Help w/ vehicle choice

All, I need an opinion. My wife and I are vehicle shopping. We have narrowed it down to two vehicles. The vehicle will sit a fair amount in the summer as I ride my motorcycle mostly. It will be a road trip warrior on weekends and my daily driver in the winter. It will not fit in our garage so it will sit outside. We live in Milwaukee Wisconsin. It must last for the entiretiy of its payment, plus we are buying a boat when its payed off- 20 ft wake boat for example, and must last through that payment, or most of it- so say eight years.

We want 2nd row captains for the dog/ beginning to have kids.

choice 1 - 04-06 denali/ escalade (under 60k miles)
choice 2 - diesel excursion (under 100k miles)

our budget is around 20k

Once you start to have kids I think you will find you would rather have a bench as the 2nd row. It will allow you to put the kid in the center so you can reach them while driving. Doesn't sound like much but we dont crive my wifes car much b/c the kid seat is behind the passenger seat and it is hard for either one of us to get to our daughter if hse needs anything. Just a thought...
As for the truck, I would go with the excursion, every GM I have had, Yukon, Yukon XL, and Avalanche I have loved on the road but hate when I am towing. Just not enough guts to get up hills and seems to struggle on overpasses on the highway.

I always hate people that go off topic, but a guy I work with just got an '07 Tahoe LTZ with 22k on it for $25k. This is out of your price range, but I'm just guessing you could get something with less miles if you would back off the Luxury nameplate back to a Tahoe or Yukon, which would help over the course. Other than just the badge, I think the new LTZ's are just as nice as the Escalade/Yukon and I believe they have split buckets. You may be looking for the bigger engine, in that case, disregard.

The diesel is going to last you as long as you can maintain it properly. Under 100k is just about the break in point for diesel's so it should last for quite a long time. You just want to make sure that you don't leave it sitting for too long without driving it around for a little bit.

Why in God's earth do you need a diesel? There are no hills in WI, esp if you are not going to be towing with it anytime soon! True the engine may last, but that doesn't mean the rest of it isn't going to fall apart. If you get a denali/escalade with 50K on it, you are taking your chances also, esp over 8 years you are keeping it. Don't be swayed by the people that say "I've had a denali for 100K and have not had one issue". That's great for them, but it sure ain't common.

I was looking for similar vehicles, but wised up and bought a 4runner after doing a rediculous amount of research. With 7K towing cap, it'll handle a 20 footer like nothing. Plus it'll last 8 years w/o many headaches.

I would advise against the Excursion Diesel. We have had nothing but trouble injectors, the thing is the worst cold starter of any diesel I have owned. Plus it rides like a tank and has the worst diesel engine smell. I would definitely go with the GMC.

Kevin- you interested in riding during the week? Late afternoon/evening. Like next week.

up the budget just a hair an get a late model, low mileage Tahoe.

nice todd!!!! way to make fun of Kevin and then ask him to ride with you.

You guys must be great friends.

personally I like the Diesel you can never have too much torque!

Nahh...not friends, I am just a jerk. Seriously. I don't think I was that harsh.

Sorry if I was

The trouble with diesel Excursions depends on the year or motor. If it's the 6.0L, plan on upgrading weak parts if it hasn't been done yet. The motor can be bulletproof, but it's pretty spensive.

I picked up an 05 Denali for my wife a month ago, and have towed my 5500# Supra with it once. It does better than my 08 1/2 ton Sierra, but no better than the diesel trucks I've had.

My suggestion is a 2006-07 Chevy/GMC with the LBZ Duramax. That was the best towing and daily driving truck I've had, and I've had a bunch. You can get one of those in pretty good shape with low miles for around $25K. The earlier ones from 2002-2005 had a few issues. There were 3 different Duramax engines in the 02-early 07 trucks. The last one, LBZ, was the best with 360 hp, 550# torque. With an Edge programmer you could boost that a lot more, but you'd have to be careful with the trans. It can't handle much more than 70hp over stock.

Todd, he's looking for something to pull a boat, not a 4-Runner for his wife to drive.

Thank you John.

Todd probably has a pretty mouth.

I have a 97 tahoe - 130k and NO PROBLEMS EVER!!!

Seriously, Kevin, neither choice is bad, but the diesels
could be trouble if you get one with issues... simply because they cost a fortune to fix anything. Do your homework. Check this guys stuff out...He has a bunch of good info on buying a used diesel...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdmDLsAu61E



buying used is never black and white. My toyota was nothing but trouble, Todd if you must know.

From your budget I would suggest getting a lower mile tahoe/yukon like others have said.
My dad had an 03 diesel excursion and it ran great when it wasnt in the shop. He towed a lot and drove it pretty hard, but regardless it had a lot of problems even though it was well maintained.
I agree with John about the Duramax. I have an 07 that I absolutely love. You would have to get something with a decent amount of miles to get to your price range though on one of those.
I imagine you need 4x4 too based on where you live...you didnt say. That makes a big difference on price too.
Since you arent planning on towing for awhile all that diesel power is going to waste.

04-06 denali...plenty of vehicle to do what you want. It will take some work to find one under 20K that is in decent shape.

Thanks all, I dont need a diesel, but I need my vehicle to last and the diesels can be had for cheaper. This is our first choice, we are going to look at it again this weekend hopefully

http://www.knauznorth.com/used-inventory/vehicle-details.htm?vehicleId=685eedea4046381e0127a6bc7c8e d1ec

Wow! Thats seems like a pretty good deal. 30K miles is nothing. My parents have an 03 Denali and it is a nice ride. It pulls the boat well too. I borrowed it a few times. The 6.0 has good power.

We were in a similar situation earlier this year. We went with an 07 5.3 tahoe - plenty of truck to pull a 20ft wake boat. I found great deals on the older body style denali's but later models are in pretty high demand in my area. I also found great deals on newer suburbans (well equipped for low 20's) cheaper then tahoe's.

Hey. You have to check out an E-350 ford van. One year old with around 20k miles can be had for around 17k. Its a one ton truck with room for everybody and everything. I just bought one myself. Sold my Denali. Gas mileage is bad but I have a car for everyday driver. Check em out.

My wife's new ride...



It was stock when we got it. I just lowered it today 2/3 and put the 22's on. It tows my heavy boat a lot better than the 1/2 ton truck that I have. This one's a 2005 with 30,000 miles and we got it for $15,200. It was previously wrecked on the right front but is obviously fixed now. You can find those for under $20,000 if you look hard enough. The same guy just sold an 04 with 110K with a few scratches for $8,000. It was pretty rough though.