Years and Motors

The wife's Astro has bit the dust and we'd like to upgrade to a Suburban. I've lusted after them for years. We can't afford new. Is there a year that stands out over the last 8 years? I'm leaning towards a 2000 model based on cost.

I've seen some with 5.7l motors but the newer ones have a 5.3l. I've heard from a friend that some actually get better milage with the 5.7l because the 5.3l just has to work to hard. Is there truth to this? What were the years that the 5.7l were an option?

Thanks in advance for any info that you can give me,
1Slugger

I have a 1997 GMC Suburban (142K) with the 5.7L (Vortec 350) and it actually does about 1 MPG better on the highway than my 01 Yukon XL (100K) with the Vortec 5.3L. Both are 4WD.

Thanks Dave. Now I'm starting to lean heavy to the 03, in the hopes that a newer model will have fewer problems. I've found that 2000 was the first year of a design change so I should stay clear of that. Still trying to absorb as much info as I can to make a wise decision. I must not be looking in the right places because I'm not finding as much info as I think I need.

Slugger

Good luck with your search. They are sure nice if you have kids, room enough for all the stuff and the dog too.

I've been running 1995 since 1998 and I've had not real problems except for the A/C and normal wear and tear (alternator mainly). My truck currently has 266,000+ miles on it and it's on the original engine and transmission. 1995 was the last year for the throttle body injection system. So it's a pretty solid truck.

Models I'd stay away from 1996 (first year for the Vortec engine) they were they had much higher horsepower than 1995 but the reliability is suspect as with any new models (although I've heard nothing but good things about the newest models 2007-2008, so maybe that trend is over).

I've heard that 1998 had significant issues, though I'm not sure why, the basic engine/injection design was the same from 1997-1999 if I'm not mistaken.

2000 models had problems not so much with engine/drivetrain, but interior components. I had an uncle who had his left rear window motor replaced 2 times within a year after buying it from the dealer.

2003 is a very good year for GM trucks in general, this was when the cat eye design came about for the Silverado. And the Suburban was just as solid as ever, it pretty much remained pretty similar until the current 2007 crop of suburbans.

So if you're gonna buy a pre-2000 model, stay away from 1998 and 1996 and pre-1995 (they have no airbags and the older interior design). If you're gonna go with post-2000 models stay away from 2000-early2001.

Thanks much for your time and info!