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Momma needs a new ride


ndahlberg12

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Looks for some opinions on a few vehicles. 
 

we have a 2011 Suburban we bought new, it has 140K and has been a great vehicle for us and our 4 boys. They all play travel hockey so it has made more road trips than I can remember. 
 

Our oldest is almost 19 and is on his way to becoming more independent. Over the weekend we started discussing the potential or replacing our suburban with something used for get us through the next 5-6 years until our youngest starts driving. At that point we won’t have the need for a large SUV. Part of our discussion has been maybe down sizing to something smaller. We won’t buy a Tahoe/Yukon/expedition cause the suburban/Yukon XL/expedition el are to close in price. We looked at an explorer and pilot, but she really is not overly excited about that much of a downsize. For the record, I am 6ft 6 and my oldest is close to the same. It appears the other 3 will follow the same pattern. 
 

During our drive and talk time we keep coming back to looking for a suburban or expedition el. I am working on lining up some test drives so she can drive the expy,  We also came across a 2017 Armada she LOVES, she knows it is smaller than what she has but she loves the look and the interior. 
 

So after all that my question. Any Armada owners on here? Is the gas mileage really as bad as my quick google research says it is?

Any expedition El owners make the switch from a suburban? Any feedback overall on these?

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We have a 2010 Armada and other than missing the extra 2’ in the trunk area it’s been a great SUV. We have 5 kids (10 and younger) and we really like the Size of the Armada. 
 

what I am referring to size is how wide it is. There is a lot of room. The second row has decent leg room. 
 

it pulls our 06 23 LSV very nicely and yes Gas mileage is pretty bad. I want to say 13-15 mpg highway non towing. When I tow we get like 11mpg. I am not exact on those numbers as it’s my wife’s car and I don’t worry about mpg on trips or when towing because I always feel like it’s a lot cheaper than 7 plane tickets =)

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I switched from a 2011 Yukon XL Denali to a 2019 Expedition MAX.  Granted there is 8 years difference between the two, but I have to say that the Ex is an upgraded in about every way.  Quieter.  Better ride quality.  More powerful.  Better build quality.  The 10 speed is awesome.  The only thing that I miss about the Yukon is that we didn't have a payment on it.

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1 hour ago, RyanB said:

I switched from a 2011 Yukon XL Denali to a 2019 Expedition MAX.  Granted there is 8 years difference between the two, but I have to say that the Ex is an upgraded in about every way.  Quieter.  Better ride quality.  More powerful.  Better build quality.  The 10 speed is awesome.  The only thing that I miss about the Yukon is that we didn't have a payment on it.

This is one of our biggest hold backs and why this is such a discussion. We have been car payment free for the last 4 years and that feels pretty good. The main reason we are looking used is we are hoping to stay within a strict budget and avoid another payment. 

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1 hour ago, ndahlberg12 said:

This is one of our biggest hold backs and why this is such a discussion. We have been car payment free for the last 4 years and that feels pretty good. The main reason we are looking used is we are hoping to stay within a strict budget and avoid another payment. 

Dad always said "Buy used - let someone else pay the 30% first year depreciation". He also used to say "Everyone should buy a new car at least once in their life".  Frankly, buying used, even if you spring for the extra warranty on a 2-4 year old car will save you a fortune.

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I just checked the local Chevy and GMC dealers.  New vehicles are 15% off MSRP to start and financing is 0%.  The new versions of these are suppose to be out in the latter part of 2020 so you should be able to get quite a deal on new. I would suspect that dealers would beg you to take their inventory.

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Wait for the 2021 Tahoe to come out if you are going to buy new, diesel, IRS, air suspension, more room, etc. If you are going to buy what's out now you might as well get a year or two used model, will be pretty much the same.

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Throw another 100k miles on that 11 sub and call it a day. I usually go to 240 to 250k miles on my vehicles. My current oldest is 14 years old with 220k and still towing. Haven’t had a car payment in about 5 ish years and don’t want one. That said, my kids are driving age now so we are needing some cheap eco cars now. 

Edited by williemon
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From what I've seen new car prices are generally good for buyers but not crashing and the factory shut downs have reduced inventory.  Good luck finding a new GM HD truck; the inventory is really picked over.  The good news is the fed rate is helping with interest incentives.  

