GM financial woes have begun

ls1mike wrote:
...If you believe that, I have some property on the moon I can sell you.

You bought property on the moon?

Biggest POS vehicle I ever owned was a 1988 Ford F-250 with a 7.3 Navistar diesel. Front end inner and outer tie rods rotted out at 70k miles, water pump failed, heater core failed, Stanydyne Injector pump failed, twice. Ford I beam front ends eat the edges of tires, 40 to 45k tops. Air conditioner ate fan belts, constantly. Sold it at 140k miles.

The only thing I ever did on my 87 Toyota 4x4 extra cab was alternator brushes, water pump, rear bearings on the rear end, timing chain and a transmission seal. and brake pads on the front.

In 230k miles. 1987, and when I sold it, in 2013, I got more for it than I paid for it in 1997 with 101k miles on it. Didn't burn a drop of oil. Absolutely 3 times the truck the 88 Ford F250 was. Glad I sold the Ford and bought the Toyota, far less maintenance expenses per mile traveled. Just routine wear and tear items you'd expect on a car with 230k miles on it. Everything worked.

Not impressed, at all, with Union made American iron.

Oh and just in case you don't believe me...I am skeptical after the Prius towing thread... :) :) :D

1994 Z28

About 3 years ago...

Current Grand Prix with the WS6... :) Love these two.

Current Equinox

1998 Z28

How could I forget Big Poo, best truck ever 180,000 miles mostly towing.

1998 Bonneville on the scale where I used to work 3800lbs with a full tank.

2001 Grand Prix GTP
But I digress. This about a recall that should have been earlier. I am GM guy because I like their stuff and I am familiar with it. GM is not the first company to delay a recall. Does it make it right. Nope. Should they fix it? Yep, but no large company gives two craps about you once the check is written. If you believe that, I have some property on the moon I can sell you.

ls1mike wrote:


Lets see one 1998 Bonneville 3800 N/A 252,000, one 94 Z28 165,000 miles plus 1/4 mile stuff, One 96 Z28 122,000 plus 1/4 mile stuff, one 98 Z28 heads, Cam, N20 156,000 miles 1/4 mile stuff, one 01 Z28 56,000 miles, one 2001 Grand Prix GTP S/C 3800 272,000 miles1/4 mile stuff , one 1998 Buick Regal GS S/C 3800 1/4 mile stuff, one 2007 Chevy Equinox 100,120 miles. Currently one 2000 heads, cam, N20 Trans Am WS61/4 mile stuff , one 04 Grand Prix GTP S/C 3800, One 2013 Equinox, and One 2002 Silverado 2055 HD.
I can honestly say except for a few 4T65E HD replacements in my supercharged 3800 cars. I have not had to replace a window switch or any switch.
The "CRAP" used in my cars...is the same "CRAP" used in your truck.

Carry on with the regularly scheduled thread. :)

Very interesting. I have honestly always wondered if the rest of the world had this same impression that I do? I must just be unlucky when it comes to GM cars. But, YES, I have a negative stereo type of GM cars. I have always wondered if others have shared my anti-GM sentiment?

oughtsix wrote:
Is it just me that thinks GM has been using the cheapest, flimsiest, most breakage prone switches in their cheap low end junk cars for decades now? The only difference is that this time they did it with the ignition switches for a change. I don't think I have been in a single 10+ year old low end GM vehicle that didn't have at least one malfunctioning window, door lock, brake light, turn signal, seat adjustment, climate control or wiper switch broken? I remember my mothers old 84 Chevy cavalier in which the wiper would go over one wipe every time you took a hard left. Then I was in a friends Chevette that had the exact same issue. I replaced all the window switches in my Astro multiple times (first with cheap aftermarket switches then with expensive dealer OEM switches) only to have them last no more than a couple of months. I finally made my own aluminum switch plate and mounted DPDT center off toggle switches in it so I could use the windows.

I currently own a 2006 Crew Cab Duramax and love it! I will admit that I am pretty surprised that I don't have a single bad switch but half the dash lights and steering wheel lights have gone out. I figured (hoped) that maybe Chevy puts a bit better quality switches in a $50K truck?

As much as I love my truck I would never buy a GM car. In my experience doing so is just asking to be constantly pestered by little things that don't work or only work intermittently.

Anyone else have these same issues with low end GM vehicles?

No. I have managed to stay out of this thread and the drama for a bit. Recall aside as it is a separate issue. I have owned two VWs, which made my GMs look like the pinnacle of automotive excellence.

