Prices are high but what are your thoughts on this '09 LTZ?

[DavidZ71]

I've been looking mostly for a second gen Tahoe but stumbled upon a 2009 LTZ. It has 202k miles, which makes me a bit wary. Interior looks very, very clean for its age and mileage. Second row captain's chairs. Exterior is also very clean - no dents, scrapes, etc.

Some recent maintenance:
-Like new Michelin Defender LTX tires
-Front and rear brake rotors replaced
-New battery
-TC and front diff rebuilt
-Tranny and rear diff fluid changed
-4wd front diff solenoid replaced
-Driver side motor mount replaced
-Engine/tranny cooler hydraulic lines replaced
-PS pump and pressure line replaced
-Oil pan gasket replaced
-New AC Delco plugs and wires

The seller is asking $9k. I only drive 7-8k miles per year but I'd need it to be reliable for long trips and snowy conditions. My main concern would be the tranny.

What are your thoughts?

 

[iamdub]

I've been looking mostly for a second gen Tahoe but stumbled upon a 2009 LTZ. It has 202k miles, which makes me a bit wary. Interior looks very, very clean for its age and mileage. Second row captain's chairs. Exterior is also very clean - no dents, scrapes, etc.

Some recent maintenance:
-Like new Michelin Defender LTX tires
-Front and rear brake rotors replaced
-New battery
-TC and front diff rebuilt
-Tranny and rear diff fluid changed
-4wd front diff solenoid replaced
-Driver side motor mount replaced
-Engine/tranny cooler hydraulic lines replaced
-PS pump and pressure line replaced
-Oil pan gasket replaced
-New AC Delco plugs and wires

The seller is asking $9k. I only drive 7-8k miles per year but I'd need it to be reliable for long trips and snowy conditions. My main concern would be the tranny.

What are your thoughts?

Is the seller the original owner? Are any other service records available? Sounds like it was well cared-for. Those are some high dollar maintenance items that seemed to have been performed with quality parts. For all of that at 9K, I wouldn't worry so much about the mileage if the engine and trans is quiet, smooth and strong. If you buy it, there are a few relatively cheap and easy things you could do to further increase the engine's reliability, mainly disable AFM. Other than that, you may have some suspension work to do. But all of that is "lesser than" compared to the 4WD system work it has already had.

 

[wsteele]

The price is decent for this market, in fact, probably considered a good deal for the condition you describe.

Although it sounds like it was well maintained (at least well documented), in the end, even with an expert mechanic in Chevy Tahoe's looking it over (something I would recommend), with 200K on the clock, nobody can tell you something major won't crop uo, like the need for a reman tranny.

 

[Just Fishing]

LTZ had the option to opt for the 6.2 right?
Check, that's a good option if it has it vs the 5.3.

 

[OR VietVet]

It is likely a decent deal at that mileage and with all that work done and you expecting trans work anyway, get the AFM disabled and motor on. I drive them and newer and just never got any comfort from the seats.

 

[DavidZ71]

Thanks for the advice guys. The seller is the second owner. I'll see what other maintenance docs he has and go from there.

 

[petethepug]

LTZ had the option to opt for the 6.2 right?
Check, that's a good option if it has it vs the 5.3.

Ears Perk ... 6.2L means no AFM


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Bill 1960]

A vehicle that age anything is possible, that’s just part of rolling the dice. The only thing that raises any concern reading your post is the seller has spent a boatload of cash and now he’s selling. There’s a bit of inconsistency in the narrative there, because usually someone doing all that maintenance intended to keep it.

I would be inquiring into his reasons for selling and trying to figure out if he’s just tired of the bills, or maybe the mechanic told him the trans is next, or??? Of course it could be anything that changed in their personal circumstances, you never know.

 

[DavidZ71]

The seller has owned it since 160k and for the past five years. The repairs have been done over that time period (the plugs/wires and tires were very recent). Seller says he had the engine compression tested when the plugs were replaced and the shop told him the compression was better than they'd expect even after a rebuild. He's selling it to upgrade to something bigger for his family.

 

[wsteele]

The seller has owned it since 160k and for the past five years. The repairs have been done over that time period (the plugs/wires and tires were very recent). Seller says he had the engine compression tested when the plugs were replaced and the shop told him the compression was better than they'd expect even after a rebuild. He's selling it to upgrade to something bigger for his family.

