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Another option…2011 Chevy Tahoe 85k miles - thoughts?
- Thread starter SFreedom97
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SFreedom97
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Welp, the dang Yukon was sold sight unseen.
Ultimately the distance was too much for me to overcome. Wasn’t going to buy it sight unseen.
I appreciate everyone’s opinions here!
The search continues….. and I did find:
There’s a 2013 Tahoe LTZ a couple of hours away with 52k miles and 2000 engine hours. 1 owner.
$30k. Ugh.
Ultimately the distance was too much for me to overcome. Wasn’t going to buy it sight unseen.
I appreciate everyone’s opinions here!
The search continues….. and I did find:
There’s a 2013 Tahoe LTZ a couple of hours away with 52k miles and 2000 engine hours. 1 owner.
$30k. Ugh.
swathdiver
Full Access Member
If you're not willing to strike fast from afar, you will obviously have to settle for whatever is local to you.
What is the risk from buying from a GM dealership when you can view the CarFax? (I know CarFax is not perfect but have learned to read between the lines.)
SFreedom97
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Agreed about not being willing to strike fast from afar.
This vehicle was not at a GM dealership. It was a smaller privately owned dealer.
swathdiver
Full Access Member
I've bought 3-4 cars from small dealerships in the last ten years and had a good experience with all of them. As with anything, you have to be on your toes. In two cases the salesman were using the vehicle themselves while selling other cars so I reckoned correctly that they had to be in good shape.
petethepug
Michael
No big deal to purchase sight unseen. Put a deposit down via a credit card. Usually, $500. Call a remote vehicle inspection service. Send him out and expect $125-$250. Negotiate based off info from the inspector and fly / drive out and get it. I did that for a TX truck and I'm in CA. Working with (non Mom & Pop) dealerships gives you less of a worry.
Also did it for our 08 YXL Denali that was three hours away. It was traffic that made it difficult to get to the dealer. We had AAA tow the car back that we drove up in since we have the extended tow coverage. The 09 Escalade Plat was purchased from a Lexus dealer and the 08 YXL Denali was from a Mopar dealership.
We got lucky with the Denali because it had a 2nd row 60/40 bench seat no one really cared about in 2014. They're a big deal now because some of them are heated and have full electric tumble. In 2014 the difference in the 07/08 and the 09-14 was $10-40k! Everybody wanted the BT phone and e85 in later models. Now everyone knows the factory BT can be added for just $20-$40 to 07 & 08.
Things kind of reversed. The 07/08/09 don't have AFM cylinder deactivation that can go haywire if the oil changes are not followed. Their value shot up because of that. We lost two other deals on two 07 YXL Denali back in '14. Thankfully we ran into the 08 Denali with the bench and fully loaded. It was the 3rd vehicle we ended up purchasing.
Also did it for our 08 YXL Denali that was three hours away. It was traffic that made it difficult to get to the dealer. We had AAA tow the car back that we drove up in since we have the extended tow coverage. The 09 Escalade Plat was purchased from a Lexus dealer and the 08 YXL Denali was from a Mopar dealership.
We got lucky with the Denali because it had a 2nd row 60/40 bench seat no one really cared about in 2014. They're a big deal now because some of them are heated and have full electric tumble. In 2014 the difference in the 07/08 and the 09-14 was $10-40k! Everybody wanted the BT phone and e85 in later models. Now everyone knows the factory BT can be added for just $20-$40 to 07 & 08.
Things kind of reversed. The 07/08/09 don't have AFM cylinder deactivation that can go haywire if the oil changes are not followed. Their value shot up because of that. We lost two other deals on two 07 YXL Denali back in '14. Thankfully we ran into the 08 Denali with the bench and fully loaded. It was the 3rd vehicle we ended up purchasing.
I could never buy a used car sight unseen, even with a remote inspection. There are just too many things a lot of people don't noticed and most of these remote inspections are probably just mechanical, not inspecting for evidence of a crash not reported on Carfax or crappy paint, and they won't have a lift to check out ball joints and such. There is just too much that could have been done over the years to a used car that would be a deal breaker for me, the main one being crappy paint work. I've looked at cars before that looked like the paint was rolled on in the Home Depot parking lot and other people just can't see it. I can't see how they can't see it when one panel looks nice and shiny and the next looks like a flat orange peel but I guess if you're one of the ones who can't see it, I suppose a remote inspection is just fine. Most dealers will let you put a refundable deposit down to hold it for X days until you can get there and look at it though, I've never had anywhere argue with me about that.
