My new ride... No.. not a boat !!

[tizfun]

Well after many many sleepless night trying to figure what I should do, I pulled the trigger and put my 2003 Chevy Trailblazer to bed.. That truck has been a nightmare for me since day one.. With over $8,000.00 in repairs since new, I vowed that GM has seen the last of me.. It was in need of repair again... Exhaust manifold, brakes, tires, 4X4 not working, no muffler and the list goes on.. Took it into my friends garage for an estimate on the repairs and he figured about $3,000.00 + ... NO THANKS !!!! It had 311,000 kms and some of my friends bet me it wouldn't make it to 300k.. You loose !!!

 

I just traded it in for a 2006 Nissan Xterra with the Off Road package and the Rockford Fosgate sound system... The ride is really nice and tight and the 4.0 ltr really hauls ass..

 

Pick up my newer truck on Tuesday.... can't wait...

 

Edited September 19, 2009 by tizfun

[GeorgeJ]

let me understand you spent $8000 in repairs to travel 311,000 kms? thats 188,000 miles, I'm not a big fan of GM products but I don't think that's unreasonable. Good luck with the Nissan but being an auto tech for 32 years I know Nissan's are expensive to repair.

[Greencoachdog]

In case you didn't know... when you buy used, you're just buying someone elses problems!

 

 

 

.. sorry to be a downer... but it's the truth!!!

[Cudz]

Nice suv. Looks like a winner.

[ohhenrygsr]

Nice Choice but where's the Hitch?

[tizfun]

GeorgeJ... these repairs were after I spent $3000.00 for the extended warranty to 160k kms... You may have seen or worked on many cars but Imports from my past experiences cost less because they have not as many problems as our Domestic junk... I've driven our GM for a long time and owned 2 Nissans.... And for myself..... there is no comparison......

 

GCD... you may have a point, here are my cars/trucks bought new..

1996 GMC Jimmy.... Junk.... 4 years and traded..

1997 Pontiac GTP ....Junk.... traded after 2 years ( Wife hated this car because of all the problems )

2000 Isuzu Rodeo....Junk... compete engine rebuild @ 71k kms

2003 Chevy Trailblazer LTZ .... don't even get me going.... paid $47,000 new and worth $2600.00 now

 

So you tell me if buy used is so bad, why were these car/trucks bought brand new and all with major problems... Have owned used before (imports) as we currently do....

 

 

Henry...... the truck never did have a hitch installed.... it's ordered though...

 

 

These are my past experiences and some may have had great ones, but I will not spend one more dollar into GM..... wish they had disappeared and it's to bad , we had the chance.... and that's from the bottom of my heart.... Too much hard earned money spent on poorly made vehicles...

 

 

Just my thoughts.

Tiz

[BUSTER]

Iam with you, I bought a 2001 silverado z-71 $48ooo new cant sell it for $6500 used and nothing but issue after issue, my wifes 2001 bmw 330xi was 66k new and i still could sell it for 10-12 grand , nowhere near the chevy when it comes to repair costs over the last 8years, not even close.. IF i spent 10k on the truck i've spent maybe 2k on the bmw in repairs. Ill never buy a chev again, never, the list of crap that went wrong with that truck is just mind blowing, 4th set of brakes(built with brakes that are too cmall for the trucks goes thru brakes like crazy),cat convertersx2,both power window motors, driver side twice,complete rear end under warranty,transmission left me at 108000k warranty ended at 80k 2800 for rebuild, u-joints,front end rebuilt twice,front wheel bearings 300 plus for the part alone,and i can keep going and going

lets no forget piston slap on start up truck can sound like a diesel sometimes, since new, check pistonslap.com...anyway see ya later gm ill never give them a penny again.

[pikehunter]

Congrats on your new vehicle.

 

Don't knock the domestics, you get a lemon so you make lemonade. You can get a lemon in any make, foreign or N. American. Don't you see all those import dealers all have packed service bays? They have them for a reason. My sister in law just got rid of her Benz and bought a new not used Escape, the Benz was costing too much for repairs.

 

My 1997 Ford Aerostar, knock on wood, has been the best car I have had, bought it new and it now has over 300, 000 K's on it. Have I spent much on it so far? NO! And it's an Aerostar! That's not exactly a cream puff!

 

And the repairs your old truck needed were mainly routine service items, all brakes, tires and exhaust wear out, it's normal. And don't carp about the 4x4 repair, aren't they known for problems?

 

Enjoy the new ride all the same, it looks nice in the pictures.

[Chris]

I'm with Tizfun and Buster on this one. None of my money will ever go to GM again.....except for when the gov't steals it from us to give to them.