It is a good price. If it fits your needs, I would take it to a competent shop and have them do a prepurchase inspection. If they didn't see any red flags, I would probably buy it.

As far as the risk of needing a transmission soon, frankly, at that price, the $2500 it will cost you if it did take a dump 10K miles down the road, you will still be money ahead of almost any other option. The thing is, you could buy something with a lot less miles and have it need a tranny right away. My Yukon needed a reman tranny at 76K miles, not typical, but it happens.

Send the ECU to a tuner and for $50 he can turn AFM off and you are jake.

 

[avalonandl]

Thats actually very good price. Drive it and take on a long test ride. Do corners, brake test, etc. Chk all lights power door switches etc.

 

[FelinaWI]

Newbie here - I hope you do not mind me asking -- What is AFM? I just purchased a 2013 Chevy Tahoe LTZ with 95k miles. I found this forum and saw this message and wondered if its something I have or need to have done to mine?

 

[OR VietVet]

Newbie here - I hope you do not mind me asking -- What is AFM? I just purchase a 2013 Chevy Tahoe LTZ with 95k miles. I found this forum and saw this message and wondered if its something I have or need to have done to mine?

Hopefully a mod will move this to the Introduction section. Welcome to the forum from Oregon.

To answer your question. Lots of threads here about disabling AFM. My year rig does not have it so I don't have to deal with it but others here will chime in. Is best to join and introduce yourself in the Introduction section and then start a thread for your rig in the 2007 to 2014 section, about the AFM, and then you will get more responses.

No biggee, you will learn and the mods will help.

 

[FelinaWI]

Hopefully a mod will move this to the Introduction section. Welcome to the forum from Oregon.

To answer your question. Lots of threads here about disabling AFM. My year rig does not have it so I don't have to deal with it but others here will chime in. Is best to join and introduce yourself in the Introduction section and then start a thread for your rig in the 2007 to 2014 section, about the AFM, and then you will get more responses.

No biggee, you will learn and the mods will help.

hi PNW VietVet - thank you so much for the info I will go introduce myself. I truly appreciate it! Have a wonderful week/weekend!

 

[wsteele]

Newbie here - I hope you do not mind me asking -- What is AFM? I just purchased a 2013 Chevy Tahoe LTZ with 95k miles. I found this forum and saw this message and wondered if its something I have or need to have done to mine?

AFM is short for Active Fuel Management, also known as DoD (displacement on demand) and Cylinder Deactivation (I think the way GM refers to it internally). It is a software and hardware design that allows the engine to drop into 4 cylinder mode when loads are light.

AFM in later models (like yours) seems less problematic as earlier years (like mine, 2007). The most common issue is an AFM lifter collapsing causing that cylinder to misfire permanently. Later models have modification to the lifters and other parts of the system to make it more durable. You can turn it off in software a number of ways and also eliminate it in hardware, basically turning your engine into a non-AFM version.

I think if I were in your shoes, I would disable it in software, there are a number of ways to do that, with various pros and cons to each and forget about it.

 

[Miami-Dade]

The seller has owned it since 160k and for the past five years. The repairs have been done over that time period (the plugs/wires and tires were very recent). Seller says he had the engine compression tested when the plugs were replaced and the shop told him the compression was better than they'd expect even after a rebuild. He's selling it to upgrade to something bigger for his family.

I would not buy it unless a independent mechanic or a Mobile mechanic checked it out from top to bottom just to be sure because I generally do not believe anything I hear and very little of what I see.

But that is just me.

With that said the price is good if all checks out. Hopefully it was serviced every 5K miles.

 

[EvergreenZ71]

I’m still a newbie on here too but I don’t think it was confirmed that it was a 5.3L vs 6.2L which IMHO makes a huge difference on the value at that mileage.

 

[OR VietVet]

I’m still a newbie on here too but I don’t think it was confirmed that it was a 5.3L vs 6.2L which IMHO makes a huge difference on the value at that mileage.

Good question.

 

[DavidZ71]

It is the 5.3. Here is a photo of the compression results... Does this look healthy for the 5.3? It was done very recently.

http://imgur.com/a/6HMqql7

 

[OR VietVet]

That looks good. Slight differences on driver's side but is ok.