NBS Denali vs. Escalade Reliability ~100k miles

[VetteFish]

Hey guys, looking to pick up a new daily driver. Had an NBS tahoe several years back but it was low miles and never had any issues.

I'm looking back into 02+ Denali's and Escalades as a DD and it looks like i'm finding vehicles in my price range between 75-100k miles. I was wondering if there are any major maintenance differences between the two at those miles and if I should stray from one or the other?

Thanks!

 

[07Burb]

Nope. Both should be pretty close to the same with regards to reliability. Obviously, just like any used vehicle just need to make sure that it's been well maintained and has a clean carfax and that kind of thing. You might want to validate that the transmissions have been well maintained or even rebuilt by a reputable shop as those seem to be the Achilles heal of these late model GM's.

 

[DenaliAK]

Go with the Denali.

Probably about identical reliability, since they are about identical vehicles, but the Esky is ugly.

I may be biased, though.

 

[l2yan]

Go with the Denali.

Probably about identical reliability, since they are about identical vehicles, but the Esky is ugly.

I may be biased, though.

+1

 

[2005yukonxl]

they both have about the same electronics so the same electrical gremlins would visit both equally. same mechanically too. and look around ya. how many do you see out there on the roads? its safe to say since this body style has been around for 10 years, many of those you see on the roadway that people depend on for daily commute and family hauling on trips have over 100-150k miles. tons of them have close to or over 200k. good luck!

PS. a higher miler indicates it didnt spend half its life in teh shop. cant pile on the miles sitting at the dealer.

 

[07Burb]

I agree that the nbs denalis do look cleaner. You could also probably get them for slightly cheaper cuz they don't have the caddy emblems

 

[Jay]

Both are the same, mechanically.

There are a few changes starting in 2003 however. The 03-06 has the updated interior (dash, cluster, seats, etc) with a few more gadgets and gizmos. Also, starting in 2003 GM changed the AWDs to the Borg Warner 4481 transfer case, which is an open planetary design that relies on the wheel-brake traction control to direct power to the wheels with the most traction. 03 is when they starting using the stabilitrak in it's current form and the wheel brake traction control is part of the algorithms surrounding this system. The 02 and older models used the New Venture 149 transfer case, which is a viscous fluid coupling design and doesn't use/need wheel brake control to shift power across the wheels. It doesn't use individual wheel brake control at all if I remember correctly.

From an on-road perspective, the 03+ wheel brake traction control design is superior. In low traction situations it's like having front and rear locking differentials (it'll never let a wheel just sit there uselessly while the another spins away), but without the torque steer in slippery conditions as it will let some wheel speed differences occur to keep the vehicle from kicking sideways. The individual wheel brake control is the corner stone for roll over protection as well (applies brakes only to the wheels needed to control yaw and roll in a skid, helping to keep you from rolling over).

With that in mind, the 03+ will be safer overall but will have more things to go wrong electrically (gauge cluster, sensors, etc).

I personally would go for a 03-05. 05s already have electric cooling fans too. The 06s had some mixed electrical system with the 07+ so they had a short run, so if you ever needed to get parts from a salvage yard the 03-05 parts in general would be easier to find.