Big Blue: 2005 GMC Yukon Denali

[Jake]

This is hardly a "project" thread, but I like to have them for the sake of record-keeping and general banter.

I decided a month or two back that 2015 was going to be The Year That Jake Buys A Tow Vehicle, because I'm getting faster in the M3, the risk of breaking/crashing is real, and it really sucks to spend 2 or 3 days in a race seat and get back in that same seat to drive your tired ass home. Plus, shoving all sorts of car parts into the 128i with the seats down got tiring real fast. That car is very much not a hauler.

Soooo the original plan was to wait until February or March and then make some moves. But, I got bored over my winter break (I took 2.5 weeks off of work, thank you "use or lose" PTO) and went test-driving. That was not the best idea.

I had decided a while back that I wanted an SUV, instead of a pickup, as the SUV provides the whole "big locked box" aspect for security at the track and elsewhere. You can sleep in the back of an SUV, which will be great if I go to an event not run by NASA-MA. And you can have three rows of seats in the SUV, so road trips with all of your friends (I only have five friends) are possible.

My initial spreadsheet had twelve SUVs on it. TWELVE. I was considering everything from a first-gen X5 (because I hate myself) to a Touareg (because I hate myself) to a GMT800 Yukon Denali (because that's what I should just buy, dammit).

Went and drove some stuff and realized that the smaller SUVs weren't going to tow as well as I thought they might, they didn't drive appreciably better than the GMT800, and most would end up costing $10-20k more than the GMT800. I drove a Touareg and hated it - interior was falling apart at 60k miles - and a WK2 Grand Cherokee that I loved but couldn't justify $30k on.

My other options at the $10-15k price point were the GMT360 SUVs (Saab 9-7x and Envoy Denali) or early X5s (again, bad idea) or like, an Expedition (in which I'd have a legit project thread because LOL spark plugs on the 5.4L). So, I set my sights on a GMT800 Yukon Denali, made between 2003 and 2006 - they got a lot of updates in '03 that make them feel a lot newer and drive a bit better.

I wanted the "regular" Yukon, not the XL, as the XL is about 19" longer overall and I will need to park this bitch in Arlington and DC.

Then, because I'm picky, I decided I wanted the most rare color GM painted them in, which is some neat blue-green-teal color-shifting pearl. This is why I figured I'd buy in February... good luck finding a shorty in blue, right? Well, I found two of them on the same day, 10 miles apart. My buddy Chris went to look at them with me - he just bought one and I figured a second set of eyes would be useful.

The first one was a truly tragic example... it only had 91k miles and no photos online because "we just got it in" - okay, we'll drive up to Rockville anyway, it's not far. Well, it looked like it had 291k in person. Aftermarket "smoked" headlights with a crappy HID kit, broken front bumper, "Torque Thrust esque" rimzz, all three rows of leather seats were disgusting, speedometer broken, aftermarket alarm system, leaky transfer case, just overall beat to shit. And they wanted $14k for it. Nope nope nope.

So we leave that dealer (small time dealer, sketchy as fuuuuu) and Chris hops on Craigslist in the car, types in "Denali" and goes "oh hey, this one looks blue and it's 10 miles away, get on the Beltway." We get to that dealership (also small time, not sketchy) and the thing looks brand new. And they were asking a LOT less money for it. Like, what I wanted to pay in the first place.

Gave it a test drive, asked that they fix the rear airbags (it has airbags for load-leveling in the back) because the message center was whining about it, and negotiated a price that we were all happy with. Picked it up on Friday, so technically I bought it in 2015. Go me.

Details, then. It's a 2005, short wheelbase, with 125k miles. Notable options it has include (shitty, DVD-based) navigation, rear-seat DVD player, rear-seat entertainment (rear seats can listen to radio while I'm on CD, for example), heated second-row captain's chairs, and the #BlingBlingMofo chromed 20" wheels with 275/55/20 Bridgestone Dueler M&S tires ( hock: at tire prices, thankfully they look new).

It gets awful mileage, it rides like a Barcalounger, and I really, really like it.





I'll post a few pix of the interior once I take them. It's in really, really good shape given how often these are used as kid-haulers.

The left rear tire has a slow air leak, so I'm going to run it over to a tire shop over lunch today and have it checked out.

Current average MPG is 15. It's surprisingly nimble and easy to park, given the size. I parallel'd it in DC yesterday with no hassles - both mirrors tip down in reverse which helps a lot. I want to upgrade the navigation to a modern unit with Bluetooth and iPhone support and SD-card-based mapping, but I'm looking at ~$700 to do that with a good unit, and I need to sell the 128i before I do anything of that nature.

