to sell or not to sell

[redemn93]

see my sig for current ride. its been a great truck. just getting bored. but I do love it this Tahoe. did a new trans at 197k with the normal upgrades. now has 215k. putting new rear brakes on this week. all fluids are fresh synthetic. its hemorrhaging oil right now but that's getting fixed tonight with a new oil pressure sensor. thought it was the oil pan at first so its got a new gasket on it (what a PITA that was getting the front diff in and out alone).

anyway, as much as I love it, thinking about and 04-06 denali. going to look at one with 116k miles on it. pretty clean looking. older, professional owns it now. bone stock, garage kept blah blah. asking $9800. going to offer $9k. part of me feels dumb for getting rid of the 4x4 (just used for boat ramps). but the awd denali should do what I need for that. the other part of me wants a nice refined 04-60 denali with a 2/3 lowering kit and updated interior. my 01 has the typical noisy doors etc. I need help. what do I do? get something a little newer or dump $1k into the 01 to make really nice again like when I bought it.

what do you think my Tahoe is worth? pretty clean inside and out. wouldn't kill it to have a new drive seat bottom leather installed but still much better than other rides ive seen. rest of the leather is pretty damn decent. paint shines up nice. id say the interior is an honest 8/10 as it sits. paint as well.

 

[JochenWoern]

I am simply offering my opinion here and it goes as follows:

The Mrs. and I recently had a similar thought when it came to her car. At the end of the discussion, we decided NOT to get anything newer for the following reasons:

We know what we have, all services and maintenances are up to date, we do not need to get familiar with a new/newer vehivle which will not be up to our standards, where we will have to put $$$'s in so it will be as we want it.

The biggest factor of course was NO car payment. So we put 1200 bucks in her car in order to address the issues the car had, but she is now again flawless and I am glad we did make this decision.

So if it was me, I would keep what you have and upkeep it to your standards, as you are already aware of all the potential flaws your truck has and you can get them addressed accordingly.

In general, one can make a lot of repairs to an older vehicle instead of a monthly car payment.

 

[Wake]

With what you've put into the truck I'd say keep it. I'm trying to learn to do the same. It seems I always buy older vehicles, spend a lot of time and money to get them perfect, then get bored and dump them for the next project. With your mileage, I also wouldn't expect much from the vehicle in selling it. It's hard not to put emotional value into the vehicle but think about what you would pay for this vehicle if you were buying it. 200K+ miles really drops the value no matter how good a shape she's in.

Aside from that, I have an Escalade which is essentially a Denali with a different badge and I really enjoy it. The 6.0L engine is pretty peppy and since I don't off-road having full time AWD versus A4WD is pretty nice. I can't vouch for the snow handling yet as we haven't had much in the last two years in the D.C. area, but I'd expect it would handle similar to your Tahoe when in 4HI in the snow.

Other than full time AWD and the larger 6.0L engine, it really isn't much different than your Tahoe.

 

[redemn93]

I agree with everything said. but the "refinements" of the 03+ vehicles plus the Denali interior really makes me want to trade up. but along with those refinements are issues. I know this Denali I'm looking at already has a new cluster from the dealer under warranty.

this is actually a really tough decision for me.

think I can get $5k for mine? with the trans cost and tires/wheels I have about $10k or may be a little less in it. I only paid $7k for it 5 years ago with 130k on the clock. I feel I've done pretty good with it.

 

[07Burb]

I am simply offering my opinion here and it goes as follows:

The Mrs. and I recently had a similar thought when it came to her car. At the end of the discussion, we decided NOT to get anything newer for the following reasons:

We know what we have, all services and maintenances are up to date, we do not need to get familiar with a new/newer vehivle which will not be up to our standards, where we will have to put $$$'s in so it will be as we want it.

The biggest factor of course was NO car payment. So we put 1200 bucks in her car in order to address the issues the car had, but she is now again flawless and I am glad we did make this decision.

So if it was me, I would keep what you have and upkeep it to your standards, as you are already aware of all the potential flaws your truck has and you can get them addressed accordingly.

In general, one can make a lot of repairs to an older vehicle instead of a monthly car payment.

I couldn't have said it better myself so I'm just going to quote and say "ditto". If it's me at this stage in my life I'm keeping what I got and moving on. Ask me the same question 5 years ago I would have already made the move and started regretting it already.

 

[coolchuck]

If you truly need to put about $1k to make it right again, I say stay with your truck. I agree with previous comments plus you can upgrade the interior over time as the parts are generally readily available in the used market.

 

[Z-56 Hoe]

That's a very personal question Bubba. It is what makes you happy. And what is not gonna cost you an arm and a leg.

