Personally I see myself looking towards a 2500 Sierra Denali with the Duramax next. They are solid as a rock, offer the Denali amenities, and have tremendous resale value even 10 years later. And 910 ft lbs of towing torque...nice.
I'd be wary of buying a diesel for the resale value. Diesel trucks, and pickups in general, are on a huge bubble right now. Everybody wants a truck. In the past it has been jeeps, european cars, asian cars, muscle cars, and now it's trucks. Eventually all these kids are going to grow out of rolling coal and buy something else. (pimped out minivans?) Prices will drop on used trucks again, and I don't see this trend lasting too much longer. Trucks will never go out of style, but the huge mass of suburban kids asking for a diesel truck for their 16th birthday is going to move on.
It's like it's 2006 and looking at buying an ej civic. If you love it, and want one, and are going to keep it, go ahead. If you think in three years you're going to sell it for 90 percent of what you paid for it, tread carefully.
With the current model issues, The 2018 expedition will do very well if it's a solid truck. Should be available to order in a few mos.
We are in the same position and as of right now we are waiting to drive one before ordering and trading in our 15 XL.
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Do not want a irs SUV. At all. If ford brought back the excursion I'd probably want one (especially if it came with a 6.7) but the expedition is just a giant hatchback.
This is the dilemma for a lot of full size SUV owners right now. The new Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon's are not living up to the historical reliability of the platform and the $70K plus price of entry for a nicely equipped 4WD model is really tough to swallow. All of the recent issues have softened the market a bit - at least here because I was starting to see some really deep discounts but that just tells me the marketplace is beginning to catch on.
I did not even look at an Expedition right now for two reasons. I needed to trade my Yukon XL now and would never buy any new vehicle that is just about to be replaced and second, my history with Ford and owning an Expedition prior to a string of Yukons was abysmal. The new Expedition will attract some buyers that are unhappy with GM right now but that brand new vehicle has a lot to prove before I would ever plunk my money down on the table. I keep my vehicles for 5 years so never lease and need something I know will at least make it trouble free and spend more time in my garage then at the dealer for 5 years and 100K miles.
Audi and Mercedes are great minivan people and grocery mover replacements but they are definitely not towing machines. If I am spending $70K plus on an SUV it has to do more than just move people and the occasional load of goods from Cosco. If not a car with AWD is a much better choice, at least for me anyway. A pickup was definitely on my list as a possible replacement but the problem is I hate loading luggage and even groceries in the bed of a truck. Sure there are systems you can install or use to help keep crap from sliding around back there but once you have a Burb or XL Yukon a pickup truck's bed is no replacement even if you find a good way to keep it perfectly dry.
Right now its not an easy choice because everything else has a compromise compared to the oldest of big utes. GM needs to get their act together and get this platform back on top in the dependability and longevity category fast. Until then I will be driving a competitor that can still tow, has a decent history of reliability and should get me through the next 5yrs/100K. Unfortunately I am giving up a couple of things that I really liked about my 11' Yukon XL.
My father just went through this dilemma. The newest vehicles, especially from GM, are not worth the asking price. He ultimately settled on an older 3/4 ton truck for his daily driver. The 2015i yukon just sits now, nice and clean in the garage, waiting for the miles to catch up to it's age. It's two years old with 50k and it's falling apart. It's had two new head units, two GPS units, new antennas, new window trim, new dif seals, and the transmission bucks the truck like a rodeo horse. Instead of 60, 70, 80, 90, even 100 thousand dollars for a new truck or SUV, he decided to spend less than half that for a truck that had already taken the initial depreciation hit, and is using some of the money that would have gone toward the new truck to tune, bulletproof, lift, and customize the older truck. In the end he'll have a low miles truck perfectly suited to his needs and likes, with a new stance, custom touches, and accessories, and will still have a considerable price lead over a new vehicle. In actuality it will probably be more reliable than the new truck, unfortunately.
