Have you ever noticed that funeral homes seem to come up with a variety of interesting vehicles to claim as business expenses? Not necessarily that they’re buying Mustangs as procession line chase vehicles, but more that they can access this whole world of wagon and limo variants of luxury cars that are put to work as hearses and flower vehicles. In the case of this 1994 GMC Suburban SLE, it was bought to use as a plow truck for the funeral home’s parking lots, which actually makes sense if you have a funeral that day and your guest parking is covered in snow. It sounds like the Suburban has been used sparingly in recent years, and it’s now listed here on eBay with an opening bid of $10,000 and a Buy-It-Now of $19,000.
Admittedly, the first thing I think of when looking at this clean GMT400 era Suburban is the Sopranos as Tony Soprano’s vehicle of choice before upgrading to an Escalade was a Suburban from this era. The 8th generation trucks were instant classics in modern culture, ushering in an era where seemingly every family has an SUV in the driveway. The clean lines, colorful paint options, sharp alloy wheels, and dependable drivetrains made it an instant hit with consumers. However, this was an era of SUV not far removed from their workhorse ancestors, so it was still a heavy-duty truck in many respects – hence why this one was used for plowing duty.
Cloth interiors and not infotainment in sight: a wonderful era of trucks that are still comfortable and capable today with far less stuff to break. The interior looks very clean, and seemingly reinforces the seller’s recounting of how it was used to mainly push snow around. He notes it was “….used in earlier years as a flower/chase vehicle,” but it clearly hasn’t seen much use recently since the last time it left climate controlled storage was 5 years ago. Normally, a plow truck is the vehicle that gets ruthlessly trashed by the business that owns it and is left outside to rot, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.
The plow attachment hardware is still visible underneath the front bumper, and while there is some surface corrosion on it, the truck doesn’t show much in the way of exterior cosmetic flaws. The engine bay is also clean with only some minor signs of rust on the air cleaner housing. Equipped with the standard issue 5.7L V8, the Suburban delivered 210 horsepower and 315 lb.-ft. of torque. With 87,000 miles on the clock, there’s lots of life left in this SUV, and so long as the undersides don’t show any evidence of rot from its years as a plow truck in Illinois, this former funeral home rig will serve its next owner well. Thanks to Barn Finds reader T.J. for the find.
This Suburban is absolutely beautiful. It doesnt look like a plow truck at all. We had a customer at the gas station yesrs ago who had a funeral business. And he actually had a black Suburban for retrieving bodies from hospitals and peoples homes. It had rollers in the back, and could fit a gurney very nicely. The 350 will run forever, and quite frankly If its as nice in person as it is in the photos it will sell. Theres folks out there that chase these down. Especially with the barn doors in the back. Beautiful color combo love the cloth interior too.
Way overpriced, the seller must have been price comparing against the same generation 2 door Blazers. It’s decent, but they are still a common sight in the San Francisco Bay Area, they might have more miles, but are rust fee and about $14,000 less.
Steve R
I’m chuckling to see one of two earmarks visible that are so typical of the beloved Suburban. One is the dented rear bumper and the other not seen here as the headlights aren’t on, but I would bet ‘dollars to donuts’ one or both of the front driver lights is out. Amiright?
Nah. The single headlight feature arrived on later model Suburbans. I don’t think that option was as popular in 1994 as it became around 2008 or so.
Yep. Halogen was quick and easy to change. HID was a real pain.
Yes, it’s worth that price! Absolutely 💯 you don’t find 32 year old vehicles that look new very often. I ordered a 1994 Chevy pickup with the sport pkg. Great truck! It was the stepside, styleside or whatever they called them in 94. Great year of Chevy trucks. I ended up trading it for a heavy duty rv puller.
Interesting article as there is a funeral home near me in Western Pennsylvania and the undertaker had 2 Roadrunners. Tucked away beside his hearse is or was a red 68 and a green 69. Both birds are or were in excellent condition. It just seemed weird that an undertaker had 2 classic musclecars. I haven’t seen them in many years and he’d be quite old by now if he’s even still with us.
Sweet Suburban!!
These will outlast the modern versions for sure. No cylinder deactivation or auto stop. All 8 all the time, baby! And around 14 mpg highway. No lane departure warning or any of the safety sensors. Drive it into a tree if you want. It doesn’t care lol.
Sure looks good for having been a snow pusher. Of course, these guys are in the business of first (last?) Impressions, so their stuff always looks good. Nice looking ride. Negotiate a deal. It’s the only time you’ll get to do that at a funeral home.
these were good buses for sure. had a 95 got 250k from it but 3 transmissions and 1 motor. i bought when it was 2yrs old 90k miles. kept it mint inside & out fuel, brake lines rotted out. tails gate fell off due to boxed steel rotting. this has barn doors which are the best way to go. all in all, a good truck. sold in 2020 for 4500.00. this is a nice truck but i feel 19k is a bit stiff. i would want to inspect this on a lift to be sure it’s not crusty underneath before dropping any bids.
My neighbor across the street sold one almost just like this with 200k miles for $3,500 bucks so if this one will get to that kind of miles considering the junk they build today for a lot more money it may be worth it. I would be concerned about the transmission condition standing up to the pushing the snow over the years.
Chances are they only cleared their snow. As opposed to commercial plowing that we associate with snow removal.
I am parting out an identical 99-same color. They didn’t change body styles much in those years.
Ambitious wanting 19 IMO
As Steve R said, dime a dozen around here
I had a Blazer of the same vintage, in the same colors, that went 360,000 miles with very few problems — a leaky radiator, a casette player and a mass airflow sensor. In the end the transmission died. The were pretty reliable trucks. I’d buy another one if they still made them.
In selling vehicles to the funeral home business. It likely was used as a family/chase vehicle initially. The plow setup looks like a BOSS brand. And this model BOSS, is newer than the Suburban. So I don’t believe it was used as a plow from new. And plowing a funeral home lot in low gear does not stress the mechanicals much. Still the “Achilles heel” on this vehicle is the transmission. So, proactive annual transmission services would be in order.
I went to a funeral probably around 2005. Cadillac had introduced the second generation Escalade but had not made availabile the EXT version yet.
I was talking to the funeral director and he said the Escalade was too short for caskets, so he bought a Chevy/GMC Suburban and put Cadillac emblems on it. Worked for him.
Im sure as soon as Cadillac came out with the Escalade EXT he traded the Suburban in on a real Cadillac.
I did the same thing with my 2004 Saturn Vue SUV. Took all the Saturn emblems off and replaced with Cadillac emblems. Just to screw with people.
Messing with people who have little or no sense of humor. Now, that’s funny. Considering some of the cars GM put the Cadillac crest on it shouldn’t have made any difference.
LOL, yes, How about Cadillac emblems on a Cavalier? One GM’s biggest sins…the Cimarron.
Your so mean! Hi Angel, I was concerned about you because you didn’t comment on the black Eldo convert. In Kas Vegas.
Glad to see you here!
Im not mean, Wayne, otherwise my name would be Leona Helmsley. Im just “mischievous” 😉
lol
If you wanted a 2 door or convertible Cimarron you bought a Chevrolet Cavalier and replaced the front facia and rear taillights. Then replace the Chevy emblems inside with Cadillac
Here’s mine as soon as it comes out of winter storage it’s going up for sale approx. same price range. No this one is not over priced. It’s what they sell for.
Excellent trucks/SUVs. I’ve owned several. 250,000 miles easily attained with proper maintenance… We have a dealership in the family in WNY.. They pull these vehicles in from the Northwest regularly, rust free…. this price is the at the very top of retail. All things considered.