Chevy Tahoe

focusthis

Well-known member
Hey all,

For quite a while, I've had my heart set on a Chevy Tahoe as a personal vehicle. Any thoughts?

The front of the Yukon doesn't appeal to me. I prefer the 2000 and up models. My situation is that we have outgrown my wife's Lexus RX330. We 99% will keep it as it does it's job for her commute, running a baby and little boy around, and for light shopping. We haven't tried a weekend trip with the four of us yet. The Lexus is too small for a long holiday weekend with luggage, gifts, etc. My beater Jeep Grand Wagoneer really fills the gaps of what the Lexus can't and should not do: weekend chores of 4x4, hauling mulch, pissing off my PETA neighbors... But, it's a 1984 with lap belts and no headrests. Now that we find ourselves carpooling multiple kids in booster seats, the Lexus won't fit 'em, and the Waggy can't protect 'em.

I think we might let the Waggy go in favor of an early 2000's Tahoe. Just new enough for the safety equipment; just old enough to be well under $10k. Gas mileage doesn't concern me because it's a weekend truck. Has to be reliable enough for a 5 hour drive to Grandma's. Also: third row seats would be a luxury.

Are these as much of a dopey American V8 as I hope they are? I ask in terms of major mechanical ease/cost of repair. My luck favors big domestics and small foreign vehicles. If I swap size/origin, things go to crap.


Thanks!

PS: NO MINIVANS
 

grinner

Well-known member
I have a 95 Ram van with a 318 V8 Magnum in it. Has 150k miles and runs like top. Has an easy 100k left in it. Smooth ridin' cuz it's well over 5k lbs. Perfect for hauling anything, including the family. I bought it for my son and we're fixing it up together. I've only got a grand in it including what I put into it to get it running when I bought it. The down side to these vans is the milage... or lack of. I average 14mpg. I don't get much better than that on the highway as it does not have a step into 4 cyl feature like so many newer V8s do. Ting is a tank though. We've got it all sanded down and my son wants to paint it like the Mystery Machine. It seconds as a fiiine camera car. I don't hesitate to drill anywhere on it. Heck it cost less than most dollies. Hop on craigslist. If you aint in a hurry, you'll find plenty of peaches on the cheap.
happy huntin', man.

 

McFly

Well-known member
I was looking at used Tahoe not long ago... but settled on a 2003 Suburban. Can't beat all the space in that sucker... plus just the room and comfort is great to have as well.

If you're looking for a COMFORTABLE 3rd row and still tons of luggage space... go with a Suburban.
 

svp

Well-known member
My wife and I are going to buy two Tahoes next year. We love the look of the 09 and up. We're going to keep the Escapes (because they're paid for) and I'm going to convert one to a storm chasing vehicle.
 

adam

Well-known member
I just bought a 2002 Tahoe about a year ago. I love it. Mileage is better than my 1994 4runner. I did a bunch of research and the 2001 and 2002 Tahoes have great Consumer Reports reliability scores and most mechanics will tell you they're great cars. Ours has been terrific, I'd recommend it. Our neighbors have a 2001 Yukon XL (Suburban) that they really like too.

After owning a series of fun but expensive to repair foreign cars I think I'm going with quality US cars from here on out.
 

focusthis

Well-known member
Thanks for all the input!

I don't want to over saturate myself in research, so I appreciate real-world observations. I guess mechanically, not much changed through the 2000-2006 generation. Although, I hear the transmission was improved around 2002.

Thanks again!
 
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