What year Tahoe is recommended? I have up to $14k to spend, would like to keep it to $12k tops but can go higher if needed.

2004 or 2005 maybe?

you could probably get the next body style up


the GMT800 goes from 2000 1/2- 2006

and the GMT900 goes from 2007-2014


remember the yukon and tahoe are the same thing, ones GMC the other is chevy

So you're saying go for a Yukon or?

I gotta look into these, don't know much about them.

This post was edited by SimCity on Feb 28 2014 10:59am

they are essentially the same thing with different badges/logos/trim


Yukon is a Tahoe
Tahoe is a Yukon

Most common things I replace on these are the electric/clutch combination fan, thermostat, and the bearing for front transfer, and the Variable Timing solenoid because people are idiots and don't change their oil so the screens get clogged.

You a mechanic? What would your opinion on them be? Versus something like a Tahoe.

to get the tahoe or yukon with a v8 and be better off. im a previous owner of a trailblazer so i actually drove one around all the time. get the tahoe or yukon you wont be sorry.

Yes, I am a master tech, but I mostly work on cars that come from auction, and they are treated like garbage. These cars can last a long time if properly treated, and they can last a very short time if heavily abused (like most cars that come from auction). Where as something like a Toyota will last a long time regardless. Overall these are pretty decent cars, and there really isn't much difference (mechanically speaking) between one of them and the Tahoe. It really comes down to personal taste. I'm not really a fan of real big, but that is probably my personal opinion. If you get one with 60k-90K, you should really be fine. The only things that really fail are the things I mentioned. The solenoid runs like ~200 installed, same for the thermostat. Fan is a bit pricier I believe those are usually billed around ~500 installed. The bearing for the front transfer is a bit pricier but still under ~1000, you will typically hear one going bad if you put it in 4wd and drive it. We don't have emissions testing in the part of the country that I am in, but the most common codes thrown are p0016/17 which are for the solenoid or for simple oil change (usually.)

My biggest advice would be to save ~$2000 or so for repairs that you may also end up not needing.

A couple of other things that go bad on these that is worth mentioning - The oil pressure sending unit, and the gauge cluster. I mention these specifically because the book time (What you will be charged at a shop) on the oil sending unit is at least 3 hours because it requires pulling the intake manifold. You can, however, actually replace it without pulling the intake with basic tools. The gauge cluster goes bad on 2003-2006 ALL chevrolet/gm. They used shit stepper motors for them. At the dealer, the only "fix" is to install a new gauge assembly AND have it programmed for your car. In reality you can order stepper motors to rebuild your cluster for about 6x $5 and solder them in yourself, or even just send your cluster out to a rebuild service that will do it for about $90.

The only really "expensive" repair you would ever need to worry about is as someone mentioned, the transmission. I personally have not seen very many of them go bad, but it is an issue.

What year TB did you drive?



Very good info, thanks.

This post was edited by SimCity on Mar 3 2014 10:01am

my roommate has an 08 LT. hes never had a problem with it. so far atleast.

and today actually im going to pick up my mom and take her to look at an 05 LT.

they are pretty nice, but im not sure on the tranny issues that they get.