Thank you all for the posts so far. It helps to know other people's opinions.



I have a 1998 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. I am sure either of these 2 SUVs are not much worse on gas. My car is pretty bad on gas. Plus I always put premium fuel in my vehicles. The Escalade and the Denali are both rated at 13mpg for city and 17mpg on highway.

Someone mentioned Enterprise Car Sales. I checked their website. They suck. I am not too fond of purchasing a car that was probably once a rental. Plus they don't negotiate on price.

I think I am leaning more towards the Cadillac Escalade. I definitely want something that is prestige. Anymore opinions, please feel free to comment. Like I said, I am not too worried about saving money on gas. My car is a gas guzzler and I have a lead foot.

Yeah depending on the model it can get real expensive.

When I had my restaurant business I bought the new trans am when it came out.I had the top model Firehawk with over 400 hp and the racing Z rated tires.

It was very expensive using mobile 1 racing oil and each tire at a discount was about 180 apiece through a friend who owned a Goodyear Store.Man that thing could fly though.I remember getting on the interstate and being over 100 mph before getting off the on ramp.

My first car was a 78 trans am blue with gold eagle and shaker hood.My second was an 84 and the last Firebird I had was the Firehawk.

I liked the 68 Camaro but other Camaro's were to blocky for me and uninspiring.Usually you were either a Camaro or a Firebird person.I was always the latter.

ok here's my advice. Try and keep the Firebird. You will miss it. I still miss my first car a 1988 Camaro RS. Nothing special about it, but had a nice v-8 and was very reliable. Yes I said Camaro and reliable. It got about 25 mpg highway. That's why I asked what kind of muscle car you had. I'm sure your Firebird does burn through the gas as it has a bigger v-8 then my old Camaro. I like the muscle cars too. If I had the extra cash to spend I would buy the new camaro when it comes out. I'm sure you will be happy with the escalade. Black doesn't work for me as I travel dirt roads alot. Dirt roads and black do not mix at all. I wouldn't buy a former rental either. I wouldn't buy a lease return for that matter either.

I used to have an Iroc Z Camaro, 1989, I think. Maybe it was an 88. That car was gorgeous. I miss it greatly, though here in the land of 7-month Winters it was not practical.

*sigh*

camaro....poor little camaro....

When i met my husband 10 years ago he drove a 1980 trans am. All my friends thought it was scary lol, but i thought it was "bad a$$". hehe... it had the air intakes on the hood and was a beautiful metallic gray paint with the covered rear window. He had a 2 way radio and a switch for his reverse lights. Sometimes he would scare the car behind him if they were tailing his rear and flip the switch on and off. They would back off real quick! Those were the days.... then we did a 180 and went BMW. He always dreamt of a M3, which we owned several different models from classic old to newer, but now onto more boring sedan, newer 5 series which we got at a steal apx $20k with not too many miles. DH thinks its boring, but we get a ton of compliments and its nice. WE only have 1 car, trying to be economical, and recently bought a new house, but i think i may be buying something more practical now for myself so we have 2 different types of cars for different purposes.

Good luck w/ your decision! Its a good time to buy if you can! (like buying a home..lol)

See, you basically know what you want . . . so go for it. It's not like we're changing your opinion here - lol.

I agree with the best car being one with no payments! We have a paid for 2002 Ford F-150 pickup that still runs like a champ; and a paid for 2003 Chevy Tahoe (V8 engine, no less) that is the best vehicle I've ever owned and is still almost like-new. I know, the day will come when we have to trade-in something, but I'll enjoy the no payment deal for as long as I can.

Yes, I pretty much know what I want, but it's nice to get other people's opinions too. You never know, someone might mention something negative about a vehicle that would possibly change my mind.

Out of all people, you should be one of the people that share your opinion on how your 2003 Tahoe runs. It is the exact truck as the Yukon Denali, except the Denali is fully uploaded with more features. You said the Tahoe was the best vehicle you ever owned. Tell me why and more about it.

