Buy a New 2024 Yukon or Tahoe or wait til 25s

Stbentoak said:

It isn't about "being covered" ....it's about dependability. I don't care that I'm "covered" if at any time on a 2000-mile trip this thing could lose its cookies. There's a reason why the duramax forum on this site only has 150 Entries (and the majority are not show stoppers.) and the other engine threads are littered with issues. I'm three years into my D Max and it's been flawless.

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I agree on "dependability". And if GM could guarantee that a Duramax and all of its diesel-exclusive equipment (including the turbo and the alphabet soup of emissions acronyms like DPF, DEF, SCR which I don't want) in my new Yukon will NEVER break, I would forget about "the awesome V8" as BacDoc just called the other engine and would buy a diesel today. I'm not asking for the bumper to bumper, just the powertrain dependability.
But based on what I've read on this forum and outside search results on LM2 and LZ0 reliability, they are not infallible and when they break, they are more expensive and take longer to repair, experienced diesel mechanics are harder to find and parts are harder to get.

And I do care that I'm "covered" because I need a Plan B if my BabyMax throws a tantrum somewhere between home and Alaska just after its warranty expires. I need to know how long I will be camping in the boonies waiting for that DPF, "Drinking cab in a solo, Solo in the cab of my truck" to paraphrase Scotty McCreery and if I'll be able to afford any "Silver Oak, 1998", at all after that diesel mechanic shakes me down, not to mention a rental car.

Alexandroid said:

I agree on "dependability". And if GM could guarantee that a Duramax and all of its diesel-exclusive equipment (including the turbo and the alphabet soup of emissions acronyms like DPF, DEF, SCR which I don't want) in my new Yukon will NEVER break, I would forget about "the awesome V8" as BacDoc just called the other engine and would buy a diesel today. I'm not asking for the bumper to bumper, just the powertrain dependability.
But based on what I've read on this forum and outside search results on LM2 and LZ0 reliability, they are not infallible and when they break, they are more expensive and take longer to repair, experienced diesel mechanics are harder to find and parts are harder to get.

And I do care that I'm "covered" because I need a Plan B if my BabyMax throws a tantrum somewhere between home and Alaska just after its warranty expires. I need to know how long I will be camping in the boonies waiting for that DPF, "Drinking cab in a solo, Solo in the cab of my truck" to paraphrase Scotty McCreery and if I'll be able to afford any "Silver Oak, 1998", at all after that diesel mechanic shakes me down, not to mention a rental car.

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Do they guarantee the 5.3/6.2 will never break? many didn't make 10K miles... Some were bad w/in 6 months of new and needed total replacement....

No engine is infallible, but the track record of the LM2/LZ0 is pretty solid so far. Read a few other forums besides this one about 5.3/6.2 failures in pickups and Tahoe/Yukon/Escalades. I'm on my 4th diesel with a DPF in the last 10+ years. Not one DPF failure or issue in 4 vehicles. The 2 I sold are still on the road today, with friends that were waiting to buy them and currently @150k+ miles, because they know how well I take care of my vehicles. No issues with any of them that required major repair like lifters or complete engine replacements. At one time my dealer in FL had 8 units in the long term "bullpen" waiting on lifter parts/decisions being made by GM management/ or total engine replacements of 5.3/6.2 engines.
It's pretty hard to convince non-Diesel people that they are truly the best engine for this product. If you don't want one, don't buy one. But if it doesn't have an issue during the normal 6/100 warranty, you can be well assured it will go the distance for more years w/o a warranty. This all assumes that you actually take care of them....

Stbentoak said:

No engine is infallible, but the track record of the LM2/LZ0 is pretty solid so far.

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No man or machine is infallible. As the old saying goes, if it has balls or tires, she'll have problems with it (or something like that).
The LZ0 doesn't have much of a track record - looks good on paper though. Actually the LZ0 looks so good that it makes the LM2 look bad because it replaces it and they're not shy pointing out the long list of shortcomings the new engine improves upon.
Put another way, if the LM2 was perfect, they wouldn't need the LZ0 to replace it.

Sorry but the following statement contradicts the well-known concept in the field of reliability called The Bathtub Curve:
"But if it doesn't have an issue during the normal 6/100 warranty, you can be well assured it will go the distance for more years w/o a warranty."
There's a good reason why manufacturers limit their warranty to the low failure rate plateau of the curve -- it is followed by the wear-out period with increasing failure rate.

It's good to hear that you take care of your vehicles. I wish more people were like you but many aren't. They use regular gas in the 6.2L, pretend they don't hear the knocking of pre-ignition detonation and then complain about spun rod bearings or damaged main bearing. They don't change the oil often enough and complain about the lifter failure.

On the contrary, those who take care of their 6.2s like you take care of your 3.0 are as proud of their precision machines as you are and you all are rewarded with reliable vehicles.

Well like any new product, you got to get it out there give it some time in the field, and then figure out what improvements can and need to be made at what cost. This is how the LZ0 was born. If you waited for every improvement that you thought you could make, you'd never get anything out there in actual use. It doesn't mean that the LM2 is not a good engine, but the next one is just an improvement over the previous series that corrects a few things that could be refined. I don't have any regrets, and the one I have runs flawlessly.... I've drove it a mile a day for weeks on end, and I've drove it 1000 miles in a day. Never a whimper out of it.
As far as the warranty goes, the vast majority of people don't keep vehicles past six years or 100,000 miles. So mostly they will stay covered. Personally, I'm not going to own that many more new vehicles in my life so I'm getting a new one every 5 to 6 years and we'll probably buy an LZ0 the very last year it's available in these vehicles. I'm always watching for the announcement of this will be the last year this is available.....

I am dealing with the same dilemma. I can get a 2025 Yukon Denali with Reserve Package for $95k or get a good deal on a 2024 for $87k (6k off MSRP). Seems like too good of a deal to pass up since Denali's are normally not this discounted.
Interested in hearing others thoughts. I am indifferent due to same build and not sure the refreshed interior is worth $8k to me.

While I'm probably going to hold out for a 25', I'm still tempted by the 24'.
With that said, arep15, your dealer gave you pricing on the 25' already?
Mine is telling me, "not yet"

Not sure how the dealer would be able to give you pricing on a 2025... the order guide hasn't even been released yet.

Stbentoak said:

It isn't about "being covered" ....it's about dependability. I don't care that I'm "covered" if at any time on a 2000-mile trip this thing could lose its cookies. There's a reason why the duramax forum on this site only has 150 Entries (and the majority are not show stoppers.) and the other engine threads are littered with issues. I'm three years into my D Max and it's been flawless.

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I know this thread has passed this point but all those guys are on the Duramax forums complaining and asking for help from the guys that run diesels because, go figure, the Tahoe/Yukon forums don't have nearly as many diesel experts. It certainly is not because the baby duramax are flawless.

gtrslngrchris said:

I know this thread has passed this point but all those guys are on the Duramax forums complaining and asking for help from the guys that run diesels because, go figure, the Tahoe/Yukon forums don't have nearly as many diesel experts. It certainly is not because the baby duramax are flawless.

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No engine is "flawless". I'm on the other forums too. There are problems here and there, but if you polled the LM2 owners I think you would find that 98% of them are super happy with the product and have basically had no engine related problems.... that's not too bad for a totally new engine design....

Stbentoak said:

No engine is "flawless". I'm on the other forums too. There are problems here and there, but if you polled the LM2 owners I think you would find that 98% of them are super happy with the product and have basically had no engine related problems.... that's not too bad for a totally new engine design....

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I've got a GM mechanic for a best friend that would disagree with that statement based on what he sees come in and come back repeatedly.