Looking for guidance on purchase

[Thouse]

Hello everyone!

I recently had my first child and with the kid, two medium-large dogs and my wife I am looking to buy a bigger vehicle. I don't want car payments so not looking to buy a new $40,000+ truck.

I have found a few local Tahoe's for sale but this one seems the cleanest to my admittedly untrained eye. It is somewhat local and I did take a look at it in person today. We do have a family friend that is a reputable mechanic that lives locally and the dealer has stated he wouldn't mind me taking it to him for a pre-purchase inspection.

I couple of things that stick out to me. The seller is proud to call out the fact it was an Arizona car. This is desirable to us here in the rust belt. However, you can see on the car fax linked on the posting that it has been in PA for the past ~5 years. The truck seems almost TOO clean. The fender liners are spooky clean. The tires are brand new but are off-brand (fuzion).

Assuming my mechanic gives this a fairly clean bill of health is this something I should pull the trigger on?

https://www.hartmanmotorco.com/vehi...-chevrolet-tahoe-1500-used-millville-pa.shtml

Thanks for your time,

Tyler

 

[zbad55]

Looks like a very good deal, carfax looks good also as it was taken care of. As for being in PA for 5 years is really not a big deal IMO as long as it was taken care of. If you really like the truck take it you your mechanic friend and have him take a look for any hidden issues. Good luck to ya,

 

[Sasquatch]

That truck looks very clean but i think they`re asking too much. I would be comfortable paying around $7500 tops because it`s 14 years old with over 100k.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Looks really clean in the pics. I'd take it to the mechanic and get a really good checkup, inside snd out, then go from there. I'm sure they can be a little flexible on the price too.

 

[iamdub]

That thing is beautiful. Around my area, it'd be priced about $2,000 less. Something in that condition in your area is gonna pull a premium but I'm sure they have plenty of haggling room. They're probably using the condition as their pricing point. 100K miles on a GMT800 is maybe 1/3 of it's life, so don't let that concern you much if it was maintained. You may have small tidbits like worn suspension bushings, minor leaks or a random sensor (more likely in the transmission/4WD areas) to contend with within the next 50,000 miles or so. But, they're mostly easy to diagnose and repair and overall FAR cheaper than a new car note.

 

[adriver]

I'm just going to play devil's advocate here, and try to tell you the problems I have, just because no one else has yet.

IMO, that's a little high. I'm in AZ, and although miles are low which may get a premium in your area, its still cheaper to buy one anywhere else, and have it shipped for less than $1k. The vehicle came from Lake Havasu, AZ, that is low lying desert and regularly one of the top 5 hottest parts of the country (Vegas, Phoenix, Lake Havasu city, Death VAlley).. We don't get rust here, but make sure your mechanic is aware, that means that we dry out rubber here quicker than anywhere else: tires, hoses, lines, door seals...…. Its also a big retirement city so it might be a retired/gentle driver.


Call me picky, but about the Carfax.. You should be able to call the dealers listed with the vin, and find out what work was done on the vehicle. Call me silly, but if I'm going to the dealer for service, I would be going to the SAME dealer, not sure why the second owner changed that up, I would be curious what that was about. If its just an oil change, it shouldn't matter. If its a major service, what was some of the other services done at the main dealer prior to that, (did they do something wrong)??

Heres the thing that puzzles me though: the THIRD owner.. Buys the vehicle, doesn't take it into the dealer for any reason at all (especially oil changes). Then after three years and 30K miles, takes it to THE DEALER... to get WIPERS replaced????? (x50 more ?'s) Maybe I'm nuts, but that's enough of a red flag for me. I have never heard of anyone who changes their own oil, who doesn't change their own wipers. To me its more likely, they didn't know ANYTHING about vehicle maintenance and went and got the wipers done because they were bad. Again, just a guess, and I'm trying to find possible problems.

 

[Thouse]

Thank you all for the replies. I plan on taking it for inspection either Wednesday or Friday of this week (work permitting). I will update you guys accordingly. I was poking around some other threads and the "buying thread" stickied here mentions something called Castech heads and to avoid them. The same thread mentioned they were very prevalent on 04 Tahoe's. Will my mechanic know what these are? How can I look for myself. Someone in that thread had mentioned there is some coding stamped somewhere on the engine?

