Opinion Needed...

[UGLY OLDS]

OK Guys....Ugly wants your opinions....A close friend is in the market for a new 2WD Suburban..( Ya..Right..He could not have picked a better time :!:   )  Here's the scoop..He has a big family ..Tows a trailer a lot ..Keeps his vehicles in good order for 200K + miles...( That means..When he's done with them..There "done" so to speak"..Trade value is not an issue) ...He's leaning toward "flex-Fuel" ...Normally gets his vehicles kinda "loaded" ...

What do you guys think of the ones you have  2006-2008 are almost the same ...Anybody have some "real-world" mileage info? What breaks ?? What don't ?? Good points ??...Bad points ?

Waddya think??  Good ...Bad....  Lay it on me ...


Thanks .....Bob.....  

[OldSub]

I can't answer the question, but now is the right time.  With gas over $4/gal the dealers are having trouble giving them away.  Should be able to get a killer deal.  I've been thinking about a new big truck.

[Danimal]

I'm running a Trailblazer so I'm no help but I'll say this is what I've replaced or broken in 183k miles (it's a 2004). (Same engineering group at GM)

1 O2 sensor right away (warranty)
2 manifold (cracked all to hell at 100k) it is I6 though so he SHOULD be OK, one stud broke off in head. Still going with no ticking. Was going to be like a 9 hour job to R&R head! Nope, not gonna happen
3 seat lumbar broke don't care
4 lots of little plastic crap like seat belt triangles and such coming off
5 door rubber keeps coming off back door. I put it back on every time I see it but there have been times I've seen it laying in my driveway after the kids have knocked it off and not put it back
6 the rear window wiper is FUBAR
7 radio took a * at 67k, CD player won't play
8 wheel bearing
9 axle seals at 95k
10 brakes warped a rotor (blame the stupid dealer on that, who changes brakes WITHOUT turning or replacing rotors?)
11 rear window is a hatch and it has all the dirt I've ever driven on caked inside
12 arm rest broke (I lift up with my elbows on it but THAT should have been reasonable and foreseeable use)
13 loves gas
14 at 100k dash went out TWICE
15 stupid fuses in fuse box under back seat for trailer wiring went out right after I got it. Pulled a snowmobile trailer and the lights were fine but then nothing. Must have been a shock to the system, put in new fuses and off I went. The problem was that I had to go to the DEALERSHIP to get someone to tell me WHERE the fuses were that were blowing. The owner's manual sent me under the hood!

It is a company car. They buy them, I drive them. Rule was 125k AND 4 years old. I'll have had it 4 years in September. They pay to fix it and we are an OEM supplier with lots of slow selling cars using our product line so right now cash is king and I keep the car until it becomes a burden!

I use semi synthetic oil and go up to 10k on an oil change because I drive so much for work (sales to GM). Usually 1k per week so it feels like I'm ALWAYS in there.

Hope this helps.

Dan

[Deuce]

My brother has a Tahoe ... 2004 with 165,000 miles.

1) water pump @ 140,000
2) fuel pump @ 150,000 ( but he ran it LOW on fuel a couple times ... which most likely sped up failure )

Nothing else except regular maintenance ...
He has a new one on order ... ( in fact in route to his dealer now )
GM has 4 grand off right now.

I would consider a new one but mine only has 85,000 miles on it. My last one went 170,000 before I got tired of it and traded.

[Uncle Bob]

We've got an '05 Tahoe 4X with the 5.3, so can't help on the flex fuel, but just for an idea we brought a trailer load back from Las Vegas last week.  On the trip down without the trailer the onboard computer showed high 16 mpg range, on the return with the trailer mid 14s.  The trailer loaded was somewhere 3500-4k.  Going down, thanks to Id, Ut, Az, and Nv we were 75 mph almost 3/4 of the time, with the trailer more like 65-70, lots of altitude change starting at 2200 in Vegas, to over 6000 through Ut, and then down to 750 here.