Vehicle opinions wanted

[1974ChevyC10]

ok here is a quick rundown of my latest dilemma.i recently got married i have 2 children of my own and two stepdaughters plus a baby girl on the way the wife is due in about 5 weeks time.i need to get a bigger vehicle that can haul anywhere from 5 to 7 people.obviously my truck is out of the question as it safely is only a 3 seater.what do those of you on here with large families drive?i want to stay in the GM family im considering a suburban \,tahoe,later model rear wheel drive impala or large gm car,extended cab GM truck or astro/safari/GM fullsize van.any suggestions here are welcome and encouraged.

[xtreme80]

Just go with an older Burban, same body style. Or, you could keep the truck and buy a cheap honda or toyota mini van. Or even an older crew cab truck.

The choices are really dependant upon your budget, and what you are willing to be seen driving in

[CLASSIC87']

Go with a Suburban if you have the funds... and dont forget about the fuel factor if it plays a big part of your budget.

[knightlife]

bag a burb and rim it down

[Eyegore]

I have a burb and tahoe both. My burb is a 99 and believe is the best vehicle i own. it's a 2wd and i have used it to pull a 26 foot travel trailer and it currently has 164k miles on it, original engine and transmission - never rebuilt. I have a 2003 thaoe 2wd that has all the bells and whistles, I'm not that impressed w/ it as I am with the burb, but time will tell.

[Blackstone]

The Caprice/Roadmaster platform is perfect if a car is what you're after. LT-1 equipped models are easy to come by and quite reliable.

If you can make a 5-seater work for you, the 3.8-powered Regal, Bonneville and Impala LS are excellent choices. One of GM's best engines ever, IMO. LeSabre and Park Ave share the same platform except they seat 6. My wife's Regal just hit 150k miles without a major repair... 200hp, 25-29mpg, incredibly comfortable ride. The Century seats 6, but has the less reliable 3.1 engine often prone to head gasket failure.

[1974ChevyC10]

thanks for the feedback so far guys keep it comin.
xtreme80 im strongly considering a burb as it would meet all my requirements and then some.i could even throw the 355 in the 78 into it and have the best of both worlds.not sure on the crew cab truck never really gave thought to one of those.if i get a burb ill most likely keep the truck but who knows my truck has been pretty good to me but does need alot of work to be in top shape.

knightlife as much as i would love to have a bagged burb or bagged truck of any kind for that matter its not in my budget right now but im not opposed to lowering one in the future

eyegore thanks for the info on the burb and tahoe im not a real big fan of them(tahoes that is)but a friend of mine up north has one i drove it once and it seemed to drive nice and smooth and had pretty good power not sure what year it is i wanna say a 03 it was the post 00 body style and it was nice inside and out.

blackstone a car would be suitable as long it seats at least 5 and on occasion 7 my son and daughter from my prior marriage live with there mom and i do get them on visits from time to time but they dont live with me so the main people i have to transport are the wife,her daughters(my stepdaughters) and my soon to be newborn daughter.my son and oldest daughter would only be over once a month or so(long story not going to elaborate on it now)but getting back on point here my dad has a roadmaster and it is a damn good car has over 200k on the original drivetrain the tranny was rebuilt in 04 or 05 and the motor is due for replacement as soon as my dad recovers from bone spur surgery and gets his motorcycle in better running order.i would drive a caprice or roadmaster in a heartbeat my expierience with both type of car has been nothing but good.

[streetstar]

I realize this is the 73-87 pages, but if i were in your shoes, i would look for a nice 71 or 72 'burb. There is an extremely nice one in the "4 sale" section here for 10k. The '73-'80's are quite a bit boxier looking and to me, look like just another "old car" unless they are really nice ----- although i did see a 88 or 89 one recently that was cherry for $4500 , TBI driveability and all the room in the world for rugrats gone wild

[1sik7t2]

i have a chevy 99 and 72 suburban had a 2001 silverado had a 2000 gmc safari all great vehicles but the safari was a little swishy suspension wise new or old suburban my vote