Im looking into purchasing a 02 or 03 Escalade and had a few questions. What are the difference between the 02 Escalade and Escalade EXT and 03? Is there any known problems with the 02 and 03? Any input would be great.

The 02s seem to be prone to steering pump whines and transmission failures at around 45k. I have almost 60k on my 02 and haven't had either of these problems. With the 03 you could get Navigation and Rear Seat DVD Entertainment. Also on some 02s and 03s there was a clunk in the trannys 1-2 shift, but that was solved with a re-flash of the computer. Overall they are great trucks and I hope you find what you are looking for.:)

03's have HID low beams as standard, I do not think you could get the on 02's

you're right, the '02s don't have the HIDs and it's not an option. i would say mechanically, the trucks are virtually the same. the differences come into play with things like rear dvd and nav.

a little offtopic but is 3rd row seating standard or an option?

It was standard on the 03's (3rd seat)

03's have Hid lites, signal mirrors, available Nav., XM Satelite, and folding mirrors. 03's do not have a cabin air filter,lockable console,and a better looking speedo gauges. Also there is a recall on the tailgate cables and ruff shifting tranny. I have about 8,000 miles on my 03 Ext and haven't had any problems other than a leak in my gas tank, oh wait, thats my 6.0 v8. LOL :D

the 02 has power folding mirrors also. and i don't think the tailgate thing is a real recall yet. last i heard they didn't have the supplies to fix it so it hadn't been recalled yet, just a safety warning.

Thanks for the help guys. The price difference between a 02 and 03 isn't that great so I was wondering if the trucks were similar in opinions.