2008 Tahoe-What to look for

[91RS]

I just came back from checking it but no road test because of a heavy rain. I am supposed to drive it Sunday if he still has it. BIG crack in the dash on the driver's side. The tow ball in the pic was for an aluminum boat on a trailer. Very light. Trans cooler lines leaking. Several small scratches all around but not into the primer so could be buffed out. Steering wheel has sections where the outer layer is rubbed off but no gouges. The one large knob in the picture on the lower left of center dash has all the insignia's rubbed off. Power steering pump leaking behind pulley. 4 speed trans. Inside is really dusty and dirty. Think his wife has a small dog but did not see claw scratches on leather seats. Has the driver's seat rubbed thru at the rear side area where the wife just falls out of it when she gets out. She is about 4'6" tall. The driver's side window has a regulator going out. Lots of squeaking, grinding, squawking noises going up and down. Oil was clean and so was the coolant and trans fluid. The brake fluid was dirty. I will look at the paperwork he has if I go for a road test on Sunday.

All in all I was a bit disappointed with what I just saw as opposed to what he represented. He said he would take $500 off for the paint buffing but I didn't get into the fact that I would still not pay the $11,000 after that credit is taken off. Maybe I am just cheap but I still need t road test and right now I would not give more than $8000 for it.

This is really common and normal stuff for a 12 year old vehicle. You will be very lucky to find one that doesn't have the dash cracked. I replaced transmission cooler lines on both of mine, both have some buttons peeling, both have wear on the steering wheel, both required an extensive detail (I even pulled the seats and console out of mine) and buffing after buying, both got new seat cushions in the driver's seat, both got ALL fluids changed, both got new steering gears (my truck was leaking and her truck was making a rubbing noise), both have had all four front control arms and front springs replaced, both have had rear air shocks replaced (with GM units). The squeaking window regulator can be fixed with GM Super Lube, it was a very common issue for the first few years of these trucks.

The main thing I'd look out for with a black one is the paint starting to peel on the hood and roof. If it's been garage kept most of or it's whole life, it should be good. People don't wax their cars like they used to which helps. You're looking at a 12 year old car, be prepared to spend at least a few grand on any one you look at.

 

[OR VietVet]

I sent him a text and laid out all that I saw. My problem is that he misrepresented the rig. He said in an early text that there were no scratches at all. He also said how good a shape it was in and that he knew it was because he was a former Ford dealer tech. He did not know my qualifications at that time. He said 2-3 times in texts to me thru the day that the rig was "like new". Then I got in it and found many things that were not like new. I knew I would likely find a cracked dash but the guy acted "surprised" that the dash was cracked. The dash crack was a large gapped one that is easily seen by the driver. I told him I would not pay more than $7500 for it and that was before a test drive and crawling under it for inspection. He had earlier told me, in a text, that he had one other guy that will come see the rig this weekend. Then when I texted him last night and talked about the $7500 he said two other guys had already made him better offers he turned down. Too many saying one thing one minute and then something else the next. When I pointed out the driver's seat wear through he acted completely surprised but it was very noticeable. I know I would have to put some money in the rig but I still have to have it pencil out for true value. Plus, he just was not completely up front with me.

 

[rgosart]

Maybe these vehicles don't hold their value as well near you as they do around me, but I wouldn't expect anyone to let go of a 2008 Tahoe around here with under 150k miles for less than $10k. The dash issue is common and I would expect a 10+ year old vehicle to have some small leaks and scratches here and there. My 05 needed an oil pan gasket and a rear pinion seal which is fairly typical for older american vehicles.

Just sounds to me like either your budget is too low or your expectations are too high... Asking someone to take 25% or more off the asking price of a vehicle is a lot.

 

[OR VietVet]

I am a numbers guy. Say I bought the rig for a nice round number of $8000. Then I have to put money in to it to bring it up to me expectations. I haven't even driven yet or inspected under it and looked at the steering and suspension. I would not want to buy a rig for $8000 and then have to put MAYBE $3000 to $4000 in it for what I see now and more depending on what I still find. The next thing you know I have a rig with more money in it than what it is worth. Again, all IMO. Plus, and this is big to me, he misrepresented the Tahoe to me. He said he was asking $11,500.00 because of how great condition it is in. I am also OCD and know that WHATEVER needs to be worked on and fixed was going to happen while I owned it. Money is not a problem. I have a full time job that pays a great salary, I pay no rent or utilities and I get great bonuses. Have been here 6+ years. Plus I get my full social security benefits on top of that. Plus I have no c/c debt. The most I owe anywhere is $343 to Amazon Prime on their Prime card. I have a debit and that card. The only expenses I have are food, drink, insurance. Comcast bill that the owner here pitches in $60 a month on and fuel upkeep for my 2002 Tahoe. I have savings that I never touch and I never have spent a dime of my s/s benefits. I am not going to buy new and refuse to pay more than what a used one is worth based off of expanded value a seller says to me. In short, I want a deal, not to break even. I just think the guy has a case of "******** sells" and "unreal expectations". Maybe I am out of touch with all of it but I have gotten through my life pretty well so far. It is what it is.

