GMT 360/370 is dying

Mektek

Original poster
Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
Since I got my TB I periodically go to the local PYP and there are usually 5-6 in the yard. Today I went and found 21! A few had minor scrapes and bumps but most looked good. It looks like people are giving up on maintaining and repairing them.:bonk:
I guess the idea of the shadetree mechanic is going away. Dealer cost of repair is so high that people decide to scrap them.
I was there to pull a g80 out of an Envoy. Looked nice - no visible damage. So I'll have a 4x4 with a locker - that should improve off road capability considerably.
Now that I've had a TB for a year and a half, I like it as much as the day I first drove it. I'm disappointed to see so many of them scrapped.:sadcry:
I intend to keep my 02 for at least another 5 years. PYP and Ebay combined with my labor will make maintenance and repair a very moderate expense.

DON'T GIVE UP!
 
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shovenose

Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
I do see the occasional nicely maintained like-new looking Saab 9-7x, Envoy, TB, etc around here but most of them are like mine - high mileage, beat up, not particularly cared for. Cost of repair and labor simplicity favors Tahoes/Yukons for sure. When in good condition, these handle so much better, but most TBs and it's cousins are not in good condition. The 4.2 engine is great but the way it's stuffed in there it's not diy friendly for sure.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
There comes a time when we do have to say goodbye. My '02 was in good working order when the tranny grenaded but the body is rusted and likely more stuff would have broke so for just the extra year I would have gotten out of it, it wasn't worth it. It did incite me to buy another pristine '07 with 87k km and I still have the Saab for now.

The cost to repair vs. value and expected service always comes into play. Probably the ones you saw in the yard were high milers that were not worth the cost of repair.

I should get a personalized plate that says "XTINCT"
 
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shovenose

Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
Yup, let's say it needs a $3500 transmission replacement and it's worth less than that, it's gonna end up at the junkyard. Unless you're stupid like me, I'd fix it :biggrin:
 

kickass audio

Member
Aug 25, 2012
955
For me it was the practicality of having the Envoy and the problem of everything starting to rot out bad from the winters up here in the north.

The truck was nice but the frame kept rusting through, especially on the passenger side of the frame rail near where the steering bolts up to the frame cross member. I also had the practicality of "I can't buy the things I need to for my house without either buying a trailer or borrowing my friends truck/trailer" for my house. I decided it was time to let my envoy go for the silverado I just got and don't regret it one bit. The only regret is not having payments but at the same time with my Envoy it was just a ticking time bomb on when my power steering rack lines would burst from being so rotted, the frame would spring up another hole from the rust, the transmission cooler lines would rot out, etc. I just saw more problems on that truck than I felt like going through.

I bought my 2004 envoy just a few miles shy of 100k miles for 10 grand 6 years ago. I put 3400 into it for parts that failed on me and needed to be repaired/replaced and spent 2300 in parts I just upgraded before it became a problem down the road. I only got 1300 from the dealer for it when I traded it in a few weeks ago with 178k miles on the dash (it really has 165k because the dash was upgraded to a DIC unit and I didn't bother having the mileage flashed down to match my truck when I did it) I know I got ripped by the dealer and would have made more money selling it privately but I didn't feel like having it sit around in my garage until some jerk off from craigslist came by to look at it and try to rip me off like I had happen on my old car (that I actually made more money on than I bought it for lol).

Somewhere out there is another owner with a 2004 Envoy with Rockford fosgate t1 door speakers, z71 rear coil springs, suspension maxx rear sway bar links, bilstein HD shocks all around and brakes with only 30k miles on them. Or at least I would believe someone bought it at an auction and it didn't go to the bone yard but if it did oh well, it's not my problem anymore.
 
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Mektek

Original poster
Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
Then it's up to us southerners to keep em going:2thumbsup:
Without the road salt, they don't rot like in the rust belt.
Only the exhaust has some surface rust. The rest of the underside looks like new - brake lines and frame look like the day it drove off the lot. I have a bit of a "growl" noise coming out of the front end at 50mph - I hope it's just the disconnect and not the differential.
 
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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
My '07 will likely outlive the majority here. When I bought it, it had only 87k Km, was very well maintained and garaged all its life. Frame has only a few spots of rust. It was parked for the last year and used sparingly the previous two years. Even before that, it was used so little that oil changes were mostly based on time rather than mileage so it was running on new oil all the time. I figure it will live another 10 years under my care and oil spray rust protection barring any unforeseen incident.
 

Sir ffeJ

Member
Dec 1, 2011
543
My 07 is still pretty much new looking to. I'm the second owner and just hit over 100K just last week. Nothing for rust. We use a non corrosive spray on the roads for winter.

I know she'll be around for lots more time to come.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
You're in Vancouver where snow happens as much as rain in the desert. And when it does happen, it's Snowmageddon with just 5cm, LOL!
 
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