In the end I purchased a local 2012 Yukon XL Denali with 100K miles. Unable to close a deal on a 2009 XL Denali, I convinced myself a 2500 was the rig for me...and then I found this Denali and gave it a look, and a week or so later it was mine. Here's the details if you are interested.
Replacing: 2005 Yukon XL SLT, 158K (5.3, 3.42, Tru Cool 40K Trans Cooler, Powerstop K36 brakes/rotors)
Stats: Family of 5 (kids ages 3,5,7) and a German Sheppard (6 months)
Purpose: Wife DD, several trips per year up and down I5 from NorCal to SoCal, Tow Vehicle for approx. 7K Travel Trailer making 8-10 trips a year within 100 miles and typically one longer trip.
I say 7K for the TT but haven't been weighed. It's 5.5K dry and I don't tow full of water so using 7K is a more than reasonable estimate IMO and likely a little high.
The 2005 has been great for the last 3 years I've had it, and tows "OK". It's gotten us everywhere we've gone without too many issues, but any grade requires 2nd gear and if I don't maintain at least 3500 RPM we crawl up hills at 35 MPH. It feels like it's working hard. I wanted a better (safer) towing experience, and it was starting to feel a little dated.
I've been researching options for the past few months and started this post by asking members to compare a 2007 Yukon XL 2500 (4 spd, 6.0) to a 2009 Denali XL. The feedback was mixed, the Denali option received more votes but a compelling case was made for a 2500.
After the 2009 Denali deal fell though (details in earlier post) I was pretty resigned to waiting to find the right 2500. Basically wanted to complete the swap well before a long trip planned to bend, OR this summer. Then this 2012 Denali popped up, literally 2 miles from my work. Offered by a small broker/dealer who cherry picks auctions and tries to turn 5-10 vehicles/month working out of a small industrial warehouse = low overhead. He'd had this one for almost 2 months and reduced from $22.9K to $20,491, which got my attention, so I decided to check it out. He said he paid $19K at auction FWIW.
It was the exact version we wanted; tri-coat pearl (see pic), black leather, captains 2nd row, integrated TB, (obviously tow package). I drove it adn did an initial inspection (visual, fluids, under carriage, tried most all the 'bells and whistles'. Everything worked, it was in Very Good condition.
It was a 2 owner, Bay Area vehicle, and using the Carfax report I spent the next couple of days contacting all the service providers and obtaining all the service records. No red flags, some TPMS issues, regular oil changes, nothing major. I even 'Zillowed' the previous owners home addresses (yes, privacy loophole here) and saw that it had come from 2 Very Nice homes. Hitch cover was still on so I removed and saw no evidence of previous towing. All indications are it was a soccer mom rig for the first part of its life.
I did not have a mechanic do a pre-inspection. I considered it, but decided against it. The dealer had a local brake shop put new pads/rotors on and had changed the oil. The Bridgestone tires are mismatched (pet peeve) front/back, but have decent tread left.
We've had it a week or so and I've only had a chance to drive it one time to work, otherwise we put it right into service. So far we love it. I plan to drive it a couple thousand miles then have it in to:
-trans flush ( I've read all about pros and cons, but prefer to flush and have a trans shop I trust)
-trans cooler (will likely stick with the Tru Cool 40K)
-differentials, coolant, brake fluid, flushes
-plugs/wires
And I've made it all this way without even mentioning the biggest concern I have with this rig, AFM.
My understanding is that GM made a change to the AFM hardware sometime around 2011 which improved the reliability of the system somewhat. I also understand that since the AFM lifters are oil pressure triggered, clean synthetic oil is very important. So I plan to reduce my oil change interval to 5K miles.
The other negative might be that it prefers premium gas, but I commute in a hybrid so I figure I balance out our gas costs and it doesn't cause me great concern.
So far we are very happy and planning to take it from 100K miles to 200K miles (5-7 years) and then decide if to take out of DD rotation and just keep as TV.
Will I regret not getting the 2500 unicorn? Perhaps, but at the end of the day, especially considering what we are coming from, I believe the Denali will suit our needs just fine. and to be frank it's probably the better vehicle for 90% of the uses we will put to it.
Driving Impressions: the 6 spd trans will take a little getting used to - early shift points in the lower gears, and I find the throttle response lags just a bit. It sounds throaty but not annoyingly, and I do like the 400hp when you stomp on it. It rides quiet and solid. The kids really like the "hallway" in between the 2nd row. We love the bells and whistles, I just need to change some of the settings (remote start, mirror positioning in reverse, lights and locks).
Thanks again for your responses, I find this forum to be a good source of information on these rigs.
Here's some pics of the new and old:
