Shopping for a Tahoe

[ITguy101]

First off, I apologize for the newbie questions.
I am looking for a bigger replacement for my wife's jeep.. Both our cars were rather unexpectedly totaled while parked in front of our house...Long story.
We are pretty set on the Tahoe/Yukon in the 00-06 body style but I had a couple questions I was hoping I could get answered here.

1. Looking for a 4x4 for sure, do all the 4x4 equipped models come with locking diff's? If not is there an easy way to check to see if it is equipped? The jeep was a peg leg and it annoyed the hell out of me, 4wd is pretty useless with non locking diffs imho.

2. Are there any big issues I should look for when shopping around? I hear the transmissions can be trouble... Anything else that would be good to keep an eye out for?

 

[General Stalin]

Well, for the locking diff question, open the glove box and check out the option codes on the sticker. If you find one that says "G80" then it has a locking differential, otherwise it's an open differential.

As for what to look for, well obviously the lower miles the better, and when you test drive it really play with the tranny. Cycle through all the gears make sure it isn't too sluggish when it shifts, try it in reverse, all that jazz. If it has over 150,000 miles and it is still on the original tranny, then it may be due for a rebuild/replace in the near future. Aside form that just look at other standard things, make sure the front rubber axle boots are all intact, brakes work well, check out any corrosion on the frame, running quality, etc.

These are generally very reliable trucks and there isn't too much to worry about aside from the tranny, and even those are pretty solid unless you beat on them (racing, towing, whatever).

 

[ITguy101]

Thanks General,
Appreciate the help.