Thought exercise - Road Trip SUV

In reply to dculberson :

My recently kindled desire for a Volvo XC90 is because someone posted the Volvo V8 rumble in another thread. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSDtrCxpKKI&t=8s&ab_channel=TrackDaysCH

Why not a pickup with a cap?  Something like a v6 Colorado would be a low 20 mpg vehicle, get you the 4x4 you want, and have better resale than an SUV.  Get something with at least a 6' bed and you can toss an air mattress in back for sleeping. 

They are on the list, just not at the top of it.  Also, I'd likely hold out for a full size truck, just to get a bed that is at least 78" long.

I've been watching prices for quite a while, and for some reason gmt900 escalades have been largely immune to the freakshow that is current used vehicle pricing. I can't think of a comfier way to travel than a 6.2ls taped to a 6l80 wrapped in cadillacs finest. Expect to pay more for an AWD one, naturally- but I've been through this category about as many times as possible, and the caddy wins every time. 

Mndsm said:

I've been watching prices for quite a while, and for some reason gmt900 escalades have been largely immune to the freakshow that is current used vehicle pricing. I can't think of a comfier way to travel than a 6.2ls taped to a 6l80 wrapped in cadillacs finest. Expect to pay more for an AWD one, naturally- but I've been through this category about as many times as possible, and the caddy wins every time. 

There's a 2007 local to me with 114,000 miles for under 15K.  I'm tempted to go take it for a test drive.

In reply to 06HHR (Forum Supporter) :

And you'll want to buy it too. 

06HHR (Forum Supporter) said:

Mndsm said:

I've been watching prices for quite a while, and for some reason gmt900 escalades have been largely immune to the freakshow that is current used vehicle pricing. I can't think of a comfier way to travel than a 6.2ls taped to a 6l80 wrapped in cadillacs finest. Expect to pay more for an AWD one, naturally- but I've been through this category about as many times as possible, and the caddy wins every time. 

 

There's a 2007 local to me with 114,000 miles for under 15K.  I'm tempted to go take it for a test drive.

And that is a stone cold bargain for a 70k truck. I still don't understand how they're as cheap as they are. 

Don't worry so much about fuel mileage. Driving from coast to coast in a  cad  is going to cost you  something over $500 in-fuel. Get something that gets the sort of fuel mileage you mentioned. And you'll be  spending within a hundred dollars of that. 
    The problem is mechanically  the import won't have the same sort of parts availability, or people who know how to fix it.   
 sure if it breaks down in Denver or Chicago  you can easily get it fixed. But what about Flatbush Montana or Crow River Mississippi?  
 The further away from population  you get the more common you'll find the big 3.  
 

In reply to frenchyd :

Indeed. Something from the General, the Blue Oval, or (to a somewhat lesser extent) Dodge stands a very good likelihood of being able to get parts for it anywhere in the country within a day or two, and finding a hammer monkey who can fix it. 

This is one reason why Mrs VCHs primary vehicle is a Suburban and my tow pig is a 3500 GMT900.  On a road trip last year the Burban gave us some trouble and within 3 hours we found a mechanic, got it to him, got the parts, and had him fix it, for under 200 for everything. 

In reply to Mndsm :

This +100. I have been on the look for a 2007-2013 Escalade ESV for a couple of weeks now. You can get a lot of nice truck for $20k.

I think the price is a lot of people are reluctant to drive a sort of old Cadillac, it's not baller new and it isn't vintage old yet.  

Do the Caddy's have AWD, 4WD, or both?  Also, do the GMT900 ones have the same DOD issues the Chevys and GMCs have?

Edit:  I think I answered my own question - AWD or RWD only, and the 2007 models may have the AFM hardware, but not software.  Later Escalades did not have the AFM hardware installed.

Who would have guessed Escalades were not impacted by the pandemic pricing. This seems like a damn good deal.  https://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/d/castroville-2010-cadillac-escalade/7448921217.html

-Rob

rob_lewis said:

Who would have guessed Escalades were not impacted by the pandemic pricing. This seems like a damn good deal.  https://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/d/castroville-2010-cadillac-escalade/7448921217.html

-Rob

An add on the Craig's that well written makes me suspicious.  :-)

I think some of the OP requirements were potentially sleeping in the back, and potentially some off roading.

