Buying a GM, what will happen.....

Systems

Hello

I've been looking at buying a Chevy Colorado/GMC canyon, extended cab 4x4, I5. I really like the looks of the pickup and have test drove them a couple of times now. I've never been a big truck guy and have a Dakota right now, its an 02 and am getting some pretty crappy mileage with it lately and its time to trade it off anyway.

I like to shop locally in our one horse town, we have a Dodge, Ford and GM dealer here.

I guess I'm a little scared that GM might go under or declare bankruptcy, or should I not worry about it.....

madmax

Lorthos wrote: »

I guess I'm a little scared that GM might go under or declare bankruptcy, or should I not worry about it.....

Are you kidding? Any company of any type no matter what their present position may be out of business tomorrow.

GM has more chance of being in business tomorrow than most companies.

In my opinion (as a GM owner for the last 30 years) GM sucks in a lot of ways. Go with a Toyota.
madmax

AsSiMiLaTeD

GM going under or filing for bankruptcy? Not likely....

66chevyIISS

GM must be doing something right if you keep going back for the past 30 years :rolleyes:

bigaudiofanatic

LMAO good luck with GM. My neighbor owns a safari van and he hates it. Broke pplenty of times. Get a chevy.

madmax

66chevyIISS wrote: »

GM must be doing something right if you keep going back for the past 30 years :rolleyes:

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
Everything electrical went bad on all of them. Always started and moved though. I'm stupid but I finally figured it out. Lets see, 71 Monte Carlo, 76 Caprice, 84 Monte Carlo SS, 87 IROC Camaro, 91 Camaro Z28 1LE, 99 GMC pickup, 99 Blazer ZR2. I think I'm pretty seasoned. I thought everything failing was pretty normal. For awhile. Never again after owning something else. So, :rolleyes:
madmax:D

Oh, btw, not putting down the classics. Still have the 91 Z28 1le, nothing beats it for fun. Its just that everyone else (foreign models) seem to know how to make cars that run forever without everything going wrong.

honda cber

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

LMAO good luck with GM. My neighbor owns a safari van and he hates it. Broke pplenty of times. Get a chevy.

ummm... ever notice on older chevy's how the seat belt buckle says GM?

a

obieone

The trick is to NOT get all the bells & whistles with whatever car you buy. You get something that's got pwr. everything, your just factoring in that much more stuff that can break.
The same thing goes for appliances. People always get pissed when they spend $3k on a washer/ dryer/refer, then it keeps breaking.

sucks2beme

madmax wrote: »

:
Oh, btw, not putting down the classics. Still have the 91 Z28 1le, nothing beats it for fun. Its just that everyone else (foreign models) seem to know how to make cars that run forever without everything going wrong.

The correct answer is some Japanese models know how. Some, like
Mitsubishi and Mazdas aren't very good. And a lot of Euro brands
leave quality out of their products. Weird, but the Chevy Colbalt
seems to be getting high marks in quality. Like anything else,
do your homework.
What's even more strange, Toyota doesn't really make a "small"
truck anymore. The compact truck is barely smaller than the full size.
Nissan seems to have not bloated their compact truck like many others
have.
I know I'd have to think long and hard before buying another Ford F150.
Not just MPG, the dependability that used to be their bread and butter
has gone out of the design. Lifting the hood on my 1998, you can't even get to
stuff under the hood anymore. The engine bay looks more like a damn
Camaro than a full size truck. The top overhangs the engine bay so much,
you can't even see the back of the motor. I believe the new ones are the same.
If any more spark plugs shoot out while driving, I'm gonna leave it by the roadside.

Mazeroth

My family has never had a serious problem with any of our (counting...) 13 GM vehicles purchased since 1984. The only one that had a problem was my brother's 1991 Grand Am that had over 200,000 miles on it and the transmission went out. Other than that, just nickel dime fixes like a $50 starter here and a $20 O2 sensor there. And, 8 of those vehicles were manufactured over 10 years ago. GM did have some QC problems in recent years but they've really turned things around and have been making some very nice vehicles recently.

madmax

Truthfully I'm a little put off now with GM after owning something else. You know, some people make cars where the window motors and controls don't go bad? Did you know some people make cars where you don't have to replace the starter and alternator every 5 years or sooner? Some have cars where the electric mirrors continue to work? Some even have fuel pumps which work for the life of the car. I know I'm nit picking here but the power locks keep working. Also, some cars even have lighting that doesn't start condensing with water after the first year. Oh, and you know the stereos keep playing after 2 years. Not to mention the AC compressors don't throw bolts at high RPM's and the fuel sensors don't get eratic after 3 years causing your check engine light to stay on. Some don't even seem to have a problem with the serpentine belts. Damn, who woulda thought.
madmax

Edit, some cars don't have windshields that start separating from the glue that holds them on... I could go on but thats about all I can think of right off. Oh yeah,some cars even get better than 15mpg.

