This is the follow up to the 'search thread'. After driving nothing but 2 door cars (or trucks) our whole lives it was time to get something bigger and more versatile. Our lifestyle has us hauling a lot of crap, and people, so not wanting to be dependent on press cars all the time, it made sense to buy something big. Mrs. Firm has always wanted a "white Escalade" for as long as I've known her, so it was the natural choice.....Also, being GM a family it just made sense to stick with something we were comfortable with.
I've never believed in car payments, never have, never will. So the budget was set based on what extra cash we had lying around, which meant that we'd be looking at 03-06's. Finding a white `Slade in decent shape was actually trickier than I had originally thought. Everything was either black, had a ridiculous amount of kms on it, or was beaten to death. I began searching nationwide, but still no really good finds. Eventually found 'the truck' in Keswick Ontario, went back and fourth with the owner via email for a week or so before finally going out to see it, and leaving a deposit.
This particular truck was an Alberta (Calgary & St. Albert) truck all it's life until 2015. It's sitting at 227,000kms, a bit high for my tastes, but I have faith
lol. The body is very good for a 10 year old truck, with a couple minor scratches and dings. Interior was filthy, but in decent condition as well. The truck appears to have been well maintained mechanically; runs, drives, stops and steers great with no abnormal noises or issues. Rear wiper not working is currently the only issue that I've come across.
Here are some shots from the day we picked it up:
Then I spent most of the weekend detailing, mostly the interior. I started with a good wash, and then I wanted to see if the Chrome rims were salvageable, so I polished one of them using a buffing wheel on a drill and some chrome polish....Came out good enough.
Then I moved inside; scrubbing miles and miles of gross carpet, scrubbed all the leather and applied Lexol, scrubbed all the interior panels, etc. I actually had to take the dashboard and center console apart to get all the filthy out (I included one gruesome shot from under the center console/cup holder area).
I am burned out, but the interior is spotless now, and I found $15 in change! I just dropped it off a the shop for a safety tomorrow. I've also asked them to flush all fluids; no point in guessing on how old they might be. It should safety easily, and hopefully run for a couple months before I have to put anymore money into it. It'll need tires in the Fall.
Here are the "after" shots.
I still need to properly buff/paint correct the paint, but it came out pretty good with just a wash
I also need to get some nice tan floor mats, and replace one of the headlight housings (right front), it's cracked and full of dirt inside.
