Tahoe "PPV/SSV" as a DD / Light Duty Work Truck

[andratch]

Hey all,

I'm new here, and new to Tahoes. Currently, I have a 2012 Impala as a company vehicle. I pay a fixed monthly rate, and that covers the car, gas, insurance, and maintenance. I deal with industrial automation and big power systems, so it's not exactly ideal...but it didnt cost me much in the past, so I dealt with it. Well, now they're going to start charging us $350/mo for the car, and that's pushing my limits of the value of having it.

I need a "lightly ruggedized" vehicle that can haul my dogs around on the weekend (in the Impala, I have to vacuum out my back seat every other day...very annoying), and carry a bunch of demo equipment during the week. But a standard "LT" is almost double the cost of a PPV...hence my interest in a PPV! I have a friend with a 2010 model PPV - It's pretty basic, which is what I want. No spot lights, push bumpers, or any of that nonsense - just a standard base PPV....but the heavy duty features appeal to me. I can just throw a hot spot and my field service laptop into it, and I'm all set.

Here's my dilemma. The company car is $350/mo and covers the car, all maintenance, insurance, and gas. If I bought my friend's Tahoe, I could cover the payment with that $350 i'd save, but I'd have to cover the rest (gas, insurance, maintenance) with mileage charges. At $0.56 mile and about 2250 miles a month, that gives me $1260.

Breakdown:

+$1260
-$380 (gas @ 3.24)
-$120 (insurance)
--------------------
$760

So here's my question - If I buy a 2010 Tahoe with about 80k miles, can I survive on $500 per month (conservatively) for maintenance for the next 4 years or so? I'd be at almost 200k miles by the end of 4 years, but this isn't the 80s anymore, I kind of expect that from a modern car. The impala feels like it's about to fall apart at 60k miles, I'm assuming and hoping that the Tahoes are a bit more sturdy, especially in PPV/SSV attire.

 

[canakin]

This may be a bit late, but maybe it will help. Those trucks are simple and durable.

I don't know that I understand the monthly figures entirely, but you have to figure that the truck gets 15mpg around town and 20 on highway, if you're lucky. Certainly less than your impala.

Two maintenance items that may cost you a bit more are the brakes and tires. If it has the OEM wheel/tire combo, those Good Year Eagles are great, but the performance tire does not last as long as your typical passenger tire. The P265/60R17 tire is also a unique size and the only replacement I can find is the same Good Year tire at $233+ a tire.

As you can imagine, the brakes are made to stop a heavy vehicle at high speeds and therefore won't win any awards for longevity. A quick check on Rock Auto says the police pads will run you $40 more for front.

Oil/Oil Filter/Air Filter should all be the same.

 

[andratch]

This may be a bit late, but maybe it will help. Those trucks are simple and durable.

I don't know that I understand the monthly figures entirely, but you have to figure that the truck gets 15mpg around town and 20 on highway, if you're lucky. Certainly less than your impala.

Two maintenance items that may cost you a bit more are the brakes and tires. If it has the OEM wheel/tire combo, those Good Year Eagles are great, but the performance tire does not last as long as your typical passenger tire. The P265/60R17 tire is also a unique size and the only replacement I can find is the same Good Year tire at $233+ a tire.

As you can imagine, the brakes are made to stop a heavy vehicle at high speeds and therefore won't win any awards for longevity. A quick check on Rock Auto says the police pads will run you $40 more for front.

Oil/Oil Filter/Air Filter should all be the same.

Thanks for the input. I actually found a 2013 model SSV with about 10k miles on it for around $25k, I'm going to pick that up this week. Sure the MPG will be much less than the Impala, but it will be a much more practical car for what I need - and that's worth it's weight in gold.

As far as tires are concerned - yes, that's a one-off size. But I could use a 265/65/17 and while the speedo would be maybe half a mph off, the price of tires in that size drops by 50%.