Advice on used Suburban purchase

bobfinch

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a 2002 or newer Suburban, and I'm wondering if there are any gotcha's to look out for. Any bad years? Or good years?

Any particular things to check out.

thanks,
Bob

rockman59

Bobfinch said: I'm looking to buy a 2002 or newer Suburban, and I'm wondering if there are any gotcha's to look out for?
___________________________________________________________
Your best bet would be to get a newer Suburban that has been "GM Certified" by the dealer. They really check things out and there is also a warranty included in the Certified program. If the Suburban you might want to buy is not "certified" then you should have the vehicle inspected by your own mechanic. And you pays your money and you takes your chances.

agoldfinch

I am looking at purcharsing a 1998 GMC SLT Suburban which has covered 40,000 miles.Having checked on various sites most posts are complaints about the vehicle ie Transmission/brakes/poor built quality etc. Before I part with my cash any comments would be very much appreciated

kiawah

Is that really the actual miles? I'd be suspect of that, unless you personally knew the original owner.

Had a 97 for 10 years.
- Brakes (front) problems...yes, undersized for the weight of the vehicle. Will fade in heavy mountain travelling. Keep the very best rotors and brake pads on them.
- Transmission....yes. Many owners have had problems, me included, even with easy mileage (and I also had ordered with HD transmission cooler).
- Many have had fuel pump problems, I haven't.
- When I was trading it in, the dealership was concerned about intake gasket leaking which they indicated was very typical. I didn't have that problem.
- There was a problem with the electrical circuit board of the wiper motor, bad solder connection. Easy to replace, if need be.
- Lower front ball joints typically have wear, due to weight of vehicle.
- Keeping tires balanced and front end aligned, was a continual challenge. Always bought the best Michelin tires, but the size and weight seemed to tax the front end hardware.

If I was buying it, I'd have the 4wd and transmission thoroughly checked out, those are big $$ repairs if you need to have anything done.

But I'd personally be very suspect of that 40K being the original mileage. No little old lady's buy Suburbans.

agoldfinch

The mileage is correct. Vehicle sold by GMC dealer in the UK new and then one owner with full history. It looks immaculcate and well looked after. I am not too worried about the brakes etc as I had a G20 Van which I had problems with but a little worried about the 4WD and transmission.

At what mileage did you have the transmission problems?

Thanks

kiawah

Off the top of my head without pulling out the records, I believe it was around 70K.

thedoc62

I am an italian doctor and interested in buying a used Chevy SUV and in particular a Suburban or a Tahoe (are these the biggest ones of the brand ?)
as gasoline price it's crazy over here in Italy I want to mount a LPG implant on the car, if possible of the sequential injection kind
does anybody have an experience about this transformation ?
which model year do you suggest to look for ?
any series/years/engine type I should avoid picking ?
Thanx everybody in the forum

stever

Check out the LPG (Propane) Vehicles discussion while waiting for suggestions in here.

thedoc62

thanx for the infos