Thanks again,

Tyler

 

[Thouse]

I'm just going to play devil's advocate here, and try to tell you the problems I have, just because no one else has yet.

IMO, that's a little high. I'm in AZ, and although miles are low which may get a premium in your area, its still cheaper to buy one anywhere else, and have it shipped for less than $1k. The vehicle came from Lake Havasu, AZ, that is low lying desert and regularly one of the top 5 hottest parts of the country (Vegas, Phoenix, Lake Havasu city, Death VAlley).. We don't get rust here, but make sure your mechanic is aware, that means that we dry out rubber here quicker than anywhere else: tires, hoses, lines, door seals...…. Its also a big retirement city so it might be a retired/gentle driver.


Call me picky, but about the Carfax.. You should be able to call the dealers listed with the vin, and find out what work was done on the vehicle. Call me silly, but if I'm going to the dealer for service, I would be going to the SAME dealer, not sure why the second owner changed that up, I would be curious what that was about. If its just an oil change, it shouldn't matter. If its a major service, what was some of the other services done at the main dealer prior to that, (did they do something wrong)??

Heres the thing that puzzles me though: the THIRD owner.. Buys the vehicle, doesn't take it into the dealer for any reason at all (especially oil changes). Then after three years and 30K miles, takes it to THE DEALER... to get WIPERS replaced????? (x50 more ?'s) Maybe I'm nuts, but that's enough of a red flag for me. I have never heard of anyone who changes their own oil, who doesn't change their own wipers. To me its more likely, they didn't know ANYTHING about vehicle maintenance and went and got the wipers done because they were bad. Again, just a guess, and I'm trying to find possible problems.

Love the input. Agree that the Carfax does share an interesting timeline. I briefly spoke to the guy that is selling it while passing though. I believe he bought it from auction although I am not positive. Is it possible that the 3rd owner traded it to that Chevy Dealer and the dealer turned around and sold it wholesale? That Chevy dealer is super close to my house and giving them a ring would not be a terrible idea. I've never done anything like this. If I rang up their service department what would I say. Hello there- I was wondering if you could share maintenance records on a vehicle. Here is the VIN?

 

[adriver]

I would think being in lake havasu, and the low miles, tells me they probably are older/retired (low miles because they don't drive it to work). Third owner could have been a snowbird, but I would guess wanted a non-rusted out vehicle since they put on average mileage. They may have hit 100k miles, and thought that it needed to be traded in to not worry about maintenance (which is why the missing oil changes is bothersome). They may have not put anything into it, and let it go 40K miles without changing the oil (which is slim). Do you know if this area has inspections? Could they have done their own maintenance and got an inspection done at the dealer, and just needed wipers to pass??? (just throwing it out there)….


A dealer could have taken it in on trade. The terms are slightly flexible, but its basically 100-120K miles 10-12 years old that a vehicle is eligible for financing. Buy here/pay here places can take it a little farther. Most of that place has inventory looks like its just within the range, and they have all makes. If they did buy it at a dealer auction, they probably got it for half of what they are asking.


As for calling the dealership in the Carfax , yeah: I was looking at a vehicle locally, and the Carfax shows you did some work on it at one point, (on the PA dealer, but it says just the wiper blades). I was hoping you could tell me about the vehicle …… I'm not sure if they can or will tell you, not sure if they would have what it sold for, what if any work was done to it, but it won't hurt to ask... I would just realize they know you're clearly not getting any work done through them (when you call). Just have the vin and dates handy, be polite, know what you want to ask, and know they are always busy.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Thank you all for the replies. I plan on taking it for inspection either Wednesday or Friday of this week (work permitting). I will update you guys accordingly. I was poking around some other threads and the "buying thread" stickied here mentions something called Castech heads and to avoid them. The same thread mentioned they were very prevalent on 04 Tahoe's. Will my mechanic know what these are? How can I look for myself. Someone in that thread had mentioned there is some coding stamped somewhere on the engine?

Thanks again,

Tyler

There's a number stamped on each head--ds is on the right lower, right below the valve cover, ps is lower right, below the valve cover.