I am hoping to buy a Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, ect.. in the future (maybe near). I have a couple questions:
What is the best engine? (I'm a power freak)
What price/miles should I be looking for (hoping to get a private seller)?
How many miles are too many miles??
How dependable are the 4wd systems?
If not, how hard/expensive are they to repair?
And, anything else I would need to know.
I'm looking for a black one. My last three cars have been white, looking for a change. Plus I see a murdered out drop in it's future. I also have an idea for a killer sound system.
Thanks in advance,
B
I have/have had 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008 model year Tahoes and a 2008 Escalade and I must say they are really good trucks.
The best engine for the 2000-2006 Tahoes is the Vortec 5.3 V8, that's what most of them are, some have the 4.8 V8, but that really hurts your towing and resale. Seems like the 5.3's pump out 295 HP, Tahoes are pretty quick for their size, of course they're no Vette.
It depends on which year you're looking for. If I were in the market for a GMT 800 I'd be looking for a 2004-2006 with under 45k miles, but price may be an issue. For the most part these are well built trucks, usually no major maintnence until well after 100k, just a few little quirks like the instrument clusters and steering shafts. I wouldn't pay over $26k or so for an OBS Tahoe, with the gas prices the way they are and a new body style being out, you can usually find a good deal.
They have pretty good 4x4 systems, I never really had any big issues with the 4x4 on the 2003 Z71. Once it wouldn't engage into 4x4 and the other time it just needed a switch replaced. That's pretty good considering I put 112k miles on it.
Heres a list of some changes made thoughout the years to these things in case you didn't already know.
2000: Body style intoduced (with the exception of the Z71 model)
2001: No major changes (Z71 model now offered in new body style)
2002: No major changes
2003: Updated interior (big improvement over previous years)
2004: New wheel options, 17'' rims now offered on LT models. Tire pressure monitor added to LT models.
2005: Minor mechanical changes, minor air dam modifications on the front end.
2006: "CHEVROLET" badge removed from real liftgate, new rear window design, instrument panel modification (gears are printed not digital).
That's about it somebody else can fill in what I missed. I put 112k on my 2003 Z71 with few problems and have 34k on my 2004 LT 2wd and have had few problems. Gas mileage is also fairly good I average like 14-15 city and 20 highway.
