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Looking at buying a truck, possible red flag?

ghost recon88

ghost recon88

Diamond Member
Been looking at getting a full size truck as of late, probably mid 2000s and either a GMC or Chevy. I've found one, 4x4 ext cab Z71 package. Has 144k on it, guy wants $8800. However he says:

"a lot of new parts.15k on new trany,NEW: front rotors,pads and calippers,rear shoes,shocks 4x ,front wheel bearngs L+R ,tires 4x,alternator and battery,back cover same color as truck,full sintetic engine oil ONLY ........."

Is that something that would throw up a red flag for you, having all those parts replaced at 144k? You think that's a sign of a lemon or lots of abuse?
 
Be glad they were replaced at all. Does it drive nice? Have a pre purchase inspection done on the vehicle to make sure there are no hidden issues.

New tranny at that mileage is common if a truck does any towing. Be glad that was done so few miles ago. The suspension parts mentioned are also going to be stressed by towing so that seems reasonable as well.
 
It's all pretty much normal at 144k on a GM truck.



I would be a little concerned about his spelling and lack of attention to details. Ask for paperwork on the trans replacement, take a good look underneath at balljoints, tie rod ends, all the rubber stuff.

On a 4x4 DEFINITELY pay for an inspection. Lots of offroad, mud, etc is terrible for a truck long-term. You end up with mud in the most bizarre places with promotes rust. If a mechanic says walk, then walk.
 
manimal said:
Be glad they were replaced at all. Does it drive nice? Have a pre purchase inspection done on the vehicle to make sure there are no hidden issues.

New tranny at that mileage is common if a truck does any towing. Be glad that was done so few miles ago. The suspension parts mentioned are also going to be stressed by towing so that seems reasonable as well.
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I have not taken it for a test drive yet as its about an hour away. I would take it into a local mechanic to have him look it over, but again the car is a ways away that I'm not familiar with any mechanics in the area. Any thoughts as to how to approach that? Sure don't want to just drive it into any mechanic there.
 
ghost recon88 said:
I have not taken it for a test drive yet as its about an hour away. I would take it into a local mechanic to have him look it over, but again the car is a ways away that I'm not familiar with any mechanics in the area. Any thoughts as to how to approach that? Sure don't want to just drive it into any mechanic there.
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I would probably pay a dealer to do a pre purchase inspection in that case. It'll cost about $100.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
I would probably pay a dealer to do a pre purchase inspection in that case. It'll cost about $100.
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OK great. I ran the VIN and it comes back clean. It has 2 owners, the first owner owned it for 3.5 years and put 53k on it, 2nd owner has owned it 3 years and put damn near 90k on it. 30k a year on a truck, seems kinda...odd 😱
 
ghost recon88 said:
OK great. I ran the VIN and it comes back clean. It has 2 owners, the first owner owned it for 3.5 years and put 53k on it, 2nd owner has owned it 3 years and put damn near 90k on it. 30k a year on a truck, seems kinda...odd 😱
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Nah... It was probably a work truck. carfax and etc can't really be trusted. Have it inspected by someone reputable, make sure the price is fair, that's all you can do. The brakes, wheel bearings, shocks, and even trans isn't anything to be surprised about.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
Nah... It was probably a work truck. carfax and etc can't really be trusted. Have it inspected by someone reputable, make sure the price is fair, that's all you can do. The brakes, wheel bearings, shocks, and even trans isn't anything to be surprised about.
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I guess I'll take it into a Chevy or GMC dealer in the area and pay them to do it. Since it's their product, they should be able to do the best testing and inspection right?
 
I replaced all of those items on my 04 Silverado Z71 between 110,000 and 150,000 miles. Some were wear items, some were just "while I'm at it" items.

I replaced all the brakes and rotors when I bought it at 107,000 miles, pretty much just because I like good brakes and new rotors and I like my own work. Did front wheel bearings when I did brakes mainly because you have done ALL the labor to get to them and they aren't that expensive.

Did shocks not long after that because they looked like the original items, and there was a sale on Bilstein.

Bought tires last Fall, wanted new rubber before Winter, which never showed up, and Michelin had a rebate, so I dropped a $1000 on new Michelin LTX tires. Rides so good on the Michelins and Bilsteins, great investment.

Alternator went bad one day at work, bought a new NAPA alternator and battery changed them both in under an hour while I was home for lunch. Always read to get a new battery with a new alternator, even if its an old wives tale, the battery history was unknown to me, so I got one.
 
all except the transmission are fairly normal. some of those items may be "just because" like the calipers. if they towed a lot then the transmission may have been wore out. Seems like an ok find. drive it and if you like it, go for it.
 
