Scotty, I warned my sister about buying a Silverado 1500.
My dad, who used to work for General Motors, talked her into the 1500 because he gets a discount. Dad said when he talked to quality control, they wouldn’t allow for such poor reliability and said it was 1/1,000,000 (trannies) that had major issues. Of course, that was 20 years ago!
I told my sister and father what you said about the 1500s having weak transmissions and that the 2500s are heavy duty transmissions and last a lot longer. I believe you, but how do I prove that statistically speaking, they made a mistake? I need hard data. It might not be too late because she bought it yesterday.
Scott
I need hard data.
It probably doesn't exist. It's expensive to conduct research like that. That means: People won't do it unless there's some incentive. When there's incentive ... there isn't impartiality.
The only reliable information information you'll get is from guys who don't have skin in the game, like Scotty and Car Wizard
I told my sister and father what you said about the 1500s having weak transmissions
The transmissions aren't even the worst of it. They're just all around BAD.
Does your sister know about all the lawsuits? (for the AFM engines, 10-speed transmissions, ...)
My younger bro bought a Silverado and a piston rod decided to make a window in the engine, and pop out and say hello, at 60k miles (because of AFM, the subject of the class action)
They're still using the same technology, and still having the same issues.
that was 20 years ago!
It's not even the same company. The GM that existed 20 years ago folded and closed.
Now we have "New GM", which taxpayers bought and downsized, and they're heavily partnered with China.
"Making a window in the engine", that's hilarious, I lol-ed at that. Haha
Scotty, I warned my sister about buying a Silverado 1500.
My dad, who used to work for General Motors, talked her into the 1500 because he gets a discount. Dad said when he talked to quality control, they wouldn’t allow for such poor reliability and said it was 1/1,000,000 (trannies) that had major issues. Of course, that was 20 years ago!
I told my sister and father what you said about the 1500s having weak transmissions and that the 2500s are heavy duty transmissions and last a lot longer. I believe you, but how do I prove that statistically speaking, they made a mistake? I need hard data. It might not be too late because she bought it yesterday.
Scott
Pretty much anything that's made in Mexico has poorer quality than an equivalent American-made truck. If it doesn't have a 1 in the VIN but 3, it was Hecho en Mexico. Your dad's quality control isn't like it was 20 years ago. Back then, light duty Silverados were Hencho en USA. That's one of the reasons they lasted so much longer (they were also only 4-speeds, which are lots simpler to make, and the guts of which were made in the 80s, the electronics came later). Look at the vehicle's VIN as your first clue.
Okay, I understand that, but how does Scotty know the reliability is poor, other than because he works on vehicles? Is there another trustworthy source of information? He says not to trust reliability ratings from Consumer Reprts or anything like that because they’re basically paid off by the manufacturers.
The law of cheap labor. You get what you pay for. American workers require more in wages per day than Mexicans make in a week. Mexicans built the rear differentials in Chevy light-duty trucks, and they had problems with premature wear. Mexican differentials had 60k miles worth of wear and the time they were brand new. Trust Scotty. He knows what he's talking about.
I've also had many, many GM handles break on me.
I like to look up owner reviews, edmunds is my favorite. See what people are saying that own the vehicles. I have looked up a ton, and they seem to be accurate for the most part. Sort the reviews by lowest rating, and you will see the issues.
Looking up a 2021 chevy 1500 shows all kinds of issues. That is just one example.
Talk to the mechanics who work on them. I have a friend with a shop and he constantly sees all kinds of late-model GM vehicles with terrible engine, transmission, and electrical problems. It's amazing to go there and see vehicles just out of warranty with their engines torn apart and more.
As @imperator says, this is not the General Motors that we knew decades ago, that one is dead and buried.
As @imperator says, this is not the General Motors that we knew decades ago, that one is dead and buried.
That's right. The new GM is very "global". As it turns out previous suppliers are reluctant to sign long term contracts with a company that went into insolvency.
Their EV the "Bolt" (recalled at least three time for fires) hasn't made money yet. GM loses $9k for each one sold. Even though it's assembled in Michigan, the parts come from Korea.
Up to now, most of the car and small SUV models were built on the greek letter platforms that were developed with Fiat/Stellantis
Going forward, GM wants to distill all their vehicles down to a few "Vehicle Set" (VSS) platforms. American hands didn't even touch many of the models from the last couple of years, like the Trax, Trailblazers and Buicks. They're entirely made in Korea. Many are rebadged vehicles that were intended for "emerging markets", of course in North America they're sold with a 1st world price tags.
GM wants to move their entire vehicle line-up to this architecture.
The K2xx platform that underpins the pickups and SUVs up to 2019 is plagued by driveline vibrations (Millions recalled)
GM engineers can’t seem to pinpoint the cause of a mysterious recurring issue in vehicles riding on GM’s K2XX platform, which includes its full-size trucks and SUVs, a problem that was referred to by one dealer as “The Chevy Shake.” Because GM can’t isolate the cause of the problem, a permanent fix has also been elusive.
As mentioned, the 2019 to present T1xx platform pickups are made in Michigan, Indiana, and Mexico