What to look for in an 05 Z71

[J4whl]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum but I'm looking at buying an 05 Tahoe Z71 with the 5.3/4L60E. I'd consider myself relatively mechanical, however I don't know all the ins and outs of the Tahoe world. I'm heading out tomorrow to look at a pretty clean 05 Z71 that's listed for $7500 (I'm located in CA) with 160k miles and was hoping to get some tips on what to look for before purchasing. The price is at the top of my budget but so far everything looks good and the seller has been very transparent about everything so far. Any tips or things to look for during a test drive are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[B-train]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum but I'm looking at buying an 05 Tahoe Z71 with the 5.3/4L60E. I'd consider myself relatively mechanical, however I don't know all the ins and outs of the Tahoe world. I'm heading out tomorrow to look at a pretty clean 05 Z71 that's listed for $7500 (I'm located in CA) with 160k miles and was hoping to get some tips on what to look for before purchasing. The price is at the top of my budget but so far everything looks good and the seller has been very transparent about everything so far. Any tips or things to look for during a test drive are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

@ORVIETVET will inform you. He has a well maintained ride just like what you are looking at......he's probably writing up a list right now. LOL

 

[OR VietVet]

Welcome to the forum. Mine was in great shape body and interior wise and was worth the price I paid with no rust. Check for rust everywhere and any dings, dents, scrapes..etc. Anything to help negotiate the price down. Almost forgot, I am editing and adding this here, check to make sure the park brake works. It is a PITA to fix if needed.
Almost forgot something else, make sure to check the temp gauge and that it stays below 210 degrees during road test. Oil pressure, engine temp and charging gauge, watch them. Crap, almost forgot something else: this is the mileage where the steering and suspension should already be pretty loose and in need of parts replacement and if not already had steering and suspension work, the steering and suspension could feel loose and bouncy and roam on the road. Be prepared for that and for replacing as needed if you buy it.

Many things to consider. Will it be your daily driver? Gonna tow with it? Condition of all the bloods/fluids in it and the age of them? I don't give two craps about how "transparent you think the owner has been so far, does he/she have paperwork to back up claims/maintenance/repairs that have been shared with you verbally? On my road test almost 2 years ago, I ran the crap out of it at 133k miles on the clock. I wanted to see what it had for power and handling and braking action, did the trans shift correctly and was not sluggish, climb under it and look for leaks. I expect leaks unless the transparent owner said there is none and if it does, call him/her out for it. I don't like to ever see a detailed engine compartment that hides leaks. Does it have the OE spider wheels on it? Do the tires have some decent tread and all match? Any CEL? Starts right up? Idles smooth? Good oil pressure at least at 30 psi at idle. Mine is at 151k miles now and idles at 38 psi. Are you keeping it stock or are you gonna get nuts with it?

I negotiated down to $8k here in Oregon and have not looked back. I have bought close to $13k worth of parts, almost all Genuine GM, and I dare say my Z71 will perform as well as any stock 2005 Z71 on the roads anywhere in the USA. It was a commitment when I bought it. I knew I wanted the best model years Z71's from 2000 to 2006. NBS is where it is at and worth the investment, IMO, for the long haul. If I need an engine or transmission later, it will be done. Look at my build thread and see what I am talking about. Since you are new to the Tahoe world, IMO, you cannot pick a better rig to do it with. Start by changing all fluids and get to a baseline. Oil and filter and use a great filter like a WIX XP, transmission fluid and filter, power steering, brake fluid, coolant and thermostat, differentials and the transfer case. You may not have the money I had. No matter to worry about. Just do it in stages and keep documented info on it. If the owner can prove recent fluids I suggested, then you can save some money. These receipts show I committed to mine:




If you have any questions at all, PM me or start a thread but as I was saying, see my build thread. If there was a road around the earth, I would drive it no problem at all.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Welcome to the forum. Mine was in great shape body and interior wise and was worth the price I paid with no rust. Check for rust everywhere and any dings, dents, scrapes..etc. Anything to help negotiate the price down. Almost forgot, I am editing and adding this here, check to make sure the park brake works. It is a PITA to fix if needed.
Almost forgot something else, make sure to check the temp gauge and that it stays below 210 degrees during road test. Oil pressure, engine temp and charging gauge, watch them. Crap, almost forgot something else: this is the mileage where the steering and suspension should already be pretty loose and in need of parts replacement and if not already had steering and suspension work, the steering and suspension could feel loose and bouncy and roam on the road. Be prepared for that and for replacing as needed if you buy it.

Many things to consider. Will it be your daily driver? Gonna tow with it? Condition of all the bloods/fluids in it and the age of them? I don't give two craps about how "transparent you think the owner has been so far, does he/she have paperwork to back up claims/maintenance/repairs that have been shared with you verbally? On my road test almost 2 years ago, I ran the crap out of it at 133k miles on the clock. I wanted to see what it had for power and handling and braking action, did the trans shift correctly and was not sluggish, climb under it and look for leaks. I expect leaks unless the transparent owner said there is none and if it does, call him/her out for it. I don't like to ever see a detailed engine compartment that hides leaks. Does it have the OE spider wheels on it? Do the tires have some decent tread and all match? Any CEL? Starts right up? Idles smooth? Good oil pressure at least at 30 psi at idle. Mine is at 151k miles now and idles at 38 psi. Are you keeping it stock or are you gonna get nuts with it?

