Working On a New to Me tow vehicle

[lncoop]

So, I have a Sierra Crew Cab Z71. It's an okay truck, but it needs some work (air bag and CE lights are on at only 96K miles) and I'm really tired of making payments, so I've started looking for something I can pay cash for. The plan is to get something that can be my daily driver until some time next year, then make it the third vehicle. People hauling capacity is becoming increasingly important too. I'm looking at a 2004 Expy Eddie Bauer with
126K on the odometer. It's a sharp truck and my mechanic likes it, except: it has the air bag suspension and there's a leak, and the A/C air compressor's leaking. Also, the washer fluid reservoir has an attachment bolt missing and the line was jerry rigged, possibly indicating a fender bender and subsequent repair by someone who wasn't a true mechanic, such as a body shop guy. I'm stopping by a body shop I've traded with for years to get an opninion on that, but even if he thinks that's what happened I still might be interested at the right price. The dealership (small independent lot) wants to fix the issues and sell me the truck at 11.5K, but neither my mechanic nor I trusts them to do the work. I think it's a fair price with those issues fixed, but here's my proposal. They can A) come down to 9 grand to accomodate the compressor replacement and a conversion to traditional suspension or B) sell it to me at their price after I have receipts showing it's been fixed at the Ford dealership. Thoughts?

 

[jkust]

Re: Working a New to Me TV

Re: Working a New to Me TV

So I am a GM guy and have the air suspension in my SUV buthave looked at the Expeditions/Navigators recently and unless the Ford version is a lot different, they aren't that bad to replace. The air bag compressor can be found used and the air springs are relatively cheap in the big picture. I had them replaced on another of my GM's and they weren't bad. I don't like the non functioning AC though. The Eddie Bauer Expeditions are pretty inexpensive here but I never hear anything too terrible about them. Once they get that high in miles they really drop in price.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Working a New to Me TV

Re: Working a New to Me TV

Thanks for the insight. It prompted me to call a Ford dealership and ask about the air ride. I was advised the worst case scenario would be $2200 but it would likely not be that much. That would be the cost if it needed new compressor, lines, etc. A/C compressor replacement would be $800-$900bucks. Air is cold right now. I've always liked GM products, and I can't say enough good things about the dealership that sold it to me, but this truck has been in and out of the shop WAY too many times. I've had many friends who have had an excessive number of issues as well. Beginning to wonder about GM build quality over the past ten years or so.

 

[jkust]

Re: Working a New to Me TV

Re: Working a New to Me TV

Thanks for the insight. It prompted me to call a Ford dealership and ask about the air ride. I was advised the worst case scenario would be $2200 but it would likely not be that much. That would be the cost if it needed new compressor, lines, etc. A/C compressor replacement would be $800-$900bucks. Air is cold right now. I've always liked GM products, and I can't say enough good things about the dealership that sold it to me, but this truck has been in and out of the shop WAY too many times. I've had many friends who have had an excessive number of issues as well. Beginning to wonder about GM build quality over the past ten years or so.

Sounds like the Ford version is a little different. The GM's are just air springs that you can get on Ebay or wherever pretty easily. I had an old Bonneville from the mid 1990's that was that expensive to fix and most just put regular shocks on instead whey the air ride went out (and every one did). I never seem to hear about an inexpensive air conditioning fix. One of my friends has an older 1999 Suburban with leaky rear AC so they just capped off the rear and he still had the front. It saved him a big repair bill. I had a Chrysler maybe 7 years back that had a leak and I just bought a 10 dollar freon refill tool and would keep some cans of freon in the car. Back they they were only like $3.00 per can and I'd maybe fill it every three weeks. It got me through a couple summers. Recharging AC is about the easiest thing you can do on a car but requires some secret button push sequences on the dash when you have auto climate control or at least my Chrysler did. I like GM's because their build quality is good enough for me and they depreciate so fast, you can drive a relatively new 4 or 5 year old vehicle with a few extra miles for 25cents on the dollar. Of course the newest GM's have taken a leap forward so I should have one of those maybe in 4 or 5 years.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

I like your style.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

You may have made up you mind, but if not, might be willing to give the Z71 another shot. My 95 had the airbag light on. Looked underneath, you can see where the sensors are riveted to the frame rails. The brackets rust out, and the sensor comes loose. I don't remember the exact amount, but it wasn't too bad to replace the sensors with ones that bolted to the frame.

