31st May 2010, 22:18
I am not sure why anyone thinks any American car can outlast an import. It is pretty comical to see these 300K mile cars on here with no repairs needed. Their driving around with the tranny stuck in second gear, no AC or heat and the radio has been dead for years... but it still goes forward so it doesn't need any repairs... LOL.
2nd Jun 2010, 11:24
Sorry you got a rare bad GM car and a shop that duped you into thousands in unnecessary "repairs". Our last GM cost us $17 in repairs before being sold at 85,000 miles. The one before that cost us NOTHING in repairs in a quarter million miles. Our current Envoy has 90,000 miles and has yet cost us ZERO in repairs and not even required a brake job.
As for your wonderful Japanese SUV, we test-drove a Toyota Highlander before buying the Envoy. It had interior trim pieces falling off, defective brakes and not enough power to safely merge onto a freeway (and that was with the V-6). We kissed the ground and gave thanks for our lives after getting it back to the dealer's lot, then drove as fast as we could (in our safe and solid Ford) to a GM dealer and bought the Envoy. We've never regretted it. We prefer safety and reliability to Japanese ad hype.
2nd Jun 2010, 12:17
"I am not sure why anyone thinks any American car can outlast an import"
I think it is most likely because people's domestics usually DO outlast imports. I know OURS certainly did.
2nd Jun 2010, 18:08
I have been driving since 2001. In that time I have owned 3 previously owned GM cars. The first two had over 100,000 miles when I purchased them and I have never had a major problem with any of them. In fact the only real drivetrain issue was a new alternator and replacing a wire that was chewed by a mouse. Otherwise I have only had small issues with interior electronics and a few inexpensive suspension pieces. I hope to purchase a new Buick Enclave when I trade my current Buick in a few years. If my experience doesn't change I will have no reason to even consider the imports.
2nd Jun 2010, 19:43
There's nothing rare about the scores of GM products friends and family have had major issues with over the years, believe me. As far as getting "duped", well I got much of the work done at a Chevy dealer so yeah, they did overcharge me... one more reason to go foreign... domestic car companies not only make inferior products, but they charge you and arm and a leg to fix their junk. And why do you keep putting repairs in quotes? Do me a favor and research "Trailblazer issues" and see just how many people are supposedly getting duped into "repairs" with their crappy trucks.
I can list the repairs I have had if you like. Failing tie rods is no joke. These trucks are known for that problem...and many times it is around 30K miles or so, as I know two people who had that happen to them. I also had an Olds that was so costly to keep on the road I finally dumped it for a Nissan. That car had everything from the turn signal switch fail (which made the brake lights inoperable... real safe!) to wheel bearings that were grinding, to rear struts that completely gave out.... and I never carried anything in the trunk. The tranny would stick in third on the highway until you shut it off completely and reset it. All of these issues were well under 100K HIGHWAY miles. Yeah great quality there huh?
Plus, lose the drama over the Toyota... "kissing the ground, etc...". My sister in law has an older 4 Runner that drives waaaayyyy better than our GM junk and it has the same mileage on it. Also, it out accelerates our TB even with 30 less HP. Has it been repair free? No way... But NOTHING is, and anyone who claims that is living with a car that is not working as it should. Just because you are willing to drive a car that needs things fixed, doesn't mean it is trouble free.
3rd Jun 2010, 19:50
"First, $700 was for an ENTIRE brake job because they were all warped, scraping and even the calipers were shot..."
I certainly don't question the sincerity of the commenter, but as a mechanic I ALWAYS question the sincerity of any dealership or shop that tells a customer that ALL FOUR rotors AND ALL FOUR calipers are "warped" or "shot" at the same time. I was having dinner this evening with a dealership service tech friend of mine, and we were talking about the fact that car owners DESPERATELY need to learn how to at least CHECK such things as brakes themselves. The likelihood of ALL the rotors, calipers and pads "going" at once on any car (foreign, domestic or Martian) is virtually nil. It just doesn't happen. It is always good practice to replace the rotors and pads at EACH END of the car as a pair, but this is not true of calipers.
Also, front pads generally wear out FAR before the rear pads because the brunt of braking is born by the front wheels. Rear pads on imports generally last 5,000 to 10,000 miles longer than the front pads, and on domestics the rear pads can last 10,000 to 30,000 miles longer than the front.
Shops and dealers LOVE to make extra money by telling people they need all 4 at once, but under normal driving/braking conditions you can usually go at least a year longer on the rear pads. I never do all 4 wheels at once. On average I go at least 2 years longer on the rear pads, so that's two years of money wasted if I discard perfectly good rear pads just to make a dealer or shop richer. I've never changed the rear pads on ANY car I owned earlier than 100,000 miles.
I realize dealerships and shops are in business to earn money, but most car owners, especially in these economic times need to save every penny possible. It would be an exceptionally good investment to learn how to check items on your car yourself. Checking brake pads, rotors and calipers is simply and easy, and can be done in less than half an hour. Even replacing the pads yourself is very simple on nearly all modern cars.
Any time a dealer or shop tells someone they need ALL of ANY system replaced, it is very suspect. A sweet little old lady friend of mine took her car in today because her headlights had stopped working on her expensive luxury car.
The dealership told her ALL the headlight bulbs and BOTH driving lamps were burned out, as well as the fuse. She got a bill for over $400. I KNOW the driving lights and headlights on that car are all on the SAME FUSE, so I KNOW the dealer just installed a 15-cent fuse, billed her over $400 and laughed all the way to the bank. This sort of thing is very common, and it costs the consumer BILLIONS every year. A repair manual and a set of wrenches can be a wonderful way to save thousands for any car owner.
31st May 2010, 22:14
Okay there... yeah right.
First, $700 was for an ENTIRE brake job because they were all warped, scraping and even the calipers were shot... junk. Never have I had such trouble with ANY import. This is my second GM vehicle with such a high priced brake job... never again will I buy GM. Look up "Trailblazer problems" on Google and you'll get the list of all that has gone wrong with ours...
We just had the "jet engine sound" fixed, which was over $300, we have the stalling issues that absolutely plague the Trailblazer that no one seems to know how to fix as it could be one of about 5 different design defects. But I am just being "duped" into believing these are real problems that need fixing. Keep telling yourself that. Sorry, I don't have the time or a workshop to fix my cars at home. I have more important things to do, and my time is worth too much to waste on fixing my cars. I'll just buy something better next time.
These trucks are under designed and very poorly built, so if you know someone who has had any luck with one, they should play the lottery! My uncle had an Envoy and the front end fell apart at around 30K miles... this also is a very common problem on these trucks. He's driving Fords now. If I hadn't just dumped $1,500 into ours, I'd get rid of it for a far superior foreign SUV.
Oh, and the $1,500 was over and above the $700 brake job. JUNK!! I have NEVER had or seen a GM car go over 100K miles without any major issues that would make me sell it immediately.