I looked really, really hard at GMT900s before I bought my GMT800, so some of this may be relevant since I also needed to sleep in the truck, do some off roading, road trips, etc.

• The AWD system has a pretty bad reputation for any kind of really slick or off road use. It's a bit different than the GMT800 AWD, and I guess the result is that it is much more at home on pavement. I seem to remember that the key part of this is that the GMT800s had a viscous center diff, but the 900s use Stabilitrak brake biasing with an open center that gets confused in off road situations and apparently does not work at all in reverse. It's a perfectly capable system for mostly road stuff though.
• The second row of seats doesn't fold flat. Instead, they fold forward. The result is that you have a very uneven floor, and you need a Suburban/XL/ESV to have enough space in the back for an air mattress where you used to be able to jam one into a Tahoe-length truck.
• All of the smaller engines have AFM. The 6.2 (and 6.0 in the Suburban 2500s) do not, so I was focused on trucks with the bigger engines. The 6.2 only came in AWD and RWD, with the VERY notable exception of around 600 2009 Tahoe LTZs. They had the 6.2 with normal high/low 4x4, which meant they also got the bigger 9.5"SF rear axle. There were also some 2008 Tahoe LTZs with the 6.2 and RWD apparently. This was the holy grail of GMT900s for me, and I would be driving one today if it weren't for the folding back seat problem. I did find one to test drive and it had seriously impressive acceleration.
• The interior of the GMT900s (or at least that Tahoe 6.2 I drove) felt cheaper than I expected. The Escalades got a different interior, and my understanding is that it is a very meaningfully nicer place to spend time. However, the GMT900 is definitely quieter than the GMT800 I bought, and still not a bad place to spend time. You'll just be surprised that things don't feel the way they look.
• The Suburban 2500 is mostly the same underneath as the earlier GMT800s. GMT900s were all 6.0s with no AFM, and you have to look at 2009+ to get the 6L90E transmission. Definitely worth waiting for a later one for the added efficiency and dramatically better performance.
• GMT900 trailer hitches are integrated into the rear crash structure. If you ever plan to have a lot of tongue weight with a hitch carrier or a trailer, it's a bit of a known weak point/difficult thing to upgrade. The GMT800 factory hitch has problems too, but those are easy to bolt a better solution on to.

In reply to gearheadE30 :

Gearhead, thank you for the details.  It reinforces my desire to stick with GMT800 or older.  

rob_lewis said:

Who would have guessed Escalades were not impacted by the pandemic pricing. This seems like a damn good deal.  https://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/d/castroville-2010-cadillac-escalade/7448921217.html

-Rob

Yeah it doesn't make any sense whatsoever, and other than big stupid wheels, I can't really find a downside. Under the skin it's a gmt900 so parts are literally everywhere. It looks cool even now, has the big LS stock, what's not to like? 

So, while I don't plan on doing any intensive searching while in Florida in the next few days, I am bringing the title to my car, just in case I end up swapping out to something else.

my 2002 suburban turned 200k this week...  Still running.. but I did not need to see that escalade or this 2500 suburban(by looks of the hitch its either not from the north, washed constantly, or only driven in the summer).  also looks like pass front fender isn't aligned well.. soo probably hit at one point..  also engine cover is missing which is weird, but I want one of theses..

shoot did not need to search.

     https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/ctd/d/saint-paul-2011-chevrolet-suburban-x4/7449334054.html

eastsideTim said:
 

• EDIT - Lexus GX.  Forgot to put these on when I wrote the post, but I've noticed they seem to have gone up in value in the pandemic more than a lot of other options.

It's crazy how much they've gone up. I kicked the tires on a nice 2004 GX470 around Halloween in 2019 with a price that was maybe around $7-8k. Decided the GX470 was a good option for what I wanted but figured I'd hold out for an example at least a year newer with the power increase from VVTi on the 2UZ. I also remember a friend looking for something similar around the same time who checked out a pre-"spindle" grille (2010-2012) GX460 that was somewhere under $15k.

