Potential Tahoe owner here, need your help!

[rockymt21]

Hey guys,

New to the forum here and am looking into getting a Tahoe. Currently I drive a 99 A6 Quattro Wagon. Im looking for a vehicle that is a little bigger and will fit me (being 6'4'') better. I used to own a Dodge Ram and I loved the bench seats. Im from snowy VT and need a vehicle that handles well in the snow, and I am also looking for durability.

I have some question that I would like to hear answers to, and if anyone else can help, give advice, or anything, please feel free!

Typically how many miles do these cars last for if generally well kept?
What's the average gas mileage? Highway and City?
How owner friendly are they in terms of serviceability?
Are there any big differences in the years from 2001-2006? (ie anything that would make buying one over the other a better idea)
How well do they handle in the snow?

My Budget will probably be about $25,000. Is it even possible to get an '07 for that much?

Thanks for the help, Dan

 

[HitandRunDriver]

Honestly...i'm not as much of a fan of the new tahoes, they scream soccer mom to me and the cost would be a little high. I have an 01 tahoe in midnight blue metallic at 97k miles and the one problem i had so far was my tranny crapping out on me at 60k but it was still under warranty. As for fuel economy, i'm averaging maybe 12 city and 15-16 highway....but i do have an Airaid intake, throttle body spacer, and a magnaflow catback. As far as maintenance, oil every 3000 miles, and make sure you get your other fluids changed out when necessary. It handles well for being a 5500 pound beast, and the only real differences with the older models is some interior pieces such as the steering wheel, a 5-10 horsepower bump and a couple different body mods. If you're going to be in snow a lot, opt for a Z71

 

[jey_]

We get over 17 mpg on the highway if we keep it under 75 mph, it dips down to the high 16s with it on cruise at 80+. Around town it is more like 14-15 depending on your mix of stop&go vs. highway. We have the 5.3L V8, which most Tahoes of this body style have. I think there was also a 4.8L V8 that you can find in very stripped-down models too that might get better gas mileage.

We haven't put too many miles/years on our Tahoe for me to say much about major services, but the basic maintenance has been really easy so far. I look forward to servicing it as we put more miles on it - I'm used to working on passenger cars where there is exactly enough room in the engine bay to do what you want to do, with the right tools. Just looking in the engine bay the truck looks like it would be a world easier to service.

If snow performance is important, you can make sure to get one with 4WD. Our RWD Tahoe is still pretty good snow transportation though - put on some good tires and I think we have the G80 limited-slip rear differential. So I imagine with 4WD it would be even better than the Audi - the extra ground clearance helps if nothing else.

 

[rockymt21]

The more I read about these vehicles the more I like. What year did they stop offering the bench seat, or do they still?

I think this will be the vehicle of choice come summer time.

Another quick question is, are there any major differences between the Tahoe and the Yukon. There is a lot to choose from on the used market here in VT. I see multiple Tahoe's even when just going to the store.

Thanks, Dan

 

[jey_]

You can still get a Tahoe with the bench seat in the front, though it's the most basic trim and you get cloth seats. I think it was that way when my wife got her's in 2003 too - so they might be relatively hard to find.

Now bench seats for the 2nd row are very common in every trim level.

 

[rockymt21]

Yeah I am looking for a bench in the front as well. I had it in my truck, and really enjoyed it. They actually come in handy quite often.

 

[boostaholic]

Buy an 02 denali and get a custom tune. AWD, 15/19mpg, fantastic handling, 3rd row seating, decent stock stereo (better with mods), and it will pull just about anything you want. I bought mine with 70k on it for $19k. Oh yeah heated seats front and rear and the most reliable v8 you can buy sealed the deal for me, good luck with your shopping :cheers:

 

[rockymt21]

Buy an 02 denali and get a custom tune. AWD, 15/19mpg, fantastic handling, 3rd row seating, decent stock stereo (better with mods), and it will pull just about anything you want. I bought mine with 70k on it for $19k. Oh yeah heated seats front and rear and the most reliable v8 you can buy sealed the deal for me, good luck with your shopping :cheers:

I like the Denali's, but im pretty keen on a bench seat. Is that something that can be switched?

 

[boostaholic]

Not gonna happen, but you'll love the buckets. I'd buy a regular pickup with a bench but the chevy buckets are way more comfortable then a bench.

 

[rockymt21]

I guess I can't be too picky. We'll see what's available when the time comes. Another question, I'll be putting some new shoes on whatever I end up with. Will the Tahoe be able to handle 26" without doing too much modding? The 24's look good but I've seen a couple with 26's and it looks really nice.