I negotiated down to $8k here in Oregon and have not looked back. I have bought close to $13k worth of parts, almost all Genuine GM, and I dare say my Z71 will perform as well as any stock 2005 Z71 on the roads anywhere in the USA. It was a commitment when I bought it. I knew I wanted the best model years Z71's from 2000 to 2006. NBS is where it is at and worth the investment, IMO, for the long haul. If I need an engine or transmission later, it will be done. Look at my build thread and see what I am talking about. Since you are new to the Tahoe world, IMO, you cannot pick a better rig to do it with. Start by changing all fluids and get to a baseline. Oil and filter and use a great filter like a WIX XP, transmission fluid and filter, power steering, brake fluid, coolant and thermostat, differentials and the transfer case. You may not have the money I had. No matter to worry about. Just do it in stages and keep documented info on it. If the owner can prove recent fluids I suggested, then you can save some money. These receipts show I committed to mine:


View attachment 385088

If you have any questions at all, PM me or start a thread but as I was saying, see my build thread. If there was a road around the earth, I would drive it no problem at all.

All excellent suggestions. Make sure you really scrutinize the transmission. That's around the mileage they usually give up the ghost. Good luck and let us know how you made out.

 

[MassHoe04]

Ok. To start... You are doing pretty good staring at $7,500 if all is good condition. I had no room for negotiation last October for my 04 Z71. I had 50k miles more than the one you are looking at and rocker panels (behind the plastic trim) were rusted out. There was some previous repairs to rear quarters that looked OK from the outside, but there is Swiss cheese behind the paint and fiberglass. I bought it at $6,600 because I had to. The market for all used cars in New England is still crazy high. That said, the leather and interior was probably the cleanest I have seen on any 05 in this area (must have been covered all these years), the outside was still presentable and the engine/transmission were running smooth as butter! Plus PO already replaced brake lines with stainless and installed a Corsa Performance stainless cat-back exhaust that sounds soooo sweet.

There may be no CEL on the cluster now, but bring a scan tool anyway.
If you don't have one, go to Harbor Freight and grab a Zurich scanner for about $100. Not the cheapest one and not the most expensive one. Get the middle of the road one (that can do ABS and SRS codes), which should be fine for you first scanner.

You want to scan for any pending or stored codes.
Some sellers will clear CEL and blow smoke about everything being OK, but there could be a million pending or recently stored codes lurking in the memory banks of the computer!
People may think they are being smart by clearing codes to make it look clean at time of sale and claim something is not their problem when the lights start coming on after you drove off.
But a lot of those sneaky aren't aware that the computer is storing all that information and clearing the CEL on the scanner main menus will not necessarily clear out the codes stored in memory.
See what is in there and ask about anything you find.

If you find codes and they say they fixed it, then ask to see the repair/parts receipts.
You may be able to use that information to get your price down.

Also... Some people try to pass off other models as Z71. Just because someone threw a badge or decal on there that says Z71, it might not be.
Check the VIN. Also, look for Z71 on the glove box label that lists all the GM build codes (RPO codes). The label should also list G80, which is the locking rear differential.
If it the roof rack has skinny side rails, also a clue that it might not be a Z71.

Mechanically, @OR VietVet is your man and he is willing to provide detailed 1-on-1 advise, so take him up on that. You will want to make sure front hubs are not ready to fall apart. Bring a jack with you, if you can. Jack it up and check the hubs for play.
If anything wobbles, clunks or grinds... Negotiate down for cost of new hubs (which come with new ABS and solves another potential problem that is likely to happen later).

Good luck! I hope it is found to be in good shape!
If you get one, you will absolutely love it!!!

 

[OR VietVet]

@MassHoe04, forgot about stored codes and taking a jack to check for wobblies. I also forgot to ask, was @J4whl, wanting to buy an 05 Z71 or that is just what is available or was a Z71 of some year the key? Either way, yes, bring a jack and jack stands and pick the damn thing apart. Be aware, you will not be able to see EVERYTHING, so be aware of that, but ANY paperwork that documents maintenance/work is very valuable.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum but I'm looking at buying an 05 Tahoe Z71 with the 5.3/4L60E. I'd consider myself relatively mechanical, however I don't know all the ins and outs of the Tahoe world. I'm heading out tomorrow to look at a pretty clean 05 Z71 that's listed for $7500 (I'm located in CA) with 160k miles and was hoping to get some tips on what to look for before purchasing. The price is at the top of my budget but so far everything looks good and the seller has been very transparent about everything so far. Any tips or things to look for during a test drive are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Do I really have to tell you just how GREAT the folks on this Forum are? You've just had a personal exposure to these GREAT folks. We are here for you now and in the future.

 

[OR VietVet]

@J4whl, I may have given you the wrong impression with that pic of my copies of receipts. In no way shape or form did all that work NEED to be done. If you look thru my build thread, you will see I was actually "throwing money at it" and I was addressing system all at one time. The complete front steering/suspension/rear suspension and alignment and both axle shafts. Out of all of that, there was a loose idler and pitman that got all that started. I replaced the fuel pump and anything related to the fuel system and the evap system. I am a "thousandaire" and had some disposable cash and knew I wanted to keep the Z71, so I addressed things that I knew in the long run would need done, I just did a lot of them in advance.

 

[J4whl]

Wow! Ya'll are awesome I really appreciate all of the quick and VERY informative and helpful comments. Unfortunately this one didn't work out but I'm super thankful for all the info and I'll definitely have to keep it all in mind for future finds. I seriously can't thank you all enough, this was super helpful.

 

[OR VietVet]

Wow! Ya'll are awesome I really appreciate all of the quick and VERY informative and helpful comments. Unfortunately this one didn't work out but I'm super thankful for all the info and I'll definitely have to keep it all in mind for future finds. I seriously can't thank you all enough, this was super helpful.

Another one bites the dust. Pretty much all the inspections and concerns cross over to other vehicles, especially the NBS rigs.