[Goodspeed]

Yo listen up here's a story
About a little guy that lives in a blue world
And all day and all night and everything he sees
Is just blue like him inside and outside
Blue his house with a blue little window
And a blue Yukon
And everything is blue for him and himself
And everybody around
'Cause he ain't got nobody to listen to


Nice purchase! I have definitely never seen that color before and I like. Welcome to the 15 mpg daily club!

[JPolen01]

Nice color! And yeah they are surprisingly easy to drive/park.

[Jake]

Nice purchase! I have definitely never seen that color before and I like. Welcome to the 15 mpg daily club!

Ha, thanks! It's a weird club to be a part of.

Also, this thing has "zerk fittings" because it has "grease points" (11 of them) which is a completely new concept to me.

[Kaan]

I have some subs i'll sell you because you are going to need them for the CD I make!

and 15mpg is fine... have you been by the gas station lately?

[Jake]

I have some subs i'll sell you because you are going to need them for the CD I make!

and 15mpg is fine... have you been by the gas station lately?

Bro, it has a subwoofer as part of the center console. You know I'm all about dat bass.

[Kaan]

hopefully you get lucky and find a good working grease gun on your first try. we've been through 4... finally got one that works lol.

[Beej]

I've always thought those were nice looking trucks, nice buy! And hey, who knows how long it'll last, but current gas prices make 15mpg easier to swallow. I've always wondered, do those exterior vents in the rear-most (D?) pillars do anything?

Looking forward to hearing what you think about dailying one of these things after doing it for so long in fun cars.

[JustinG]

Just fyi, most aftermarket radio installs lose the rear radio controls, unless there is a controller out there I don't know about. I dunno if it effects the DVD system though.

Looks great man, love that color.

[ScottyB]

our little Jake is all growed up and ready for life's little adventures!


not gonna lie, that's a really pretty truck. like, with a 3 in drop in the back and maybe 2 in the front i'd actually call it pretty. killer find.

and factory zerk fittings? that's honestly pretty badass. GM may trip over its dick a lot but it knows how to make trucks and keep them going.

[JPolen01]

:lol:

[SlimKlim]

:lol:

A+ for effort.

[Jake]

Jesus Christ, Scotty.

You win the internet today.

[SlimKlim]

What does it say about me if my golden actually does wear a bandanna sometimes?

[ScottyB]

a hastily made photoshop is traditionally how i show affection. i really do like the truck.

[Jake]

Ran over to "Arlington Tire" which is located a mile or so from my office. I am getting very good at maneuvering this truck through narrow spaces, because that's how all of Arlington is laid out. So, after squeezing between a brick wall and a Pepsi machine, I had the shop guys check out the one tire.



The manager guy goes "oh, you lucked out and got the 20s" - yes, they are blingy but tire prices are $$$.

My leak was apparently due to calcium buildup on the inside of the rim, thus preventing the tire from sealing properly. Mister Manager claims it's seen often enough on alloy wheels. Given that the Denali was driven year-round (aka wintertime) it didn't surprise him to see the buildup.



They cleaned it off and applied some sealant (photo is pre-cleaning) and now we see if it holds. They think it will. I hope it will.

[.RJ]

Jesus Christ, Scotty.

You win the internet today.

+1

[davej]

think you got the perfect tow vehicle for you, and sounds like a real good deal!

although that color is WAY too close to the NYS Trooper Tahoe for me.

[Jake]

I've always thought those were nice looking trucks, nice buy! And hey, who knows how long it'll last, but current gas prices make 15mpg easier to swallow. I've always wondered, do those exterior vents in the rear-most (D?) pillars do anything?

Looking forward to hearing what you think about dailying one of these things after doing it for so long in fun cars.

Thanks! Pretty sure the "vents" are just for decoration.

So far, it's a nice cushy daily with the handling characteristics of a Barcalounger.

Just fyi, most aftermarket radio installs lose the rear radio controls, unless there is a controller out there I don't know about. I dunno if it effects the DVD system though.

Looks great man, love that color.

There's a new controller, allegedly, that will keep the RSE controls working. I don't care that much, but if it's the same (or similar) cost, I might as well keep 'em.

although that color is WAY too close to the NYS Trooper Tahoe for me.

It's very metallic-y in person - all the trooper Tahoes I've seen have been dark matte-ish blues. Plus the blingy chrome grill... I wonder how much you'd really mistake it for a NYS Trooper vehicle on the road.

Drove to work in the snow today - nothing was plowed yet and roads were overall pretty mediocre. It has Bridgestone Dueler M+S tires that performed well, no drama to speak of (unless I turned traction control off and prodded the skinny pedal on purpose). Trying to hoon with TC turned on results in a few feet of lunging forward and then *bong* TRACTION ACTIVE and a slap on the wrist.

[Senor_Taylor]

Is it AWD or 4WD? I'm assuming AWD because it's an SUV, right?