She replied back, seems friendly enough. Will probably go over there Friday with cash in hand. Without me even asking she said I can take it to a mechanic for inspection if I want. Guess her husband now drives a semi truck and she doesn't really want to drive a truck. She has receipts for all that work and labor which is a good sign. Gotta call the insurance agent tomorrow and see how much it would be.
 
Trans seems a bit odd, but then as mentioned if he used it heavily then it could have just worn it quicker (especially if he towed in overdrive a lot, that can cook transmissions if done too much). Person who had my Trailblazer before me did something heavy because he wore the rear differential. Everything else has been fine.

Most of the rest seems typical wear stuff. I'd never fault a vehicle for needing brakes, ball joints, tie rod ends, or wheel bearings after 100k miles. Alternators are a hit and miss I suppose, I've replaced the alternator on all 3 vehicles I've owned (2 because of failing bearings, one because the idiot who mounted it crossthreaded the bolts so when I took it off to work on something else I couldn't remount it!).

30k miles per year? Weak. I've done 40k 😛
 
The most I'm willing to spend is $7500, with them asking $8800 and KBB and Edmunds putting it at over $10k I'm not sure how this is gonna go 🙁 Wonder if I should negotiate a price before taking it to be inspected, or dump my $100 to the dealer, bring it back and then negotiate? Would suck to lose $100 + gas out of the deal for nothing.
 
Could have seen lots of towing as mentioned, or possibly might have been used as a plow truck in a snow removal business. End of season + new job + unwanted truck could add up to something, or it could all be a coincidence.
 
I don't see why people think the tranny being replaced at ~130k is unusual. The 4L60-E is very prone to going out around 100k. They are really just not strong enough transmissions for the torque being put through them by those beefy V8's. It depends on how aggressive of a driver you are, but the one in my Trailblazer started slipping badly around 80k. The one in my parents' Tahoe went out around 105k. I've known plenty of people with Silverados, etc. with the same story. It's just a fact of life when owning a Chevy truck (unless you get one with the heavier-duty 4L80-E). Fortunately, every transmission shop in town will have a ton of them and be able to get it done quickly and reasonably cheaply.
 
ghost recon88 said:
The most I'm willing to spend is $7500, with them asking $8800 and KBB and Edmunds putting it at over $10k I'm not sure how this is gonna go 🙁 Wonder if I should negotiate a price before taking it to be inspected, or dump my $100 to the dealer, bring it back and then negotiate? Would suck to lose $100 + gas out of the deal for nothing.
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Do you even know if they'll let you take it to get it inspected? It'd suck to drive all that way only to have them basically say take it or leave it as is.
 
Luckily there is a dealership 4 miles down the road from them, called and they want $75 for an inspection and it takes 2 hours. There is also a 1:15 drive each way to the truck, so I'm looking at no less than 4:30 for the whole thing. I'm not even sure they are gonna be willing to play ball although their listing doesn't say "firm". Would it be wise/bad idea to call them today and make an offer over the phone, to see if they are even willing to deal? If they aren't gonna budge much from $8800, then it's not even worth my time or inspection money.
 
ghost recon88 said:
Luckily there is a dealership 4 miles down the road from them, called and they want $75 for an inspection and it takes 2 hours. There is also a 1:15 drive each way to the truck, so I'm looking at no less than 4:30 for the whole thing. I'm not even sure they are gonna be willing to play ball although their listing doesn't say "firm". Would it be wise/bad idea to call them today and make an offer over the phone, to see if they are even willing to deal? If they aren't gonna budge much from $8800, then it's not even worth my time or inspection money.
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The fact that they have it at 8800 vs 8000, 8500, means they're willing to negotiate. You might ask if the price is nego before you go down but I wouldn't present an offer. Bring 8000 just in case, as once you go through all this trouble you shouldn't be walking over $500 - in my opinion.


I find it obnoxious when people try to haggle before even seeing the item for sale. I mean it happens, it's just not the correct way to do it.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
The fact that they have it at 8800 vs 8000, 8500, means they're willing to negotiate. You might ask if the price is nego before you go down but I wouldn't present an offer. Bring 8000 just in case, as once you go through all this trouble you shouldn't be walking over $500 - in my opinion.


I find it obnoxious when people try to haggle before even seeing the item for sale. I mean it happens, it's just not the correct way to do it.
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Good point. I really don't even want to pay $7500, $7000 is what I was looking at spending max. If they aren't willing to even come down to $8000, I'm not interested as I'll move on and keep searching for trucks in the $6000 range. I just figured I'd be willing to bump it up to $7500 since the truck is a bit nicer and newer than many of the other ones I've seen.
 
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