Should I buy a used Tahoe?

[romertrain]

I am in the market for a family vehicle that can tow my 17 ft smokercraft (2700 pds w/ trailer). Right now I tow it with my Honda Odyssey which does fine but my wife doesn't like being left without it. There's the dillema.

Here's what I've looked at (96 to 00)

Ford Explorer V8 and V6
Toyota 4Runner
Chevy Tahoe

Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Reliability is important to me as well as towing power.

thanks.........romertrain

[Walleye hunter]

I have a 99 gmc yukon and it pulls my 18 foot yar craft really well.The yukon is the same as the Tahoe. There are very dependable.Just my 2 cents

[AfterDawn]

I have a '97 Tahoe to tow my 18' Smoker and run around town. I love it. 108,000 miles and still strong!

Dave

[REW]

Actually, all of the afore mentioned vehicles will work fine.
They are all different sized, and they all have slightly different features. You will generally get a good one. There aren't too many of any of these vehicles that have consumer problems.

Buy the one that you can afford, and makes most sense to you for the features offered.

Take care

REW

p.s.
Remember - in general more cylinders and or more power - normally equates to more gas. Not always, but generally that is true.

[Mark_NE]

We had a 1995 Tahoe for 7 years that pulled out 18 foot SeaRay without difficulty and loved the room and stability that it offered. We just traded for a 2003 Tahoe and would have nothing else for travel, especially pulling our boat. The Tahoe also was great out in the Mountains of Colorado during our annual family ski vacation. Great in snow and especially has great traction on those wet steep ramps. Also, the gas mileage is steady when pulling the boat with great pickup for passing. I know there has been things in the news regarding SUV's high center of gravity, but we have noticed nothing but stability and safety. We traded in our 1995 Tahoe with 70,000+ miles and had nothing but routine maintenance for the 7 years we had it. The low mileage was due to using the Tahoe only for boating and ski trips. They will drink the gas for in city driving.

[Uncle Walleye]

I drive a 97 Tahoe everyday for work. I love it. It has more than enough power to pull my 18 ft and all the room you need for your fishing stuff. It also still running great with 210,200 miles on it and no rust. My brother and brother in law both bought the same model and they love it too. If your buying it from a dealer, you should be able to negotiate a pretty good deal right now. With the new ones having all the rebates and 0% financing on them, I have seen quite a few low milage lease returns sitting on our local lot for a while now.

Good Luck!

[Mark_AZ]

I own a 1999 Tahoe and love it. It's not perfect but I'm pretty handy w/ a wrench and it's problems have been relatively cheap. So far at 51,000mi I've had to replace the alternator and U-joints, plus the usual stuff belt, brakes, battery, tranny flush etc.

Last weekend I drove a NEW 4-door Tacoma 4x4 with the 3.4L V6. If that is the same engine that is in the 4-runner then don't count on passing Tahoes pulling similar boats up the hills. Heck, my old Ford Taurus had a bigger engine than that. Real slow.

A real good relatively inexpensive compromise would be a 2001 Jeep Cherokee. They had a 4.0L I6 that pulled like a small V8, plus a solid front axle. My dad's Cherokee got 19mpg and could tow 5,000lbs. We routinely used it to haul hay and/or horses. He put 150,000mi on it (1995 model)with NO major repairs (Eng, Tranny, AC, Etc). It won't ride like a Tahoe but It will cost thousands less and if you look hard you will be able to find one with some of the original FACTORY WARRANTY!

[Techmonster]

the 4 runner may be a bit underpowered, but still a great buy. The V6 explorer, i would kinda nip in the but. I own on and they are prety good as far as torque, but they lack in horsepower a bit. The V8 explorers are alomost bullet proof and are pretty strong, but lack in the suspension part compared to the tahoe. I'd say go with the tahoe, and it pains me to say this cuz i;ve got an explorer, but i also don't tow as much or anything really big.

[shadowman]

go with the tahoe, no looking back, i have a 97 and it gets better mpg than most v-6s and power to spare.

[wheels]

I wouldn't buy the Explorer. I have a 98 with the HO V-6. It consistantly gets awful gas mileage. I just traded in a 1/2 GMC with a 5.7L V-8 that got better gas mileage. I can't speak on it's towing ability. I figure I'm lucky enough that the thing rolls down the road alone without attaching anything to the bumper.

I'll be trading it in just as soon as I recover from my pickup trade in.


"Friends don't let friends fish for trout!"

[Nofish]

Howdy,

I have a 99 Tahoe, with over 90,000 miles on it and all I have had to do so far is Tires brakes and a new battery, pretty much normal wear and tear stuff...

I'd recomend one to anyone in a heart beat!

REW is right though, buy based on the fsctors of room, your budget etc.

That is what I did. The Tahoe with the bigger V-8 gets better milage than my pickup did with the smaller V-8, and they both were much better towin my boats than the mid size dakotas I ownerd or any of the 6 cylinder pickups I had.

Good luck.....R

[shebo]

I have a 4-runner and a tacoma. You need to go with what you like best. take them all for a ride. I tow a 17ft warrior both toyotas work great. They run forever and I have never done anything but routine maintenance on them. My buddy owns a car lot and he loves the toyotas and about the only american vehicle he likes to sell is the chevy and GMC V-8 yukons, suburbans or Tahoes. Because the chevy V-8 is a great reliable strong engine. He got crushed when the Durangos came out. He sold like 25-30 of them and 2/3 cae back with bad Trannies. So make sure you buy what you like.
Have fun

[Chad]

What ever you get make sure it has a V-8.

Just traded my 96 Chev Tahoe for a 03 Ford Expendition. Both vehicles are great.

[lobo1]

If you do get a used Tahoe and brakes make a differance to you (some people complained that the brakes were inadequate in older models) The new brakes start in the 2000 models that have the new body style. 2000 old body style have the old brakes. FYI

lobo1

[wallenater]

The Tahoe or Yukon are great choices. If your interested I have a company that carries both of these and are available at trade in or below for cost. If you'd like more info you can contact me at wallenater@aol.com. Thanks and good luck.

[Chad]

I would agree that would be better to get 2000 or newer since the new styling.

They have a better resale then the older style.

Check the boots to make sure they are not leaking.

[Ristorapper]

Another recent owner of an 2002 Explorer in a 6 cyl. and the biggest knock we have on this unit is the gas mileage. I have yet to pull the boat with it but should have no problems with a light 17 footer. Wifes vehicle mostly so don't expect to use it much. Sure wish we would have gone with the Tahoe but.... not my choice. Maybe the old silverado will go for trade someday soon on one. BW