I think I want a Suburban, but have some questions

I was in an accident in September leaving my car banged up pretty good but driveable. I still use it for commuting. I got to thinking that instead of replaceing my car with another used car, but newer, I would toy with the idea of getting another vehicle for weekend, nights, & trips. The prospective vehicle would be used and no more than 5 years old and must have less than 50,000mi, and cost max $17,000. I have been looking closely at the Suburban. But the more I look the more confused I become. I see the GMC Yukon out there which I assume is basically the same as the Suburban. So Yukon is a possibility too. I see the Tahoe, but that seems to be shorter than the Suburban/Yukon. I like the long length of the Suburban/Yukon. I am not interested whatsoever in any sort of pickup truck, extended cab or not; they just don't appeal to me.

I'm not too worried about the poor gas mileage of the Suburban since it will not be my primary commute vehicle. My commute is 50mi per day round trip.
I would like my future Suburban/Yukon/Whatever to have 4WD capability, but I would use only 2WD 99% of the time since I do not live in snow nor will I be pulling my 20 foot boat up a ramp much. But on ocassion we might pull the boat or take trips to snowy destinations. Also I would plan on keeping this vehicle at least 10 years so reliability and longevity is a must. I would like to get the odometer to at least 150,000mi.

I did consider a full size van, but there is just something about the look of a Suburban I like over a van. Plus I think a van's engine is harder to work on than a Burb. I'm a do-it-yourselfer in most cases. Not sure if you can even get a 4WD van.

As I said above I am confused about some things and I have some questions:
1) Is there a better year of Suburban / Yukon over others as far as reliability between 2003-2008?

2) How well do the 4WD transmissions hold up...what is the life expectancy in terms of miles on them if maintained and not abused?

3) What is the average mileage that the intake and other nearby gaskets need to be replaced?

4) Are there any other problems with these vehicles that would cost more than $200 for a shop to do (I'm not concerned about waterpumps, alternators, brake rotors/calipers, and other medium and low cost expenditures).

5) I don't know if these come with dual AC but I would like AC vents in the back to cool my passengers. Is there such a thing on the Suburban/Yukon and if so is there a special model?

6) With all of the above considered, what is the best model... I see 1500, 2500 what do these mean?
thanks. I also want the type of hatch that opens up, not 2 doors that open left and right.

If you go though these forums you will get unbiased info concerning the vehicles durability.....and the proper maintanence cycle of fluids etc.....since this is to be a recreation vehicle and not for daily commutes gas will not be a required daily expense..... as you are aware gas will be 4.00 very soon ....and when summer arrives who knows .....12mpg is what my friends have gotten.... so that is an expensive vehicle to operate...the 2500 obviously will use more gas as it is a heavier vehicle...

Can't answer all your ?'s but.

1. 1500= 1/2 ton vehicle. 2500= 3/4 ton vehicle.
2. I don't know of any Sub that does not come with rear heat & a/c.
3. Rear "barn doors" or widow hatch & tailgate were options.
4. The Sub and Yukon are basically the same just different name plates.
5. The Tahoe is just a shorter version and only comes in the 1500 (1/2 ton).

As for the rest, do as "j cAT" suggests and research.

If you go though these forums you will get unbiased info concerning the vehicles durability.....and the proper maintanence cycle of fluids etc.....since this is to be a recreation vehicle and not for daily commutes gas will not be a required daily expense..... as you are aware gas will be 4.00 very soon ....and when summer arrives who knows .....12mpg is what my friends have gotten.... so that is an expensive vehicle to operate...the 2500 obviously will use more gas as it is a heavier vehicle...

I forgot to mention that if you wait till june to purchase this vehicle as the gas prices then will be spiking above 4.oo/gal I am sure you will find my of these on the market for a very good price....

I have 2 Suburbans and they are both much older than what you want.
That said I have had Extremely good luck with both of them and get reasonable mileage out of the 1500 with a 350 (12MPG) with a Quadrajet, it also has about 250,000 miles on the untouched 350.
The 79 has a 454 BB in it and it is the 3/4 ton 4X4 and it gives me VERY good mileage (18MPG) I have about 200,000 on this one and I have had to rebuild the transfer case at about 150,000 miles as a seal started to leak on it which is not a real biggie but needed doing.
Other than that I have only done normal maintenance on either one of them and neither one uses more than a half quart of oil during normal oil change intervals of 4,000 miles.
I also have a 91 S15 Jimmy 4X4 that has 285,000 miles on it that has had no problems with the drive train but did crack the right head in 2 cylinders this winter when the heater core blew and I ran out of coolant while getting to where I could get some help.
(I am on oxygen 24/7 and can't walk to help anymore like when I was young. :-) ) so I will be rebuilding that one this summer.

