Fosscore's 2013 Suburban LTZ Build Thread

[89Suburban]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Fosscore]

Just catching up with this hugely epic adventure. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks man. It was an epic adventure for sure.

That was just a sampling of the 100s of photos we took. Too many to throw in here, but that gives an amazing idea of what we saw and experienced.

 

[Fosscore]

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for enjoying the journey.

 

[Fosscore]

3 July 2019

So my Australian summer holiday ended and I flew back to the USA and left the rest of the family there for July with the parents.

Thought I’d share my hellacious travel back from the Land Down Under

I hugged the kids and grandparents and said our see ya laters. The wife and I departed the house at 0930 on Thursday 27 June for the 45 minute drive to the Sydney airport.

My Qantas flight from Sydney to Dallas was scheduled to depart at 1230. We were delayed at the gate, after we boarded the A380 until 1400.
"Mechanical issues."

Once we got airborne and at our cruising altitude, we picked up the tail winds, shaved some time off the flight and arrived at 1400 local in Dallas on 27 June. Yep, I landed on the same date and at the same time that I had departed from Sydney.

However, my body was on 0500 Friday 28 June Sydney time, regardless of what my watch showed.

My Dallas to Ft Lauderdale flight was automatically rebooked for me and about 2 dozen other passenger connections. My old departure was scheduled for 1430. Our boarding passes were already waiting for us in the terminal, once we disembarked from the jetway.

It took me an hour to clear customs, collect and recheck my bags and clear security back into the terminal from whence I had just come from.

I was scheduled to depart Dallas at 1900, then 1945, then a gap and an update at 2200 then 2215, 2230 and finally CXLD with a notification that passengers would be notified and rebooked. The last 3 flight updates came via text within minutes.

Good news, I did end up walking 4 miles between terminals and riding the SkyLink because terminal 4 is roomy, nice and has better food options. Terminal 3 was old, smelled, busy, too cramped and dirty.

So there it was 2245 Dallas time, some 29 hours after had I left Australia, flew across the world and the International Date Line, but got to see a killer sunrise across the Pacific.

I legged it back to Terminal 3 and had to wait in line for another hour to get my taxi, hotel and meal vouchers with some very irate passengers, .

I seriously contemplated sleeping in the DFW airport, so I wouldn’t have to mess with security again. But I took the shower and 4 hours rest option instead. At this point, I could have gotten back on the same A380 that I had flown in on and flew back to Australia. Lol Kids would have been very surprised.

As it was now 2315 local time (1415 on Friday 28 June in Australia), all hotel shuttles had stopped. Great. I walked out of the airport to find zero taxis. The only one I saw said he wouldn't take the airline voucher. The dispatcher made a call and hailed another one, then quickly left for home muttering under his breath. The other girl still there helped me out and then had numerous other passengers behind me to sort out to different hotels around the airport. I was in Arlington, right next to ATT Stadium. The guy spoke limited English, had just moved to the USA and took me the long way, even with his phone guiding him.

A quick shower and in bed by 0000. 30 hours after leaving Australia. My moment of tiredness had passed waiting in the voucher line and I was wide awake with my alarm set for 0430.

I was in and out of sleep, knowing I had to wake up as I had a new flight booked for Friday 28 June at 0655 to Jacksonville then to Miami for arrival at 1332. No FLL direct flights were available. The only direct flight had already left at 2000 and I wasn't on it and the 0700 one the next day had 27 people on the standby list. Grrr...

I woke up and taxi driver from the night before was a no show. I called and texted him. Crickets....luckily another taxi rocked up to take 2 other people to the airport and he accepted my voucher. That other taxi driver texted me 4 hours later and said he had been sleeping.

I got through security quickly before the first wave made it into the airport and straight to my gate, which happened to be next to the FLL direct flight gate. Lucky chance that was.

The agent at my gate said it was still full so I waited until I was the last person to board and he stopped me. Tap tap tap and boom... direct to FLL on the 0700 flight but no confirmation on whether my bags would be on the plane or not. Grrr..

I shifted over to my new gate and the agent wasn’t very nice, but confirmed that my bags were indeed on that flight. Sweet!! Departure at 0700....delayed to 0715 then 0730 then 0745. At this point I didn’t care as I was on the direct flight back to FLL and finally on my way home, with my bags as well. What a killer trip though. The kids had a blast, great family bonding time, amazing sights and 100's of photos. Can't wait to drive a right hand drive Tahoe....