 

[redemn93]

the two last big areas of cost on my Tahoe is the AC and transfer case. both still factory original. knock on wood. for about $1500 I can fix every little thing wrong. new bottom drivers seat cover, complete new front end (i already have all the parts for that), fresh set of bilsteins, bump stops, steering shaft, passenger front window regulator, and upgrades like headlights, tail lights, a little stereo work, exhaust.

i currently have the intake off chasing an oil leak. looking down the intake ports in the heads, they could really use a valve job. that would cost a good $500 all said and done. really don't want to pull the heads though. this $500 is not factored into my $1500 "restoration".

---------- Post added at 02:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:56 PM ----------

also, we don't really make enough to save more toward a newer car. this is our budget and will be for a while. im scared my Tahoe will be worthless after putting this much more money into it and driving 3-4 more years. whatever I get later would be of the same age and mileage in relation to whenever that time is. if I can get $5k for mine that would be great. if I get $3-3500 later, that would really kill us and what we could replace it with. know what I mean? that's why im so back and forth. yup, I can get another 5 years out of mine with potentially more repairs, or step up now and deal with things later as they come. If I could get 3-4 worry free years from the denali without costly repairs, I would be happy and in good shape.

 

[07Burb]

also, we don't really make enough to save more toward a newer car. this is our budget and will be for a while. im scared my Tahoe will be worthless after putting this much more money into it and driving 3-4 more years. whatever I get later would be of the same age and mileage in relation to whenever that time is. if I can get $5k for mine that would be great. if I get $3-3500 later, that would really kill us and what we could replace it with. know what I mean? that's why im so back and forth. yup, I can get another 5 years out of mine with potentially more repairs, or step up now and deal with things later as they come. If I could get 3-4 worry free years from the denali without costly repairs, I would be happy and in good shape.

This is also where your question gets really hairy because vehicles are a depreciating asset regardless of what you have whether it be your current hoe or a Denali. This is another aspect we will not really be able to help you with because only you know your situation.

All I can say is if we deal with pie in the sky lets imagine you keep your current Hoe and let's imagine it's paid for (not sure if it is but just assuming it may be). Instead of making payments on a 10k denali put that money in the bank over the next 5 years (number based on your previous post). Obviously there will be some months that this money needs to be used for repairs or what not but more often than not it will probably go into the bank without issue. By the time your hoe is worth $3k in 5 years you'll have $x,*** saved to put towards the next ride rather than making payments on the Denali you have your eye on today that'll be worth about $6k in 5 years.

Again, this is all just "pie in the sky" type analogy but you get what I'm saying. Only you can make these decisions, though, as you're the one who knows your situation best

 

[JochenWoern]

I couldn't have said it better myself so I'm just going to quote and say "ditto". If it's me at this stage in my life I'm keeping what I got and moving on. Ask me the same question 5 years ago I would have already made the move and started regretting it already.

---------- Post added at 02:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:19 PM ----------

This is also where your question gets really hairy because vehicles are a depreciating asset regardless of what you have whether it be your current hoe or a Denali. This is another aspect we will not really be able to help you with because only you know your situation.

All I can say is if we deal with pie in the sky lets imagine you keep your current Hoe and let's imagine it's paid for (not sure if it is but just assuming it may be). Instead of making payments on a 10k denali put that money in the bank over the next 5 years (number based on your previous post). Obviously there will be some months that this money needs to be used for repairs or what not but more often than not it will probably go into the bank without issue. By the time your hoe is worth $3k in 5 years you'll have $x,*** saved to put towards the next ride rather than making payments on the Denali you have your eye on today that'll be worth about $6k in 5 years.

Again, this is all just "pie in the sky" type analogy but you get what I'm saying. Only you can make these decisions, though, as you're the one who knows your situation best

I learned from the BEST, so here it goes:

I couldn't have said it better myself so I'm just going to quote and say "ditto".

 

[07Burb]

hahaha...nicely done, Jochen

 

[redemn93]

ya. and as I said before, in many more words, both sides of the argument make total sense. and I listed my reasons.

07burb - I understand. and looking at it that way, you're completely right. for me, I paid $7k cash for this Tahoe 4.5 years and 90k miles ago. I would also be paying cash for the denali and putting whatever I get for the Tahoe back in the bank. so out of pocket for the denali would be $4-5k.

if I kept the Tahoe I would spend $1-1500 in restoration and possibly another $500 for a good valve job (that I mentioned above), fresh spring kit and run it like I stole it for 3-4-5 more years. plus whatever comes up between now and then. actually probably go find different castings since I have the dreaded castech heads and they are showing their ugly face with the coolant issues and loud ticking at first start up. if you don't know about it, google it. but then where do I stop? need gaskets and bolts. lifters? cages? might as well do a water pump and hoses since they are original and will be coming off. fresh replacement timing chain. keep in mind, all stock replacement stuff. none of this stuff is expensive on its own but it adds up together. granted, it'll run like brand new when its done. and looking at the heads now, I bet there is plenty of lost power from their condition. i would only pull the heads after i let a couple close friends take a look and tell me what they think. but the knocking is getting old.

