Will you buy an SUV now that their value has plummeted?
 

My jobs only 6 miles away and if the last Generation of Escalades ever dip below $10,000 I may just get one :D

I've seen Hummer H2's go for as low as $14,000. Nuts.

I wonder if all these people trading in their SUV's realize that they are getting so upside down taking that big hit and getting yet another car payment that they were better off keeping their SUV's:rolleyes:

https://www.topix.com/content/trb/200...ling-the-pinch

I would buy one if I could get cheap insurance, road tax. Just wouldn't use it much :)

I sold my '02 Dodge Ram 1500 earlier this year and I've been regretting it ever since, but now that the market has taken a steep slide, I'm considering buying another when I feel the market has fully crashed. Trucks are nice to have around and CRUCIAL when you need one and don't have one.

I bought it for $4,800 (yes, I know, that's insanely low, its a long story) the book value was $8,700, even in Feb. the most I could get out of it was $6,800 and this was when gas was still $2.70/gal. I see the same trucks now selling for $5,500 all day. I hope to find another 4.7L, but I'd like a 2wd 5sp this time, I'm betting I will spend $4k for an '02 or newer truck with less than 100k mi. and be capable of 22mpg mixed, although it will just be used when needing to tow or haul.

I don't have a family so SUV's have no appeal to me at all.

Yes I am looking to buy a bigger SUV. I have a Denali right now but need something larger to pull my box trailer. The Denali can pull it but it is right at capacity and doesn't feel safe to drive. I have a CRX HF and a BMW 330 for daily driving so the SUV is just for when I need to tow.

I'm looking at getting a Diesel Excursion. I have researched pickups and vans but the Excursion does just as good MPG wise and I would find myself using the enclosed SUV's room more often than a truck bed (don't want my musical equipment out in the rain!

I'm still pondering a diesel van though.

I wouldnt unless its a CRV or Rav4 4 cylinder that i can get for under 3000. but that will never happen since its a fuel efficient small suv thats reliable.


I really have no use for one, I dont tow anything and if i need the space, a van or a station wagon would do much better

look at the dodge sprinter vans, they get liek 33 mpg and can tow/haul a lot.

I've thought the Sprinter is bound to be very practical, ever since it came out. However, I just checked and the tow rating (for any model, 2500 or 3500, cargo van or chassis-cab, etc) is incredibly lame at 5000 pounds, nowhere near the rating of a Denali 1500.

Yup I just want an Escalade just to have it. :D

But the key is the newer ones have to dip into the less then $10,000 range.

Who knows one day they might be rare since there sending all the SUVs to Russia now :)

Yeah I found that too. My Denali is rated at 8000lb, my trailer is about 7000lb tandem axle. Even though it is not *at* the limit yet it drives horribly, and you also have to consider it is also a box trailer with a lot of wind resistance (though I did opt for a vee-nose). The Excursion is around 12-14000lb so it should tow a lot better. Funny thing is there isn't much price difference between a diesel pickup and the Excursion, and like I said I find the SUV body more usable for my needs.

I've heard that a diesel version of the Tahoe/Escalade/Yukon/Denali is coming out soon. To me that would be my ideal large utility vehicle.

I know a lot of people rip on big SUV's (especially considering the forum) but I love mine. I have owned a lot of cars from compact to station wagons to vans to sports cars and every other type. The SUV is still by far my favorite, and if I had to own just one car I would still choose the SUV. The only drawback to me is the low FE, they handle just fine and I don't drive like a maniac so I'm not that concerned about roll overs.

I might jump on a nice diesel truck for cheap, 'coz I don't think diesel is gonna be soooo bad forever, and there's the UEO, UVO and biodiesel options. I'm pretty sure I could make a reasonable diesel fuel by cooking up yard waste also. .

Also wouldn't mind if an older truck with a big V8 and carbs dropped in my lap for cheap, can think of 3 or 4 options for running one of those a lot cheaper.

It would be nice to get a deal on either of those and a huge trailer that no-one can afford to tow to go with them.

You may be surprised. Take it to a scale and get the total weight of the trailer + truck, and compare it to the truck's GCWR. I bet it will be over. The tow rating numbers are best-case scenario based on GCWR minus curb weight of a base model (except for trailering equipment) as delivered from the factory.

Also get axle weights and tongue weight...it's likely that one of those items is over.

I've got the 8000lb rating on my 2002 Sierra 1500 4x4 which has the "Handling/trailering suspension package" and "Heavy duty trailering equipment" factory options, but sometimes when I tow my camper which weighs in at 5500 to 6000 pounds I am slightly over my GCWR without much weight in the bed.

If they were stupid enough to buy one in the first place then I doubt it.

Pete

Heh.

