2003 CHEVROLET Tahoe

298,000 Miles and I can drive it across country!

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 5

BASICS The Tahoe offers plenty of room for kids and adults of all ages and sizes. The ride is very smooth and quiet. It handles remarkably well for a vehicle of its size. Acceleration is very good. It tows my 5,000 lb boat with ease. The gas mileage (15.8 city 19-20 hwy) is not that good but it is great when you compare it to other vehicles of this size, age and towing capacity. Maintenance and repairs for me have been very minimal. The engine and differential are in excellent condition with no known repairs. All electronics and the A/C have performed flawlessly with no repairs or maintenance ever. The body and paint are in excellent condition with no flaws or defects. The cloth interior has held up beautifully with kids in and out everyday. MY STORY I bought the Tahoe with 140,00 miles on it. I drove it across 3 state lines to get it home with no noticeable problems. I live on a very quiet road and I did notice that I could hear an ever so light squeal or sound like a wheel bearing just was not right. Turns out one of the front wheel bearings was going bad. I changed both wheel bearings, outer tie rod ends, shocks and lower ball joints. It did not really have to change the ball joints, shocks and tie rods but my kids ride in this truck and sometimes with a large boat in tow. It took about 4-5 hours to do it myself. The steering was super tight and drove like new. Yes it would easily track the road with no hands for quite a distance. Again only one wheel bearing needed changing and this is very common with the Tahoes. These parts were replaced during the first week of ownership as a part of getting the truck is top condition. I also replaced the belt and heater hose so that I would not have to be concerned with them. I drove this used truck with ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS FOR 110,000 miles! I changed the oil Mobil 1 synthetic, $24/5qt at Walmart, myself), replaced worn out tires, spark plugs at every 100,000 miles and changed the brake pads once. I think that this routine maintenance is extremely minimal compared to any vehicle especially a truck that sometimes tows a 24 ft. Sea Ray (heavy boat). THE BAD At 251,000 on the way to a trunk or treat for the kids the sun gear in the transmission stripped. This is a very common issue in GM transmissions. The transmission made a not ever so loud pop like something broke and then went into neutral. I stopped to check it out and it work fine when I started again except it did not find third gear. 1st, 2nd and a late overdrive and I was on the highway cruising home. Found out reverse did not work so I had to get a neighbor to push me back into the drive way. Took the transmission out and took it to a small shop to rebuild for $400. Opted for the heavy duty kit for $500 and picked up the rebuilt transmission 8 hours later. The rebuild has been great for 47,000 miles with the original torque converter. THE OTHER BAD-----OTHER REPAIRS SINCE THE TRANS REBUILD ---$150 (myself) premium water pump because it was leaking----premium alternator $90 (myself) because it was not holding 14 volts consistently---- premium fuel pump & filter---$250 (myself) because it was giving the signs of going bad (sometimes needed to crank it several times to start, occasional hesitation on open throttle or flooring the accelerator). Many vehicles have these repairs within the first 100,000 miles but the Tahoe made over 250,000 before needing them. Yes I checked with the 1 and only previous owner and he provided all work receipts. I think that this is exceptional performance for a used truck that had 140,000 on it when purchased. Also realize that the truck is now ready for 50k or more miles with no worries. Now with almost 300,000 miles I can drive this truck across country. Yes, I do occasionally drive it over 1,000 miles one way with no worries. I am on my second set of Michelin tires that give me about 90,000 of wear. I think that a quarter million miles on a transmission is awesome and 300,000 miles on an engine that still purrs is amazing. In my humble opinion this truck has been incredible. 300,000 and I can let my wife drive it anywhere, with no worries, if she wants to use it. In the present state there is absolutely nothing in need of repair on the truck. Current state is 10/10 and the ride is like a Cadillac. That is saying a lot for a vehicle with 300,000 miles on it.