Older Suburban owners

agurlsride · Sep 4, 2010

If you own a Suburban older than 2000, how many miles does it have and have you had any major mechanical problems?
We are looking at getting a 1995 Suburban and the 2 that we have looked at have 129,000 and 99,800 miles on them. I know generally speaking these vehicles can get upwards of 200k mi. but I am nervous about buying a car with this many miles on it. What do you think? These cars are in our price range of about $5k

bobbysgirl7103 · Sep 4, 2010

I have a 99' Suburban. It was my moms first and then she traded with me when DD2 was born so we could all fit in one car.

It has about 130,000 miles on it right now. The biggest thing that has happened was the compressor went out for the air conditioner this past year. Other than that it has just been little things. New battery, brakes, brake line, tires, etc....

I love my car and am very happy I have it because I have also heard that Suburbans last for a long time. My mom is a worrier though and worries that something is going to happen now that it is getting up in the miles although DH tells me not to worry.

babygirlsmom1005 · Sep 4, 2010

We own a 92 Suburban - has 225,000 miles on it.

The biggest thing mechanical we have had happen was the radiator started to leak last year and had to be replaced. It still has the original transmission and engine in it.

DH just did some suspension work on it (upper control arm bushing and upper u-joints along with an alignment and new tires) and wow it drives like new again.

We keep vehicles until they roll over and die LOL

unityco · Sep 4, 2010

My parents have a '97 with very low miles (sorry, I don't know the actual number,

they pretty much only drive it when we visit.) They've dropped a transmission

and have had continuing battery/electrical issues. Their leather upholstery is exceptionally worn too. :thumbsdown: Some of their issues may actually be because the poor thing sits unused for months at a time.

My mom still loves it though.

Maggie · Sep 4, 2010

I've never owned a vehicle with under 100,000.

DH had a '91 Sub that has 230,000. Didn't look real pretty, but ran fine.

Niea · Sep 4, 2010

My parents have a '94 (93? I can never remember) and it had to have a new engine put in it around the 200,000 point. Now it's back up to 150,000. Yes my parents drive it a lot.

agurlsride · Sep 5, 2010

Well, you all pretty much confirmed what I've hear/read about Suburbans...they run forever. How does it fair as far as car seat installation goes? All but one of my kids are in boosters so I'm not too concerned about them but my 4yr old currently is riding in a MA and hopefully will be getting a ProSport soon.

Niea · Sep 5, 2010

I've installed a number of Britax seats and they install fine. Right now I have a Roundabout RFing in the center 2nd row and a Nautilus outboard in the 3rd row. I've also installed a Scenara just fine.

Our model year did not come with any tether anchors, but they can be retrofit for the 3rd row. The second row tethers to the 3rd row seatbelts. I'm not sure which model year this changed so your milage may vary.

babygirlsmom1005 · Sep 5, 2010

agurlsride said:
Well, you all pretty much confirmed what I've hear/read about Suburbans...they run forever. How does it fair as far as car seat installation goes? All but one of my kids are in boosters so I'm not too concerned about them but my 4yr old currently is riding in a MA and hopefully will be getting a ProSport soon.

So far, I haven't found a seat yet that doesn't install in it. The radian installs like a dream both FF'ing and RF'ing....here is a list of seats that I've had in mine:

Recaro Como - FF'ing & RF'ing
Britax Companion - RF'ing
Britax Frontier - FF'ing
Britax Marathon - RF'ing & FF'ing
Graco My Ride 65 - RF'ing (haven't tried it FF'ing)
Radian XT - RF'ing & FF'ing
The First Years True Fit Premier - FF'ing & RF'ing
Evenflo Infant Bucket Seat (unsure of model) - RF'ing
Evenflo Generations 65 - FF'ing
EFTA - RF'ing (haven't tried it FF'ing)
Cosco Scerena - RF'ing & FF'ing

agurlsride · Sep 5, 2010

awesome, thank you guys

beeman · Sep 8, 2010

With older vehicles, no matter what you get you're going to have items that need to be fixed because of age, not for miles. This era is relatively light for electronics, (less to break down

), and the mechanical stuff is relatively cheap and easy to fix, as well as a large availability of used parts. The 6.5L diesel model has some electronic issues with the fuel driver, but if fixed properly when it breaks will be good for another 100,000 miles. One advantage with the suburban is it is built on the same chassis and with the same powertrain as the 1/2 ton, making part availability easier. 100,000 miles is not that many for a truck of this era. They should be good for at least 200,000 or more without major issues. If they have a lot less they've sat too much :twocents: .

agurlsride · Sep 10, 2010

Thanks for the info Beeman, the 95 with 99,800 mi is the 3/4 ton version with a 7.4L engine. I heard that the light duty (1500) versions have issues with the tranny so I am hoping this one isnt the same way. When I looked at MSN autos and edmunds, the 95's were the only year pre2003 that got 5 out of 5 stars for reliability so I've got my fingers crossed.

unityco · Sep 10, 2010

agurlsride said:
I heard that the light duty (1500) versions have issues with the tranny...

Interesting... that holds true with my parents'. Theirs is a 1500.

TyAndCheyMommy · Sep 10, 2010

I have a 1997 Suburban- that has 330,000 miles on it. We did put a new transmission in it at about 200,000- but I do pull heavy horse, car, and equipment trailers all the time with it.
Besides the transmission we have only had to do general things on it...
Though the windshield wiper motor went out.
The door handles on the inside are also not very sturdy- we have replaced 3. But they are really easy to fix!
I have been able to install every car seat we have ever tried with the exception of the Radian RF in the middle of the middle bench.
One thing I would change if I could would be I prefer the captins chairs in the middle instead of the bench like I have now... But sadly I can't do that because then I wouldn't have enough seats for all the kids.

mommyfrog · Sep 10, 2010

We just bought a 1994 Suburban and I was able to install a Radian rf in the middle of the middle seat in less than a minute.

It's at about a 35 degree angle too. I'll measure when dh gets home with the ipod, but I'm thrilled with the install. I hope the Regents go in as easy!!

ETA: It was 29 degrees without a kiddo in it and moved back a little to maybe 31 with ds in it.

agurlsride · Sep 10, 2010

unityco said:
Interesting... that holds true with my parents'. Theirs is a 1500.

Yeah I read a ton of posts about tranny issues with the light duties

agurlsride · Sep 10, 2010

TyAndCheyMommy said:
I have a 1997 Suburban- that has 330,000 miles on it.

Holy crap! 330,000mi?? This car would last us forever now that I have a new job and I'm not commuting 85 miles a day!

agurlsride · Sep 10, 2010

mommyfrog said:
We just bought a 1994 Suburban and I was able to install a Radian rf in the middle of the middle seat in less than a minute. It's at about a 35 degree angle too. I'll measure when dh gets home with the ipod, but I'm thrilled with the install. I hope the Regents go in as easy!!

Let me know how the Regent installs. Thats great about the Radian because that was one of the seats I was looking at. I'm also thinking about either the Frontier or ProSport, I wonder how ProSport installs.

Aurezalia · Sep 10, 2010

We have a '99. I'm not sure on amt. of miles - I'll look when it gets home - but I'm guesstimating about 140k? We haven't had a single problem with it.

agurlsride · Sep 10, 2010

Aurezalia said:
We have a '99. I'm not sure on amt. of miles - I'll look when it gets home - but I'm guesstimating about 140k? We haven't had a single problem with it.

Is yours the 1500 or 2500 model?

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