I’m going to go and buy a 1998 Chevrolet Suburban from a personal owner tomorrow and i want to know what to look for to judge if it’s a good truck or not because it’s for sale for 1.500$ and also what problems should i expect in the future with 1998 chevorlet suburbans. please if someone could get back to me tonight or tomorrow with answers that would be great.
~Twyce1
At the very least, inspect the condition of the oil and coolant. Taking it for a test drive is pratically mandatory to see how it feels. It’d be super great if you could inspect the spark plugs AND do a compression check.
Ask if there’s a repair history record.
Tester
thanks BUDD2049 But what am i exactly looking for when i inspect the condition of the oil, coolant, spark plugs, and what is a compression check? i’m sorry but i am totally illiterate when it comes to cars lol.
And Tester he said he has receipts to all the repairs he made
heres some pics of the truck
Nice truck!
Now you want to look through that repair history record, and look at what mileage the following if/was performed:
Intake Manifold/Gaskets.
Transmission service intervals. (although it doesn’t matter on some)
Ball Joints.
Coolant Service.
Brake System Service. (fluid exchange)
Tester
Other than the normal.Check the condition of the postive battery cable ,the batterys like to leak acid at the postive terminal and the cables don’t get replaced enough. The AC compressors like to leak at the case halves (look for a gray area at the bottom of compressor). The is a water outlet on the intake that likes to leak(along with the intake itself). Oil cooler lines like to leak. Check all the power windows they like to stop working. Check the door pin bushings they like to wear and the doors drag. Electric seat riser goes bad a lot.Blower motors get noisy.Dashes crack at the base of the windshield.See if all the seats fold like they are suppose to.A big one to check is if the rear AC works (frequent expansion valve and evaporator replacement,and rear blower) Keyless works,rear hatch,spare tire winch,u-joints,probably 10 or 20 other things I can’t recall now. I was kept pretty busy on the Subs of those years. Ball joints,brakes (complete)see if the knockouts are cut out on the frame as it probably needs a alignment, I could go on and on.
For the oil, you just want to make sure it’s not overly dirty (indicating it hasn’t been changed) and that it’s not looking milky (which means coolant in the oil, a real bad thing).
Coolant should be reasonably clear, and free of rusty or oily coloring. Both indicate future troubles.
Spark plugs should not have any oil on them whatsoever, nor should there be excessive deposits on the electrodes. Either of these could indicate an internal leak, probably of oil.
A compression check is when you remove all the spark plugs and hook a pressure gauge into one cylinder at a time, and then crank the engine over a few times. This is done to see what condition the piston rings are in, as well as the valves. This is probably something a mechanic should do.
Has it had a pre-purchase inspection by a reputable mechanic?
WOW IT’S ALOT OF STUFF I NEED TO LOOK FOR I WISH YOU GUYS WAS HERE TO DO IT FOR ME CUZ YA’LL REALLY KNOW YOUR CARS LOL
BUDD2049: ID KNOW IF THERE
Has been a pre-purchase inspection by a reputable mechanic but i can check
TESTER: HOW MANY MILES IS TOO MANY WITH A 1998 SUBURBAN?
OLDSCHOOL: I HOPE I’M NOT ASKING FOR TOO MUCH, BUT CAN YOU TELL EXACTLY WHAT TO LOOK FOR WITH SOME OF THE THINGS DESCRIBED… JUST A FEW I DON’T WANT YOU TO END UP GETTING CAR PO TUNNEL (SORRY DON’T KNOW HOW TO SPELL IT LOL) FROM TYPING ME LOL
OHHH…I FORGOT IS MAINTENANCE FOR THIS TRUCK EXPENSIVE?
Can be. But the first thing you’ll notice is, it will make sucking noises as you pass by gas stations.
Tester
The normal, leaking, inoperative,worn tolerence,incorrect function
You need to take it to a GOOD repair shop and have them check it over.
You will say "it costs to much"
We have seen time and time again people that but cars that do not know much about them then they post on here with all kinds of things that go bad soon after they buy it and yes it gets $$$.
These days they are many lying cheating people and there are many things that can be done to hide major trouble from buyers that do not know what to look for.
Since car mechanicals aren’t your strength, take it to a reputable shop and have hem check it out thoroughly and give you a report with estimates for things that need doing.
Yes, things for this truck can be expensive relative to, say, a Civic.
First and foremost is gas.
Second is gas.
Third is gas.
If you have ny money left after paying for the gas, the tires will cost more than small cars.
And you have two exhaust systems, complete with two cat converters, two sets of oxygen sensors, and two mufflers. That’s twice as much as a Civic.
Annd twice as many spark plugs.
Getting the picture?
Even knowing all the things that go wrong or could be wrong on a Suburban do you really think he will go less than $1500.00? This is about as low priced as a non “for parts only” Suburban gets. Then again you might get a lower price,I myself would not drop the price, unless I owed some guys that break legs money.