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Buying a Tahoe, need advice

John Anthony

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John Anthony New Member

John Anthony

Posted
Posted

I am planning on buying a 1997 Tahoe, I'm not the best with cars so I figured i'd ask for some advice before I make it final. The price is $5900. The ext/int is excellent...leather, cd, no dents etc. The oil is very very dark, don't know if that is bad (can't be good) and the check engine light is on. Otherwise the truck sounds and drives really nice. The dealer says he'll buy a 3-month warranty (engine & tranny) for the car. Is it worth it for me??? or is the dark oil and engine light a bad sign?

Thanks in advance

facn8me Senior Enthusiast

facn8me

Posted
Posted

I can't believe they won't change the oil and fix the problem that has the light on before selling it. Should be a no brainer for a dealer.

AG Bill 05 Z71 Enthusiast

AG Bill 05 Z71

Posted
Posted

How many miles does it have?

 

Although that price sounds good, a well used Tahoe will probably cost you $1,000 to $2,000 a year to replace all the components that are going to be wearing out and causing trouble..(it doesn't sound like you do your own mechanical work)

 

As a minimum, I would have the dealer change the oil, flush and change the oil in the transmission, fix what ever is causing the Check Engine light and get the longest drivetrain warranty you can...

 

Tahoes are great vehicles, but after 130.000 miles, they can cost some big bucks to keep them alive if the former owner did not keep up the scheduled maintenance...ie black oil.....

John Anthony New Member

John Anthony

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The truck has 116,000 miles. He said he's going to take care of the check engine light tommorow morning, but i'm guessing he's just gonna reset it or something, who knows. What causes the oil to turn dark like that?? bad maintenance? would an oil change fix that or could it be a serious problem? Yes, obviously I don''t do my own work (unfortunately). You guys are a great help though, thanks a lot!!

AG Bill 05 Z71 Enthusiast

AG Bill 05 Z71

Posted
Posted

The dealer will plug in his Tech 2 diagnostic scan tool into the plug under your dash and download the Trouble Codes from the truck computer that are causing your Check Engine light to illuminate. From the trouble codes, he can determine what is wrong, replace the bad part and reset and clear the Check Engine light. It would be interesting to ask the mechanic what codes he saw, what was the problem and what did he fix....

 

The oil is black because it probably has not been changed for quite a while. If you change your oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, it is brown, not black. The air filter probably is dirty and needs changing, and could be a source of some of the contamination of the oil.

patronus Enthusiast

patronus

Posted
Posted

Do you realize how many of these rigs are for sale?

 

I say WALK AWAY on this one.

 

Besides, you are better off with a '98 when Auto-4WD was standard as was rear-AC on SLT/LT. Worth it.

mtbon Enthusiast

mtbon

Posted
Posted

I'm with Patronus and others on this one, WALK AWAY. I'm still surprised a dealer would put a vehicle out there with a CEL. In my state, CEL = automatic failed emissions. Maybe they did try to fix it, or reset it, but it just came back. Look some more.

Bish Senior Enthusiast

Bish

Posted
Posted
I'm with Patronus and others on this one, WALK AWAY.  I'm still surprised a dealer would put a vehicle out there with a CEL.  In my state, CEL = automatic failed emissions.  Maybe they did try to fix it, or reset it, but it just came back.  Look some more.

 

 

 

 

Agreed...run away. Dirty oil could mean anything from nothing to worry about to vehicle has bee abused driving and maintenance wise and could mean EXPENSIVE repairs. Even if it had problems, the least I would expect from the dealer would be fresh oil and clear all codes.

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