Need advice on choosing a Tahoe

[slowride]

Hi, first post and first Chevy purchase. Found two 06 police pkg 2wd Tahoes for sale locally and thought this would be a good place to get some experienced advice on choosing the best one. Both are equipped identically and I couldnt tell much difference when I drove them. Ive got a work vehicle for daily use so this would for weekend use mostly.
First one was a highway patrol vehicle and has 180k miles, its really clean inside and out and the underside has no leaks and is super clean. Has maintenance records from when new and hasnt had any major issues. Priced at $4500.
Other one has 150k miles on it, dont know what agency had it and it has no maintenance records with it. Transmission looks to have been rebuilt/replaced as the casing looks new. Driver seat shows some wear and the body has some minor dings and paint scratches. No leaks underneath but is dirty like its seen some off road play. Priced at $5000.
Normally I would go with the lowest mileage but wanted to see what you guys think. Thanks

 

[MrBalll]

Look here first.

Very hard to say here which is best.
My Patrol unit is city driven, but it is driven hard occasionally when rushing across the city.
A Highway car will be driven very hard at first to catch someone going 75. Then stopped, then rushing to 75 again. Plus they would probably pursue so it will always be in high RPMs is my guess.
If it's a County unit, sounding like it from your description, then yeah a lot of offroad and driving really fast to go all the way across the county.

Tuff to say unless you go watch the agency drive around that owned it. Might be from a peaceful city that doesn't have crime and they just casually drive around all day.

 

[SevenFortyOne]

This is a tough call. Based on what you have told us here I'd lean slightly toward the Highway unit.
You didn't say but I'd assume the highway truck was owned and maintained by the state or at least a larger agency than the second truck. This may depend on your state but in my experience a state vehicle will have been better maintained as state maintenance programs are better funded and staffed with more qualified mechanics than the local agencies.

I'd also wager that a highway patrol officer has been trained on how to drive a little better than a local officer. In other words, even through that highway truck may have been driven hard it may have not have been as abused as much.

 

[slowride]

Thanks for the replies, good food for thought. I looked them over again today and did notice on the one with 180k the oil cooler lines have been seeping where the metal lines from the radiator are crimped to the rubber hose, doesnt look like something major though. I guess my question here would be is a trans with 180k on it that has had regular 15k fluid and filter changes still be good for a while or would it be better to go with the one that appears to have a rebuilt trans, although I dont know what was done to it just that its been out and cleaned up?

 

[Maximus1]

If you haven't made the purchase yet I would suggest you look at the 8th digit of the vin number. If it's a Z it's a Flex fuel model and these typically have a little more power than the plane Jane 5.3L. If it's a 5.3L look at the three digit casting number on the head. It's near where you pour the oil in. The exception on the Flex fuel model is if the heads are stamped 243 or 799. This is a game changer because these heads flow a lot more and have more power than the Flex fuel

 

[slowride]

Both have the z in the vin for flex fuel like you mentioned. Both have 706 casting numbers on the heads. Based on what reading I had done I was a little leery if they might be the castech heads people were saying might not be desireable Dont know if the possible coolant leak issue would have already happened by now with the mileage they have but i would hate to buy one and have to replace heads on it

 

[08HoeCD]

No offense to lovers/owners of police vehicles, but if you are concerned about wear and/or longevity, perhaps you should look at a civilian-owned vehicle instead. Vehicles driven by law enforcement often endure long cycles of idling, heavy acceleration & braking, etc. While they are often maintained well by their department or agency, the heavy use can still mean a shorter and/or rougher overall useful life.

And don't forget, police vehicles are often hit with all manner of human bodily fluids during their tours of duty. No big deal for some, but a gross-out to others.

Good luck with what you choose!