Dave600hL

Hey, guys.
The wife wants a car for taking the dogs to the beach, it won't be used for anything else. What I want to know is what is the reliability issues this car has. I have had a Land cruiser Cygnus (Which is a Lexus LX 470 to you guys), but I want something other than a lexus this time around. I don't think we will keep it long as it will be a car that won't be taken care of due to the dogs riding in it. It will be an extra car used only for that purpose , but judging from the wifes reaction to our dogs ,it could get a few miles put up on it.

I just don't want to have to worry about taking it the get repaired all the time. What are peoples experiences with this car?

rdgdawg

Had a good conversation with GM service rep, 14 years experience (who's also a basketball buddy with our group so known him quite a while) on the Escalade, Yukon Denali and Tahoe. All are essentially the same, with the Escalade having more "bling" but all have stellar service histories. Note though that for example (per my pal) Escalade's HID headlights are $300 bulb replacement as opposed to a Tahoe's standard bulb, which are around $20.

However, he and his wife both own pre-owned Escalades... he loves them!!! Said you can't go wrong with any...

caddyowner

My son was recently shopping for a used Escalade and ended up buying a 04 GMC Yukon Denali. The drivetrain on that platform (Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, Escalade) is solid, but the electronic add-ons are expensive (in non-Lexus dollars) to get fixed. Of course, the Lade has the most of these. The 07 and later body style is very handsome (though the Lade went overboard with the bling and HUGE emblems IMO), but there were a number of first-year issues with 07s so I'd avoid that year. For the 07 and later years, I like the looks of the Chevy Tahoe / Suburban best.

My son wanted to spend no more than $32K, and preferred to spend mid-20s. He also lives in Ann Arbor (our local land of the flakes and nuts) and he was concerned about anti-SUV, anti-wealth whackos targeting a Lade. He found his older YD priced in the low-20s, in great condition, in the black / gray combination he wanted.

A couple of good forums for these trucks:

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...calade-forums/

http://www.denalitrucks.com/

Good luck in your search.

caddyowner

Two more items about these vehicles:

- They are appreciably bigger than a LX. The regular Lade / Yukon is about 200" long. The Suburban / Yukon XL / long Lade is about 220".

- The dealer service experience is likely to be disappointing, even from Cadillac dealers. They are trying, but generally fall far short of Lexus standards.

Dave600hL

I don't care about dealer service with this car, but I do care about reasonable reliablity.

LexFather

Dave if you want you can do some reading here, I know the admin there and I used to post.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...sv-forum-2007/

Newer Escalade is better quality-wise but can also be a huge hit or miss. Good luck.

caddyowner

I hope you're planning to buy used because depreciation on these trucks drops like an anchor.

IS-SV

My friend sold his Tahoe a few months ago with 150K miles. It was fine until it hit 100K miles, after that he ended up replacing many expensive items including the tranny, overall he was less than impressed. He replaced it with a Toyota 4Runner.

G Star

iTrader: (2)

Escalade in Japan? are there a lot over there? if not...Dave be pimpin!

biggie27

honestly if your looking into reliability I would stick too lexus/toyota ( landcruiser ) or you can always look into a nissan patrol or super safari very reliable and have a great history with off roading

baddis es

iTrader: (3)

i'd consider the Sequioa...your dog would appreciate the option of power tail-gate window.

GM on a whole, have great trucks...but as mentioned above, after about 100k miles, be ready to dip into your pockets for costly repairs. a close friend took a huge hit on his Escalade EXT after the tranny gave way at 93k miles...and mind you, he's never towed anything ever or carried extensive weight in the bed with the truck, it was his daily commuter vehicle and unfortunately just gave way

mmarshall

If you don't need a full-size SUV, check out the Mercedes GLK. It's only been on the market less than two years, but, in that time, Consumer Reports gives it a much-better-than-average reliability rating.....better then any other U.S.-market M-B product. Uness your wife is hauling around several Great Danes, it should have enough room inside for a least a couple of normal-sized dogs, especially with the rear-seat folded. I recently reviewed a new GLK, was was impressed with its build quality.

caddyowner

If you want yo go low budget, consider a Subaru outback wagon - AWD and my dog loves it compared to the back seat of my old extended cab Dakota.

pbm317

I don't know what vehicles are/aren't available in Japan. But an Escalade just to shuttle dogs around seems a bit excessive? But if you have the means I guess go right ahead.

Alternatively maybe something like the Honda Element? Although I think it's a North America only product. Perhaps something simlar exists?

J.P.

aunt uses a honda element for her two big dogs, easy to load, easy to clean out