03 Silverado 200k

[steveo2155]

Is 200,000 miles too much for a 03? It's rust free southern truck. Will be driving around 10,000 miles a year and plan on keeping 2-3 years at least. Anything to look for specifically? 

[Black02Silverado]

Not at all.  My 2002 has 182k on it.  Mainly look for oil leaks.  It can be three different things, oil pan, rear main, or oil pressure sensor.  

 

Look at the tires and see how they are wearing, will give an indication of alignment and suspension issues.  

 

Take it for a drive and listen to see if you can hear any rolling noise like front wheel bearings.  Not hard to change and not expensive either.

 

Look at transmission fluid, is it dark pink or brown.  Dark pink is fine, brown it has been in there a while.

 

Other than that and general look over for other leaks like shocks and brake cylinders and such that is all I can think of for now.

[Supreme Pizza]

Wow. That is a broad question. It takes me a minimum of 1 hour to inspect a vehicle prior to even starting the engine. There are many things to check. 

 

Bad signs: 

 

Worn out door bushings/pins

Block sealer in the radiator 

Over full transmission  

Extremely dirty motor oil 

Major fluid leaks out of any component

Leaking shocks 

Uneven front tire wear 

Steering wheel slop

Check engine light  

Emission systems reporting "not ready" on scanner 

"Salvage" title

Air bag light 

ABS light 

Traction or 4x4 warning lights 

Knocking of any kind in the engine 

Any unusually transmission symptoms

Cooling system not holding pressure 

Low oil pressure 

One wheel spin on a limited slip / locking rear end 

4x4 test failures on pavement / gravel 

Milky / white oil on dip stick or under oil cap 

Oil in the water 

Cooling system is pressuring immediately after cold start 

"bad shocks" tire wear 

Engine temperature rises after 20 minutes of highway driving

Air conditioning doesn't work

Heater doesn't work  

Water or moisture on passenger side floor, under the carpeting 

Slop in the idler, pitman, tie rods, bushings, steering box, etc. 

Rumbling, growling or other odd sounds while going about 30 mph

Puff of blue exhaust smoke at startup

Blue exhaust smoke while driving

White exhaust smoke after warmed up 

 

 

This is not even close to a complete list, but its a start. Feel free to add to the list guys. 

 

I usually look at 20 or more vehicles before buying one. The last rig I bought was a 2003 Suburban. 239,000 miles. Clean title. I have put about 15,000 miles on it so far, with no problems. I paid $800 for the rig. 

 

The list of things to do after you buy a rig is long, but thats another story. 

 

 

 

 

 

[astolt12]

Engine temperature rises after 20 minutes of highway driving

 

Do you mean over center line?

On 7/6/2018 at 6:16 PM, starman8tdc said:

Engine temperature rises after 20 minutes of highway driving

 

 

 

 

 

[Supreme Pizza]

5 hours ago, astolt12 said:

Engine temperature rises after 20 minutes of highway driving

 

Do you mean over center line?

 

 

 

    Ya, basically you want to drive it around town and the back roads for 15 to 20 minutes to make sure the temps are within spec, but you also want to take it out on the highway and drive for at least 20 minutes at speeds of 60 or 70. The temperature should not be higher than what you were getting at city speeds, and should definitely not start climbing up toward the higher end of the gauge.

 

The actual test drive takes 40 to 60 minutes - you test each gear, the 4x4, the ABS, etc. if it can't pass the inspections with the engine off, then don't bother test driving it. I always do the preliminary inspections before driving it. 

 

I actually test drive about 25% of the vehicles that I am considering buying. The other 75% never made it past the preliminary inspections. 

 

The vast majority of vehicles that are for sale have multiple problems, including major ones. That is why they are selling it. They are not selling it because it was TOO reliable. They are selling it because they calculated that they would be better off cutting their loses and buying something else. You have to plan on looking at many vehicle before buying, if you want a good reliable rig at a great price. 

 

NEVER buy a vehicle when you desperately need one - you will always lose. That is why I always keep a minimum of 2 spare vehicles on hand at all times. One that is insured and ready to drive, and one that has no insurance or tabs. Ya gotta have a backup rig for your backup rig. 

 

Another couple of tips: 

 

Ask the seller questions that you already know the answer to. Casually look at the title issue date, and then a few minutes later, ask them how long they have owned it. If you see recent repair work has been done (like brand new engine gaskets), ask them if they have had any engine work done to it in the time they have owned it. Ask them if the battery has gone dead or been disconnected recently, then check the emission system status with an OBD2 scanner. 

 

If you catch them in any lies, do not alert them to this fact. Just use that information to make you decisions on what to do next. If you can determine that they are lying to you about anything, then they are OBVIOUSLY hiding vehicle problems. Why else would they lie? You need to either find the major issues they are hiding by thoroughly inspecting it, or move on to the next rig. 

 

Ask them if it needs any repairs BEFORE you inspect the vehicle. Always assume they are lying when they say no, but make sure you ask them this question. It will come in handy later. Now later on, they cant say that the price reflects needed repairs, because there are no problems that they know of. Make sure to make a list in advance of every thing you need to inspect, and check them off one by one as you go over the vehicle. Each problem you find, put a dealer repair price next to it. 

 

 

Once the list is complete, decide if you want the rig despite the problems it has. If so, test drive it. After the test drive, write down any issues you found while driving it. Then:

 

Subtract the dealer repair prices from their asking price, and now you have the adjusted value. Show them the new value, and how you came to that number.

 

Tell them:

 

I am interested in this kind of vehicle, but I was not looking to put that much money into repairs. Your asking $5K for the rig, and I would have to spend another $3k on repairs - that is $8k total. For 8K, I can buy a vehicle that is newer and that doesn't need any repairs. Sorry to waste your time, but this rig isn't not for me at that price, with all those problems. As for the pricing, I'm not trying to low ball you - If you have other buyers and you can get $5K for this rig with those problems, then I encourage you to do so - sell it to them. I understand that you were not previously aware of the needed repair before now, but the asking price minus the needed repairs equals $2000. I guess I could take a chance and give you $2,000 for it. Hopefully I don't run into any other mechanical problems when i'm trying to fix it up and make it reliable. Sometimes they accept the adjusted price, sometimes they don't. Look at 10 or 20 vehicles, and buy only 1 of them. 

-----

 

The last rig I bought was a 2003 Suburban 5.3 4x4. I looked at dozens of vehicles before buying it. The seller drove over an hour to meet me in my driveway, so that I could look at the vehicle. It took 2 hours to inspect and test drive it. The original asking price was $4,000. I bought it for $800. Just because the dealer would charge $3,200 to fix everything that it needed, doesn't mean that I have to go to the dealer to get it fixed up. I fixed all the problems myself for about $200, so I'm into the vehicle a total of about $1,000. 

 

 

Hope some of that info helps.