2BLAZERS
1/2 ton status
I have a 2000 Tahoe LT. Its got 188k miles and no major problems. The old guy I bought it from took ocd care of it and documented every service. I got it bone stock but decided to personalize it a bit with wheels, tires, exhaust, and a custom tune. Even if you want to leave it stock, (which it sounds like you want to) I highly recommend getting a tune. (I'd recommend it on ANY vehicle) But on the Tahoe it was flipping a switch. It takes off faster now, shifts firmer, shifts a little higher, and is more responsive. It makes it quite a bit more fun to drive as factory tune was pretty lazy.
Anyways, before I started touching it, it was like riding around in you living room comfortable. After cranking the torsion bars it got a little stiffer but after upgrading to some Bilstein 5100s the soft ride returned.
For that I'd recommend trying to find one without the auto-level system. It will break on you and it is expensive to fix if you want to repair it. However its easy to delete by replacing the shocks with non-autoride ones and installing a resistor between 2 pins on a connector to keep the lights on the dash off. If you find one with a working system that's the right price/mileage/condition I wouldn't let that system stop you buying it.
Some minor quirks to mention:
- Driver seat tends to wear and rip on the edge from sliding in and out all the time.
- Window regulators can fail from time to time but are pretty cheap and easy to replace yourself. (youtube videos can walk you through it)(otherwise a dealer will bend you over to have it replaced)
- The rear door hinge spring keepers like to squeak like crazy after a number of years. Again replacing them aren't bad and you can do it yourself.
- Transfercase encoder ring can go out from time to time (easy bolt on replacement)
- The Tow/Haul button can stop working as over time the action of the shifter will break the wire. You have to replace the whole shifter handle as it comes with the pigtail but again its easy to do.
There are so many Tahoe/Suburbans out there in the '00-'06 style that you have the benefit of not having to settle for what is a mediocre deal or truck. its a buyers market, remember that. There were some people trying to charge far too much for junk with interiors all ragged out by kids but the deals are there. I bought mine for $3500.
Wow I want your deal!
