2011 Tahoe/Wife says that I need a new vehicle..

[Charlie207]

As someone who owned a Gen 1 Armada (2004-2014), I can agree that the interior quality is, visually, less appealing than my 2014 Yukon. But, it's rugged and long-lasting for a truck. I had the LE version with leather and all the bells/whistles. It feels more roomy than my Yukon, with a more upright (truck) seating position. If I wanted smokey walnut or baby sealskin leather seats I'd get a Gucci Escalade or Bentley. I liked the utilitarian feel.

My functional issues with it were how the rear IFS ate hub assemblies. I swapped in two cheap, and five Timkens in my ownership, and got really good at swapping them out quickly.

Then the frame/body eventually succumbed to rust. I'm sure the roadsalt up here greatly accelerates the problem, and there's lots of Armadas as old as mine still rolling around in the south & west, so I won't hold that against it.
The engine in the Armada - 5.6l VK56DE - rated at 305hp/385tq felt way underrated. And it's OEM throttle-mapping is still 2x better than my Yukon with 6spd and Blackbear tune. The thing just wants to go, and would smoke the tires easily. My 5.3 feels like a dog compared to it, which shouldn't be a big surprise with a DOHC w/variable intake runners.

The Gen1 was more of a Suburban competitor, but I feel like if they made a Yukon-sized vehicle (with a solid axle at the rear) it would still have better vehicle dynamics in all categories.

I still keep an eye open for Gen 2 Armadas, but they got bubbly and I'm not sure if that big engine is worth the Mary Kay exterior.

 

[petethepug]

It’s a challenging time to purchase a preowned Tahoe. When it goes sideways there’s supply chain issues and occasionally dealers do the shoulder shrug service diagnosis and keep your truck for weeks.

You’re in an uncommon situation. You’re thinking about needing a new truck but not actually stressing over finding one in a crunch. This means, if you want, you can go shopping for unicorns or even use a car inspection service to verify out of state dealer or private party deals.

I was in the same situation. My buddy showed off his preowned 13 6.6L Duramax LT Quad w/ heated & vented seats 3 years ago. I ticked off a want list for the replacement of our 08 YXL Denali and got …

heated/cooled seats
leather
no cracked dash
no clear coat peeling
non AFM 6.2L
AWD or 4WD
Flex Fuel
Loaded like LTZ, Denali
XL or Burb size.
clean Carfax
Under $15k Lol

The wheel ended up on 09 Esky Platinum $14k, 130 clicks, 2 owner in TX at a Lexus Dlr. Like next month, a leap year month, the dealer was motivated to accept my offer to make their goal in a short month. The out of state veh insp’r caught hidden issues to substantiate my offer. Once back in CA the value almost doubled because these are hen’s teeth in CA. That I didn’t know or expect. After the YXL sold private party I paid a $1.5k more for the Esky ESV.

Grab a beer, cocktail or coffee. Jump on the internet after you make your perfect world checklist. Expand to nationwide search with zero expectations. Don’t forget the dealers that sell PPV/SSV so you can pick & choose an interior swap or think blue sky …

Duramax Specialties, LLC

Thank you for your patience, this page is currently under development. Feel free to call or visit us at the links above.

duramaxsuv.com

Have fun shopping!

 

[CaptainAmerica1]

Divorce her, you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life….

 

[AirJordan613]

Explain to her at 150k it's not done yet. I see you're in NY - have it sprayed with fluid film and keep up with the body and it should continue to be a good truck for time to come.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Stick with the one you got

 

[JKaechler]

Stick with the one you have!. Take 1/4 of what you would spend on a new truck and refurb the one you have. Seats, carpet, dash parts... maybe a paint job? You may be due for a tranny rebuild and an upgraded torque convertor. You can probably spend less cash making the existing truck into something that gets the 'spousal approval factor' again than tracking down something new and even close to as good.

I just bought myself a 2011 Tahoe LT with 200k on in for 7000$. Its currently at my local transmission guy's shop with another 3500$ getting a full tranny rebuild and a new TC. With the engine in really good shape, and the AFM has been disabled for most of its previous life I would not be surprised if it get another 200k from it before any major engine work is needed. Just stay on top of the oil changes and those 5.3's go a long long way.

my old NBS 2001 Suburban went for half a million miles and still runs pretty good. but the body is ragged. wanna buy it?

 

[avalonandl]

I would keep yours. These vehicles run 200k+ easily

 

[avalonandl]

I might add OIL CHANGE as preventivie for keeping it.

On youtube look at I DO CARS....this guy tears down engines and LACK of maintenace is #1 reason engines die....

 

[Miami-Dade]

I guess that I am a newbie here again, haven't posted in a while. My wife wants me to get a new vehicle, she likes a Toyota or Nissan. I can't do that, man I love my 2011 Tahoe LT with 150,000+ miles. I bought it with 93k, it will be 6 years in July. No real problems with it, just maintenance things like batterie, tires, struts, brakes, etc. I did have three of the four quarter panels done in 2019. If I do end up replacing it, I want another Tahoe but not a new one. Any suggestions as to what years to look at dependability wise? Some places are recommending 2016-2020.

Thanks!

There have been members on this forum who sold their vehicle only because the mileage was getting high. Then they buy a lower mileage vehicle and start having all kinds of issues with it when the higher mileage vehicle was running just fine.

One Chevy dealer in Paramus N.J. told me years ago it is generally the higher mileage vehicle that runs better then the low mileage vehicle. That is if it has been maintained..I know this will probably fall on deaf ears.

I have several friends [through the years] who just would not listen and went with the low mileage vehicle even though I recommended the higher mileage vehicle that was well maintained by the original owner with service records and it backfired on them big time.

To each their own.

 

[Sam Harris]

I might add OIL CHANGE as preventivie for keeping it.

On youtube look at I DO CARS....this guy tears down engines and LACK of maintenace is #1 reason engines die....

Love his channel! Very enlightening.