My teen driver wants an SUV and I'm trying to stay within reason because most SUVs have crazy prices. Told her we would pay half in order to get her to save some money for it. So I'm looking at the final gen Bravadas. 2002-2004. I know they are old, but they still have some style. I was thinking I might be able to find one clean and rust-free with low miles somewhere. What are the common issues with these? Any real reason to avoid? I know I can't expect much on the MPG. Any other thoughts?

 

those later bravada's have an air rear suspension so i would run not walk from them.also i believe they are full time 4 wd.why not a gmc envoy or chevy trailblazer,basically the same thing but spring suspension and switchable 4wd.my daughter had an 02 she loved,then wrecked it and replaced it with the bigger ext version with the 3rd seat,she really liked that,drove it for over 2 years and i think the only thing she did was replace all 4 ball joints and 1 front wheel bearing.and my wife has an 03 TB.i have done the drivers side ball joints and it could use the pass side,and i replaced the waterpump,thats it in about 40k miles and it runs a consistent 20mpg.

 

If the air suspension goes South, then simply remove the air bags and replace with coil springs from a Trail Blazer. Unplug air compressor. 02's have rear mounted in-glass radio antenna and 03's have radio mast on right fender. 4 wheel drive is only with wheel spin. Moon roof is better than rear video screen.

 

My daily driver car is a 2002 Bravada and I had it since 2005 and I love it except for the fuel mileage. 19 city, 22 highway. I already replaced all ball joints, front and rear sway bar links, the rear air suspensions (air compressor, air lines and air bags) and the rear spare tire hoist/carrier assembly. They are a strong car, a/c and heater runs very good. I just replaced the front cv joint axles. Just do the periodic maintenance and you'll be alright.

 

I was searching Bravada a while back, seems most have high mileage and at that point it would be a money pit, no bargains found price wise. My daughter has a Jeep FWD Compass and its been a good car so far and not so big.

 

The Bravada's have too many fancy electronics. Go with a Trailblazer or Envoy. I had an 02 Envoy that I put 90k on and only replaced sway bar links, brakes, and the clutch fan the entire time I owned it

 

i forgot about that.yep before you buy any of em crank the spare tire down and back up.the saftey catch rusts up and won't release,if that happens you will be cuttimg the cable to get the tire out,try that on the side of the road with a flat tire.ain't no fun,been there done that.

 

We are on our 2nd Toyota 4Runner. Great, reliable SUVs. High cost up front but they hold there value.

Don W

 

Be careful. If you buy something that is uncool, she will turn it down, and have no compunction doing so, even though you are buying it for her,
because, to status sensitive people, and teenagers, who haven't accomplished anything of note in life yet, are the MOST status sensitive people,
it is better to do without than to make do with something uncool. Be sure to show her pictures first, ask her if she likes the looks, then take her to
looking at the car. Make sure she is the one buying the car, not you. She may still turn it down, and you need to be ready to respect that.

My sister did this; my dad bought her a car, and a couple years later, she hates it and wants something else. To the reasoned response " you
picked it out and agreed to it," she replied that she felt she was being pressured into it and intimidated.

The female mind is passive aggressive and scheming as hell; make sure she is 100% on board with this, because I don't know any teenage
girl who would want a 15 year old SUV from a dead domestic brand. Her status >>>>> you saving money, for the typical teenage girl.

Hopefully, you raised your kid right and she's sensible, and understands first cars are supposed to be old and uncool.

 

Now we're talking about my favorite SUV. So far I've bought four (one 02 and three 03s). However I'm not your average consumer. I like them because they're cheap and they are one of Oldsmobile's last products, oh and they're really cheap. I traded for the first one and haven't paid more than $550.00 for any of the others. They all were in an average mileage range of 129k to 154k. Two have been used for parts and the other two are in service. Two had blown motors. Only one had working all wheel drive. The driving two both have funky shifting transmissions. Will I buy more? Of course. My daughters will be driving in three years and I plan to have a whole fleet of these trucks by then. That way I will have spare trucks, spare parts and hopefully enough repair experience to keep them all on the road. ~BOB

 

Yes, I think I read somewhere about how drivers hang on to those forever. Toyota does have good reliability. We have a new Camry and a Lexus GX. No problems with the GX so far at 25k miles and the Camry is new to us so who knows...so far so good.

 

She doesn't care what it is as long as it is hers, clean, and it is an SUV. We have 3 new cars (2015+) already and 3 drivers, but she wants something that is hers. I have no problem contributing half towards it, but I have to keep it reasonable. That's where the 15 year old SUV comes into play. Could get newer as others mentioned by going the Chevy/GMC/Saab route, but they are all basically the same...except where you can get the V8, which really doesn't matter to her. Although I'd like to have one of those 6.0 Saabs. Always thought that brand was cool.

 

Try and find one of the elusive Trailblazer SS's, or the Saab 9-7X.

LS-powered 6 liter. Of course, if you find one, you'll want it for yourself.

 

those "ss" TB's will get her speeding tickets the gas tank will always be empty.and the insurance will break ya.

 

07-12' Toyota RAV4... Hard to break, good resale, more sporty than a crv, good gas mileage. The V6 models are damn quick and the L4 is easy to maintain.

 

I wonder if the Saab 9-7X would fly under the radar with insurance, or if the 8th digit of the VIN would be a giveaway and trigger the higher rate.

 

yup.the insurance companies know just which cars they can hose you on.one i found out is toyota pickups.my 98 tacoma insurance just liability is higher then my 03 trailblazer or suburban with full coverage and 100 deductible.i suppose having most tacoma owners keeping them and not many in the salvage yards doesn't help either.

 

Just stay away from the GMC Acadia or the Chevy or Buick counterpart. They are junk and also very expensive to fix all the junk that breaks on them.

 

I've not been real fond of anything GM since the bailout. I do have a 2015 SS, but it's from OZ with a bit of Vette. Don't believe I'd own any newish GM other than another Vette.

 

I just wanted to hop in to update. Been a while I know.... We ended up getting the Saab. Took some time but picking up this week. I hope everyone here has been well.

 

Much of a vintage Olds fan as I am, anything GM made in the last 20-30 yrs or so is highly suspect IMO.
We went with Japanese SUVs in 1994 and have never regretted it for a minute. Trooper, Xterra, 4Runner,
so much less repairs needed than the US brands that friends have owned. There's a reason their resale value is so high.