How many miles is “too many” when buying used?

[Marky Dissod]

I’m looking at buying a used Suburban. One in particular is a 2012 LTZ, but it has 212,000 miles.
It seems well taken care of and there are service records (all routine maintenance things). The dealer is asking $9000.

Is 200k miles too much of a gamble to make this a sensible purchase?
I’ve read that the 5.3 can have some longevity if it’s taken care of, but what about the transmission?

Could swear that there is a way to go beyond the mere odometer.
Isn't there an 'engine hours-ometer' in these things? For sure there's one in the 2012 Caprice PPV.

Divide the odometer by the hours-ometer = average speed over the vehicle's lifetime.

If 212,000 miles is ALL highway miles ... then I'd be ready to replace the lifters IMMEDIATELY.
If V4 mode is disabled, that's a big plus.
If the V4 mode hardware has been deleted, that's an even bigger plus.

As for the transmission, if the service records indicate at least 4 services, good; 5 is even better.
Anything under 4 would make me nervous about needing to replace a 6L80E soon.

 

[Coolman1987us]

Engine hour meter can be reset by the user. For reference, my 2008 had 198k when I bought it in August. Backwoods dealer, window sticker was 11k, I paid $9700, he took another $300 off because the rear ac had a leaking line. I used a block off kit I'll fix it later.

 

[CaptainAmerica1]

Bought mine at 220k in 2019 for $4k. Oil changes and regular maintenance so far rebuilt the front suspension back in December but that’s it…

 

[B-train]

I can tell you that a vehicle driven everyday for extended drives is way better than one that sits.......think of your body and exercise. Use it or lose it.

I've bought higher mileage vehicles for years and never had any issues. My 2007 Denali was probably my best SUV purchase. It never let me down, ran like a champ, and sounded cool AF with stock exhaust vs previous generation.

I have also bought newer vehicles that had higher miles as well. People that put on 18 to 25k per year. Bought them with 40 to 60k on them and had fantastic use out of them over the years.

If it has good maintenance, verifiable, just go for it. My only concern would be the AFM components, but if it's made it this far with good oil changes, you'll probably get good use out of it.

 

[XSGforce]

I’m looking at buying a used Suburban. One in particular is a 2012 LTZ, but it has 212,000 miles. It seems well taken care of and there are service records (all routine maintenance things). The dealer is asking $9000.

Is 200k miles too much of a gamble to make this a sensible purchase? I’ve read that the 5.3 can have some longevity if it’s taken care of, but what about the transmission?

I have a 2007 Yukon 5.3 flex fuel. I'm the second owner and know the original owner so I knew it was well maintained. I have all the service records that show the transmitted/torque converted were replaced around 175,000 miles. It pretty much had a complete front end rebuild with new tie rods, ball joints, sway bar links and bushings around 230,000 and currently still feels nice and tight. The fuel pump was replaced at just over 200,000 miles. The engine has only had routine maintenance and oil leaks fixed. I installed a Range AFM disabler at roughly 300,000 miles and have a little over 301,000 now. The only things I've needed to do since owning it are replace the fuel cap, reset the alcohol content and long term fuel trims, repair an oxygen sensor harness after something chewed the wires, replace a rear brake caliper and it just started getting hard to start after filling the tank so it probably needs a new purge valve. It was replaced at 220,000 miles and I haven't checked to verify the problem. The oil was changed at the dealer until the warranty ran out and it has had Valvoline full synthetic 5w30 since then with either Wix or AC Delco filters. I'm sure good maintenance and a little luck has kept it going but I'd still trust it for a cross country trip.

 

[ZKWBQD]

I’m looking at buying a used Suburban. One in particular is a 2012 LTZ, but it has 212,000 miles. It seems well taken care of and there are service records (all routine maintenance things). The dealer is asking $9000.

Is 200k miles too much of a gamble to make this a sensible purchase? I’ve read that the 5.3 can have some longevity if it’s taken care of, but what about the transmission?

Depends on the engine. With one of these unnecessarily complicated General Motors engines, I would be nervous on anything more than 50,000 miles. With a Toyota engine I wouldn't have a concern until 300,000 miles.

 

[07Burb]

Had my 07 up to about 235k on the clock and 10 years of ownership. Sold it to a buddy who daily drove it up until recently and he sold it. Had 270k on the clock (or thereabouts) and still running good. Had to put in a new trans around 225k which I considered just part of the deal. Had lifter failure at about 135k which I had fixed and immediately had AFM tuned out and no issues since. I'm currently on my 3rd GMT900 and enjoy the platform. It's got it's positives and negatives but overall it's a solid platform. My current one is an '09 esky. Bought it with 110k on the clock. currently has 120+ (in just 6 months time ) and runs flawlessly. We'll have this one for at least 10 years barring an unforeseen setback.

If it's got a stack of service records I'd say you're in good shape to go ahead and buy it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[petethepug]

$9k for a 12 Burb brute in LTZ trim is a good starting place if …

You add this right away …

GEN 4 07-13 GM Truck DOD Delete Kit w/ Texas Speed (TSP) Truck Cam Kit

GEN IV 2007-2013 GM Truck DOD Delete Kit w/ Texas Speed (TSP) Truck Cam KitTSP's Complete AFM/DOD delete kit includes the necessary components to delete your problematic DOD system as well as the standard VVT (Variable Valve Timing) delete kit w/ 3 bolt timing gear upgrade. This package also...

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You’ll get the remaining 100k+ left in the motor and remove the potential for the AFM giving you issues. It’ll also give you about a 15% performance boost or 365/356 hp/tq.

Verify the compressor starts up 3-5 seconds for the air shocks in back. Visually Check that all 4 Autoride struts are not leaking or if they’re removed. If equipped with ventalated front seats, verify both fans blow air. Verify all 4 seat heaters work. Only on the front doors, verify the door cards don’t feel floppy or want to pull away.

If it has the upgraded Navi with DVD then it’s run off of a digital data base and actually still usable plus it’ll accept an integrated music streaming module from any phone.

It has all the bones for a good truck if there’s no rust, front & rear hvac works and drive train is solid. Call a mobile vehicle inspector or take it to a local and try to price reduced enuf to buy the AFM delete kit.

Good luck!

 

[vcode]

Welcome to the forum.

Scary AFM problems on the 2007 and newer rigs, IMO. I bought my 2005 Z71 with 135k miles on it, for $8k. I love this rig. I did road test 2007 and newer and the seats are crap.

My 2010 seats are the most comfortable I've ever had in a vehicle....

 

[vcode]

I’m looking at buying a used Suburban. One in particular is a 2012 LTZ, but it has 212,000 miles. It seems well taken care of and there are service records (all routine maintenance things). The dealer is asking $9000.

Is 200k miles too much of a gamble to make this a sensible purchase? I’ve read that the 5.3 can have some longevity if it’s taken care of, but what about the transmission?

What part of the country? 212K in most upper midwest trucks is a rust nightmare....