I just bought a very clean, very nice, 1988 GMC Suburban for $1000. Cold air, clean inside and out, 454 engine, automatic, towing package, everything but 4-wheel drive.

Of course, it's to use for situations when we need more seat belts than my wife's car has. And for hauling, towing trailers, and going to the beach with too many changes of clothes. (We have me, my wife, 4 girls, 2 boys, I can't win, even the new baby is rumored to be a girl)

If you stand on it, it makes a nice sound. You can also watch the fuel gauge drop if you don't let go. I haven't used even one full tank in it yet, but I'm assuming it will get 10-12mpg, even though the previous owner swears it gets 13mpg while towing a 7000lb camper trailer.

I'll keep looking for a good commuter beater, but for now, my wife's Taurus and this beast will have to do. Good thing I don't work, right?

Nope. I wouldn't own one, of any make, even if I got it as a Christmas present. I have *never* liked SUV's, not even when gasoline actually was cheap. I don't 4-wheel at all, I don't hunt bear, I don't tow a heavy load. There is no practical reason for me to own one, and there are no philosophical reasons for me to own one either. Ergo, no. Just no.

i love the 80,s silverado, 'burbon, blazer (both fullsize blazer and s-10 blazer)

they can tow and stop whatever u put behind em and are huge inside...:D

but new SUV's suck... cramped inside yet still 2 lanes wide outside...

It's the bucket seats and huge wide center consoles. A split bench seat (optional but uncommon) with a nice fold down armrest, or at least wide buckets and a reasonable console might feel a little better. You'd think when they make a huge fat vehicle for the fat general public, they'd give use some butt-room.

My boss wants one...four kids are a tight fit in an '07 Impala and I guess his ball 'n chain wants something bigger. If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy I guess...

ya like i got in a jeep cherokee and was liek wtf my knees are 2 inches from the dash!:mad:

ford explorer 2nd row seats must be ment for kids, felt liek i was sitting on the floor on a 2X4 there was no butt space...

The smaller SUVs were never any good for space utilisation, we used to have an S15 Jimmy and it's amazing what you couldn't get in it. Back seat was very tight, knees to chin, hips to wheelarches, head to roof over bumps... a Ford Escort Wagon feels very spacious after that. However, in it's favor, with the 2.8 and 4 speed auto (2WD), and a rear screen deflector, it's highway mpg wasn't too unreasonable, somewhere around 27-28.

The one you could get me into is a '92-up Ford Bronco. I had a '92 Eddie Bauer and it was my favourite modern vehicle I've had. Very comfortable and exceptionally tough (trust me, I found out). Plus, equipped with a 302-automatic, mileage was a not-too-unreasonable 13.3 over the time I owned it, which was before I knew jack about driving for economy. I had a high tank of 18.5, too.

Although I'd go for an el-strippo XL this time and add the XLT gauge cluster with tach. I like my el-strippos, plus I like the bench seats better than the EB's buckets (though those buckets may be the most comfortable I've ever sat in...).

I would never consider an suv. If I truly needed more utility and hauling capability I would just get a pickup truck. A second gen dodge 2500 regular cab 2wd with a five speed and the 12v cummins sounds excellent for the job.

I'd like a 7.3PSD Excursion. I'm keeping my eye out for one now. I do tow, and that would work as a back up for my bus in a pinch. But they aren't high production items, so most will probably keep them because they can just drive them into the ground...in maybe 350-500k miles.

I understand that the Minneapolis FedEx facility is getting out of their Sprinters too. A friend of mine used to buy their used up I6 Ford vans for his photography business. He bought a Sprinter, and while the mileage was good, it's eating him alive with a tossed crank, failed transmission, limp mode with fuel filters, parts problems, bad service because of a lack of infrastructure for supporting a package that was Freightliner, now Dodge.

Damn that's not so nice to hear about the Sprinters, I was hoping they'd get affordable in a few years for an RV conversion.

Yeah, he was a test for some of us on the racing side. Just over 100k, the crank. No warranty, no support. Oh, and no parts. So, rental vehicles. For his year, there are three different kinds of brake pads, and they don't coincide with a serial number or anything; totally a rotating change of suppliers at different points of the assembly process.

I don't think anyone is rushing to get them anymore. When MB decided to go the Dodge route, it pretty much meant that a possible expeditor vehicle that could be repaired quickly now had to seek service in the city with few regular parts available.

I'd pick one up but I don't really need one. Hell, I want the 4 banger tracker gone but I'm gonna see if someone loses control on a frozen street this winter before I try and sell it.

I like to talk deals to hone my skills for car shopping and I got a guy with an 01' Suburban with 65k miles on it down to 4k. It's a steal at that price but it's in the way of his new civic hybrid being parked so he wants it gone. I think he sold it already.