should I buy a 97 tahoe ?

[cooper5]

Hi, I'm wondering if buying a 97 Tahoe with 234000 km(145000 m) for ten thousand canadian would be worth it. It was very well maintained with all the fluids changed regularly and all the miles are highway. It has the 5.7 vortec and 3.42 gears. I will be pulling a 2500 pound hardtop camper with it. Anyone with some input would be appreciated.

[TahoeHater]

NO stay away from Tahoes !! One of the biggest piles of junk I've owned. If you love throwing money away go ahead and buy it. I owe three times what it's worth and it's broken down again.

[Danny Demon]

I have a 96 2 Wheel Drive Tahoe LT with 350 Vortec/hard loaded with 100,000 miles that I bought new. I know what I have. I have taken pretty good care of it. Though I admit that I have put my foot in it more than once it still runs like new. Having traded a perfectly good truck for a new lemon about 10 years ago I have decided to keep my Tahoe for another few years-at least. It looks and runs like new-almost. To celebrate 100,000 miles I have done some maintenance I don't ordinarily do-I don't normally keep a vehicle this long. I pulled the plugs to see how they looked-you can't wear out a set of Delco Platinums. Dirty, but not worn out. Bought new plugs anyway, OE Delco, and must admit that it now idles smoother. Very smooth. I checked the Packard Ignition Wires and they are still within specs. But with 100,000 miles I decided to replace them with a set of Tayler Spiro Pro 8mm wires. It now runs better than new. Will probably replace Distributor Cap and Rotor with Borg Warner Select-maybe. I took it to a local front end shop to see about having the steering and front suspension bushings replaced but was told that there was no reason to replace any of the factory bushings. They are like new. Including the ball joints and tie rods. I went ahead and replaced the Bilstein Shocks with aftermarket shocks from Monroe. Not that there was anything wrong with the Bilsteins. I also went ahead and put a new Alternator and Water Pump on for good measure. Such things are notorious for needing to be replaced on just about any vehicle by 100,000 miles so just to be on the safe side I spent a little money that I might not have needed to spend. But if I go on a long trip such possibly unnecessary expenses will make the trip more enoyable, not having to worry about such things.

To make a long story short you ask if you should buy a 97 Tahoe. It depends. Tahoes were made to pull horse trailers. They are like a rock. But still you have to ask yourself how has it been been taken care of, or not take care of. You can do a Carfax check and find out everything that has ever been done to it. If it has been wrecked, that sort of thing. You could always take it to a garage and have a mechanic look it over for you. If you buy it there are a couple of things I would point out. Put a 170-180 Thermostat in it. I did this to mine at about 35,000 miles so that it would run a little cooler than with the OE 197 Thermostat. A little better performance and peace of mind knowing that excessive heat can destroy gaskets and bearings and such. I also switched over to Synthetic oil. Costs a little more but you can go 5000 to 7500 miles between oil changes no problemo instead of the traditional 3000 mile interval and have better protection for your engine and not really spend any more. I use Mobil 1 5W30 but any synthetic is better than any petroleum based oil. Mobil 1 5W30 is factory fill in Corvettes. Mobil 1 is also factory fill in Mercedes, Porshe, Viper, etc.. Mobil 1 is good enough for NASCAR so it is good enough for my Tahoe. Of course if you want to be a snob you can use Amsoil. I also change the Dexcool every other year. Phooey on 5 years or 150,000 miles. Problems with the cooling system is the number one cause of automotive breakdown. Why play around? I also would replace the stock air filter with a K&N or other reuseable type. Use the stock af box. Cotton definitely breathes better than paper. It also does a better job of keeping dirt out of the engine. The number one cause of engine wear.

Like I said, my 96 Tahoe is almost like new. I am starting to get more compliments now than when it was brand new. It holds the road better than the new ones in my opinion. It is heavier. It still gets 20 mpg on the highway. Not bad for a Cowboy Cadillac. Mine ain't for sale!

[superiordwb]

I just bought a '97 with 133K on it. It's an LT 4X4 pretty well loaded. I paid $ 8800 for it. If it hasn't already been done, be ready to fix the O2 sensor ($160 P&L) and the fuel pump ($560 P&L). I feel like I got a pretty good deal on the vehicle and I expected to have to put some money into it. It is really clean inside and out and looks almost new. If the one you are looking at appears to have been taken care of, go for it. Just keep in the back of your mind that you may have to do some maintenance to it. You can kind of see what you might expect to have to do by looking at some of the other posts concerning problems with other Tahoe's.

[tstokes71]

I just bought a 97 LT 4x4 for $9400 and love it. I'm sure it's going to have some ups and downs but I also think I got a good deal. Check the 4x4 good and listen for the fuel pump buzzing. These seem to be the major things.

Tony

[cooper5]

Thanks for the replys. I ended up buying it on Friday and so far so good. I went to talk to the mechanic that serviced it the last four years and he said the owner took very good care of the truck so that helped in the decision. The fuel pump was replaced last year as well as the 4x4 acuators. I paid $9500 canadian for it so I think i got a good deal. It's an LT with power leather seats and all the other goodies.