Also, I would have a paid off vehicle after this. I am planning on paying cash for whichever one I decide to get. No payments, yay!

Okay, I'll brag on it! I call it the Big Blue Dog because it's a beautiful royal blue - which is what the Escalade looks like on my screen. The Tahoe is about as loaded as I could get it -- without leather seats (we have dogs and live in a hot climate so I don't want leather seats) or seat warmers, and my trim package is not as top of the line as it could be but that wasn't important to me.

I get around 17 mpg in town and way up around 21-22 out on the highway on a long trip (like, Oklahoma to Ohio or even SW Oklahoma to Dallas). I love the V8 engine - I have to remind myself occasionally not to run right over smaller cars (hehe) because of the power it has. Great for driving in the mountains in Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming too.

It's so comfortable to ride in too -- arm rests on the doors are just the right height for either my elbows or Sweetie's (he's 6' tall; I'm 5'2"). He didn't like the Honda Odyssey mini-van I had before this because he could never get the driver's seat adjusted to fit his back, and the arm rests were too high and too short to comfortably rest his arm on, on either side of the vehicle. On the Tahoe, we can adjust the seat edge up or tip it down to get more support for the lower back, and also to hit the pedals more comfortably.

We took the 3rd row of seats out early on because they always seemed to be in the way. Yeh, it'd be nice if they folded into the floor, but that's not important enough to trade over. The second row of seats folds forward. I can - and have - hauled sheets of paneling, rolled carpet & pad, and even a full 4X8 sheet of plywood in the back of the Tahoe. Plus, when both kids were home, we mounted a cargo carrier on the luggage rack on top and that worked great. Otherwise, these days, we just load the back up with whatever we need to -- building supplies or groceries or luggage, or even paper bags full of recyclables to go to the recycle point.

I don't carry clients too often, but occasionally do - and there's plenty of leg room between the second row of seats and the back of the front row. If I could have anything that I don't, it would be the ability to scoot the middle row back a little bit - we have carried some long-legged teens on trips and that has been a bit tiring.

It doesn't need an oil change except when it tells you it does; and it's not supposed to need a tune-up until it has 100,000 miles on it. It has right at 80.000 miles on it now and I need to get it to the dealer and have the heater fixed before cold weather sets in, because while the ac will freeze you right out of the vehicle, the heater is currently working the same way.

So, for my tastes, you're definitely looking at the right style of vehicles! I like the versatility of the Tahoe -- it can occasionally be a "work truck" while most of the time it's a luxurious, powerful tank-for-me. That's the reason I would not get the Escalade - I couldn't use it for the "work" part.

Why can't you use the Escalade the same way you use the Tahoe?

i would pick the escalade. i was at a 1.9mil house on friday and he was driving the escalade. my lender friend lives in a mil house and drove an escalade. my friends who come back from iraq (blackwater and triple canopy contractors) drive the yukon over there, but when coming back some buy danali's(because of familiarity) and some buy escalades. the escalades definatley have more prestige attached to them.

i personally would not buy either one, but if i had a choice of one or the other i would pick the escalade.

Well, if you wanted to, you probably could . . . but I would hate to scratch up the inside, which will happen even to a small extent if you're hauling lumber, paneling, and such. The Tahoe has held up real well, but I do have a few light "scrape" marks along the sides in the back.

Seeing as how an Escalade or a Navigator are the top, top of the line, I just don't know that I'd want to consider using them as a light-duty truck. (For very major projects, I use the pickup truck.)

I like the Escalade myself. I don't know how much gas they take, im sure alot! I drive my F150 and its expensive to keep gas in the tank.

Those Escalades are nice rides. If my wife would allow it, Id have one myself.

Have you seen the new escalade hybrid's?

Broker's wife has 2007 Denali with 6 liter V8, can get 14 MPG on the interstate. He has been very happy with it.

007,

do you have a new vehicle in your driveway yet? when are you getting this thing?