A few pics from the flight home.

A380 waiting to go back to the USA.

Departure from Botany Bay, over Sydney, right hand turn with Sydney Harbour and outbound for the Pacific. Those neighborhoods at the top of the picture are some of the most expensive in Sydney.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/most-expensive-suburbs-in-sydney/

Sunrise over the Pacific.

The tail cam.

 

[Fosscore]

 

[Fosscore]

Finally back home after a lot of travel this summer and time to take care of a few things. Part of the deal with the lady who watched our house and dogs was use of the Suburban. I wasn't really keen, but she did it for free so I had to compromise. Not like she was going to drive the Tahoe!!

About 3 days Down Under and we get these pics. FFFFUUUGGGG! But what could I do? I was more pissed at the turd in the red Mercedes that backed into the truck claiming he couldn't see the big land yacht driving right behind him. Right!


Our friends took pictures, called the police for a report and called GEICO to put the claim in.

Thankfully no lights, bumpers or the power running boards were damaged. Just the dents and a bit of missing paint on the leading edges. I even found a chunk of the guys rear bumper stuck between my wheel and tire.

Since his insurance is covering it, I can send it to the body shop and have them re-spray it to damn near perfect again. Provided they can match the WDT. lol. There is some down time, but seems like the logical choice.

I stopped by the dent repair guy, but he said the rear quarter panel in front of the tire is double walled and he may not be able to get the entire dent out. As well the doors could be tricky. He didn't say, "that'll buff out" as we were looking at it. Either way the only other 2 door dings on the truck are on that same side, so those would disappear. Is that a small victory?

So dent work or body work and re-spray? Open to input to see if am missing anything.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Finally back home after a lot of travel this summer and time to take care of a few things. Part of the deal with the lady who watched our house and dogs was use of the Suburban. I wasn't really keen, but she did it for free so I had to compromise. Not like she was going to drive the Tahoe!!

About 3 days Down Under and we get these pics. FFFFUUUGGGG! But what could I do? I was more pissed at the turd in the red Mercedes that backed into the truck claiming he couldn't see the big land yacht driving right behind him. Right!


Our friends took pictures, called the police for a report and called GEICO to put the claim in.

Thankfully no lights, bumpers or the power running boards were damaged. Just the dents and a bit of missing paint on the leading edges. I even found a chunk of the guys rear bumper stuck between my wheel and tire.

Since his insurance is covering it, I can send it to the body shop and have them re-spray it to damn near perfect again. Provided they can match the WDT. lol. There is some down time, but seems like the logical choice.

I stopped by the dent repair guy, but he said the rear quarter panel in front of the tire is double walled and he may not be able to get the entire dent out. As well the doors could be tricky. He didn't say, "that'll buff out" as we were looking at it. Either way the only other 2 door dings on the truck are on that same side, so those would disappear. Is that a small victory?

So dent work or body work and re-spray? Open to input to see if am missing anything.

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I'd send it to the body shop and get it done to perfection--on the other guy's dime. Only thing, it'll show up on the carfax as an accident.

 

[Fosscore]

I'd send it to the body shop and get it done to perfection--on the other guy's dime. Only thing, it'll show up on the carfax as an accident.

Thanks Tony. I guess a small mark on the Carfax for having the dents gone is a good trade off. I've got pictures and the police report to show what actually happened.

 

[Fosscore]

36455 miles

Washed her up today including the
engine bay. Polished out all the chrome, wiped down and vacuumed the interior and polished the faux wood inserts as well.

Was going to spin the polisher, but decided to wait until after she goes to the body shop to fix the dents in the passenger side. Hope to get her in the shop this week.

 

[eand28]

Yeah I’d definitely go the body shop route

 

[iamdub]

The body shop should take before and after pics, the insurance adjuster will have pics and you have pics documented here as well so it should never be an issue for a future buyer. IIRC, there is a "diminished value" clause for an insurance claim as well that not many people know about. Even though you have the cause, severity and repair of the damage documented, it's still a "stain" on the history and some buyers will use that to the fullest extent to detract from the value. You should suffer NO losses when someone else is at fault.

