Buying either a 2008, 2009, or 2010 PPV Tahoe..need advice please!

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Jathur02

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2009 4wd DVD/backup camera- 99,000 miles with 297 engine hours showing. Has this been reset possibly..? wasn't sure if this could be correct somehow.

2009 4wd - 85,000 miles with 555 engine hours showing. Wasn't sure if this would be accurate or reset possibly as well.

2010 2wd - 72,000 miles with 3209 engine hours showing. Seems like quite a bit, but wasn't sure if this was average or not. police spotlight attached.

These are all Chevrolet Tahoes, it looks like the 2010 2wd was the only police owned Tahoe, since it has the spotlight on it. The other Tahoes were known as FBI/or government owned Tahoes with no police lights or holes for police lights anywhere. I had a 2005 Tahoe that was totaled from someone pulling out in front of me texting and I wanted to upgrade to something a little nicer as a daily driver that can handle 3 kids as well. I appreciate any advice you could give me before I purchase something this week. Thanks in advance!
 

GreyStone

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the 4wd will have a nicer ride - as the 2wd's have lowered and stiffened suspensions. Take a long test drive and make sure you can live with the ride harshness. Pay particular attention to the brakes and transmission as they both see a lot of abuse in police service. Some police cars come with non-working rear door handles and locks, make sure you know what you are buying.
 
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Jathur02

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the 4wd will have a nicer ride - as the 2wd's have lowered and stiffened suspensions. Take a long test drive and make sure you can live with the ride harshness. Pay particular attention to the brakes and transmission as they both see a lot of abuse in police service. Some police cars come with non-working rear door handles and locks, make sure you know what you are buying.

Ok, do you think the hours are normal for these types of mileage? I'm planning to fly up this week and drive one back, so I just want to make sure I'm making a good purchase and it's a good idea to get one. They are all white with black wheels as well, a little information I left out of the original post.
 

GreyStone

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as expected the 2wd was most likely a patrol car and has the most hours. If your lucky the others may have had an easy life transporting agents to and from airports and the like. The worst 4wd's come from Border Patrol - they beat the hell out of their trucks. The best were usually Marshall service, FBI, Airport security, park ranger etc. It's hard to judge service hours - best test is just to drive them, you'll know if they don't feel right. If your not able to get them at a significant discount then your better off getting the regular version as they have more standard equipment and easier to trace service records.
 
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Jathur02

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I think they mentioned that one or two of the 4wd Tahoes were used by border patrol at some point. The others are listed as federal agency vehicles, so I'm trying to pinpoint what exactly. Do you think the mileage and engine hours are fairly normal or ideal for each of these? Thanks again for all of the replies so far.
 

GreyStone

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I'm not really a good judge of engine hours or what is normal - they seem kind of low to me - but I am not a good source of info for that question - best of luck.
 

wjburken

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2009 4wd DVD/backup camera- 99,000 miles with 297 engine hours showing. Has this been reset possibly..? wasn't sure if this could be correct somehow.

2009 4wd - 85,000 miles with 555 engine hours showing. Wasn't sure if this would be accurate or reset possibly as well.

2010 2wd - 72,000 miles with 3209 engine hours showing. Seems like quite a bit, but wasn't sure if this was average or not. police spotlight attached.

These are all Chevrolet Tahoes, it looks like the 2010 2wd was the only police owned Tahoe, since it has the spotlight on it. The other Tahoes were known as FBI/or government owned Tahoes with no police lights or holes for police lights anywhere. I had a 2005 Tahoe that was totaled from someone pulling out in front of me texting and I wanted to upgrade to something a little nicer as a daily driver that can handle 3 kids as well. I appreciate any advice you could give me before I purchase something this week. Thanks in advance!

Let’s do the math:
99,000 miles in 297 hours is an average of 333 mph
85,000 miles in 555 hours is an average of 153 mph
72,000 miles in 3209 hours is an average of 22 mph

The first two seem like a reset happened. The third seems reasonable.
 

GreyStone

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Let’s do the math:
99,000 miles in 297 hours is an average of 333 mph
85,000 miles in 555 hours is an average of 153 mph
72,000 miles in 3209 hours is an average of 22 mph

The first two seem like a reset happened. The third seems reasonable.
Stable Genius!
 
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Jathur02

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Let’s do the math:
99,000 miles in 297 hours is an average of 333 mph
85,000 miles in 555 hours is an average of 153 mph
72,000 miles in 3209 hours is an average of 22 mph

The first two seem like a reset happened. The third seems reasonable.

Stable Genius!

I figured that's what it was, but this is my first time looking at Chevrolet Tahoe PPV's, so I didn't think that they would swap out the engine or anything like that, and then reset the hours after the swap. I guess they reset the hours to make it look better once they are auctioned off? I believe the one with 72,000 miles was a border patrol SUV in Texas, because I'm still seeing dust in the engine compartment, etc. I'm leaning towards the Tahoe with 99,000 miles, which was an actual police SUV down south somewhere, but is that a good idea/choice? Appreciate the opinions.
 

GreyStone

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I figured that's what it was, but this is my first time looking at Chevrolet Tahoe PPV's, so I didn't think that they would swap out the engine or anything like that, and then reset the hours after the swap. I guess they reset the hours to make it look better once they are auctioned off? I believe the one with 72,000 miles was a border patrol SUV in Texas, because I'm still seeing dust in the engine compartment, etc. I'm leaning towards the Tahoe with 99,000 miles, which was an actual police SUV down south somewhere, but is that a good idea/choice? Appreciate the opinions.
Long test drive. Check for rust.
 

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