Face

I've put over well over 200,000 miles on GM cars in the last 10 years and have never had to replace a window motor, starter, mirror, fuel pump, fuel sensor, or have had problems with serpentine belts besides the usual maintenance. I had my first A/C compressor replaced today though. I believe the 80's and early 90's wasn't a great time for them, but they've come around the last 10 years.

madmax

honda cber wrote: »

ummm... ever notice on older chevy's how the seat belt buckle says GM?

a

Oh yeah, until you have to replace them during a recall. Got a ticket for that one even though I explained to the cop that the parts to repair it had been on backorder for 2 months. (87 Iroc)
madmax

madmax

Did I mention ball joints? Replaced them 3 times in 4 years on my GMC. I'm guessing thats a GM thing. Oh, and the torsion bar mounts? What a hell of a sound they make after 2 years when they went bad.
madmax

madmax

I will say the 4wd worked every time I ever tried it in the summer. Unfortunately, every winter it seemed to never engage. Found some hoses with cracks and replaced them. Still was intermittant. That was on my 91. Pretty sad as this was 93 or so. When I picked up the 99 its 4wd was just showing the same problem but I took it anyway. A check of the hoses showed the same cracks as the 91. I replaced them and it actually worked for a few winters. Still sometimes intermittant but overall seemed to kick in most times.
madmax

exalted512

I don't know how you treat your cars, but my family has never had as many issues you've had.

On our 89 GMC, we had the tranny go out, most likely due to my brother. On our 96, we had the ac compressor go out. Before that we had never had one problem, literally. Our 92 had problems with the 4wd engaging until there was wheel spin, but obviously it wasn't needed until there was wheel spin, so no big deal.

Actually, my 04 did have the power steering pump go out. It was under warranty.
-Cody

AsSiMiLaTeD

^^^ For someone who's never had many issues, that's quite a few things you listed.

My family has all owned Toyota for about 20 years and have literally never once had a single issue outside of normal wear and tear items like belts, brakes and tires...20 years, two trucks for my step dad and two cars for my mom, and now we've had our 4Runner for 4.5 years, not a single problem with any of them...ever

That's not to say Toyota's never have any problems, that's just been my experience and is why I'll never buy anything else again. I've got too much other important **** to deal with than to have to worry about our car...

strider

While I think GM has been improving lately, I'd still go for a 'yota. Damn solid vehicles, a good percentage of the cars are built in the US, not to mention Toyota really stands by their product.

I'm not certain about GM's financial health currently, but are they that bad off they may go under in the next 5 or so years. It may sound weird, but I'm not certain how worried I'd be if I owned a car out of warranty. If the manufacturer isn't paying the repair bills any longer, why do you need them? The aftermarket will pick up the slack producing replacement parts.

exalted512

Polkmaniac wrote: »

^^^ For someone who's never had many issues, that's quite a few things you listed.

My family has all owned Toyota for about 20 years and have literally never once had a single issue outside of normal wear and tear items like belts, brakes and tires...20 years, two trucks for my step dad and two cars for my mom, and now we've had our 4Runner for 4.5 years, not a single problem with any of them...ever

That's not to say Toyota's never have any problems, that's just been my experience and is why I'll never buy anything else again. I've got too much other important **** to deal with than to have to worry about our car...

Wow, one thing that would make the truck not driveable...

All the ones we had problems with besides my 04 were pushing 200k miles when it happened, all were work trucks that were used as such. At the time, automakers like toyota didnt have anything to compete...so I guess I just we shouldve just not bought any vehicles?

Honestly, how do you compare GM trucks to toyotas when THEY DIDNT HAVE ANYTHING COMPARABLE.

Your entire argument is ridiculous at best.
-Cody

bobman1235

My corporate entity is better than your corporate entity!!

My favorite car problem to date is my brother's Jeep Grand Cherokee. To get it out of 4WD, he has to drive over a pothole. How does he know this? It says to do so in the manual.