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petethepug
Michael
I should reiterate that I’ve put vehicles on deposit sight unseen and inspected them remotely. Once I arrived with a cashiers check I gave a final look over … then purchased.
Sorry, that’s different than sight unseen, thanks for clarifying.
Sorry, that’s different than sight unseen, thanks for clarifying.
SFreedom97
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Came across a 2014 Yukon XL Denali with only 65k miles on it but the engine hours were at 3695. I feel that's a rather high amount of idling time for the age and low miles. A lot of stop and go traffic, it seems.... Thoughts?
Rough math tells me the avg speed was 17.6 mph.... unless I'm off on how to calculate avg speed
Rough math tells me the avg speed was 17.6 mph.... unless I'm off on how to calculate avg speed
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swathdiver
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City driving, soccor mom car, picked kids up from school, took them practice, groceries, etc. Average speed of 17.6 mph. My pickups had a lifetime average mph of 22 and 23 respectively when we bought them.
I'd still check it out QUICKLY and be ready to deal TODAY! LOL
SFreedom97
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Of course it's in IL and I'm in GA so quick is relative lol, but I agree. Waiting on undercarriage pics since it's a northern car for its lifetime....
swathdiver
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Hopefully it was garage kept and maintained!
I would take a high mileage, dry climate or southern car over a low mileage salt belt car any day of the week and twice on Sunday. The problems that rust creates are just so pernicious and usually hard to fix.
SFreedom97
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Agreed after I saw the undercarriage pics that were just sent to me..... moving along to the next truck!
SFreedom97
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Ok, gents…. I have another contender for the braintrust.
2011 Tahoe LTZ with 855xx miles and 3017 engine hours. One owner. 2 hairline cracks on front dash per usual. Car spent entire life in southern Indiana on border with Kentucky.
Interior is immaculate. Seats look like they were barely sat in. Even have the factory headphones still in the box.
$22k
2011 Tahoe LTZ with 855xx miles and 3017 engine hours. One owner. 2 hairline cracks on front dash per usual. Car spent entire life in southern Indiana on border with Kentucky.
Interior is immaculate. Seats look like they were barely sat in. Even have the factory headphones still in the box.
$22k
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SFreedom97
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Here are some interior pics. The vehicle is 5 hours north of me, of course. Smh. Lol.
Anything about the 2011s that are watch outs? Good? Bad?
Thanks again for all of the knowledge here.
Anything about the 2011s that are watch outs? Good? Bad?
Thanks again for all of the knowledge here.
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Looks real clean and remarkably rust free for that area.
swathdiver
Full Access Member
It's got heated and ventilated seats. Looks nice and clean. Is this a 4x4? Does it have 3.08 highway gears or 3.42 towing gears? Ask for a photo of the glovebox RPO Sheet.
MY 2011 was the last of what I call the intermediate flight (Flight 3) of the GMT900s. They got the Bluetooth connectivity for the phone, 6-speed transmission, side blind zone alert, ventilated seats and the single speed transfer case for those equipped with 3.08 gears, great for snow type weather and maximizing fuel economy.
MY 2011 was the last of what I call the intermediate flight (Flight 3) of the GMT900s. They got the Bluetooth connectivity for the phone, 6-speed transmission, side blind zone alert, ventilated seats and the single speed transfer case for those equipped with 3.08 gears, great for snow type weather and maximizing fuel economy.
Personally, I would not buy the 5.3L. Especially since an Escalade or Yukon Denali are generally the same price as a Tahoe LTZ (the Tahoe was actually more expensive when I was buying). The 5.3L is underpowered for me in this body style but the main reason is the oil consumption issue. It is just too prevalent (even if the oil was changed, it just kicks the can down the road) and the only way to fix it is to replace the pistons and rings. The 10-14 6.2L has AFM so they can still have the lifter failure but the 5.3L can have that issue on top of the oil consumption.
swathdiver
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The Tahoe name certainly commands a higher price that is for sure. Guess I'm lucky with my 5.3, no oil consumption issue except when my wife drives it!
