Help- what do you think a 2000 Tahoe for a 2005 Corolla?

Ok I know this is weird but I need some help on this one. We have a 2005 Toyota Corolla sport fully loaded with 60,000 miles on it. It is a great little car, and we have had NO problems. But it can't haul a camper. We were looking to trade it for a truck with extended cab or SUV, or get about $12,000.

We got an offer for a 2000 Chevy Tahoe with 102,000 miles on it, with tow package and third row seating (something we would really like). They would also give us $3,000 cash.

Does anyone have a Tahoe? How long do you think we could expect a Tahoe that old to last? What kind of repair bills do you think we would have?
We are doing the Dave Ramsey thing and trying to live debt free so we don't want to finance anything. The extra cash would help pay for the camper. But the Corolla could easily last another 10+ years. What do you think of the deal?

Here is some pictures of the two cars in question.
Tahoe
https://picasaweb.google.com/1175970...eat=directlink

Corolla
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toyota...58624907541097

I think you'd be crazy to make that trade. But if you absolutely need something to tow a trailer with.....

But your monthly gas bill will at least double if you trade a 2005 corolla (32/40 mpg) for a tahoe (14/17 mpg).

I think that'd be a good trade actually. The ONLY thing I would be worried about is the amount of miles on the Tahoe....but from what I understand trucks do okay with higher miles IF they are cared for properly. Good luck!

I think it'll be fine. Find out what they were towing with it. Trucks last, gas doesn't. Looked at the pics. The truck looks good to me.

Gas really isn't a big worry for us. I am stay at home and my husband works .3 miles from work. He could easily walk. The kids school is .2 miles from home and most of my family lives within a 5 mile radius. A lot of them in less than 1 mile.

We also have an older Oldsmoble car that has about 80,000 miles on it and is good on gas. It runs pretty good, and we would use it mostly now. currently with us driving the corolla so much it can go more than a week without anyone driving it.

My biggest concern is how long would it be before we have to replace them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by garweft

I think you'd be crazy to make that trade. But if you absolutely need something to tow a trailer with.....

But your monthly gas bill will at least double if you trade a 2005 corolla (32/40 mpg) for a tahoe (14/17 mpg).

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I agree.

My Toyota just turned over 200k miles last weekend when I took drove it from Kansas City to Minneapolis...on one tank of gas.

Still runs strong.

Personally, I'd keep looking for something with less miles...with over 100k miles, you may start having to replacing little things here and there...and they'll start adding up. And it'll be a hassle...unless you or hubby likes tinkering with autos...then again you may get lucky and have no problems at all...it's a bit of a gamble...

I would make the trade. My old boss had a 2000 chevy 1500 that had 180k on it that still ran great and had plenty of power, and it was a work truck that got driven every where. If you're not planning on driving it much, then maintainance and repairs shouldn't be too bad. Make sure it was well maintained before trading though, and have a mechanic look it over and check it out first. If all checks out, then I would say good trade.

If you need it go for it. I have had more than one Chevy truck with more than 200,000 on them before I got rid of them and they were still going strong. If it has been maintained properly it should not be a problem. If you have a personal mechanic you can trust get it checked out. Run a Carfax to check and see if it has any major stuff going on with it. Have they used it for 100,000 towing? Trans should be serviced at 100,000 especially if they have been using it for towing...

It all depends on what you want. I personally would make the trade but I was/am a mechanice and I do all my own work. Nice thing is, IF it comes down to a motor they are cheap to buy. Depending which transmission it has in it, can be a little more costly to replace.
Just make sure they took care of it, most people just gas and go:mad:
Find a mechanic you TRUST and get them to give it a look over, compression test, cylinder leak down and fuel pressure can give you a good idea of what condition the motor is in. Fuel pressure will let you know if the fuel pump is getting weak.:gj:

How often are you hauling a camper or needing the towing capacities? Reason I ask is that if its not very often, maybe you could just rent a suitable vehicle to tow the camper and use the Corolla the rest of the time.

It could easily be worth it with the gas you'd be saving to rent occasionally - that Tahoe is going to guzzle gas, especially compared to the corolla. I have no experience with Tahoes, but know that Corollas are bulletproof - that car will easily go another 200k if you take care of it.

If you need to pull a camper, then its an obvious move. Things to check for include the transmission and rear axle seals..make sure there aren't any fresh drips, or that it hasn't been washed up too much. Also look for any signs of rust on the inside of the bumpers and body pannels. If its a northern vehicle, they can look clean on the outside, and be hiding rust on the frame and other areas.

Be sure you take it to a mechanic you trust and have them check it out for you, if you arent mechanically inclined.

The Tahoe should last many more years to come, with proper maintenance and service. If you want to, check out Fullsizechevy.com. I'm a member over there (same screename), and there is tons of information. Plenty of do it yourself threads, and lots of modification ideas to make it a better vehicle for towing. I just saw one about adding brake control for trailers/campers without having to spend $60 for a harness.

Well it looks like my husband decided to keep the Corolla and save up cash for a SUV or Truck and buy one next year. I was really excited to get a camper but it looks like I will just have to wait.

It is funny, it is usually him in a hurry to get a truck and I talk him out of it .:please: This time he talked me out of trading the Corolla. Life is funny like that. When you have don't have someone else looking at the cons, then you are forced to do it yourself. :( Next year seems like a long time away for me. :rolleyes:

what size camper are you looking at?? small pop-up maybe??:D