American cars are awesome.

madmax

I used to think all these problems were just the price of owning a vehicle, any vehicle. Then I started to notice all the foreign cars and their characteristics on service. I love GM cars, just don't want to work on them any more. At least they always go, its just the annoying type stuff that goes bad. My last problem was the heater core leaking in my blazer. That one really annoyed me. 5 years old and I find out its a VERY common problem. I went ahead and fixed it but the next year the transmission died. Also a VERY common problem as I read on a bunch of internet sites. I just said eff it at that point and dumped the thing.
madmax

demaples

My 2 cents worth.We have 3 company Colorados and can't keep the front ends aligned causing excessive tire wear.

honda cber

honda cber wrote: »

ummm... ever notice on older chevy's how the seat belt buckle says GM?

madmax wrote: »

Oh yeah, until you have to replace them during a recall. Got a ticket for that one even though I explained to the cop that the parts to repair it had been on backorder for 2 months. (87 Iroc)
madmax

niiice. i had a no-seat-belt vehicle, but it was a non-GM '73 F-100. never had them installed.
i was just saying that in reference to the above post that advises (paraphrased) "dont buy a GM, get a chevy instead".

my '95 mid-sized blazer is still running pretty ok @ 150k. fixing the check engine light (that was/is on eternally) was a cheap fix---- 2" of black electrical tape was applied, and i havent seen it since :rolleyes:. in my county, '95 and earlier are exempt from "full" inspection (read: OBDII, which my 95 has). it runs rich until it warms up, so gas mileage is kinda bad (and being vortec only exacerbates the issue). the AC has been electrically problematic, and now the system is leaky. the wipers have a mind of their own, and sometimes either wont turn on or turn off, and sometimes they stop halfway down. anti-lock sensors are fried, which creates a "potentially" dangerous scenario tha i simply "deal with", not to mention the frequent illumination of the ABS idiot light (i must be an idiot, because those lights do not affect me anymore). and even a DIY tune-up is EXPENSIVE and a TRUE PITA. coil packs???? cmon! but man, that GM leather interior is plush! lol. and i must admit, it has always started when i needed it to.

i had an '85 K5 that i loved though, and would still have if i didnt total it head-on into a tree. i truly believe i might have died in a newer car, airbags or not.

now, that F-100 i mentioned? i finally blew it up (head gasket from a dicey radiator failure) at 283k. 351W and 3 -on-the-tree. power nothing, except to the wheels, not even power steering. mechanical fuel pump. a starter that you can almost remove from the top of the vehicle. a DIY tune-up WITH WIRES for about $35. not to mention that there was almost enough room in the engine bay for *another* 351W. ahh, they dont build 'em like they used to.

oh, and it would pass just about anything except a gas pump.

a

Systems

madmax wrote: »

Are you kidding? Any company of any type no matter what their present position may be out of business tomorrow.

GM has more chance of being in business tomorrow than most companies.

In my opinion (as a GM owner for the last 30 years) GM sucks in a lot of ways. Go with a Toyota.
madmax

The closest Toyota dealership is 350 miles away......

Systems

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

LMAO good luck with GM. My neighbor owns a safari van and he hates it. Broke pplenty of times. Get a chevy.

Hmm theres a GM badge on the Chevy Colorado......hmmm what to do, what to do....

Systems

madmax wrote: »

Are you kidding? Any company of any type no matter what their present position may be out of business tomorrow.

GM has more chance of being in business tomorrow than most companies.

In my opinion (as a GM owner for the last 30 years) GM sucks in a lot of ways. Go with a Toyota.
madmax

Uhhh, no I wasn't kidding, was pretty serious, thats why I brought it up....

phuz

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

LMAO good luck with GM. My neighbor owns a safari van and he hates it. Broke pplenty of times. Get a chevy.

I hope this was a joke?

If you buy a Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Hummer, Cadillac, Opel, Saab, Saturn, etc. then you're buying a GM vehicle.

dorokusai

Aside form the stupid TPMS system, my Chevy runs just like our Audi....perfectly. I'm not worried at all about the future of GM.

exalted512

What problems are you having with the TPMS? All new cars are federally mandated to have them now since 07 or 08. Such a hassle if you ever want to change rims/tires.
-Cody

bigaudiofanatic

hmmm 200k gm or a 96 hond civic with 396k orignal clutch, trans, motor, fuel pump the only thing that went bad on this car was the radiator. O and not to meantion the noise there are no creaking or craks. I'll stick with honda.

audiobliss

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

I'll stick with honda.

Oh goodie. That'll leave the nice cars for me, then.