Help a Newbie Out - Looking for an '09+ Tahoe

[bmwme]

Thanks for the replies. I guess now I need some more input on 4sp vs. 6sp. I drove two Tahoes over the weekend.

First was an '09 Hybrid. It was certainly an odd driving truck. You can tell it is doing a lot of different things all at once. I guess the complexity scares me a lot. That and the decreased towing capacity. It was all this place had and I hadn't driven a Tahoe yet so I was eager to drive...but I wouldn't consider a Hybrid.

Second I drove was an '08 2LT (or 3LT I don't know). Nice truck. Basically everything I'm looking for: Silver, heated black leather, tow package, in good shape. It has 48k miles and they gave me a price of $32k! which is HIGH KBB price. A jumping off point I guess...god I hate most dealership managers. But it is the 4sp.

So I'm stuck. Do I wait for an '09 or what? 95% of the time I'll be commuting to work or driving around the area. I'll be towing a couple times a month, with an annual trip to Florida towing the race car (1400 miles each way). How much will I love the 6sp?

Finally, could I get an actual average MPG survey from you guys? The '08 I drove said 16.5 mpg average. I'm curious to see what you guys get and if there is a difference '08 to '09.

Thanks!
-Jeff

 

[felixgun]

Thanks for the replies. I guess now I need some more input on 4sp vs. 6sp. I drove two Tahoes over the weekend.

First was an '09 Hybrid. It was certainly an odd driving truck. You can tell it is doing a lot of different things all at once. I guess the complexity scares me a lot. That and the decreased towing capacity. It was all this place had and I hadn't driven a Tahoe yet so I was eager to drive...but I wouldn't consider a Hybrid.

Second I drove was an '08 2LT (or 3LT I don't know). Nice truck. Basically everything I'm looking for: Silver, heated black leather, tow package, in good shape. It has 48k miles and they gave me a price of $32k! which is HIGH KBB price. A jumping off point I guess...god I hate most dealership managers. But it is the 4sp.

So I'm stuck. Do I wait for an '09 or what? 95% of the time I'll be commuting to work or driving around the area. I'll be towing a couple times a month, with an annual trip to Florida towing the race car (1400 miles each way). How much will I love the 6sp?

Finally, could I get an actual average MPG survey from you guys? The '08 I drove said 16.5 mpg average. I'm curious to see what you guys get and if there is a difference '08 to '09.

Thanks!
-Jeff

Yea the hybrid front bumper cover is... interesting haha. The 09 will obviously cost more with the same options with minimal differences between that and the 08, so it all depends.. how much money DO you want to spend? I have an 08 Tahoe LTZ and my average read out is 14.3 - 14.6 city. About ~2 mpg more for highway. Mind you I have captain's chairs for 2nd row, a 10" sub/box, no 3rd row seats, and 24" rims-- gotta factor that in! Good luck with your search bud.

 

[07Burb]

Thanks for the replies. I guess now I need some more input on 4sp vs. 6sp. I drove two Tahoes over the weekend.

First was an '09 Hybrid. It was certainly an odd driving truck. You can tell it is doing a lot of different things all at once. I guess the complexity scares me a lot. That and the decreased towing capacity. It was all this place had and I hadn't driven a Tahoe yet so I was eager to drive...but I wouldn't consider a Hybrid.

Second I drove was an '08 2LT (or 3LT I don't know). Nice truck. Basically everything I'm looking for: Silver, heated black leather, tow package, in good shape. It has 48k miles and they gave me a price of $32k! which is HIGH KBB price. A jumping off point I guess...god I hate most dealership managers. But it is the 4sp.

So I'm stuck. Do I wait for an '09 or what? 95% of the time I'll be commuting to work or driving around the area. I'll be towing a couple times a month, with an annual trip to Florida towing the race car (1400 miles each way). How much will I love the 6sp?

Finally, could I get an actual average MPG survey from you guys? The '08 I drove said 16.5 mpg average. I'm curious to see what you guys get and if there is a difference '08 to '09.

Thanks!
-Jeff

IMO, $32k for that second option is on the high side. I'd shoot for more around the $27k range (based on prices in my area) for that vehicle.

As far as MPG, in town I get about 13 or 14 mpg in my Burb so I know a Hoe or a Yuk would get slightly better than that. on the hwy it's closer to 17 to 18 MPG.

 

[bmwme]

Hey Jeff,

I am here in Mass too and was on the same hunt in the fall. I ended up with an 07 cause of a great deal i got on one with low miles. The heated seats are great and if you are going to do a lot of towing you will proabably appreciate the 6spd tranny. It will be tough to get an 09 under 30 unless its an LS (no leather or heated seats or the good tow package) or high miles. I have been to every dealership in the area and can def keep you away from the sucky ones. I would reccomend staying with an LT and if you want the chevy trailer brake, try to negotiate that into the deal after they won't budge anymore. Otherwise, you can get an aftermarket one.

I still have my 96 Cherokee, but this is a hell of a vehicle and I highly recommend.

What part of Mass are you in?

Yeah I'll probably keep my XJ...I just can't give it up. Plus with the lift and associated off-road equipment it is worth more to me than most people. I guess if I can find someone willing to pay me what its worth I'll see but who knows.

I'm in Peabody you?

---------- Post added at 09:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:14 AM ----------

Hey when did the USB plug in the center console become standard? I see it is standard on the 2011s and I didn't see one in the 2008 I drove.

 

[atalakoub]

Yeah I'll probably keep my XJ...I just can't give it up. Plus with the lift and associated off-road equipment it is worth more to me than most people. I guess if I can find someone willing to pay me what its worth I'll see but who knows.

I'm in Peabody you?

Ha...that's exactly my problem. Its a XJ only the owner would love...see attached picture.

I am in Arlington.

What dealerships have you been trying?

 

[bmwme]

I work in Arlington all the time, I'm SHOCKED I haven't seen your Jeep around. Very cool A guy came up to me once while I was working to talk to me about my Jeep. Wasn't you was it?

This was actually taken IN Arlington during the floods

 

[atalakoub]

I work in Arlington all the time, I'm SHOCKED I haven't seen your Jeep around. Very cool A guy came up to me once while I was working to talk to me about my Jeep. Wasn't you was it?

This was actually taken IN Arlington during the floods

I did a lot of driving in Arlington in my jeep that day since the whole fresh pond area was a clusterf***. Wasn't me, mine is on the road rarely, I am considering taking off the road since its hard to get someone to pass it and I no longer need it as my winter vehicle since I have the Tahoe.

 

[bmwme]

So what are you getting for mileage? What does the LT3 package have that the LT2 does not?

 

[atalakoub]

So what are you getting for mileage? What does the LT3 package have that the LT2 does not?

I average about 15.5, city/highway combined. I got 20mpg to and from DC with the car filled. This is much better than the jeep. My previous daily driver was a 2005 Nissan 350Z that got about 18 combined, but that had to be premium.

Mine is a 2007, so not sure if this is common in other years, but i found this brochure that might help. It goes through the options on the last page.

http://www.montanachevy.com/guide/brochures/2007/tahoe/07tahoe_regular.pdf

 

[bmwme]

Questions:
1. How do I determine if a truck has the towing package? Is it merely if it has a factory tow hitch installed? I read somewhere the non tow package 2007+ Tahoe has a lot less tow capacity. Probably from the smaller cooling system?

2. Do LT trim level 2009+ Tahoes have LSD?