Concern about suspension rust?

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smithk3933

5/11/2008 7:44:25 AM

Ok I found what I thought was the perfect Tahoe for me... 05, Z71, Silver, all the options, great price only 30k miles. Just when I thought I found THE car, I look underneath and notice quite a bit of rust on various suspension components. The bottom of the shocks, front axles, drive shaft, etc. Not much on the actual frame, spare wheel.

I looked at the CARFAX and it shows it spent first two years in Ohio. I looked at a couple of other nice examples several of which were from the northern states and they all seem to show a similar amount of rust. On examples that have spent their life in the south, very little rust on components. The rest of the car is in excellent shape as you would expect for 30k miles.

The Tahoe is being sold by a Chevrolet dealer and is offered with the GM 5yr/100k drivetrain warranty. Dealer of course says this is no concern. My question is should I be concerned or is this normal surface rust?

Thanks for the feedback.

Keith

73shark

5/11/2008 8:05:52 PM

Welcome to the Tahoe forum. Also welcome to rust belt vehicles. My wife bought an '04 Tahoe that was from WI and it was about like what you described. The things you described are all pretty heavy items that would have to rust for a long time before it became detrimental. The frame is probably the most susceptable to weakening from rust but even there it takes a long time before that happens.

Bottom line, I wouldn't worry about it on a vehicle that new. Let us know how it goes and put up some pics if you get it.