The CE light could be a bunch of things emissions related - none are terribly expensive.

Just don't want to see you trade a 96K mile headache for a 126K headache. Especially if you know the history of the 96K miles. Good luck either way.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Yep. Definitely don't want to swap headaches, but the air bag issue will probably be pretty costly, and the CEL is most likely calling for a new cat. In the two+ years I've had it it's had numerous repairs: SIR coil, new horn contacts, numerous squeaks and rattles addressed, squealing through the stereo that got louder with acceleration; finally ended up ripping out and replacing all wiring and amp, tranny was slipping when taking off; went ahead with a flush and fill and new filter even though I haven't hit 100K (So far so good on that one. Fingers remain crossed.), fuel injectors and cluster are VERY noisy, to the point that the truck sounds like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and I'm starting to feel some steering feedback. Honestly though, as annoying as all that is and has been, I could probably live with it if I didn't still owe on the thing. I should be able to expect at least 150k miles without any major issues, but at this point I'm dubious. My fear is that it will be worn out before I get it paid off. I've been offered 14.2K as is and I'm inclined to take it and move on. The proceeds of the sale plus 3-5 grand would pay for the Expy or something similar and I'd be out from under the note on the Sierra. Does it make sense to anyone other than me (not a rhetorical question)?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

and the CEL is most likely calling for a new cat.

Have you pulled the codes to see what is setting the CEL?

 

[lncoop]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Yes sir. P0420. GMC truck forum and my guy say it's probably the cat. That's not a 100% certainty of course, but consensus seems to be it's the most likely culprit. Again, I'd probably fix it and the air bag issue if I had confidence in the truck, but my experience has been one repair after another. Just waiting for something catastrophic.

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Those style Expies are pretty sweet of course I would only get the high line Eddie version but it sounds like it could use some some TLC. I had air ride on a 91 Lincoln and never had a lick of trouble with it, tho if I would have it would have been easy and cheap to fix. I like the air ride on that on a truck like an Expy not so much, unless it also has a spring suspension as well which most Fords do not seem to.
The offer to buy your truck for that much seems nice I suspect all it needs to fix the MIL's are a seat sensor and an oxygen sensor.
Need to look at 02 sensor activity and get the airbag code.

Both trucks have good drive trains and should easily turn 200 grand with basic maintenance.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

It's really a nice truck and it has so much more room inside, which would come in handy when another family goes with us to the lake. It will be an adjustment for me because I've never had anything but pickups. I think I could live with it with the knowledge that I wouldn't be without one for long. I won't be buying it without a resolution to the issues I mentioned. It's funny, the guy was blowing sunshine up my skirt about how they don't play the same games as the big dealerships. Instead, they price their vehicles below comps and they don't haggle. He changed his tune last night when I told him what my wrench man found. The $64 dollar question is will he change his tune to suit mine. We'll see.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

I would replace the CAT anyway since its going to reduce the price you will be able to sell it for.

 

[BigB9000]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

11.5K with that many problems?

the P0420 probably isn't the cat, the O2 sensor probably just took a dump.
Air bag light would be my big concern.

The coils and entire air bag system need NO maintenance, and should never break.
Prior owner could have had an aftermarket steering wheel resulting in disconnection/removal of the SIR coil, and when original wheel was reinstalled, he didn't know how to reset the coil, and left it unplugged.

