Thoughts on this 2003 Suburban

[Alex Diaz]

Hello Everyone, 

 

New to the forum.  Apologize ahead of time if this is posted in the wrong place, still trying to figure the website out.  

 

I'm going to look at this truck on Saturday ( https://offerup.com/item/detail/35ec4e90-05ca-318b-b07c-2d016bfc6346?q=suburban&cid=5.1 ),  and just wanted to get any opinions as far as what you think of it?  what's the most you'd pay for it? Anything worth mentioning that you may see in the pictures? Is it a good buy? etc.  Any feed back really.  KBB Value has it at 8,500 and Carfax at 9k.  I wanted to get a feel for what he's looking to get so I offered 7.5, he said he had offers for 10.5 , and told me he would do it for the 10.5.  We've been talking for about a week now and it hasn't sold, so I'm wondering if he's willing to work with me more once in person. Anyhow, we agreed for me to come see it on Saturday, work out a price, and I can take it in for a PPI (which I will pay for) at his local chevy dealer , and the final deal would be made depending on the results.  

 

So far I have ran the carfax, it's a 3 owner.  The first owner did routine maintenance up until 55k miles, then it only shows 7 passed emissions logs with one failing prior to passing at 101k , and one more maintenance log at 114k right before it was sold.  2nd owner had it up until 123k and did do maintenance . Current owner bought it and had plans for it but they changed, so he's selling now, said he's not in the business of selling cars either.  Been talking to him for a bit now asking him a bunch of questions, seems straight forward, said the truck is solid and was probably just a weekend car.  He did get a CEL P0102 MAF Sensor - Circuit Low , a couple days ago and he determined it was a Mass Airflow Sensor , which he replaced and said took care of the CEL. Other than that he said he's never had a CEL until now, and only other issues were the struts for the rear gate went bad which he replaced, one foglight is broken but he's replacing that too, he also did a bit of maintenance which he specifies in the link I posted.  

 

Look forward to hearing from y'all. 

 

Thank you! 

 

-Alex 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Alex Diaz

[richard wysong]

Nice looking truck, fully loaded. see what the inspection turns up and go from there. The prices of used vehicles these days is pretty inflated so you may have to pay more than KBB

[Alex Diaz]

richard wysong, 

 

Thank you for replying. It is a nice rig right, and yes not the best time to buy a car but I need one for my growing family, would you do the 10.5 if he doesn't budge and the inspection looks good ?

[richard wysong]

I assume you have shopped around some to see what else is out there and compared prices? It appears to have been well maintained and not abused. BUT it is almost 20 years old! I personally would not pay that much but I have never in my life paid more than $5000 for a vehicle, being a mechanic I have always found great deals that need some work. Money is a relative thing, if you want, it buy it and go to work to replace the $, You may not come across another vehicle that fits your needs that is in good shape for a while if you pass it up

[richard wysong]

20 years old plastics tend to get brittle so things like a/c actuators etc may fail at some point. Make sure you check EVERYTHING for proper operation seats, windows, sun roof etc. run it thru a car wash and check for water leaks, take it up on the highway and listen for wind noise. Door hinge pins wear out, try picking up on the back of open doors and see if there's slop in the hinges. rear A/c systems have issues with the freon lines under the truck but the inspection should spot that as well as any chassis parts that may be ready for replacement.  A set of tires will cost you north of $1000 these days so take a close look at them. From the pics it looks like you are in the desert so rust shouldn't be an issue

[Alex Diaz]

Yes I have been shopping around.  I think it's the nicest one that' I'm willing to drive to. When I decided on a GMT800 I was thinking I'd probably spend 5-7 and then have to invest a bit to have it up to par.  If I spend 10k I'm looking for something that's ready to go.  I really like how well maintained it looks, hopefully it's the same mechanically.  The only thing I think I'd do to this one is look for some captains seats for the second row and keep the bench in case I ever need it, and maybe add the emblems.  Yes will definitely make sure all functions well.  

[Alex Diaz]

and great idea about the car wash! hadn't thought of that, thank you