Thinking of purchasing an older ESV.

[alaska_guy]

I bought the wife a Cadillac escalade a few years back and it's been a great rig so far. I love all the creature comforts and how it drives like a car for the most part.

She has a check engine light that comes on and off for some time now but I believe it's an 02 sensor last time I scanned it. No big deal.

I currently am driving a 2001 F-250 crew cab with the v10. I have rebuilt the engine, new hubs, brake system, suspension, headers you name it. I love the truck but the truck suspension is stiff and you feel every crack in the road. This truck has 250k on it and everything was replaced around 220k miles. I tow a 18' tandem axle trailer with a 4 seat side by side on it. My truck doesn't really even blink but I'm concerned that the ESV transmission won't like hauling it long term.

I like that transmissions can be swapped/rebuilt for around $2600 on the expensive side if something was to go wrong with the 4l60e. Pretty darn cheap compared to other transmissions.

Any thoughts? I'm looking at the ESV, denali equivalent or a suburban with leather and heated seats if they make one.

Thanks for the replies in advance.

 

[95escahoe]

How about a 2500 Suburban?


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[CountryBoy19]

How about a 2500 Suburban?


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This! I think they also made a Yukon XL 2500. That would be the "in-between" on creature comforts.

Chevy is base options
GMC middle options
Cadillac high-end options

If you can find a loaded 2500 Yukon XL it will be very similar to the Escalade minus some of the aesthetics (fancy wood trims, fancy dash/switch bezels, etc)

 

[inmypassatlife]

I regret not buying the 2005 ESV with 86k for $5k just a few months ago

 

[Tonyrodz]

I regret not buying the 2005 ESV with 86k for $5k just a few months ago

That's cheap.

 

[inmypassatlife]

That's cheap.

Pretty sure @Galante talked me out of it. I had just replaced the trans and diff on mine so money was tight

 

[adventurenali92]

I bought the wife a Cadillac escalade a few years back and it's been a great rig so far. I love all the creature comforts and how it drives like a car for the most part.

She has a check engine light that comes on and off for some time now but I believe it's an 02 sensor last time I scanned it. No big deal.

I currently am driving a 2001 F-250 crew cab with the v10. I have rebuilt the engine, new hubs, brake system, suspension, headers you name it. I love the truck but the truck suspension is stiff and you feel every crack in the road. This truck has 250k on it and everything was replaced around 220k miles. I tow a 18' tandem axle trailer with a 4 seat side by side on it. My truck doesn't really even blink but I'm concerned that the ESV transmission won't like hauling it long term.

I like that transmissions can be swapped/rebuilt for around $2600 on the expensive side if something was to go wrong with the 4l60e. Pretty darn cheap compared to other transmissions.

Any thoughts? I'm looking at the ESV, denali equivalent or a suburban with leather and heated seats if they make one.

Thanks for the replies in advance.

The Escalade ESV will have a 4L65E trans mated to the LQ9 6.0. It is slightly beefier than the 4L60 with the smaller engine options. It tows pretty well but is proned to failure at higher mileage. How well the ESV tows your trailer and load setup depends on the weight and your driving characteristics. If you’re within the safe towing weighty than you might be ok. However you’re trailer setup sounds like it’s quite heavy. You may want to look into the 2500 suburban or Yukon xl like they said^ They are hard to find but they’re out there and the burb came in an LT package and the XL came in an SLT package so some creature comforts.

 

[alaska_guy]

Thanks, the only 2500 suburban I ever see for sale around here are the 1999 2500 suburban with the square body style. Usually sell for about 3-5k with almost 200k miles on them.

Doesn't say 2500 series, but I assume that's what it is since it is a 3/4ton.

https://anchorage.craigslist.org/cto/d/2000-chevy-suburban-3-4-ton/6738359952.html

 

[Tonyrodz]

Thanks, the only 2500 suburban I ever see for sale around here are the 1999 2500 suburban with the square body style. Usually sell for about 3-5k with almost 200k miles on them.

Doesn't say 2500 series, but I assume that's what it is since it is a 3/4ton.

https://anchorage.craigslist.org/cto/d/2000-chevy-suburban-3-4-ton/6738359952.html

Nice, but 8k seems a bit steep.

