Short wheelbase, two-door SUVs will always be cool, even if it’s not an iconic Jimmy or Blazer from the early 80s. This is one of the last two-door versions of a square body made, known as the GMC Yukon GT. These have steadily been becoming more collectible as prices for its ancestors have continued their steady rise, and collectors have realized there are very few of these Yukon GTs left in any sort of condition. That’s why an example with low miles for the year and appearing to present quite well will definitely find a new home sooner than later, as this clean 1997 example listed here on eBay goes to show, where bidding is just under $10,000 with no reserve.
When you consider the ways an SUV can check all the boxes, the Yukon GT comes pretty close. This particular example gets even a few inches nearer to perfection, courtesy of having the preferred rear barn doors compared to a conventional liftgate. The GT trim got you the special decals scattered around the exterior and the polished alloy wheels, but it didn’t necessarily add any additional performance credentials. That’s OK, as a truck like this is more about the awesomeness of a short wheelbase square body design than anything else, but it’s also a tempting alternative from modern-day crossovers that offer less utility and won’t hold their value as well as this GT.
The seller notes this one has the perfect history, too, belonging to one owner for ages before he passed away and it went to his wife; when his wife became too old to drive, it went to their son, who sold it to the current caretaker. I hate seeing vehicles like this leave their longtime family owners, but there’s never any guarantee the next generation will see it the same way in terms of value or worth. The interior looks the part of a 60K mile specimen, showing minty cloth upholstery covering bucket seats, and carpets free of major blemishes. The seller notes it is well equipped with remote key-less entry with alarm, A/C, tilt steering, full gauge package, and much more.
The other desirable feature of this late production Yukon two-door is its fuel-injected 5.7L V8 engine, which will help this compact SUV move down the road nicely. The Yukon shouldn’t be too hungry maintenance-wise going forward, and the seller has changed the oil, flushed the coolant system, serviced the brake system, and had it fully detailed prior to listing it for sale. Despite being in the snow belt, the seller confirms that the previous owner kept it garaged and had it proactively undercoated every few years to keep the undersides looking as fresh as possible. This is a rare specimen and it’s going for a good price at the moment.
Under $15k it will be a good deal for use and a later sale.
I disagree with calling this Yukon a squarebody, this is a newer GMT400 truck. In my world (and just about everyone else’s too) the ‘squarebody’ moniker belongs on ’73-’87 (pickups) and ’73-’91 K5s, Burbs and crew cabs
That, and the idea that it is a “compact” SUV at…
200 inches long, 77 inches wide, 5225 pounds!
local-sheriff is correct about the square body years. GMT400 years are often referred to as OBS…which stands for Old Body Style. As the Action Line yrs (’67-72) became increasingly valuable, the Square Body yrs increased in value. More recently, the OBS yrs have seen increased values. OBS yrs have just enough tech (OD trans & injection) to give good power & excellent ecomomy, but aren’t laden with excess tech of newer yrs.
A red flag for me is the Vermont tag. Vermont is famous/infamous for registering otherwise unregisterable or uninsurable vehicles. You don’t have to live there or own property to register your vehicles. You don’t even need a title for vehicles over 15 years old. The Autocheck report looks great, and it passed NY inspections, but why is it tagged in Vermont? It has apparently spent its whole life in New York.
One reason may be that city-dwelling New Yorkers are buying up property in Vermont and Maine over the past year at an alarming rate.
Trying to get away from the city – many of them permanently, and telecommute for work.
If I had the scratch, I’d jump on this in a New York second!
Buyer Beware!! Vermont tags and a NY State inspection sticker
These are spectacular and desirable trucks, very hard to find particularly in this condition. I am surprised at the relatively low bid price thus far and would be shocked to not see more activity towards the end of the auction.
Item location:
Brooklyn, New York
Sold at $15.2K. Nice buy, congrats!
Ended:
May 30, 2021 , 6:45PM
Winning bid:
US $15,200.00
[ 74 bids ]
My daily driver is this exact truck in the same color combination except I have the tailgate/hatch option rather than the barn doors. I prefer the tailgate as it lends a place to use as a bench to ‘tailgate’, work bench, etc…My old body guy had a late to early Suburban in PA. I know he kept it alive by repeatedly rebuilding the rear including the barn doors on his truck. I look at it as more moving parts to break and rust. I think the tailgate is a cleaner look too. As far as this truck being stock…almost. the rear roof air deflector is not stock equipment. Other than that looks really nice. Someone got a deal at $15,200. I would trade mine in for this one at that price. Mine has 330,000 miles and I keep it maintained pretty well. I’ve been told I have the nicest one around here in South FL. I swapped out my factory wheels for a set of OEM take off snowflake wheels. Really updated the look of the truck I get alot of thumbs up and talk at the gas pumps with other truck guys.