If you want a Tahoe that'll outlive your mortgage, hunt down a 2000-2006 GMT800, the last generation before GM added Active Fuel Management and turned oil consumption into a lifestyle. Those trucks routinely hit 250k miles with just a transmission rebuild somewhere past 150k. Everything from 2007 forward carries the AFM lifter time bomb: one collapsed lifter means a $5,000 engine teardown, and the 6L80/8L90 transmissions fail even when you do everything right. The 2021 redesign rides better and looks sharper, but dealership techs report transmission replacements at 1,400 miles, and GM's killing CarPlay in 2026, locking you into their buggy infotainment forever. Buy a GMT800 if you want peace of mind, or budget for an AFM delete the day you sign. Skip this if you want a full-size SUV that doesn't require a maintenance prayer circle.
Stellantis stretched the Wagoneer name across two wildly different products, and only one deserves consideration. The gas-powered version is a spacious three-row hauler with a strong turbo six and genuinely comfortable highway manners, think of it as a Tahoe alternative that trades GM's proven reliability for slightly nicer interior materials and Stellantis's signature electrical quirks. You'll deal with infotainment freezes and the occasional dead battery, but it'll get your family where they're going. The Wagoneer S electric variant is a different animal entirely: owners report repeated 12V auxiliary battery failures that strand the vehicle mid-drive, documented unintended acceleration incidents, and dealer networks that can't fix the problems. Several are pursuing lemon law buybacks, and Stellantis paused US production until 2027. If you need three rows and can stomach the depreciation hit, the gas Wagoneer works, just budget for electrical gremlins. Skip the Wagoneer S entirely.