Used truck blues

[Ms Grumpy]

I am going crazy ! I have not been around for a while because I have been shopping for a used vehicle to replace our van. We decided not to replace the motor in the van so we have spent hours and hours looking on line and driving to look at vehicles.

Since we need a larger vehicle, I have a hubby and 2 teenagers that are over 6' tall and the youngest is not far behind. If I was looking for a car I would have already bought one. But we are looking at the Suburban, Avalanche, Yukon, and Tahoe. But we have found that each has their own set of problems.

We thought we found what we wanted, a Suburban at a dealership (we really want to buy from an individual and avoid the extra costs that come with buying from a dealer) but the Carfax showed the odometer reading 6 months ago a lot higher than what it says now. It had a few other problems but that just didn't sit right. Well last night I found out that it is not uncommon for the instrument cluster to need to be replaced. This may be what happened but not sure.

Then the 2003-07 Avalanches can have major problems with the rocker panels rusting really bad and the brakes having issues. Test drove one last night and the brakes were extremely soft and we were told that they had just replaced all the brake lines and brakes. Maybe there was air in the line, but the guy said they have always been like that. I did find that many of the trucks did have the softer brakes except those that came equipted with the hydroboost. I have been driving an Astro van that did have the hydroboost so maybe I am just over reacting. But I am going to put my family in this vehicle and I need to be confident that they are going to be safe.

For those who wonder why I just don't buy a new vehicle, I just don't want the payment. So I am just going to have to keep looking. Just had to vent.