One more reason I dont like gm

[country_boy]

Ok I was looking over my aunts 2007 yukon was brand new. Its got 50,000 on it only and its starting to fall part. The sun roof leaks horribly and she never has used it, windows the same deal but with regular use. Some kind of leak coming from the side air bag column?? I dont know on that one, the dash board glass plastic whatever it is cracked in two places, I can go on with a list. But the idea that she takes really good care of it and all these things are showing is the same deal they went through with many gm products from the 70's to current. Im not a ford lover but, the only problems we had with the truck were 2 tranny rebuilds in the 15 years we've owned it. That said my 99 dodge cummins has had only general maintenance with just 155k. So thats my rant on gm for the day. Back to the saiga project.

 

[shooterfpga]

my issue only with ford is i blew the turbos and all four ball joints in under 3 months on an 2009 f450 dually fresh off the lot with less than 1k on the ticker. other than that it was nice.

 

[Texan2]

dodge and ford have their share of issues as well. I have had great vehicles from all 3 makers and crap from all 3 makers.

 

[Jakashh]

If you are leaking some sort of fluid from under your dash (air bag column, like the pillar air bag? or the airbag area on the dash?), it could be a heater core. Those are fun, I hear.

 

[shooterfpga]

dodge is great, if you know all the problems with weak automatic trannies, cracked dashboards, vp44 injector issues, etc, etc. i have a dodge and spent a lot of money fixing issues that shouldnt have left the factory that way. but the good thing was theres aftermarket support to repair it. once that was done it hasnt had any issues.

 

[shortround]

Government Motors always suffered from union contracts that took money away from quality and put it into Platinum Retirement & Health Benefits.

Same is happening with the U.S. and State Governments.

Government Employees make more $$ than the people they depend on to pay their salaries.

This will not end well.

Be well.

 

[Rangerscott]

Rubber manufactures must be cutting some good corners. My mothers 1 yr old nissan already has falling apart rubber exterior parts. Dont get me started on all the faded black plastic and oxidizing headlights. It's ridiculous.

 

[AKM]

Im dodge guy Ive had 2, unfortunatly drive a chevy now....Cant wait to get another dodge. The only ford experience Ive had is with my 73 F-100

 

[TxBigfoot]

dodge and ford have their share of issues as well. I have had great vehicles from all 3 makers and crap from all 3 makers.

Same here. A friend of mine bought a 2011 Z71, that thing stays at the dealership getting fixed, one damn thing after another. I told him not to get rid of the Titan. My 03 Hemi has been good to me, and I abuse the hell outta that poor truck.

 

[Texan2]

I have an 88 Suburban and a 09 Silverado. The Suburban has needed next to nothing and the Silverado had needed exactly zero trips to the shop. Like I said....you can get a lemon from any of the big 3.

 

[zembonez]

Open the sunroof and unclog the drains. That's probably where most of the water is coming from. Not exactly the car's fault is dirt and crap has clogged them. Most any vehicle with a sunroof can have the same issue. According to my Chevrolet dealer owning buddy... not one instrument lens has been replaced at the dealership in an 07 up Suburban. They have never ordered one.

Sounds like a little attention and maintenance would have solved most of her ills.

My 07 GMC truck has never had a wrench on it. Needs nothing almost 5 years later.

 

[M. Sage]

Rubber manufactures must be cutting some good corners. My mothers 1 yr old nissan already has falling apart rubber exterior parts. Dont get me started on all the faded black plastic and oxidizing headlights. It's ridiculous.

Recycling sucks.

 

[ROGER4314]

For most of my life, I bought ONLY USA brand cars and trucks. Being a single man, I bought a new vehicle every 2 years until excise tax got so high I couldn't justify it any longer and I stretched that out to about 4 years.

Had two Fords full size cars with small block V8's that were OK but underpowered. The best vehicles included my 69 Plymouth Fury 3 with 383 CI engine. That was a BIG car but it got 21 MPG and had very high performance for a big car! Do any of you remember what it's like to floor the long pedal and have the tires turn into smoking do-nuts? I had a full size Chevy Monte Carlo company car that ran like that, too. Our cars used to run like Hell!

Had a new Ford F-100 pickup and it performed pretty well but it had the 300ci six and drank fuel like a drunken sailor.

A great ride was my 1981 Chevy full size 1/2 ton pickup. I LOVED that truck! It ran forever on a tank of gas and since I prefer standard transmission, was totally trouble free. In the second year, I traded it and really missed that truck.

Then the going got rough. I got an 83 Chevy S-10 pickup. That truck was the worst DOG on Earth. It had ZERO performance and couldn't get out of its own way.

Then an 85 Chevy S-10 came along. It ran OK but the engine started knocking at 70K miles. I dropped a Chevy 350 small block and a Turbo 350 trans into it and it perked right up! It got 14 MPG and would dust off the Cameros and Firebirds of the day. I drove that truck every day!

