i got my 05 LT hoe for 6500. they were asking 8600 iirc. im pretty good at beating em down sometimes...
so if you know all the little things to look for, look. or take it for a shop inspection. could be the best money you ever spent to help you figure out if its worth it or not.
first thing to check is the trans fluid, if its not red, just walk. first one i looked at, ( a 07) didnt even drive it. sat in it, didnt like the seat, it was pretty shot. but i could just feel, this is not my truck, then i looked under it, rear seal was leaking. ( salesman was actually adding oil when i got there) then went to the tranny dip stick it was black fluid. i looked at the guy and said thanks for showing it to me and walked off.
then you'll want to check if the rear main seal is leaking. tranny has to come out to fix that. so large dollar shop repair.
or any other fluids are leaking.
in the pics it looks pretty good. but so did that first truck i looked at. door dings up and down it, both sides. cracked tail lights a holes in the lift gate and rear bumper cover. truck was a train wreck really. they wanted 8k for it and i had like 180 on it. as im looking it over the other salesman says well that didnt take long, im all dont get to happy yet....you're keeping it lol
I second this. If you can work them down just a bit it could be a really good deal.
From what I've seen from the stock photos:
- rear wiper arm and arm rest missing on hatch (I would check for rust in hatch where arm rest should be)
- rear bumper does not look stock or painted (to me, at least)
- check under floor mats for stains or missing carpet
- tray appears to be missing from center console, just in front of / above the cup holders?
- check condition of steering wheel under cover (my tahoe had a cover but the wheel was mint)
- check instrument cluster for broken stepper motors (I am skeptical since they left out a pic of the cluster)
If driveability checks out and
all electronics work as they should, I would personally set aside upwards of $500 for random repairs, like listed above, and for new plugs/wires and all new fluids in the transfer case, differentials, etc. Maybe work that into a deal with them. I'd be more comfortable doing all the fluid changes right after purchase so I would know the maintenance schedule at that point for major components.
Edit: also check clearances on front bumper. The passenger side looks like it is sitting higher than the driver's side. A friendly reminder: just because it has a clean carfax does not mean it has never been to a body shop or that a single vehicle accident hasn't occured (i.e. hitting the other car in the driveway).