I wasn't able to get one before the pandemic hit, then paused my search until the start 0f 2021. By then most 470's were well above $10k, even if they had some glaring issues to parse through. If they weren't at that price, it was too good to be true due to some issues with it, or it otherwise was sold quickly. For example, a 2004 with 280k miles at my local Honda dealer with visible ass sag from blown rear airbags and likely shocks (even in the photos online) listed at $9995. I ended up adding other 2UZ Lexus/Toyota vehicles to my search (100 series LX/Land Cruiser, 1G Tundra/Sequoia, and V8 4Runner). I didn't like the V8 4Runner when I found an example to test drive; -loved the Sequoia, but dreaded the frame rust issues (especially living in SE MI), especially now that the 12-year extended warranty/recall is over for the newest first gens, -and found that prices for the 100 LC/LX were even crazier, especially when I became obsessed with finding a hens teeth LC with the VVTi engine but sans the optional AHC (Active Height Control) that seemed to find it's way onto about 99% of them and was standard on VVTi equipped LX's.

Eventually, I got (depending on who you ask I suppose) lucky and inquired about one that I saw in the back of the used lot at my local Toyota dealer which hadn't been listed yet. They ended up pretty much wholesaling it to me for under $6k because it needed a set of tires, had leaky rear air bags, a very pronounced 2UZ battle cry (IE common ticking from leaky exhaust manifold gaskets) and 218k miles.

Despite the issues, it drives quieter and smoother and it's interior has held up much better than my wife's Escalade that's 3 years newer with over 50k less miles.

The GX would definitely check the box for not depreciating much. In the same vein, the 100 series LC/LX would be a good option.

eastsideTim said:

Do the Caddy's have AWD, 4WD, or both?  Also, do the GMT900 ones have the same DOD issues the Chevys and GMCs have?

 

Edit:  I think I answered my own question - AWD or RWD only, and the 2007 models may have the AFM hardware, but not software.  Later Escalades did not have the AFM hardware installed.

To clarify on this:

-2007 with a build date prior to 4/1/2006: AFM/DOD hardware but not active in software/tuning
-2007 with a build date on or after 4/1/2006: No AFM/DOD hardware
-ALL 2008: No AFM/DOD Hardware
-ALL 2009: No AFM/DOD Hardware
-ALL 2010 and newer: AFM/DOD Hardware installed and now active in software/tuning

This applies to all 6.2 GMT900 SUV's made in those years.

I memorized all that when shopping for a GMT900 Escalade for my wife a couple years back and wanting to avoid DOD like the plague.

If she were sitting here, my wife would probably also point out that (at least in the Escalade) bluetooth, easy to use aux for audio and a center console lid with a nice recessed spot to set your phone were added for 2009 and absent on 2008's like hers... which she reminds me of when pining for her eventual replacement which apparently now needs to be at least a 2009 ESV Platinum.. 

In reply to shelbyz :

Is this a situation where a 2009 console can be retrofitted to resolve her issues with the current console?  

I have a 2010 Escalade ESV that I purchased from a family friend who bought it new. It spent the first 10 years of it's life shuttling kids to soccer and starbucks (typical Escalade life) all while being garage kept and dealer maintained. With the addition of a child recently, we needed more space and I reached out to him knowing all his kids were off to college and he agreed to sell. I've been absolutely blow away by the Escalade for the money. 6.2 LS with AWD all while having heated/cooled seats, heated steering wheel, etc sure is nice to be in and I wouldn't choose anything else to drive across the country in these days. Gas mileage isn't actually the worst either. Not sure how it would handle the 4WD roads you plan to throw at it but they are great bang for buck these days.

In reply to John Welsh :

I would imagine so. Though the console lid is much lower on her list of priorities behind being able to make/take calls without changing the factory screen/radio or adding some extra stuff, and yearning for a few more inches (by moving from a SWB to an ESV. ).

Enablers unite! I just put a down payment down on this. It's a few hundred miles away so I'll complete the transaction next week.

Back from FL, and didn't bring home anything new.  Will have to continue the search here in the rust belt.