New to the forum, but not at making terrible decisions

[TahoeWoe]

Hi Forum, I appreciate the wealth of knowledge that's shared amongst this community.

** I am going to preface this thread by acknowledging that the situation I am in is of my own doing; I was fully aware of the gamble.**
I recently purchased a wholesale 2015 Tahoe with 206K on it; I drove the vehicle initially, it was EXTREMELY clean inside, and I liked it well enough to have a pre-purchase inspection done by a local, respected Chevy dealership. The dealership was great to work with, and I felt like they went above and beyond after speaking with the service adviser. He went over the inspection report detail by detail, and the only noteworthy items were a passenger side seat heater not operational, and they suggested changing all fluids, which was always part of the plan. The adviser even went so far as to tell me that his head transmission tech went on the ride-along and voiced no concerns. I was fully expecting a laundry list of items that needed to be addressed with an accompanying estimate. But. The rig passed with flying colors. They even provided the (CLEAN) Car Fax and all of the GM service history.

So. I bought her.$8500 out the door.

Fast forward 5 days. I made an appointment at a local shop to have an LOF and a transmission fluid swap. Imagine my surprise when the shop called to say the vehicle is slipping in all gears, the fluid is burnt, and I need tie rods and ball joints. They quoted me just over 7K in repairs, including a reman transmission.
I'm not sure what the trajectory of the thing should be - I almost feel like I need a 3rd opinion? I have the money to throw at it, so that's not my hesitation, but even if I put a new transmission in the ole girl, she's still a high-mileage SUV that I don't particularly love. However, I am replacing a 2003 Yukon with 287K and still climbing - so I'm certainly not accustomed to the bells and whistles, and it's not like I've been driving my new problem child.

There's a repo auction site near us, and I ran comps on what Tahoes/Yukons in similar condition are bringing. I could damn near break even on the thing, but that feels like a shady thing to do.


Thoughts?

 

[Tahoe14]

I would get a third opinion.

 

[OR VietVet]

I would take the documented concerns from the 2nd shop and go back to the dealer and see what they say. THAT is a 3rd opinion and since they were so detailed with you the first time, hopefully they will let you be shown what is going on while vehicle is on the lift.

Afterall, did you feel any steering and/or suspension problems? was the local shop open to showing you the bad parts? Did you notice any transmission slippage? IMO, I would do the transmission fluid and filter change and see what happens. If you still have the "slippage problems", then you can shell out $ for a reman transmission.

I do so much work out of my driveway and could be busy just with the local shop "finds".

 

[Doubeleive]

I don't know but a 2015 at 8500 is a steal.
my advice is in the future is to try your best to perform your own inspections, burnt fluid is easy to see

 

[Fless]

What does the fluid look like at this point? Can you verify that it's not looking good? Did the original inspection have written details on the condition of the fluid?

 

[Miami-Dade]

@TahoeWoe Moved you here for your issues.

I would get a third opinion.

I agree with this!

You might want to put your location on here as someone here might know a good place to go in your neck of the woods for a third opinion.

Welcome from Miami&NYC!

 

[TahoeWoe]

I would take the documented concerns from the 2nd shop and go back to the dealer and see what they say. THAT is a 3rd opinion and since they were so detailed with you the first time, hopefully they will let you be shown what is going on while vehicle is on the lift.

Afterall, did you feel any steering and/or suspension problems? was the local shop open to showing you the bad parts? Did you notice any transmission slippage? IMO, I would do the transmission fluid and filter change and see what happens. If you still have the "slippage problems", then you can shell out $ for a reman transmission.

I do so much work out of my driveway and could be busy just with the local shop "finds".

That was my initial train of thought - reach out to the dealership and see what they have to say. I personally thought that it drove beautifully, the steering felt tight; there was no shimmy or pull. I am fairly accustomed to driving a base model 3/4 ton truck that rides a bit like a lumber wagon, so in comparison, the suspension felt what I would expect a SUV of that level to feel like.

I will say that I did feel what felt like slippage/gear hunting after picking it up from the local shop - RPMs rev, and then it smooths out. But it was so intermittent, certainly not the "slipping in all gears" that was reported, however it's not like I went out and ram jammed on the ole girl to verify.

 

[TahoeWoe]

What does the fluid look like at this point? Can you verify that it's not looking good? Did the original inspection have written details on the condition of the fluid?

It's listed from the dealership as "is at the prescribed level and free of contamination and/or discoloration" - I actually was a GM service writer/advisor in the early 2000's and while I wouldn't have classified the fluid as dark, it was due for a change. The local shop's description is "fluid severely burnt, pump whining, slipping in all gears"

 

[TahoeWoe]

@TahoeWoe Moved you here for your issues.