 

[ardaddy24s]

my 24s rubbed when i first got them put on with a 2/3 lowering kit but after turning couple bolts around and cutting the plastics it was just fine, and ive seen 26s done also..

 

[mike1951]

I have an 06 with stock rims and tires, it drives great in the snow
even better than my forester xt did...
I just drove up rabbit ears pass on the way to steamboat in a pretty wicked blizzard in some deep snow and it was not til 1/2 way up the pass that I noticed I forgot to switch into 4 high... I do lots of boarding in the colorado mountains and I can vouch for the tahoe's ability to handle snow driving.... I am not sure what the big rims would do in the snow...I think Boost is from Denver he may be able to speak on that...I do know if you go to big rims you should upgrade the brakes as the rotational mass will change greatly... I can also vouch for a comfortable road trip vehicle as I have spent 16 hours driving back to Chicago with the whole family in the tahoe...
We bought our 06 tahoe with flex fuel for 23,000 and it had 30,000 miles on it.
HTH
m

 

[boostaholic]

I like rallying the sh*t out of my truck so I bought 20s and some gnarly all terrains and couldn't be happier. Even with a 4" drop my truck does extremely well in the snow. I have yet to get my truck stuck even when I'm plowing snow with the front bumper it still brakes and accelerates with ease. 22's + will not do nearly as well because of the sidewall loss but I've had good luck with the nitto terragrapplers in a 22". I plan on buying some 22s for my truck but the 20s look great and I can drive over curbs and not worry about my wheels getting scratched which is a bonus in colorado. You'll want to upgrade the brakes if you buy big wheels, there are a few people that make cnc billet aluminum brackets so you can run the 6 piston corvette brakes instead of the pricey kits out there.

 

[Hoebag03]

not stuck, just high centered right?

 

[boostaholic]

I keep thinking it's the cherokee, guess I need to stay off the crack

 

[mike1951]

see my 51 is low... I need my tahoe to be high...
I usually plow snow in the alley with the 51... see low.. 6 inch drop

 

[jey_]

Having a front bench seat in the Cadillac I just bought got me all interested in bench seats again. I knew the cloth seats in the trucks were pretty entry-level but there is an option on the Silverados for leather front bench seats. At the auto show in January I found one and sat in it and was pretty impressed. I mean, it was no Cadillac but it definitely made me want to buy a Silverado with those seats!

I guess there's little demand for equipping a Tahoe with these seats, but I wonder if it's not too hard to do a swap.

 

[neloms]

Great questions Rocky, and my wife and I just went through a similar process. We were pleasantly surprised with what we found.

Typically how many miles do these cars last for if generally well kept?
What's the average gas mileage? Highway and City?
How owner friendly are they in terms of serviceability?
Are there any big differences in the years from 2001-2006? (ie anything that would make buying one over the other a better idea)
How well do they handle in the snow?

My Budget will probably be about $25,000. Is it even possible to get an '07 for that much?

You'll find mileage about the same on these, 14-19 MPG. Depending on mods you can get more or less. These are VERY owner friendly vehicles. My wife swears by Chevy's. We were working with the same budget when we found our truck. We got a '05 Tahoe with the z71 package (great for snow), fully loaded, 41k miles for $22k.

Honestly...i'm not as much of a fan of the new tahoes, they scream soccer mom to me and the cost would be a little high. If you're going to be in snow a lot, opt for a Z71

Soccer mom for sure, plus the price tag is steep! I like the '01-'06 body style much better.

Not gonna happen, but you'll love the buckets. I'd buy a regular pickup with a bench but the chevy buckets are way more comfortable then a bench.

The bucket seats are awesome. Benches belong in a pickup truck. We have the quad seating, so bucket seats in front and middle row. Very nice and easier to navigate all the way to the back seat.

No matter what you choose, you're going to love your 'new to you' truck!

 

[S.V.T.]

Buy an 02 denali and get a custom tune. AWD, 15/19mpg, fantastic handling, 3rd row seating, decent stock stereo (better with mods), and it will pull just about anything you want. I bought mine with 70k on it for $19k. Oh yeah heated seats front and rear and the most reliable v8 you can buy sealed the deal for me, good luck with your shopping :cheers:

nice buy man. i want a denali; however, i found an 04 hoe with 40k on the odo, clean crapfax for 21. all the denalis in my area are overpriced.