But the used market prices are heading south for sure.  Also,  I am wondering how much car inventory Hertz dumps on the market in the restructuring.  I'd say take your time and look for a good deal, I don't see used SUV prices climbing any time soon and they might be heading much further south.  

https://www.wsj.com/articles/hertz-blames-frozen-used-car-sales-for-bankruptcy-11590430033

 

 

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11 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

From what I've seen new car prices are generally good for buyers but not crashing and the factory shut downs have reduced inventory.  Good luck finding a new GM HD truck; the inventory is really picked over.  The good news is the fed rate is helping with interest incentives.  

But the used market prices are heading south for sure.  Also,  I am wondering how much car inventory Hertz dumps on the market in the restructuring.  I'd say take your time and look for a good deal, I don't see used SUV prices climbing any time soon and they might be heading much further south.  

https://www.wsj.com/articles/hertz-blames-frozen-used-car-sales-for-bankruptcy-11590430033

 

 

I have been watching a used 3500 dually for the last 2 months that a dealer has here in Texas, It started out at $36k and is currently at just under $25k. Any bets I can hold out a while longer and get this truck for under $20k?

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9 minutes ago, MLBurns said:

I have been watching a used 3500 dually for the last 2 months that a dealer has here in Texas, It started out at $36k and is currently at just under $25k. Any bets I can hold out a while longer and get this truck for under $20k?

At some point that one is going to sell.  Who knows on an individual truck.  But I think prices are going to keep dropping generally for a bit on used vehicles, at least in the near term.    Good luck!  

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/26/2020 at 8:32 AM, ndahlberg12 said:

Looks for some opinions on a few vehicles. 
 

we have a 2011 Suburban we bought new, it has 140K and has been a great vehicle for us and our 4 boys. They all play travel hockey so it has made more road trips than I can remember. 
 

Our oldest is almost 19 and is on his way to becoming more independent. Over the weekend we started discussing the potential or replacing our suburban with something used for get us through the next 5-6 years until our youngest starts driving. At that point we won’t have the need for a large SUV. Part of our discussion has been maybe down sizing to something smaller. We won’t buy a Tahoe/Yukon/expedition cause the suburban/Yukon XL/expedition el are to close in price. We looked at an explorer and pilot, but she really is not overly excited about that much of a downsize. For the record, I am 6ft 6 and my oldest is close to the same. It appears the other 3 will follow the same pattern. 
 

During our drive and talk time we keep coming back to looking for a suburban or expedition el. I am working on lining up some test drives so she can drive the expy,  We also came across a 2017 Armada she LOVES, she knows it is smaller than what she has but she loves the look and the interior. 
 

So after all that my question. Any Armada owners on here? Is the gas mileage really as bad as my quick google research says it is?

Any expedition El owners make the switch from a suburban? Any feedback overall on these?

We have a '12 Armada, just turned 102k miles. It's been a great truck for us. We towed our 23XTi all over the place with it, never had an issue pulling. Ours is obviously the previous generation with the 5spd trans and the 315hp 5.6.  That engine and transmission work so well and is so smooth. I prefer driving the Armada over driving my '16 Tundra. Only issues I've had are, the heating valve in the front locked up (common problem) - $90 part and an hour to fix, leak in the rear A/C lines under the truck (common issue in salt country) - $5 splice to fix and then recharge, and I just replaced the air leveling suspension with standard suspension in the rear. The shocks and compressor went out and we don't tow with it anymore and it will be our son's car so I wasn't spending a huge amount to fix it. It actually rides a bit better unloaded with standard suspension.

Like I said, overall it's been a great vehicle, much better than the Expedition it replaced (we only got 80k out of it). Gas mileage is dismal though, I think we get around 13 mixed and can bump 16 highway. They're heavy with wide tires, so that doesn't really help. The new DI engines are supposed to be better though, I don't know how much, they're still big and heavy.

As for room, I'm 6-3 and my son is 6-6. He has plenty of room in the second row while sitting behind me.

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Since you're asking for ideas and recommendations:  I'd hold onto the '11 Suburban.  

Switching vehicles incurs new registration fees, sales tax, etc.  You also know the Suburban's history and therefore what it needs for maintenance.  Putting the tax/title/registration of a new car towards some updates, preventative maintenance, and correcting a few things on the Suburban would go a long way I imagine.  Again, just somebody's $.02, but if I had similar family/use dynamics, I'd be hard pressed to get rid of the Suburban.  

Edited by Pra4sno
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