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If you drive a Suburban or Yukon XL...


StaceyinLA
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1997 and it gets 14-17 mpg on the freeway depending on what it's hauling and how heavy the passengers are.

 

Putting it in four wheel drive lowers the fuel economy about 2 mpg.

 

Mileage is 180,000-ish.

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Son #1 drives 1996 Tahoe with 250,000 - running great...paint not so good, This vehicle has a new home with his soon to be driving brother in law.

 

Our 2002 Suburban has 170,000 - running like a champ.  Discovered that new leather seat covers are inexpensive and easy to put on.  We've replaced the heater in the driver side seat as well.  No other issues.  Regular maintenance pays off.  Not driven much anymore since the boys are in college, but it is our "family" vacation vehicle.  Also hauls son #4's boat to the lake.  Dh says these vehicles are the easiest and most inexpensive to fix.  Parts readily available and everyone knows how to work on them.  Dh does the majority of the work himself.  We also have a Honda Odyssey...it's also reliable but not so cheap to fix.

 

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We have a 2004 Chevy Suburban with around 190,000 miles.  We replaced the transmission last year.  Ouch.  But otherwise it is in really great shape.  I'm hoping to drive it another 2 years.   We also have a 1999 Chevy Silverado with nearly 200,000.

 

I'll be honest, I would like a newer car, mainly for vanity reasons, and because the kids are growing up and moving out and we just don't need such a beast of a car....  And for better gas milage.  But it has plenty of room and is great for big family trips and it's like an old friend.

 

 

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We sold our 2003 last year with about 170.000 miles on it.  It had some computer issues that caused some of the warning lights to go all wonky (like the speedometer went out twice on it, and it flashed "air bag not working" randomly), but other than that, it ran well. 

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2004 Suburban

191,000 miles

sporadic weird stuff with electronics as mentioned above but no "real" problems

 

We hope to drive it til it dies a natural death from old age ;)

The research we did when we bought it told us that Suburbans regularly can make it to 200-300,000 miles, so that's what we're hoping for!

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2001 Yukon Denali XL with 188,000.  Drives great.  Did have to get a new transfer case in the past year, otherwise it's been completely routine maintenance (oil, tires, rotation, once an air filter). We have a couple other vehicles, this one is the most comfortable by far.  The mileage is bad, but we can tow with it.

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2002 Suburban with about 175,000 miles on it.  We've had a few issues over the years but not enough to point clearly at getting rid of it.  We had $20,000 worth of damage after an accident in 2007 and the insurance company still chose to fix it rather than junk it.

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Yeah, I should say we have replaced almost every gasket and hose, reconditioned the transmission, replaced rotors, breaks, seals, etc. This is a hard climate for a vehicle. And suburbans aren't well designed (stupid universal joint in the way of all oil changes, for example) and that makes them wear poorly. But there aren't a ton of options for vehicles in that seating class, and we got it cheap. I'm finally sick of repairing it and we outgrew it - just found a replacement (Nissan NV) that actually fits all our car seats easily.

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I've had 3. I'm about to buy a 4th but it has 140k on it. It's bren well maintained and our mechanic says it looks really good and that he wouldn't be worried about buying one with that mileage if it had no issues.

 

I'm just not willing to put us in debt for a car so I have to stay under $20k and they are difficult to find for that price without being really old or having plenty miles.

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Buying new was a tough decision. I've always had old cars and no debt. But repairing the suburban, having it break down in sub zero weather with the infant and all the kids along, and missing a number of activities because of an unreliable car? We are taking out first car loan for the new one. It's actually a very reasonable payment with money put down, but it was a wiser choice than another vehicle needing maintenance. We want that off our mental list for a few years :)

 

Most suburbans and yukons I know of need plenty of TLC to keep running, but they WILL keep running with that care. They're not lemons, and they don't just die without being repairable. That's big, if you do your own vehicle maintenance and care. Fastidiousness with replacing filters, hoses, regular oil changes, and transmission servicing will buy you many years and many more miles of even a hard loved suburban. We are keeping ours for backup, even with the new vehicle, because it does still run. It's just not working as a primary vehicle for us anymore, for the carseat and reliability reasons. But it's far from junked, too.

 

Good luck with finding a good used new-to-you car :)

 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully it will go better than the blender :D

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I have a newer (2012) Traverse, but I just need more space, and I often have dds and their kids and car seats and the traverse is just more cramped.

 

I hate to go older, but I just need to to keep cost where I want it.

 

This is an 08 and it is well equipped. Everything has been very well maintained - nothing on the interior is broken and there are minimal light scratches and dings on the exterior (plus we love on a gravel road so exterior dings don't stress me too much).

 

The carfax is clean and there are 19 service records showing up. All belts have been changed and no oil leaks or anything.

 

It looks, drives and seems like it'd be great, but I AM having almost as difficult a time as with the blender. ;-p

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Interesting Stacey, as I don't need a new truck, but I have been looking at the traverse as I am kind of tired of climbing into the big old bus . What is slowing me down is that we have had this room for 20 years and maybe I just won't like q smaller vehicle. If you lived here, we could swap! 😜

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We're super gentle on vehicles, so very low driving miles. Our 1996 Chevy Suburban only has 137,000 on it. We bought it when it was 4 years old and it already had 83,000 on it at that time. We mostly use it for camping or road trips where we are either hauling a lot of gear or a lot of kids. ;) We have had 2, maybe 3 fairly costly repairs, but nothing that was wacky or unexplainable...

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I bought it. I swear making decisions right now just wears me down. I sat at the dealership for an HOUR in my Traverse trying to decide if this was an idiotic move or what. Seriously - who trades a new car with less mileage for an older vehicle with more mileage?!? ME that's who!!

 

Anyway, once I decided to go for it, and I left there in it, I was really glad I did. I know I will enjoy having another beast of a vehicle. ;-p

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