The New Family Wagon: 2002 GMC Yukon Denali XL
If you are going to buy a used (and depreciated) car/truck, you should always buy the MOST expensive and premium version of that car. Looking at a BMW 3-series -get the M. Thinking about a Cadillac CTS — get a V. Need a Ford F-150, get a Lightning (or Raptor). Thinking about a Tahoe-Yukon, get a Yukon Denali. It won’t cost much more than the basic version, but it adds a level of awesome in amenities and options that can’t be denied. Find this 2002 GMC Yukon Denali XL offered for $3950 in Commerce, TX via autotrader.com. Tip from Jeff.
From the seller:
Seller Comments (VIN: 1GKFK66U52J104843, Stock #: 2201)
This Yukon Denali XL runs and drives well. Tows up to 8200 lbs with ease. It has only 2000 miles on a set of Michelin LTX A/T2t tires. No warning lights. Texas title since new.228,076 miles
Pewter Exterior
Gray Leather Seats
8-Cylinder Gas Engine
4-Speed Automatic Transmission
All wheel drive
12 City / 15 Highway
See a better way to drive a Denali? tips@dailyturismo.com
Bought my first 2000 Ford Excursion (top of the line) used from folks who were buying a top of the line AWD Denali in early 2002. I was shocked to learn that essentially the same product new from GM was over 50 grand (I got the Excursion for $21K with less than 35K on it).
15 years later we wanted to upgrade and get rid of the old Excursion. It still had plenty of life in it (less than 200K miles) but the body showed its age… it had been used as a work truck, so it had its share of cuts and bruises. On the other hand, it had been crazy reliable, and upkeep costs were less than any other car I’d owned.
So we looked at new big SUVs… and again found they were over $50K.
Wound up buying *another* 2000 Excursion with a perfect body and interior, with 150K miles on it.
For $6000.
Still own it, and drive it every week.
-Stan (who has developed an rather unhealthy attraction to old, low-mileage Ford Excursions…)
228,000 miles at 12 city and 15 highway, damn that’s a lot of gas.
Looks halfway decent for its age and mileage though.
EXACTLY the reason we bought our Excursions (12 mpg) every time gas prices spiked.
$35,000.00 New car, 30 mpg
. $9,999.00 10 years of gas, 10,000 miles/year, $3/gal, 30 mpg
___________
$44,999.00 Cost to run (not counting servicing)
. $6,000.00 Old Excursion
$25,000.00 10 years of gas, 10,000 miles/year, $3/gal, 12 mpg
___________
$31,000.00 Cost to run (not counting servicing)
It takes an awful long time to make up the cost of a new car that gets better gas mileage. This math pretty much works out for any new vs used car.
Thing is, we bought the truck because we needed a truck. Bought a Ford Transit 350 last year (18 mpg) for cheap that we’ll probably hang on to for the next 15 years when we retire the Excursion (daughter’s gonna get that, she’s about to turn 16, a beast like that will be great for her).
-Stan (who’s been buying low-mileage, low-mpg cars and trucks for years because, well, they pencil out when compared to new)
PS Please no wankers pointing out the obvious: That I could’ve bought a Honda CRX for peanuts years ago and gotten 50 mpg. They don’t work very well for hauling drywall and thousands of pounds of tile! 🙃
Personally, I steer the opposite direction and aim for base models. Sure, the savings up front are often minimal, but long term they can be significant. All those electric upgrades and fancy options tend to be the first to go faulty and drain your wallet.
However, with this Denali, the risk is low because parts are relatively inexpensive and available. Still, heavily used luxury cars tend to appear in worse shape than the same condition base models because of perception. An Escalade with broken power windows seems somehow worse than a Tahoe with the same. It’s more of a letdown. You expect higher quality with luxury but often it’s not there. GM is pulling from the same parts bin for both.