 

[Fosscore]

The body shop should take before and after pics, the insurance adjuster will have pics and you have pics documented here as well so it should never be an issue for a future buyer. IIRC, there is a "diminished value" clause for an insurance claim as well that not many people know about. Even though you have the cause, severity and repair of the damage documented, it's still a "stain" on the history and some buyers will use that to the fullest extent to detract from the value. You should suffer NO losses when someone else is at fault.

Good info. It's why I don't want to suffer to just deal with the dents, otherwise I would have the dent shop pop them out. The condition of the vehicle will speak for itself whenever that day comes.

Like my dad always says, everything is for sale and it's only worth what a buyer will pay for it. They can like it or take a walk, but we aren't on that road right now. Fixing it for the wife and myself so it is back to the way it should be. It is only cosmetic thankfully, just a PITA.

 

[Fosscore]

Stopped by the body shop this morning. Not the one my insurance company recommended. I did that on purpose to hear what the guy had to say.

3 stage paint, remove door handles, moldings and head and tail lights, mask off for overspray, drop down color cards especially for the multiple coats of the 3 stages, etc....good way to start without me asking.

Super clean shop. About a 2 week job.

Meeting with the adjuster Thursday, then get this ball rolling hopefully next week.

Said the long body looked cleaner than the new ones he gets in. Now you know why I am asking about the little details! Lol

 

[Fosscore]

Went to the insurance specific shop this morning. The adjuster was there for my 0800 appointment as was the manager of the shop.

The estimate was completed in 15 minutes. The shop manager and I spoke during that time. He said the right things again about removing handles, trim, rolling back the tape for cut off lines inside the doors (not painting the door jams of course) and the 3 stage paint, which always puts a spanner in the mix.

We talked about the inability of the dent removal due to the locations.

Completion time approximately at 1 week vs 2 weeks at the other place.

The main difference between the 2 shops is noted as the following:

"Modified refinish with full clear coat".

The first shop wanted to only paint the lower portion and basically blend it at the belt line of the LTZ trim rather than paint the entire passenger side of the truck. I thought this was a bit odd as the WDT is not an easy paint to work with especially when trying to get the first 2 coats to match the other panels properly.

The second shop is planning on painting the entire side as the Mercedes hit all 4 panels. Front fender, 2 doors and rear quarter panel. Still has to match the hood properly.

Second shop estimate by GEICO directly is actually $500 cheaper (not out of my pocket, but odd considering there is more paint but less billable hours). Cost is irrelevant to me here, just the outcome of the job at hand and dealing with the WDT.

What do you guys think?

 

[eand28]

I’d rather see them paint the whole side especially since it’s a tri-coat color

 

[Fosscore]

I’d rather see them paint the whole side especially since it’s a tri-coat color

Agreed. Not really a second thought for me knowing how hard it would be to blend it.

Just wanted to see if I was missing anything, even though I’m trying to be thorough.

At some point, I guess I have to trust the shop will hopefully do a good job.

 

[Tonyrodz]

I’d rather see them paint the whole side especially since it’s a tri-coat color

Agreed. They'll have a hard time blending it.

 

[eand28]

I had the back half of my burb painted after I fixed the rust and should’ve had each side painted. Not worth fixing it at this point

 

[adventurenali92]

Just getting caught up on your build thread! Love all the Australia pics! Looks like you had a wonderful Aussie trip! Bummer to hear that your flights home were a nightmare! But at least you made it safe! Sucks about the burb but it sounds like she will get dolled up at the body shop pretty good!
And on someone else’s dime too! Haha

 

[Fosscore]

Just getting caught up your bud thread! Love all the Australia pics! Looks like you had a wonderful Aussie trip! Bummer to hear that your flights home were a nightmare! But at least you made it safe! Sucks about the burb but it sounds like she will get dolled up at the body shop pretty good!
And on someone else’s dime too! Haha

Thx man. Was an awesome trip. Would have easily stayed in the Outback for more time.

Yeah bummer about the burb, but it will get fixed.

Just dragging my feet this week. Having a hard time letting it go and trusting that the shop will do the right thing removing and replacing parts as well as the final paint result.

But it needs to get fixed.