OR

Was in a accident, and shade tree mechanic didn't think/know how to fix the SIR system.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

This is how folks get into financial trouble. Doesn't matter whether it's houses, boats, or cars. Scenarios go like this. Have big truck. Gas prices go through the roof. Can't afford the gas. Trade truck for smaller econo box. Took a beating on truck because no demand. Paid a premium for econo box because of demand. You lose both ways. You are doing the same thing. You have two issues that seem relatively inexpensive (in comparison to the issues with the Ford). Fix them and continue driving. You save the equity you've built (unless you are way upside down on the loan). If you are upside down you made a bad deal to begin with. I assume your current truck is newer than the Ford so trading down is also a losing proposition.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

What dealers are paying for '04 Expy EB's at auction. Give you an idea of what they're really worth. I assumed it was a 4x4.

Date, loc,sale type, price, miles, condition,color, cyl, trans, ?


09/01/10 LAKELAND Regular $9,500 104,325 Avg GREEN 8G A Yes
08/31/10 ST LOUIS Regular $7,800 135,717 Avg BLUE 8G A Yes
08/31/10 BALTWASH Regular $8,400 117,763 Avg WHITE 8G A Yes
08/31/10 ARENA Regular $6,000 213,587 Below BLUE 8G A Yes
08/27/10 MANHEIM Regular $13,900 62,762 Above BLACK 8G A Yes
08/26/10 FRDKBURG Regular $10,600 86,033 Avg GREEN 8G A Yes
08/26/10 FRDKBURG Lease $8,700 98,251 Avg RED 8G O Yes
08/25/10 UTAH Lease $9,100 107,524 Avg GREEN 8G O Yes
08/25/10 SAN DIEG Lease $9,500 116,009 Avg WHITE 8G A Yes
08/25/10 NADE Regular $7,100 134,574 Below RED 8G A Yes
08/25/10 HRSNBURG Regular $10,200 104,880 Avg BLUE 8G A Yes
08/24/10 ST LOUIS Regular $11,000 70,579 Avg BLUE 8G A Yes
08/24/10 OHIO Lease $9,400 119,811 Avg RED 8G O Yes
08/24/10 ARIZONA Lease $13,100 65,274 Above WHITE 8G A Yes
08/20/10 MANHEIM Regular $15,000 60,005 Above MAROON 8G A No
08/20/10 MANHEIM Regular $11,800 77,519 Above WHITE 8G A Yes
08/19/10 FRDKBURG Lease $6,600 143,678 Below RED 8G O Yes
08/19/10 CHICAGO Regular $7,500 128,854 Avg WHITE 8G A Yes
08/18/10 NADE Regular $13,400 48,293 Above BLACK 8G A Yes
08/18/10 NADE Regular $9,800 86,504 Avg BLACK 8G A Yes
08/18/10 NADE Regular $9,700 107,493 Avg BLACK 8G A Yes
08/18/10 NADE Lease $9,000 107,949 Avg RED 8G A Yes
08/18/10 MILWAUKE Regular $12,200 76,515 Above BLUE 8G A Yes
08/17/10 SKYLINE Regular $7,100 157,906 Below BLUE 8G A Yes
08/12/10 W PALM Regular $8,600 120,746 Avg WHITE 8G A Yes
08/12/10 ST PETE Regular $9,000 108,757 Avg WHITE 8G A Yes
08/12/10 OMAHA Lease $7,900 94,005 Avg GREEN 8G A Yes
08/12/10 HOBBY Lease $8,500 103,875 Avg GREEN 8G O Yes
08/12/10 CINCINNA Lease $12,500 67,742 Above BLACK 8G A Yes
08/12/10 CINCINNA Regular $5,650 232,903 Below DK GREEN 8G A No
08/11/10 NADE Regular $9,800 110,740 Avg GREEN 8G A Yes
08/11/10 NADE Regular $9,650 111,606 Avg GREEN 8G A Yes
08/11/10 NADE Regular $7,600 134,398 Avg RED 8G A Yes
08/11/10 NADE Regular $6,900 134,398 Below RED 8G A Yes
08/11/10 BUTLER Regular $12,700 84,979 Above BLUE 8G A Yes
08/10/10 RIVRSIDE Lease $7,000 125,468 Below WHITE 8G A Yes
08/10/10 HATFIELD Lease $8,200 80,673 Avg DKGREEN 8G O No
08/05/10 SO CAL Regular $12,100 89,909 Above WHITE 8G A Yes
08/05/10 NORTHSTR Regular $7,700 158,854 Avg WHITE 8G A Yes
08/05/10 GTR PHNX Regular $10,000 92,148 Avg WHITE 8G A Yes
08/04/10 SAN ANTO Regular $7,900 128,214 Avg GREEN 8G A Yes
08/04/10 LAKELAND Regular $8,350 125,927 Avg BLACK 8G A Yes
08/04/10 CADE Regular $7,700 161,464 Avg WHITE 8G A Yes
08/03/10 SKYLINE Regular $10,600 94,006 Avg RED 8G A Yes
08/03/10 MINNEAP Regular $6,400 158,709 Below WHI 8G A Yes
08/03/10 BALTWASH Lease $7,200 106,767 Avg GREEN 8G O No
08/03/10 ARENA Lease $11,200 96,678 Avg GREEN 8G A Yes