 

[07Burb]

Paying cash regardless of the decision comes down to simple as this......What do you wanna spend your money on? I can certainly see where a clean mostly stock, slightly newer Denali would be very appealing. We all come to these cross roads of keep putting money into our ride or cut our lose while there's still value and get something else. Really it's a coin flip on which is the best

It sounds like you've got a good head on your shoulders and have all the known info laid out.

 

[redemn93]

thanks burb. I'd like to think so. im young, but im not that stupid.

when i do the math, it really almost is a wash in the end, 3-5 years from now. i would save about $1500 if i kept my truck and did all these things to it. that's $31.25 a month after 4 years. and that's if i don't have any more issues. but there is also the risk of putting a few Gs into the denali. question is, which road to take. if i can get 3-4 years of none costly repairs with the denali, ill be happy.

been thinking about it for several months now. but shit got real when i finally found what i was looking for. hard to find a denali that is affordable. only thing that sucks is no electric fan on this one. but thats easy enough to add later.

 

[JochenWoern]

List your truck for 5K and see what you will get for it. End this debate and get the Denali.

-----> D O N E !

PLUS, you better hope nothing major will happen to the Denali at 116K, you NEVER know. Because if the tranny goes, your math will for sure no longer work out.

 

[07Burb]

thanks burb. I'd like to think so. im young, but im not that stupid.

when i do the math, it really almost is a wash in the end, 3-5 years from now. i would save about $1500 if i kept my truck and did all these things to it. that's $31.25 a month after 4 years. and that's if i don't have any more issues. but there is also the risk of putting a few Gs into the denali. question is, which road to take. if i can get 3-4 years of none costly repairs with the denali, ill be happy.

been thinking about it for several months now. but shit got real when i finally found what i was looking for. hard to find a denali that is affordable. only thing that sucks is no electric fan on this one. but thats easy enough to add later.

Agreed. It really is a wash especially since no one can see into the future

I can kind of relate to what you're going through. My 07 has been GREAT 98% of the time with no major issues. With that said, last summer it hit 135k on the clock and on my way back from vaca with the family I had lifter go bad. I limped it home and then towed it to the shop. During that time we got real serious about weather to fix the burb, unload it and grab something else or take a chance and keep on rocking it. We decided to take our chances and so far it's worked out but with everything mechanical I'm sure it's only a matter of time before the next major issue arises and we'll be faced with the same scenario. At some point, it'll be time to make the jump but who knows when that time will be. We aim to keep it til the kids are off to college but that doesn't mean that'll happen in the real world

 

[redemn93]

135k miles aint nothing. 100% worth fixing. im at 215k on my Tahoe and its still great when it comes down to it. im usually a 5 year guy.

jochen - u mad bro? jk. no need to get all crabby. we're just having a friendly conversation here. isn't that what these boards are for?

 

[07Burb]

135k miles aint nothing. 100% worth fixing. im at 215k on my Tahoe and its still great when it comes down to it. im usually a 5 year guy.

jochen - u mad bro? jk. no need to get all crabby. we're just having a friendly conversation here. isn't that what these boards are for?

That snippet there is exactly why my original thought was to keep it and rock it. You just never know what is lurking under that clean Denali. Could be nothing and you have 100k worth of trouble free miles or it could be something and you're in for a major repairs in a couple of months We really need someone with a crystal ball

 

[JochenWoern]

135k miles aint nothing. 100% worth fixing. im at 215k on my Tahoe and its still great when it comes down to it. im usually a 5 year guy.

jochen - u mad bro? jk. no need to get all crabby. we're just having a friendly conversation here. isn't that what these boards are for?

Not mad nor crabby, ..................... sorry it may have come out that way.

It's all good my friend, ....................... hope all will work out JUST RIGHT for you!

 

[YukonXL04]

Everyone has great points. Good luck with your decision. I am curious which way you go.

If it were me I would probably go for the Denali. I got rid of my 310,000 mile sierra to get my yukon. However my sierra was getting ready to need a motor. While I was capable and could afford it, I found it to be a better choice to get my yukon. It had 73,000 when I got it. Paid $9400 cash for it. Sold my truck for $3300.

Good luck.