Tell me about your Chevy Suburban

powernoodle

powernoodle

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Jul 21, 2004
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I am cogitating on the purchase of a 2009 Suburban with 31,000 miles on the clock. LT flavor, 4x4. I would never contemplate something this spendy, but I know a guy in the business that can get it for a few grand below kbb's private party value.

Upside:

- big and roomy; its like bringing your living room with you where ever you go. Its about 6' between the back of the second row and the lift gate.
- more mass usually beats less mass in a collision, and nothing personal, but my kids mean more to me than your kids mean to me.
- did I say that its big and roomy?
- curb weight of 5700+ lbs makes for a dreamy ride; think Love Boat.
- looks swell when driving over the top of a Prius operated by an emasculated eco-terrorist.


Downside:

- EPA rated 15mpg city, but my spies say more like 13.5 - 14 in the real world.
- uh, I can't really think of any others

Do any of you guys have Suburban experience?


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Pops has a '97 with 250,000 miles. only had to replace the fuel pump once and kept it regularly maintained. i personally dont like the looks of the new ones but that wouldnt keep me from one.
 
i like 'em a lot, imho only downside is fuel economy (or lack of) my bud has a '07 and he gets more like 12 or so in town, better on the road of course.

my girlfriend has a '06 explorer 4X4 V6 and she gets almost the same, 12 or 13 in town.
 
Excellent ride, great reliability, spacious......... expect about 11 -13 mpg tops around town. Highway figures won't impress either. They are nice but drink gas up real quick.
Check Fueleconomy.gov for more realistic figures from owners.

Couple know issues... 5.3 engine known for piston slap on startup when cold (loud and annoying) and check the front diff (left side) for seal leak. Leak might not be the seal but from the vent tube. Regardless of which, if it's dry inside that diff, you may have issues down the road.
 
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if its an auto, (specificly an HD with an allison) MAKE SURE you do the maintenance on the transmission, when I worked on rig trucks the guys that did the maintenance had good trucks and the ones that didn't had tranny blowouts. engage the front diff once a month or two, heat up the oil and boil the water out, (also saw lots of flooded front diffs on highway princess trucks)

The nice things about the suburban is that it knows its a truck, not like most others that are heavy body cars with under-sized engines.

Other upside, they handle better than a pickup.
If it's got history, go for it.
they are one of the few vehicles done right for the most part as far as I care.
 
I have a 2005 and couldn't be happier. Plenty of room and very capable. The only problem I have had so far is the speedo stopped working.

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They're a great family vehicle! I bought a 10-year old one in '89 when the kids were in school. Great for hauling the kids and their friends to the lake and all the goodies to the grandparents for Christmas and birthdays. Drove it for 8 years, 'til the kids started driving. They didn't want to drive 'that big ol' boat' to school, so I traded it for a 3/4 ton pickup. They loved driving that to school. Go figure.
 
They are comfy. My wife has one and loves it. No climbing over seat and plenty of room.
 
Well, we bought the thing today and its in our driveway. Sweet ride. Thats a big SUV, but I'll get used to it.

Thanks for the comments.
 
I bought my wife a 2008 LTZ without Nav. We love it. I have noticed the gas mileage started to get better around 20K miles. She plans on keeping this vehicle for a long time. Great for the family when we travel. Also, the size doesn't bother eve though she does a lot of driving around town.
 
Needs rims if you do decide to buy that car. I'm not speaking of 30" ridiculous Low-Rida, just some better rims than the stocks!
 
I like the stock wheels just fine, but I'm 47 years old and old school, so that may have something to do with it.

I got 14.6 mpg (city) on each of my first 2 tanks (the first driving like Granny, and the next driving "normal"), so that pretty much looks like what I am going to get.
 
Shoot, I have a two wheel drive V8 Dodge Dakota that only gets 14-15 mpg. Methinks you got more than me. :grumpy:

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Upside: You don't need to go to the DMV for a license plate.

Downside: You do have to go to the Post Office for a zip code!

Downside: Extra charge for installed cell phone because of the need for its own area code!

Serious Downside: if you park in a "Compact only" spot, I will ask building management to have you towed.

I'm not a raving environmentalist whacko, but I just get sick when I see a single person commuting in one of these things. So you like to go camping a few weekends each year? Rent it when you need it. I you need the space and hauling for work, fine. But, for most people, there is just no excuse to be driving around day-to-day in three tons at 10MPG.
 
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Gollnick, really, I mean really the guy needed a lecture from you about your anecdotal conception that "most people, there is just no excuse to be driving around day to day in three tons at 10 mpg" how nice of you to decided this. Classic. He asked if anyone had experience with these things referring to have you owned one and what is your take, not a political correct rant about how I don't think you need that, there is no excuse for you driving that and if I catch you in the compact only parking spot I'm going to call and report you. Grow up.

My dad has had 3 of them, we have pulled trailers full of 4 wheelers in pursuit of ducks, geese, deer and small game, his offshore fishing boat, and traveled all over the US in those things and there awesome, put everyone in, pack all your gear and hook up the trailer, its not a problem for that TRUCK. He typically puts about 150,000 miles on them and then is still able to sell em for a decent price. Like others said just keep up with the scheduled maintenance for the tranny, oil, other fluids, filters, belts and hoses and that thing should just keep on going. Plus if you ever get in a wreck, pity the other vehicle cause it is gonna crush whatever you hit, while not hardly budging your vehicle. I wrecked one his twice and both times barely twisted the front bumper of his truck, but completely totaling the other two cars that both pulled out in front of me. Neither car was able to driven from the seen, but the suburban was fine.
 
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My experience with Chevy is that you'll get a great one or a POS. Hope yours works out well for you. I like the Suburbans but don't think I could bring myself to buy another Chevy. I've got a 1994 Silverado with 169,000 miles on it and it's been, how should I put this, "easy to work on". :)
 
Yeah, its really no prob to drive as a daily commuter. Pretty fun, actually. Has plenty of zip when I need it, which my Explorer V6 did not. Backing up and parallel parking isn't too bad either, though the thing is obviously big. Has fun stuff like bluetooth phone connectivity and XM radio, which is new to me as well.
 
I rented one last year for a camping trip and loved it! If anyone wants a big roomy SUV this is as good as it gets. I own a smaller SUV because that's all I need, but if I were to need something larger, I'd strongly consider a Suburban.
 
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