 

[lncoop]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Thanks for the responses everyone. I really value the input. As I was on my way to the lot I got a call from the guy who knew the PO. I hung up with him 100% convinced not to buy the truck, but I had pretty well reached that conclusion already any way. As I handed the dealership owner the keys I let him know that I was aware of the real history of the truck. He tried to play dumb, so I provided details. He still played dumb, so I just told him best of luck and left. I'm not really into confrontations, especially when they don't accomplish anything. It just rankles me that he knows it's not a straight truck but clearly intends to sell it as one, probably to a family man who won't take the time and effort to get it checked out and will finance it in house and get pasted. That business model is predatory and is an example of why used car salesmen have such a nefarious reputation. No offense intended to honest guys and gals just trying to make a living selling cars. I realize not all of them are crooks.

Venting complete; new paragraph. Silvertip, the Sierra is not paid for, but I'm nowhere near upside down on it, and the payment is not a hardship, just an annoyance. I can pay if off this winter if I so choose and probably will, which brings me to my next point. This little exercise has been very educational. At present, even with the CE and air bag lights, I have $6K equity in the truck. If I pay it off in January I will realistically have at least $12K and probably
$14K, which would cover a lower mileage SUV. We won't be taking many more lake trips this year, so it looks like the smart move is to wait. I'll revisit the large SUV idea next year, but in the interim I'll address the trouble lights and enjoy the truck. Next year I'll decide whether to swap it for an SUV and buy a beater truck or keep it and buy an SUV outright. The beat goes on.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

11.5K with that many problems?

the P0420 probably isn't the cat, the O2 sensor probably just took a dump.

If the O2 sensor completely failed it would be throwing a code. The only other thing that could be happening is that the O2 sensor is reading the wrong voltage levels. OP could take the truck to a shop that had a device to read the exhaust to see if the CAT is indeed doing its job and it really is the O2 sensor. That would at least isolate it between the two items. Or...just replace the aft O2 sensor clear the code and see if it comes back and then put a CAT on. Sometimes throwing parts is the best way!

Lncoop, ever put in any snake oil like Sea Foam? Good way to ruin both CATs and O2 sensors.

 

[donaldm]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Question .. what does this issue have to do with iboats, trailer and towing?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Question .. what does this issue have to do with iboats, trailer and towing?

Its a Tow Vehicle!

How does your question have anything to do with the thread?

 

[lncoop]

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Re: Working On a New to Me TV

Question .. what does this issue have to do with iboats, trailer and towing?

It's a cautionary tale about how NOT to choose a vehicle for towing your boat.