Thinking about buying '04 Z71 Tahoe....thoughts?

[Monkeyman]

I've owned a few GM SUVs (I currently drive an '04 S10 Blazer) and I'm looking for a full size SUV now. I've found an '04 Z71 Tahoe but have a few questions about it. It's a 1 owner (good) truck that, for the most part, seems to be in good condition. It's 600 miles away so I can't look at it myself. I've got a few pics. The current owner says it was only in a minor accident that took out the front "mud flap" and "side step-up bar" (I assume he means the factory nerf bar). It only has 82k miles (very good).

Now for the bad. Current defects are: small tear in the side of the drivers (leather) seat ($200 to replace), passenger front wheel has the clear coat coming off (ugly but probably safe...no idea what it would cost to replace) and....LOTS of surface rust underneath (been an upstate NY truck all it's life). The rust bothers me. My Blazer has been an Indiana truck all its life and has the same type of underside surface rust as this Tahoe seems to have. No "rot" but it's difficult to remove/adjust any suspension parts. From the pics I have, assume the Tahoe is in the same state.

I'd love to find a good running, mostly great condition Z71 for a good price but what do ya'll think about this underside surface rust? The truck is loaded (everything but navigation which I wouldn't want anyway) and the seller says it all works as it should. What would you give for this?

 

[Monkeyman]

Couple more pics including the bad wheel.

 

[JochenWoern]

Looks pretty clean from what I can see in the pictures, other than the underbody rust, which I would imagine to be normal on that side of the country (I am just spoiled in CA).

I would think you could put the truck up on a rack and clean most of this rust off and refinish the underside. Another member on here has done this and it turned out very nice, unfortunately I can no longer remember his name, but there are pics on this exact thread if you go a few months back. I remember the Tahoe being blue.

Refinishing the wheel or finding some clean ones on Craigslist should be a very easy task.

What is the asking price of this truck? If all checks out as described and the truck is otherwise taken care off and clean, with the low miles I am thinking around 6-7k, this is what it would cost here but the market may be different elsewhere.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[sbubbaklein]

looks pretty nice, what can you get it for?

 

[cmc76]

i bought the identical truck about 6 weeks ago, but with higher miles. the rust im seeing in the picture wouldnt bother me. ive lived in IL and now WI. its unavoidable.
the first thing i did to mine was the drivers seat and foam from the seat shop. wasnt cheap but im happy i did and it was an easy task. as far as im concerned its probably the most comfortable vehicle ive had. i like it better than a newwer grand cherokee.
i think with the miles if you can get it at a $ you like, the rust shoudnt be a factor.

 

[Monkeyman]

Thanks a lot for the replies, guys! It's an eBay auction with a no reserve starting price of $9k. This is a relist as the seller didn't get any hits the first time around. After 5 days of a 7 day auction, he still hasn't had any bids. I'm thinking I'll let the auction expire then offer $7k and see what he says. I don't want to offend the guy but I'd like to get it for less than $9k. I think I'd be happy settling on about $7500-$8k. My budget allows for $9k but then I have to figure in shipping (I'm NOT driving back from upstate NY in this weather, especially in a new vehicle where I don't know the characteristics), a new(er) wheel and the seat fix. For this, I'd like to stay under $10k including the fixes, shipping, sales tax, etc. If I don't get this, there will be others out there. I'm not in a hurry as I just put $400 into my Blazer to get it ready for winter. (It's a $3500 truck but I'll probably give it away to a needy family once I get something else.)

---------- Post added at 11:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:40 PM ----------

I would think you could put the truck up on a rack and clean most of this rust off and refinish the underside. Another member on here has done this and it turned out very nice, unfortunately I can no longer remember his name, but there are pics on this exact thread if you go a few months back. I remember the Tahoe being blue.

If you (or anyone) can find this thread, please post up. I don't even know what to search for.

 

[JochenWoern]

Thanks a lot for the replies, guys! It's an eBay auction with a no reserve starting price of $9k. This is a relist as the seller didn't get any hits the first time around. After 5 days of a 7 day auction, he still hasn't had any bids. I'm thinking I'll let the auction expire then offer $7k and see what he says. I don't want to offend the guy but I'd like to get it for less than $9k. I think I'd be happy settling on about $7500-$8k. My budget allows for $9k but then I have to figure in shipping (I'm NOT driving back from upstate NY in this weather, especially in a new vehicle where I don't know the characteristics), a new(er) wheel and the seat fix. For this, I'd like to stay under $10k including the fixes, shipping, sales tax, etc. If I don't get this, there will be others out there. I'm not in a hurry as I just put $400 into my Blazer to get it ready for winter. (It's a $3500 truck but I'll probably give it away to a needy family once I get something else.)

---------- Post added at 11:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:40 PM ----------



If you (or anyone) can find this thread, please post up. I don't even know what to search for.

I searched for you.

Member name is MUDFROG, thread is named "my new to me TAHOE"
There is a nice before and after picture of the work he did on the underbody and it turned out pretty nice.

You may want to send him a PM in case you are looking for more detail.

Hope this helped.

 

[JochenWoern]

I searched for you.

Member name is MUDFROG, thread is named "my new to me TAHOE"
There is a nice before and after picture of the work he did on the underbody and it turned out pretty nice.

You may want to send him a PM in case you are looking for more detail.

Hope this helped.

Here is the thread with the pictures:

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61386

 

[Monkeyman]

Gracias!

 

[JochenWoern]

Gracias!

Denada