 

[alaska_guy]

Yeah, I will keep my eye out. This is for sale locally, nice overall condition I just don't know if it's my style.

https://anchorage.craigslist.org/ctd/d/2003-cadillac-escalade-esv/6736096960.html

I think I am leaning towards a suburban with leather/heated seats. I like how they sit higher. I plan to put some bigger tires on whatever I purchase. Not as extreme as the suburban in my original post, thinking just a 4" lift.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Yeah, I will keep my eye out. This is for sale locally, nice overall condition I just don't know if it's my style.

https://anchorage.craigslist.org/ctd/d/2003-cadillac-escalade-esv/6736096960.html

I think I am leaning towards a suburban with leather/heated seats. I like how they sit higher. I plan to put some bigger tires on whatever I purchase. Not as extreme as the suburban in my original post, thinking just a 4" lift.

I'm not a caddy guy, but it looks good. Great mileage too.

 

[alaska_guy]

My buddy keeps telling me I should buy this since this is gonna be a project rig. Not sure if Tahoe seats swap into a burb... I was at the junkyard today and there was a dozen or more tahoe's with leather seats. There are always a bunch on craigslist for sale as well.

https://anchorage.craigslist.org/cto/d/2001-suburban-2500hd/6747299132.html

The engine/trans combo alone is worth around 2k pretty easy.

 

[Tonyrodz]

My buddy keeps telling me I should buy this since this is gonna be a project rig. Not sure if Tahoe seats swap into a burb... I was at the junkyard today and there was a dozen or more tahoe's with leather seats. There are always a bunch on craigslist for sale as well.

https://anchorage.craigslist.org/cto/d/2001-suburban-2500hd/6747299132.html

The engine/trans combo alone is worth around 2k pretty easy.

That's a nice one. You don't see alot of 2500's. I'd def grab that baby! Tahoe seats are s direct bolt in. Tahoe snd Suburban are the same from the console forward. I repair car interiors, and believe me you don't want leather seats. They're cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and if not taken care of, they crack. What's wrong with those? They look to be in good shape.

 

[alaska_guy]

Good to know. I like lumbar support and heated seats since I live in Alaska. Didn't know the non leather seats had that option. I will see if that burban is still available and make an offer.

 

[alaska_guy]

Oops tapatalk double posted.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Good to know. I like lumbar support and heated seats since I live in Alaska. Didn't know the non leather seats had that option. I will see if that burban is still available and make an offer.

Not sure if the cloth have the bolsters and heated seats, I just meant they're a direct bolt in. You can add the heated elements to the cloth seats.

 

[adventurenali92]

That's a nice one. You don't see alot of 2500's. I'd def grab that baby! Tahoe seats are s direct bolt in. Tahoe snd Suburban are the same from the console forward. I repair car interiors, and believe me you don't want leather seats. They're cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and if not taken care of, they crack. What's wrong with those? They look to be in good shape.

You must have a highly skilled detailer on hand if you don’t like leather seats! Cloth seats suck! They are a major b**** to clean. Takes a great ton of product and a lot of effort! They retain weird gross odors for months... lol. I’ll never go back to cloth. Leather seats are much easier to keep clean, don’t stain, don’t retain odor, doesn’t take much product to really clean them up good, way less effort to clean, and if properly conditioned with good leather conditioner on a regular basis, they will last quite a while before they crack. Lol. My leather seats don’t get too bad in the summer. A little cold in the winter, but hey that’s what seat heaters are for! Haha.

 

[Tonyrodz]

You must have a highly skilled detailer on hand if you don’t like leather seats! Cloth seats suck! They are a major b**** to clean. Takes a great ton of product and a lot of effort! They retain weird gross odors for months... lol. I’ll never go back to cloth. Leather seats are much easier to keep clean, don’t stain, don’t retain odor, doesn’t take much product to really clean them up good, way less effort to clean, and if properly conditioned with good leather conditioner on a regular basis, they will last quite a while before they crack. Lol. My leather seats don’t get too bad in the summer. A little cold in the winter, but hey that’s what seat heaters are for! Haha.

Just a matter of personal preference I guess.

 

[alaska_guy]

Decided to pass on the rebuilt title 2500hd. Owner says he flips them once a month finding stolen vehicles... I just didn't want to get into some big suprises since he had no idea on the history.

 

[live2pull]

Your best bet may be coming to the lower 48 to find something, not that AK is impossible, but it may take a while