I do appreciate all the input and thoughts.

 

[91RS]

You aren’t going to find a perfect truck for $11k. They will ALL need the stuff you’re saying is wrong with this one. You’re going to have to “spend more than it’s worth” to end up with a perfect truck. I spent two years looking for my Escalade because I had one specific color combination I wanted with 2WD and I looked at A LOT of these trucks. I’ve probably put $5k in my truck to make it perfect on top of what I paid for it, which was more than $11k.

If you want a perfect truck you need to be looking for a 14 with 50k miles on it and plop down $25k+. These trucks sell for $10k all day long in my area with 200k miles with much more wrong with them than you’re saying is wrong with this truck.

 

[OR VietVet]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I am not looking for a perfect used Tahoe. I get that they have miles on them and will need work and I will fix and repair as I see fit. What I am not going to do is buy at too high a price, IMO, and then still shovel more money in to it to bring it to my expectations. Each owner will buy and sell as they see fit. I am completely up front with what I am looking for and what I will pay and what I will do. A big thing about this is that he misrepresented the condition of the Tahoe. I don't fault him for a leaking trans line. I don't fault him for filthy brake fluid. I do fault him for saying no scratches and then I found gobs of them. I do fault him for saying that the rig is in pristine condition in a text and then find a dash knob and a steering wheel that have been rubbed with a layer coming off of both of them. I do fault him for acting surprised about a dash crack, that I fully expected to see, and a driver's seat tear/wear that he purposely took the pic to hide and then acted surprised when I saw it. I do fault him for telling me he is a retired Ford tech and then playing dumb about what I found. I like to deal with truthful people and then negotiate. I don't like to deal with untruthful people and am prepared to walk away even if the Tahoe is exactly what I am looking for.

There will still be plenty of you that will tell me I am being unrealistic, and maybe I am, but my principles mean a lot to me. If I was a pot smoker and a certain dealer had the best there ever was but if he/she is a jerk and a liar, I will not deal with them. The guy was not a jerk but he definitely was stretching the truth. One minute he told me only one other guy was coming this weekend to look at the rig and then the next he tells me he already had 2 other offers better than mine. I am a very straight forward guy. I don't like to deal with a "merry-go-round" personality. I welcome all other input on this. Someone may say something that opens my eyes.

 

[OR VietVet]

News update. He just texted me and asked if I would pay $9750. I said I would think about it. From $11,500 to $9750, overnight. Came down $1750 overnight.

 

[rgosart]

News update. He just texted me and asked if I would pay $9750. I said I would think about it. From $11,500 to $9750, overnight. Came down $1750 overnight.

Not a bad price. He came down over 10%. More than I would have expected

 

[OR VietVet]

He will come down more as long as I leave him alone. Not sure how much but will wait and see. The only thing we did kind of relate to about each other was that he was a retired tech and I think he wants me to have the rig. I will see but he still is not in my ball park.

 

[iamdub]

Not bagging on you, but I'm gonna drop in my pennies. What I'm reading is you want a vehicle to be in nearly perfect condition but priced at it's poor condition value AND you want the person selling it to fit a particular profile. That's a lot of stars to align!

First off, you say you're a numbers guy- great! Then ignore the ******* and focus on the numbers. You titled this thread "2008 Tahoe-What to look for". Look for a great 2008 Tahoe, not a great seller!

People suck and this guy is trying to be the salesman that he is not. Did he stretch the truth? Obviously. Disregard the stretched truths and all that. It's typical of a regular Joe trying to be a salesman. Sounds like he was putting on the only salesman song and dance that he knows, and didn't realize how much it was working against him. Don't wanna hear their BS? Don't ask 'em any questions. I get wanting to deal only with ethical, stand-up people. But if you hold out for some perfect trifecta of factors to combine before you consider buying, you're never gonna get another vehicle. Don't let him or any other seller be a factor in you not getting what you want. You are giving them that power- don't do that.

He knows it's worth about $10K and his original asking price was not out of line since he was only allowing about $1,000 for negotiating room. $9,750 is a reasonable price, but I'd probably push for $9-9.5K. It has pretty much all the expected issues for a 12-year-old, 142K-mile example of that generation.

One thing I will stress is that you get some decent seat time. The seats in the GMT900 are way different in size, shape and feel than the GMT800. Many say the newer ones are much less comfortable.