Lets see one 1998 Bonneville 3800 N/A 252,000, one 94 Z28 165,000 miles plus 1/4 mile stuff, One 96 Z28 122,000 plus 1/4 mile stuff, one 98 Z28 heads, Cam, N20 156,000 miles 1/4 mile stuff, one 01 Z28 56,000 miles, one 2001 Grand Prix GTP S/C 3800 272,000 miles1/4 mile stuff , one 1998 Buick Regal GS S/C 3800 1/4 mile stuff, one 2007 Chevy Equinox 100,120 miles. Currently one 2000 heads, cam, N20 Trans Am WS61/4 mile stuff , one 04 Grand Prix GTP S/C 3800, One 2013 Equinox, and One 2002 Silverado 2055 HD.
I can honestly say except for a few 4T65E HD replacements in my supercharged 3800 cars. I have not had to replace a window switch or any switch.
The "CRAP" used in my cars...is the same "CRAP" used in your truck.

Carry on with the regularly scheduled thread. :)

Is it just me that thinks GM has been using the cheapest, flimsiest, most breakage prone switches in their cheap low end junk cars for decades now? The only difference is that this time they did it with the ignition switches for a change. I don't think I have been in a single 10+ year old low end GM vehicle that didn't have at least one malfunctioning window, door lock, brake light, turn signal, seat adjustment, climate control or wiper switch broken? I remember my mothers old 84 Chevy cavalier in which the wiper would go over one wipe every time you took a hard left. Then I was in a friends Chevette that had the exact same issue. I replaced all the window switches in my Astro multiple times (first with cheap aftermarket switches then with expensive dealer OEM switches) only to have them last no more than a couple of months. I finally made my own aluminum switch plate and mounted DPDT center off toggle switches in it so I could use the windows.

I currently own a 2006 Crew Cab Duramax and love it! I will admit that I am pretty surprised that I don't have a single bad switch but half the dash lights and steering wheel lights have gone out. I figured (hoped) that maybe Chevy puts a bit better quality switches in a $50K truck?

As much as I love my truck I would never buy a GM car. In my experience doing so is just asking to be constantly pestered by little things that don't work or only work intermittently.

Anyone else have these same issues with low end GM vehicles?

dodge guy wrote:

NinerBikes wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
Had my 95 Explorer for over 150k miles and it never tipped over! probably millions on the road that are still "wheels down"! As for the Pinto, again many that were rear ended that never exploded.

Yeah, well, my GF had a 1996 Eddie Bauer V8 AWD Explorer, and her's did flip... on a well crowned 2 lane highway in the desert, north of Mojave, CA. She had Firestone tires on the car, and it's my belief that Ford bought cheap tires, and then underinflated the truck tires to make the cars drive and ride softer and smoother, more like a sedan, instead of like the truck, and truck chassis that the Explorer was based on. Hers was totaled at 37k miles. Those are the facts. I blame it solely on Ford, they serviced and aired the tires the whole life of that car, Galpin Ford. Only people to ever work on that car.

Ford bought a cheap, but adequate Firestone tire, then underinflated it, per instructions from corporate when they got complaints about women with Explorers that rode too harsh, too much like a truck. Tires overheated, and failed near the tread /sidewall juncture and delaminated explosively.

Sorry to hear that, but I still say the Explorer was a safe vehicle. if it weren`t, I wouldn`t have had my wife and 2 kids in the car from newborns on! I still miss it.

Width of the axles was too narrow, car was too top heavy, Center of Gravity was outside of tires on sharply decked desert highways here that get flash floods in the south wes. It was definitely a Ford design defect. No such issues, ever, with my VW Touareg TDI's, with a wide enough stance.

Note the width to height ratio, and how the top of the back end boattails inward in the storage area of the Touareg.

FishOnOne wrote:

larry barnhart wrote:
I am more scared about the financial woes of the USA than GM.

chevman

Boy you got that right! :E

OK, I`ll be the one! isn`t that one in the same!!!! :E

NinerBikes wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
Had my 95 Explorer for over 150k miles and it never tipped over! probably millions on the road that are still "wheels down"! As for the Pinto, again many that were rear ended that never exploded.

Yeah, well, my GF had a 1996 Eddie Bauer V8 AWD Explorer, and her's did flip... on a well crowned 2 lane highway in the desert, north of Mojave, CA. She had Firestone tires on the car, and it's my belief that Ford bought cheap tires, and then underinflated the truck tires to make the cars drive and ride softer and smoother, more like a sedan, instead of like the truck, and truck chassis that the Explorer was based on. Hers was totaled at 37k miles. Those are the facts. I blame it solely on Ford, they serviced and aired the tires the whole life of that car, Galpin Ford. Only people to ever work on that car.

Ford bought a cheap, but adequate Firestone tire, then underinflated it, per instructions from corporate when they got complaints about women with Explorers that rode too harsh, too much like a truck. Tires overheated, and failed near the tread /sidewall juncture and delaminated explosively.

Sorry to hear that, but I still say the Explorer was a safe vehicle. if it weren`t, I wouldn`t have had my wife and 2 kids in the car from newborns on! I still miss it.

larry barnhart wrote:
I am more scared about the financial woes of the USA than GM.

chevman

Boy you got that right! :E