Since I got burned a few times, I decided to keep some older American rides and just kept them running. Chevy pickups and a Ford full size van entered here. Also had a nice 86 Chevy Silverado with 454 and Turbo 400. The truck was a beauty but gas? Oh Chit! When I sold that truck, I gave it away for $1000 and it drove off with $160 of fuel in the twin tanks. I put an engine or transmission in these vehicles as needed, rear axle, brakes or whatever was needed but the bodies just fell apart. It was like driving a junkyard.

Someone GAVE me a Hyundai Sonata and it wasn't worth what I paid for it. Couldn't get rid of that car fast enough and sold it for pocket change! The guy who bought it came back a few weeks later and said "I feel like we screwed you on that deal." I replied "Don't feel bad, I would have paid YOU $500 to take it!"

I got a new 98 Chevy S-10 and drove it for a while. It wasn't much better than the older ones.

I switched to Jeep Wranglers. Persistent, recurring problems drove me nuts! I put in 3 A/C blower fan controls and used to keep spares on hand! The bodies of the Jeeps were built like tanks so my main beefs were with fuel mileage. Jeep Wranglers suck on gas mileage and the 4 cylinder was dog slow. I read somewhere that a 4 cylinder Wrangler did the quarter mile in 30 seconds. I believe that! People used to blast their horns at me in traffic. It was friggin' humiliating! The Jeep Wrangler inline six with 5 speed was much better in performance but gas mileage sucked. Have you ever done 80 MPH in a soft top Wrangler? It's not something you'd want to do a lot. I keep my old 93 Wrangler YJ with hard top but only for the beach and to pull small trailers.

Then came my Toyota Corolla and my quest ended. The car cost $16K and the parts are pricey but I no longer need to work on my cars all the time to keep them running. That sucker just keeps going like a Timex, gets 34MPG Highway, everything works and when I mash down on the throttle, that car comes alive! It has variable valve timing and the performance is astonishing. On the highway, you need to keep a close eye on the speedometer or you'll be doing 85+! The body is solid and straight, ride is good, the A/C will freeze you out, heater will toast bread and again, everything works! There is a bit too much road noise but I just turn on some tunes and ignore it.

American cars are no longer American. Many foreign cars are made here. The market is different, now. My Honda Gold Wing cycle was made in Marysville, Ohio and my Toyota Corolla was made in the US, too. Things just aren't the same and the truth about American/foreign manufacture has changed.

What IS still true is that American brands have sold me the last pile of crap they will ever sell me. After owning a Toyota, if you GAVE me a new American car or truck, I'd sell it and buy a Toyota! The genius of American Motor companies took a fanatical supporter of their products and shit on me until I cried "UNCLE". I'm stubborn and didn't give up without a fight but finally I screamed "ENOUGH!- No Mas!"

Flash

 

[TheDan]

I had been soured to GM for quite awhile, but after a 98 C1500 fell into my lap I'm starting to come around. It's got a shit ton of miles on it and still runs good. I've got practically nothing money wise into it. Even with the proprietary Ceby ECU crap, its easy to work on. I don't think I'll ever get that check engine light to go off, tho

 

[piledriver]

I agree with Roger. My Toyota prerunner just keeps going with very little trouble. It's a 98 with 272 thousand miles. Automatic transmission. Still has the factory AC system. Good paint and the plastic has no cracks. I did need to replace the radiator and a U joint. It has a 2 inch lift with over size tires. I did replace the brakes, belts and plugs but that is normal stuff. Change the oil every 4 thousand. In the transmission I drop whats in the pan and replace it with every motor oil change as well. My last set of tires lasted just over 100.000 miles.

I've owned Ford, Dodge and GM. Until they can build a better vehicle I'm staying with Toyota. But I think that new Tundra is butt ass ugly LOL

 

[M. Sage]

Then an 85 Chevy S-10 came along. It ran OK but the engine started knocking at 70K miles.

Ahh, the 2.5 liter 4 cylinder engine. They all did that (usually earlier than that mileage), if memory serves it was piston slap you were hearing. But yeah, they sounded like they were going to die any second.

 

[country_boy]

If I had to do it all over again, I'd get a 70's chevy with a 350 and a 350 turbo tranny and be done with it. But, nowadays most of these old trucks are gone. I spent years looking for one.

 

[TheDan]

If I had to do it all over again, I'd get a 70's chevy with a 350 and a 350 turbo tranny and be done with it. But, nowadays most of these old trucks are gone. I spent years looking for one.

They are still out there, you probably just need to increase your maximum price when searching...
You could get a 2003 pick-up for $8k or you could get a 1973 pick-up for $8k.

Seems ridiculous on the surface, but if you are your own mechanic, the '73 might be the most economical in the long run.

 

[kurt]

I went with Toyota a few years ago over my frustration with Ford, Chrysler, Jeep and GM. I was never happier than I am with my Tundra or my Rav 4.

 

[M. Sage]

Two funny problems GM has on their hands right now.

Chevy Volts catching fire after crash tests. I knew it was going to happen; their battery pack placement is pants-on-head retarded.

And 48,000 Chevy Sonics recalled for possible missing brake pads. They realized they had a problem in December, but letters won't go out for a week or two. "Oh, by the way... no rush, but you might be missing a brake pad or two." !?