2008 escalade any good?

[pwerwagn]

Loaded question, I know. I'm out in the middle of nowhere for work this week and my wife just texted me that she found an 08 escalade she wants. I don't have time right now to research and figured a few of you would know. Her boss/uncle has it, and went to trade it in on a new one. They offered him 16.5k so he told them he would sell it outright. But he told her she could have it for that.

White, 2008 awd. I think it's the long one? V8, fully loaded, tvs, headphones, 3rd row, etc (all this info is from her).

105k miles, 16.5k$. Seems like a fair price.

Any input? I'm mostly concerned about reliability. Also he told her it gets 15-17 in town, 20+ highway?

Thanks for any info,
Jeff

 

[Englewood]

Had an 07 that was a POS! An 08 should be ok as they worked out many of the bugs the 07 had. MPG will be 14 at best in my opinion.

 

[TOBTEK]

Our 2008 Lad was 10x better then the two 2015's GM bought back. Now the 16 is making all kinds of funky noises and the 8 speed tranny is clunking. I'd take a step back to a 2011 - 2014 in a second! The new ones are a JOKE!
I'd also go surf on WWW.Cadillacforums.COM see what actual owners are having issues with.

 

[pwerwagn]

14 on the highway?

For some reason where I'm at I can't get any websites to load (nada/kbb etc), but tapatalk works haha. Is 16.5 a fair price? She said its in good shape.

All his kids live in other states and they used it mostly to visit them, I'd guess 75% is hwy miles.

 

[RodnJen]

I have a 2013 ESV AWD with the 6.2 and I like it so far, bought it CPO with only 9k miles. Real world driving I get between 12-13 / tank, mixed freeway and town. Back and forth to Havi not towing I see maybe 17-18. I had a hard time finding clean Escalades or Denalis that weren't beat. I'm not a big fan of high mileage cars but that's because I don't like to work on them. I would check the market a little closer before you decide.

 

[ChevelleSB406]

I was selling them new in 2008, I thought they were great vehicles and had many pleased customers over the course of a 3 year lease on them, I know of course others might have had other experiences, but widely regarded as a nice to drive durable piece. In regards to valuation, kbb puts it between 22-25k, and we all know them to be far off the mark, so I think you are reasonably safe around 16, escalades, rovers, etc, usually trade for well back of book on trade in as well as retail. Sorry I don't have my finger tighter on the pulse, I am not there anymore, but I would still be moving forward off what you said so far. Main thing is to drive it and check it out.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

I like it. Seems like a good price for an escalade too. If that's what you guys want, I'd do it. But, don't expect 20+ mpg anywhere. It has a 6.0. They are fairly thirsty in a pig of that size.

 

[bagged97taco]

16.5k would be a fair price in my opinion. We have an 07 fully loaded Tahoe and they seem to hold value quite well.

 

[pwerwagn]

Cool. Thanks for the info. I've been searching cad forums a bit and seems like what posted here is spot on. 08 is better than 07, mileage is 13 ish. Seems like there are a lot with 150k+ miles.

It's not really what I would pick for a vehicle. But my wife doesn't give a shit what I buy, ever...and she has always wanted an escalade. At least it would tow the boat and I can save some miles on my cummins.

Thanks for the info so far!

Jeff

 

[ChevelleSB406]

I like it. Seems like a good price for an escalade too. If that's what you guys want, I'd do it. But, don't expect 20+ mpg anywhere. It has a 6.0. They are fairly thirsty in a pig of that size.

6.2, 403 hp / 417 ft lbs. torgue, and yes, definitely thirsty. The six speed in these years was nice too, never seemed to hunt for a gear or anything.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

6.2, 403 hp / 417 ft lbs. torgue, and yes, definitely thirsty. The six speed in these years was nice too, never seemed to hunt for a gear or anything.

Yes, the 6L80 is a great transmission. I didn't think they had the 6.2 in '08. If so, even better. Those are badass motors!

 

[ChevelleSB406]

Yes, the 6L80 is a great transmission. I didn't think they had the 6.2 in '08. If so, even better. Those are badass motors!

yeah, 6.2 came in starting in 07 body style, so March 06, I much preferred that configuration to the prior 6.0, engine and trans both. :thumbsup Short 2wd escalades in these years were pretty snappy for the giant fat bastards they are. :cool

 

[oldschool]

Don't buy it for fuel mileage. We have an 07' Denali XL w/6.2 and still love it. The 07's has some trans issues, as some have mentioned, but supposedly those were addressed in the 08's. The 6.2 is a great motor, the Escalade version has more power, but with all wheel drive ours gets 10-12 around town. $16.5 seems like a smoking deal if it's in good shape.

 

[pwerwagn]

So the 08 should have the 6L80E? I didn't know that.

It looks like all escalades are AWD, not 4wd correct? So I assume no low range or neutral on the t case??