I agree with this!

You might want to put your location on here as someone here might know a good place to go in your neck of the woods for a third opinion.

Welcome from Miami&NYC!

Good call! I was going to add that and forgot. I'm in SW Michigan. I'd appreciate any reliable options for a third opinion or resource.

 

[TahoeWoe]

I don't know but a 2015 at 8500 is a steal.
my advice is in the future is to try your best to perform your own inspections, burnt fluid is easy to see

I am unfortunately not savvy enough to perform my own inspection to the degree a wholesale rig needs to be inspected, hence the reason I opted for a dealership inspection. I looked at the fluid, and I wouldn't have classified it as burnt. It wasn't new fluid by any stretch, but certainly not burnt.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

If you like the truck, and you already stated that you have the money, then I suggest that you work toward fixing her up to the point where you feel comfortable and safe when driving it. Afterall, at that price there is an expectation that you're going to need to dump some money into it.

 

[Marky Dissod]

... a 2015 at $8500 is a steal.

...
shop called ... quoted me just over 7K in repairs, including a reman transmission.

How about a 2015 @ $16,000?

 

[Doubeleive]

I am unfortunately not savvy enough to perform my own inspection to the degree a wholesale rig needs to be inspected, hence the reason I opted for a dealership inspection. I looked at the fluid, and I wouldn't have classified it as burnt. It wasn't new fluid by any stretch, but certainly not burnt.

you can learn, all you need is a flashlight and a basic scanner, the scanner will tell you if the sensors are all ready or if someone just reset the system trying to hide a code. the rest is pretty much visual and listening. Test driving. A test drive should involve speed bumps and highway driving. turning in full circles, etc.
the scanner will also show you if there are historical codes.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Every test drive I've ever done, I do this thing that scares the seller a lil bit:
I turn on EVERYTHING ELSE, BEFORE starting the car while rolling down all the windows. Poor man's electrical test.

And yes, a test drive should be a wee bit harder / more fun than a normal drive - it's a TEST drive, you're supposed to put it to the TEST.
If it can't handle being driven by someone running a few min late, then those problems need to be found.

 

[Doubeleive]

How about a 2015 @ $16,000?

how many miles? we bought the wifes 2016 @94k for $24k that was 3 years ago
I should note we shopped around specifically for k2's and every singe one except the one we bought and one other one had burnt fluid.
the other one that had good fluid, started for a test drive we made it 5 feet and it died and wouldn't restart. lol
we ended up with a 1 owner locally owned and service at the purchased dealer it's whole life. We got lucky it was on the lot for 1 day

 

[Doubeleive]

Every test drive I've ever done, I do this thing that scares the seller a lil bit:
I turn on EVERYTHING ELSE, BEFORE starting the car while rolling down all the windows. Poor man's electrical test.

And yes, a test drive should be a wee bit harder / more fun than a normal drive - it's a TEST drive, you're supposed to put it to the TEST.
If it can't handle being driven by someone running a few min late, then those problems need to be found.

oh ya the saleman get scared when I am test driving lol, they look like they are in need of new skibby's

 

[TahoeWoe]

If you like the truck, and you already stated that you have the money, then I suggest that you work toward fixing her up to the point where you feel comfortable and safe when driving it. Afterall, at that price there is an expectation that you're going to need to dump some money into it.

I *think* I like it enough? I dig the styling of it, and I truly don't mind throwing some money at it. I've made peace with the fun upgrade budget going to boring drivetrain components. My biggest fear is that I get her dialed in; I hate the damn thing, and I'm underwater on it.

 

[Doubeleive]

I *think* I like it enough? I dig the styling of it, and I truly don't mind throwing some money at it. I've made peace with the fun upgrade budget going to boring drivetrain components. My biggest fear is that I get her dialed in; I hate the damn thing, and I'm underwater on it.

got pics? what area is this from, any rust? looks ok from the 1 pic, but.....

 

[ReaperHWK]

Jeez. If you buy a car with over 200k miles it’s a bad decision all around. Pretty much buying a vehicle on its last leg with everything about to go!

Good luck

 

[SaintMiles]

2 things:
1. I believe you will like the new model more than your 2003.
2. Do not ever go back to that "local shop" that ruined your transmission in order to try to sell you a new one.

P.S. to the Chrysler guy "Reaper" I think, these 15-20 yukons go 200k and beyond easy. I understand how you might be skeptical about that, being a dodge guy and all...