At what mileage should I considering trading in my Tahoe??

[Young Guy]

I have a 2007 Tahoe, that has 223K miles, and has been taken care of pretty well. It has no mechanical issues now however, I travel often long distances for business using my Tahoe , and I’d like to stay ahead of any brake-downs or huge repairs.

Anyone have any recommendations on when I should consider upgrading??

 

[Bill 1960]

What’s your situation if it has to go in the shop for two weeks for something like a new transmission or major engine repair? If you can switch to a rental or another alternative vehicle and handle a big repair bill, drive it until you get tired of it.

If that scenario gives you heartburn, stay on top of the maintenance and keep your money set aside for a replacement purchase that may happen at an inconvenient time.

And if both of those keep you awake, go shopping now. Trading in a vehicle with impending major issues won’t get you much value.

 

[1BADI5]

Trade in over 100k miles you'll basically get nothing.......at least here in Maryland.

With double that, better off selling via Marketplace or CL.

I traded in my '08 LTZ with exactly 100k on it and got 10k because it was spotless inside and out and I had a full maintence log on it

 

[wsteele]

If you travel long distances for business, I think staying away from high mileage vehicles is probably a decent idea. Many in this category just add it into their cost of doing business. The cost of losing one customer because of a breakdown related no-show might be more than a newer truck costs you in depreciation.

On the other hand, if the trade is more personal travel related and less financially punishing for missing a trip, keeping what you have and paying the piper when big things do crop up will still be cheaper in the long run. New trucks are godawfully expensive and they depreciate like a Wiley Coyote anvil. The annual depreciation of a new Tahoe or Yukon will be more than a major repair each year, which clearly won't happen.

It is all about the cost of a missed trip.

 

[Geotrash]

These trucks are known quantities. They're durable, reliable, parts are cheap, and every shop knows how to work on them. Keep ahead of the maintenance, pay close attention to anything it tries to tell you, replace the stuff that can stop you on the highway before it actually does (e.g. fuel pump, coolant tees, etc), and you'll likely never be stranded. Lots of people running around with 350K+ miles on these rigs.

I used to work on drilling rigs in the middle of nowhere Montana, NoDak, Wyoming, and learned the hard way that I was better off driving a 20 year old GM or Ford truck with a bunch of miles on it than a much newer Land Rover I couldn't get parts for anywhere.

My wife and I are finally at places in our careers where we make good money, but we want to retire when we're 60. That means no brand new cars or trucks, and keeping the ones we have tip top. If you can do the work yourself, buy second hand trucks and keep them reliable, you'll save literally hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime.

 

[Young Guy]

What’s your situation if it has to go in the shop for two weeks for something like a new transmission or major engine repair? If you can switch to a rental or another alternative vehicle and handle a big repair bill, drive it until you get tired of it.

If that scenario gives you heartburn, stay on top of the maintenance and keep your money set aside for a replacement purchase that may happen at an inconvenient time.

And if both of those keep you awake, go shopping now. Trading in a vehicle with impending major issues won’t get you much value.[/QUOTE

I think I can make adjustments, and afford the repairs if I have to. I’m 46 years old now, and most of my car repair or purchase experience has been reactive. I want to use the supposed accompanied wisdom to get ahead of the game. I think I’m more in line with setting money aside for major repairs. However, I’m also trying to get a sense of the durability of these models. For example, I had two generationsof Nissan Maximas, with the older one getting to 293K before I traded it for the newer one, and I had confidence that they could both make it to 325K if taken care of.

Being newer to the Tahoe brand, I’d like to get a sense of the overall durability, since I’ve fallen in love with everything else about it.

 

[Young Guy]

If you travel long distances for business, I think staying away from high mileage vehicles is probably a decent idea. Many in this category just add it into their cost of doing business. The cost of losing one customer because of a breakdown related no-show might be more than a newer truck costs you in depreciation.

On the other hand, if the trade is more personal travel related and less financially punishing for missing a trip, keeping what you have and paying the piper when big things do crop up will still be cheaper in the long run. New trucks are godawfully expensive and they depreciate like a Wiley Coyote anvil. The annual depreciation of a new Tahoe or Yukon will be more than a major repair each year, which clearly won't happen.

It is all about the cost of a missed trip.

Regarding traveling, I probably wouldn’t lose any clients due to a breakdown, but it’s extremely inconvenient, expensive and possibly dangerous to break down on a highway, far from home, so that’s my major concern with that.

If I’m already getting my regular maintenance done, are there particular issues with this brand and model I should look out for at certain mileages?

 

[Young Guy]

These trucks are known quantities. They're durable, reliable, parts are cheap, and every shop knows how to work on them. Keep ahead of the maintenance, pay close attention to anything it tries to tell you, replace the stuff that can stop you on the highway before it actually does (e.g. fuel pump, coolant tees, etc), and you'll likely never be stranded. Lots of people running around with 350K+ miles on these rigs.

I used to work on drilling rigs in the middle of nowhere Montana, NoDak, Wyoming, and learned the hard way that I was better off driving a 20 year old GM or Ford truck with a bunch of miles on it than a much newer Land Rover I couldn't get parts for anywhere.

My wife and I are finally at places in our careers where we make good money, but we want to retire when we're 60. That means no brand new cars or trucks, and keeping the ones we have tip top. If you can do the work yourself, buy second hand trucks and keep them reliable, you'll save literally hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime.

Thank you so much! That’s an extremely wise and helpful point of view!

 

[wjburken]

I have seen just as many newer vehicles break down as I have seen older vehicles like yours. Properly maintained, these vehicles are just as reliable as many of the newer vehicles. I had 300K on our first 2007 Denali XL and would have felt comfortable taking it across the country right up to the day I traded it in on a 2008 with 90K on it. However, I also knew how it had been maintained as I did the maintenance on it and knew the various quirks it had. After owning the 2008 for a short period of time, I came to the conclusion that it was not a good vehicle due to not being properly taken care of by the previous owner and traded it in at 120K on a 2013 with 90K on it. The 2013 has been a solid vehicle, but again, I keep up on the maintenance.

As mentioned before, it is all about how much risk you are willing to accept and where you think that risk is at. To think that a new vehicle will not leave you stranded on the side of the road is a risky way of thinking. There are members on here that have brand new vehicles that needed to get their vehicle towed after putting less than 10K miles on the vehicle. Granted, the repairs were covered under warranty, but they were still stuck on the side of the road.

 

[CaptainAmerica1]

I just rent cars for important business trips.