You all are great...thanks for this info.

One thing I can't figure out...what is the difference between C1500 and K1500?

I am honing in on 1500, LT, would like 4WD. Would like sun/moon roof but finding that those are rare.

C=2wd K=4wd

Ah makes sense!

How about this...I see "moonroof" and "sunroof" on Suburban and Yukon XL listings. Nobody ever takes a picture of it though.

I don't know anything about sun/moon roofs other than I know that there is a hole in the roof, sometimes with glass, sometimes w/out.

I really want a hole in the roof! But I want it to be completely covered at times as to not let in light. Ideally, i would push a button, the roof "door" would slide open back into the headliner and I could put my hand up through the hole (no glass). When I'm done, push a button to close the hole.

Do Burbs and Yukons have this type of completely closeable hole in the roof? Do they have the type with glass that always lets light in (I don't want this type)? How to differentiate between the two?

Sorry for the dumb question.

just on the 12 mpg comment, i have a 04 k1500 z71, i have never had that kind of terrible gas mileage. i get 15-16 mpg in town, and 20-21 mpg hwy, yeah itll suck down the gas if your foot is in it all the time, and its real fun to do that sometimes, but driving normally u should get better mileage than 12 mpg

Just to clarify - Yukons and Tahoes are the same size, the Yukon XL is the same size as a Suburban.

My 2500 Sub gets about 12 mpg loaded or not. It doesn't matter if the boat is attached. I would recommend a 2500 over a 1500 (except for the mpg difference). Chevrolet designed the 2500 to be a beast. Well done GM.

I was forced into a 2500 suburban 4X4 13 or 14 years ago by my husband, some suburban fan, and now nothing else would do.

Yukon friends complain about that missing cargo space in the rear, put the rear seat down in a suburban and there's nothing you cant bring home. Brought home a queen size bed in there once, a 1200 lb dismantled fire pit another.

Husband says after 300 000 kms, he cant see a 1500 lasting like my 2500. The 2500 apparently has heavier everything. Your gonna want this cuz your gonna love your suburban and want it to last for ever. Thats why we are all here.

Not only does the rear passengers have AC of their own, with thier own set of controls - if you let them from the drivers seat, but my groceries have AC too - way in the back. Driver also controls if you want the passengers to be able to open the windows or not too, handy if you got kids, pisses off Gramma. It's got child door locks also, kids cant open the doors either from the inside if you dont want them to.

I like the looks of the tailgate type back door. Has it's own wash and wiper, and you have a canopied tail gate for the family to sit on when needed, like watching fireworks or ball games. Dont have to take the bike rack off either if you have the tailgate back door, glass still clears to lift if you need in the back.

There is actually no where that I cant go. I live in Canada, if the snow drifts are too high and you plow to a stop, back up and try again. If you hit the ditch you can always drive out, then everybody else wants you to pull them out - tell em your not a tow truck.

If you get a navy blue one and come to Canada everybody thinks your the County Mounties, and are on thier best behavior when you show up. The back windows are so tinted black, single guys cant even see the three kids in car seats in the rear, so get a baby on board sign for the back window in case you want the wife to drive it.

You never need cup holders at drive throughs, for some reason it's got more cup holders than passengers. Can even fit a Great Pyrenese or two in the back cargo area and there is always room for more passengers than you can give birth to in ten years. And I drove my husbands new dodge ram when it was -37 below out, it took 20 miles to warm up to - everybody is still freezing. In the suburban we unzip our coats at the first intersection.

Can fold up some seats and sleep in it when you go camping in case there are Bigfoots or Grizzly Bears. Leaves room for quads on a trailor since you wont need the camper. And you are many more times likely to live than the other guy in a collision with another passenger vehicles which are smaller. I saw a documentry.... Large SUVs (thats us) The Dangers On Our Roads. Suburbans also have a 15 foot blind spot in the rear, so now they have cameras just for them and to be extra safe get one of those back up beepers. I dont think you'll regret choosing a Suburban, on the roads instead of saying excuse me you'll be saying get out of my way.

The 5.3s and 6.0s do have problems with the intake gaskets and yes,they are made out of plastic.They blow out sucking air in and will cause a miss.Most parts stores stock the intake gaskets.

You can do what I did before I bought my Suburban. My wife and I rented one for the weekend and took a trip. We both got to drive it and did not have the "rushed feeling" you have when you test drive one at the dealer. Just a sugestion, but one that I will do again. A weekend rental is a lot cheaper than buying one and then finding out you don't like as well as you thought at the dealer.