New 2011 Suburban owner here. Since buying mine I have found that Suburban owners are very friendly. You can strike up a conversation at the gas station or camp ground “what year is yours” and once they know you are talking about their Suburban they will tell you how long they have had it, how many they have owned, and what they like and dislike. They are proud owners!
I had planned to buy a new 2021 or 22 Denali with the 6Cyl Turbo Diesel as a retirement present for myself and did start reading the reviews on this site. But with the chip shortage, low availability and so forth I started thinking about a used Suburban after I saw a review on Hoovie’s Garage. I happened to be taking my wife’s car to the carwash when I saw a Suburban ahead. As I passed I looked directly at it to see if I could make out the model year as I was a new looker at the time. I saw a small for sale sign in the front window you would only see if you looked directly head on. So I stopped ‘just to check it out’.
It was a 2011 with 94K miles, clean as a whistle, with new tires, brakes, rotors, oil, and filter. I was thinking, heck this looks like new, fits the bill, I could dump thousands into it and still be $60K ahead! In fact I could spend $5K right off the bat and have money in my pocket from the sales tax I would save versus buying the new one. So I bought it! Then I casually told my wife while I was riding her Subaru through the car wash.
If I had read about the Z55 suspension I might have had second thoughts because the Service Suspension message did come on during the test drive but it turned out to be the left front level sensor. I replaced both as they we cheap and easy. I also then did the level relearn with my scan tool. Easiest job ever.
There wasn’t really anything else to fix on it so I kept myself busy by replacing spark plugs, wires, all fluids (man this thing has more fluids than anything I have ever owned), and the front door weather stripping which really didn’t need replaced but was a little worn.
I’ve also upgraded speakers and added a subwoofer in the back. I couldn’t get anything out of whatever subwoofer is in the console. I also installed a Jenson CAR910W because I wanted wireless carplay. That is a great radio and pairs well with the Suburban. It is a good replacement for the 15 year old OEM design. I plan to move it up and back a little so it looks more integrated. That with some initial sound deadening and BAM the Suburban has the best sound!
This is a great forum. One question, are the Z55 shocks/struts a wear item that we replace at 100,000 miles or just if/when they leak?
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