 

[ChevelleSB406]

So the 08 should have the 6L80E? I didn't know that.

It looks like all escalades are AWD, not 4wd correct? So I assume no low range or neutral on the t case??

Correct, in all years, AWD, never will have 4 hi or 4 lo, 2wd available as of 2005, but yes, never traditional 4wd.

 

[pwerwagn]

Cool. Looks like we might give it a go and see how we like it. After looking around, it seems like we should be able to recoup the price if she doesn't like it. I will probably keep her grand Cherokee around a few months to make sure.

Thanks again for all the info fellow inmates!

Jeff

 

[Rsqfxr]

I have an 08 esv awd and i love it, if ur gonna tow with it make sure the rear air suspension is functional, I just added the iPod Bluetooth adapter and I also plan to upgrade the trans cooler

 

[pwerwagn]

View attachment 491465
I have an 08 esv awd and i love it, if ur gonna tow with it make sure the rear air suspension is functional

Is the esv the "long" one?

Would it be ok towing my ~5500 lb carrera say from NM to havasu?

 

[oldschool]

View attachment 491465
I have an 08 esv awd and i love it, if ur gonna tow with it make sure the rear air suspension is functional

I replaced the pump on our Denali, very easy to do.

 

[Rsqfxr]

Is the esv the "long" one?

Would it be ok towing my ~5500 lb carrera say from NM to havasu?

Yes and yes but definitely consider the trans cooler upgrade, also exhaust bolts commonly break starting with driver side rear

 

[ChevelleSB406]

I believe tow capacity was like 8200 officially on the vehicle, should tow yours no problem, and good on the inmates that own them to discuss their experiences, best info you can get. Cooled seats if equipped will be your favorite feature along with remote start to cool down before retrieving the boat :thumbsup

 

[pwerwagn]

She sent me a pic of it in my driveway...said she really likes it. Has the seat coolers. Supposedly fully loaded. Receipts for oil changes every 4-5k. She said there's one stain in the carpet, one of the 2nd row seat armrests is loose, and her boss told her one of the back door lock actuators every once in a while won't unlock on the first try. Tires have about 10k on them.
Seems like a fair deal.

 

[pwerwagn]

Oh, he has the front hub cap that is missing as well...

 

[oldschool]

She sent me a pic of it in my driveway...said she really likes it. Has the seat coolers. Supposedly fully loaded. Receipts for oil changes every 4-5k. She said there's one stain in the carpet, one of the 2nd row seat armrests is loose, and her boss told her one of the back door lock actuators every once in a while won't unlock on the first try. Tires have about 10k on them.
Seems like a fair deal.

View attachment 491467

Looks great. The second row arm rests will ALWAYS get loose. Also, put a lock on the 3rd row seats, it used to be a hot item with thieves(don't know if it still is). We have about the same mileage on our 07'Denali XL and still love it. If you need a new or extra key FOB go to www.remotesremotes.com, they are around $30 and simple to program. The Caddy dealer will want a grip for one. Congrats on the new ride.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

She sent me a pic of it in my driveway...said she really likes it. Has the seat coolers. Supposedly fully loaded. Receipts for oil changes every 4-5k. She said there's one stain in the carpet, one of the 2nd row seat armrests is loose, and her boss told her one of the back door lock actuators every once in a while won't unlock on the first try. Tires have about 10k on them.
Seems like a fair deal.

View attachment 491467

That's awesome! Looks like a great deal!! Wish I could a found something like that when we bought the girlfriend's Yukon.

 

[pwerwagn]

Thanks guys! I appreciate all the info. This is the first vehicle she's bought without me there (I'm out of town for 2 weeks...). Hopefully she paid attention to everything i taught her to look for! So far she's impressed me with the info she sent me. Hell, she even measured the tread depth!

Jeff

 

[Mikemc1269]

We have a 2008 2wd Escalade with just over 100k on it. It towed our old 26 ft Howard around Havasu no problem and it averages just under 13 mpg. Only issues with it were an oil leak, had to replace the TCM on the transmission and the navigation sometimes wont work when it is hot outside...it gets a cant read disk error.

 

[TooSober]

Over the weekend I picked up a 2010 Denali Hybrid. so far we love it. Any experience with these Hybrids?

 

[bk2drvr]

I've got the 2012 AWD and we love it. It's a very comfortable road machine for long trips. the motor is nice and tourqie and the transmission has been flawless. It's a steal at $16.5k.

 

[RadMan]

I have a 2008 AWD short one and a 2010 ESV very similar both AWD and both have been great. Keep your alignment on check or you'll eat the front tires with the 22-in rims that's the only thing that burned me so far and I've owned them for years

 

[pwerwagn]

Thanks guys! She's been driving it around this afternoon, I guess she told him we will take it. ;-)