Looking at two Suburbans to buy, need opinion

The guy selling the rebuilt Suburban screwed up in the process and is trying to recuperate his losses. They always do. I would trust the 6.0L example more but both of these are overpriced junk like every SUV now. I would offer a pre COVID price and that's it.
 
Response from the seller:



I have fixed the cruise control and lowered my asking price to $11,990.

If you want to know my minimum I need $11500. That is a good price considering this suburban has more amenities than anything else on the market in this mileage and age range. With a rebuilt motor that addresses the main motor failure - it's a pretty good bet mechanically. The torque converter is brand new - which addresses catastrophic failures of the transmission. With the cruise fixed it is now 100%.

Yup. It's been listed for a month. In this price and age range that's not unprecedented. This vehicle would never get a bank loan to finance it. That means my buyer is brining cash. That's a small pool of people. But they're out there. It will sell.

. . .

I pulled the drivers side head and had it rebuilt by a machine shop. They replaced the valves in cylinders 1 and 7, and ground fresh seats. They also milled it flat. It's back on now with a fresh head gasket and head bolts. It also has a new melling oil pump to resolve the low oil pressure issue.


My brother in law and I may have addictions to project vehicles. We are both mechanical engineers, but love to wrench on things. We have a shop with a lift and many projects in various states of completion.

Rebuilding the motor (and we've done more than a few) is easy. It's figuring out electrical problems in new vehicles that's difficult.
 
I'm always sceptical of the sellers that just did an overhaul, didn't really drive it and then they're dumping it. Makes you question the quality of the work or what weird issues might pop up...
 
The guy selling the rebuilt Suburban screwed up in the process and is trying to recuperate his losses. They always do. I would trust the 6.0L example more but both of these are overpriced junk like every SUV now. I would offer a pre COVID price and that's it.

"Overpriced," probably yes. "Junk" depends on the vehicle.

I was killing time yesterday and saw a beautiful relic, excellent condition 1995 4Runner. I poked around it for a few minutes. Some usual issues for a 26 year old SUV with 200k miles. Asking price was $9,000. That was the end of the conversation. If it checked out, I'd have paid $4000. Maybe $5k. But NINE.... no thanks.
 
I'm always sceptical of the sellers that just did an overhaul, didn't really drive it and then they're dumping it. Makes you question the quality of the work or what weird issues might pop up...

I wouldn't make it a rule. It's a case-by-case basis. I might pay more, I might pay less, or I might have no interest. It just depends. But in this market, the buyer is paying a HUGE premium due to shortages for a vehicle worked over significantly. I would pass b/c there's likely better values out there.
 
"Overpriced," probably yes. "Junk" depends on the vehicle.

I was killing time yesterday and saw a beautiful relic, excellent condition 1995 4Runner. I poked around it for a few minutes. Some usual issues for a 26 year old SUV with 200k miles. Asking price was $9,000. That was the end of the conversation. If it checked out, I'd have paid $4000. Maybe $5k. But NINE.... no thanks.

The market has gone absolutely nuts.
Will there be a return to normalcy?
 
How far are you willing to travel?




 
From seller:

My partner and I have rebuilt or refurbished 12 motors combined. Mostly GM motors, but there are several ford and Jeep / AMC motors in there. Several of these have been in vehicles we've sold. I haven't heard anything negative back from buyers. We have over $1500 in parts for the engine alone. That doesn't include repairs we made to the Emissions, Tire pressure monitoring system, the torque converter and transmission fluid. I dont think the work we did was "cheap" or "shade tree mechanic." We repaired this truck anticipating we'd sell it to a family member but they were ready / able to buy it.

I will get you the receipts. Should have those all scanned sometime tomorrow.
 
How far are you willing to travel?






Thanks for the effort and thanks for going the extra mile for me.

but, it's a wash at best. First - Excursion is nice but is 20 years old.. miles not too high at 130K+ and it's 10K..
Second, 2011 expedition, 10 year old, miles are high at 213660 and it's 12K.. again, a wash at best.
2011 Suburban, 200K for 12K. Same thing.

The 6.0L 2500 appears to be a better deal than any of these, as a better towing machine, despite the year.
 
I know these vehicles pretty well. I wouldn't be worried about the engine work, LS engines are simple, tuning and afm delete is a big plus. I've had tuned cars lose cruise control. Don't care. Bet the guy is actually making good money. Probably paid 3-4k for the suburban needing work. $1500 into the engine/heads/trans/tune. Fix some other incidentals. Probably an easy 5k in profit for him.
 
Thanks for the effort and thanks for going the extra mile for me.

but, it's a wash at best. First - Excursion is nice but is 20 years old.. miles not too high at 130K+ and it's 10K..
Second, 2011 expedition, 10 year old, miles are high at 213660 and it's 12K.. again, a wash at best.
2011 Suburban, 200K for 12K. Same thing.

The 6.0L 2500 appears to be a better deal than any of these, as a better towing machine, despite the year.
Yep-all these examples are STILL INDICATIVE of the market. None are any better than the original two vehicles.You could buy the Excursion and really suck the gas with that V-10 motor.
 
You sound like towing capacity is an issue, I’d go with the white 2500. It’s just an all-over tougher truck that gives you the ability to not worry about towing heavy.
 
I am beginning to think Ford products are a better bet. I've had nothing but trouble with GM for years.

In some ways....Fords are superior to GM products. Though buying a 200,000 mile 3V 5.4L equipped Ford is NOT going to prove that point!!!

The ZF designed 6R80 installed in 2010 & up Expeditions is a VERY good unit, But having 3V 5.4L issues can cost a lot more than having 6L80E issues.

I paid $1,700 for a '10 Expedition engine to put in a '07 F250.....Had a broken timing chain guide (Right Upper that always breaks). Had to literally change everything, Basically had to Long Block it for it to fit the F250. Searched for 2 months to find one that was in this good of shape.
Ford has no ETA on their certified rebuilds.
 
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