their cars until they absolutely needed a new one.  A lot of the used cars on the market have a lot of issues as a result, and the dealers are less picky about what they put on their lots.

Out of curiosity, how expensive was renting the MH?

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

It wasn't cheap but it wasn't bad.  The fuel was the most variable cost.  About $2200 all in for a week for a newer 32' unit with bunkhouse and gas 7.3 Godzilla.  She got 9mpg and we rented in the summer during peak gas prices.  

we first looked at outdoorsy and our neighbors used it. https://www.outdoorsy.com
 

But we found a local guy who rents out newer units for a little less. You need to really inquire about the mileage charges. A lot of outdoorsy ones included enough mileage that the prices and also included enough camping gear thst you had to bring little but your toiletries and clothes. 

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Also no crap about the dealers putting junk on their lots.  One of the trucks I looked at had latex paint all over the seats.  $25k and white paint all over the seats.   Go pound sand. 

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

Since you're here in Minnesota,  you should plan on a fly and drive.   Prices already high get higher and higher as snowfall approaches.  Many Motorhomes remain in Florida as the owners decide to retire there.   

    While motor homes prices in Florida& Arizona  are near bottom or below.   Having said that, the Suburban is an extremely reliable unit  300,000 is common as long as oil has been changed on schedule.  With a  strong resale.     

In reply to frenchyd :

I'm not buying a motor home. 

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

My mistake.  Personally I'd keep the suburban then.   With regular maintenance they easily get well over 300,000.  I see them with over 500,000 pulling race cars to the track.  

I plan on putting my 2015 Expedition EL Platinum 4x4 up for $28k. It has some small cosmetic issues but its a Florida Truck then Texas now DC. It has about 104k miles and gets dealer serviced for everything with oil changes about every 5-6k miles. Just did coolant, oil change, front brakes, and plugs. It does need shocks (I've been waiting months for bilsteins to come in stock). I'm pretty sure it has every feature available at the time minus the 22" wheels, they're 20".  It tows amazingly and would tow better with some E-range tires and new shocks. I honestly love it but I want something less nice that I don't mind street parking. I'm waiting to see if I can order a Maverick first before I post it up or shop it to dealers.

Wait through Winter if you can. Retail demand dropped off really hard in mid June (at least for the large SUV segment), though it took about 45 days for dealers to begin dropping prices as a result. Q4 this year is going to be a big shakeout, especially for $35,000+ big metal. You'll be in a much better market, have much better selection and be in an advantageous negotiating position in 4 months or so. I'd target to buy in Jan of 2023. We typically see dealers stocking up & marking up prices for tax season, beginning in Februrary. 

I was faced with the same decision that you were about 6 months ago. I took the buy a newer nicer SUV route. It is newer, and it is nicer but the cash outlay and the cost to repair has been a kick in the crotch. If I had a magic time machine I would have kept my suburban, spent a pile of money to fix the things that need fixing and know that you can replace a 4l60e for a third of what a newer 6 speed will cost to replace. I'd keep rocking the old burb unless it brings you no joy or upsets that other half.

My 2011 Escalade will be for sale any minute now with a full set of disclosures about all the things that were wrong with it and what is still left to address $18k with 141k on it. (the scumbag dealer I bought it from didn't give me that courtesy).

I would wait.  I don't think 200k is awful for a 'burban, especially if well cared for.  If it's still doing its' job, I'd wait to see if the market changes.

How big of a camper were you considering?

To me, other than the reliability, there is a towing gas mileage advantage these days.  But it takes a LOT of gas to add up the difference between the solid rebuild (and I would outlay good dough on that, not just fix a handful of things) vs. a new used vehicle (or even a brand new one).  

Looking at campers in the 5-6k wright range.  A larger hybrid or smaller travel trailer.  That's about the worst of the rust.  The bottom of the pass door is gone, razor sharp and the back end of the running board is held on by hope  

Overall. I've seen worse. 

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

So I'd wager a ~10 mpg pull, right?  And 11mpg is actually a big deal.  

In terms of the rust- that's a very personal thing- if it were me, finding a new door would be nice, and the at least treating the fender to be "good enough" would go quite a few years.

The powertrain is where I would really look close- which is what appears to be your major concern, too.  If it runs really well, and has good compression/leak down- it's conceivable to at least take 100k off, if not more.   Perhaps start with an oil analysis to see if the internals are in decent shape.

Put all of that money together and compare with the cost and mental comfort of something newer.  

Joe Strummer says "Stay."

Better to rock the kasbah you know than a new one you don't.

If you want to tow 6k you aren't going to get any better gas mileage so I wouldn't worry about that. If you are getting 10 mpg then you should send the power train team at GM a thank you card. Especially with a camper, they aren't super aero efficient. My GMT400 got ~6 towing mine and my GMT900 gets almost 8...

I would wait as to not put a winter on the new one.  They only last so many winters.

I don't care about towing gas mileage.   It is what it is.   The suspension on my current burb is in need of work if I was to tow with it.  Would need airbags and bushings.    The shocks all around are roached and the trans does the 1-2 4l60e slide shift.    I think the suburban is relatable as is but towing would either require lots of money into this rig or into another newer one. 
 

I don't have the time to really fix the rust. It's going into peak season for e commerce now.  Maybe over the winter if I was a glutton for punishment. 

And I'd suggest making this one last one last winter and keep eyes open in the spring for something newer, one less winter on the new one. 
 

several months ago I went from an 03 Sub 2500 to a 16 Escalade esv.  It was not cheap but it is soooo much nicer a place to be and should avoid the regular issues of the old one.  Another bonus is the nearly double fuel economy.   Old was 8 towing a 20' enclosed, 11 mixed, 13 empty highway.  New one is 13 towing the same trailer, 18 mixed, 23 empty highway    

I couldn't with that rust lol. But 200k miles isn't bad to me. I towed with my Excursion well past 200k miles. Though, I bought the Expedition and kind of just let the Excursion sit. It wasn't just capability but the comfort and how much of a nicer place it was to spend hours towing. And the 3.5 ecoboost was noiseless compared to the 7.3 while having the same if not greater pulling power. Maybe find something slightly newer so not quite modern but still within 10 year old range. 

In reply to yupididit :

When I moved up here I gave up working on my own cars.  I just pay a small local guy who has spent his whole life breaking his knuckles on rust.   Sure it costs money but it saves me so much frustration. 
 

I'll work on project or fun cars but not dailies. 

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

Same here, I only work on my toys myself. Anything else I pay for. Honestly, given how much free time and space that I don't have, projects and toys have been reasonably hard to touch. 

At one point I was looking at new shiner camper vans. Mine would easily bring 7-10K. My net outlay would end up being 7-10K.

Because the running gear is a known quantity I decided to stick with what I have.

I'd upgrade the current to make it tow like you want and maybe even slap a new tranny in it. After that, if it works well for you, fix the rust.

Compare the $1k repair costs to payments on a new vehicle.  Say for instance they would be $250/mo; after only 4 months you'll be money ahead.  I say keep it.