Edited September 19, 2009 by ChrisS

[danbouck]

NIce Ride!

 

IMO every manufacturer makes lemons. A good friend had a new 97 Blazer, never a problem, greatest vehicle he ever had. Sold it for a new Nissan Sentra SE R, went through 2 engines (1 not under warranty), had many other smaller issues. He got sick of fixing it and bought a new Toyota Tacoma. It has been in the garage every 2 months for problems.

 

Crap on GM all you want but people are crapping on Nissan, BMW... every other manufacturer at the same time for the same reasons.

[keiths]

Maybe you have bad luck with new ones. Or maybe you just don't look after them? They all need repairs and up-keep. But the new one looks good. Hope you have better luck with it.

[Lunatic]

All of my cars have been GM

all of my drag racing cars have been GM

 

iver never had a catastrophic failure. never. (with non drag racing cars)

 

i was a apprentice mechanic for 4 years,but got out of the trade because working on cars was killing my love for building cars on my spare time.

My father has been a mechanic for 30yrs or so.

we've seen it all....people putting their 4x4 on 4 low while doing 120km/hr then saying GM CRAP, im buying a honda next. that is just one of 100's ive come across or heard.

every company has its issues. my father is a honda mechanic and he wouldnt be caught dead off roading or owning a honda truck or 4x4.

 

i am currently driving a 93 full size chev PU that has about 500,000km on the odometer, and let me tell you,this truck has been off roaded and abused.

 

say what you will,but ive seen people buy honda after honda and have nothing but headaches. every company has there goods and bads. it just seems when recalls or bad things happen to the big 3, it gets plastered all over the news. i know of alot of honda issues and recalls that are quietly swept under the rug.

 

hope you enjoy your new ride.

[jediangler]

Nice looking truck, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I used to heattreat aluminum engine blocks for GM, Ford & Chrysler. The Gm blocks used to come from Michigan, now they come from Mexico. No thanks.

[Tybo]

I'm a little over zealous on the maintenance of my truck.

With all the prolpems that you had. Would you send me a copy of

your menintenance program.

I want to make sure I'm not missing any thing.

[fishinfool]

Very nice truck!

I just traded my 02 Silverado Crew HD for a Nissan Maxima SE 3.5 and love it.

I do miss my truck though.

It was a $53,000 truck new and I had absolutely 0 problems with it.

I was only able to get $7500 for it when I bought the Nissan.

With all that was going on with GM when I was ready to buy, I figured why not try

an import for a change and so far, so good.

Doesn't that truck come with the 3.5 VQ motor?

 

Good Luck with your new ride.

[wask]

Man, I drive a Ford. That's why I don't drive a Chevy.

 

Blue Oval for Life.

 

In all seriousness, my 78 Mustang caught on Fire, so all companies have their issues, lol

 

I did drive a Geo Prizim, which i think was GM for a couple of years and it was great.

 

However, my last truck was a 94 Ranger that had about 200,000 MILES on it when I scrapped it because it needed a new engine (my fault, first vehicle that I was responsible for the service, I missed some, so my bad) and box and my current truck is an 04 F150 that I bought with 9k Miles on it and I've had almost 0 problems with it, knock on wood.

 

While I like the Xterra a lot and don't classify it as a truck, I really don't understand why people buy foreign trucks. Buying foreign cars I can understand. Gas mileage, dependability, INFLATED public reputation.

 

Buying foreign trucks makes no sense to me when the Ford, Dodge and even GM trucks have been solid for years.

 

I'll never buy a foreign truck.

 

(I think the Xterra is actually built in Tennessee)

Edited September 19, 2009 by Wask

[jediangler]

Hey Wask, that Geo was built in the California plant that Toyota and GM share. Before the Geo they made Chevy Novas that were the same as Toyota corollas. Now they build the Pontiac vibe that's a clone of the Toyota matrix. The most reliable cars to be sold under GM nameplates in the last 25 years came from that plant.

They are closing this plant. I don't think GM is moving in the right direction.

[Billy Bob]

I have had several trucks and vans from GM and Ford (never a Chrysler truck, but had several of their cars) and now I am a proud owner of a 2007 Toyota TUNDRA....... 2.5 years old and never been back to the dealer.....this is one fine, solid, refined truck. I will stick to Toyota from now on.

 

BTW I still drive a GM 3500 van at work and HATE it........my #1 pet peeve with GM trucks is the doors wouldn't close all the way unless you slam it.......boy do I have that.

[Greencoachdog]

GCD... you may have a point, here are my cars/trucks bought new..

1996 GMC Jimmy.... Junk.... 4 years and traded..

1997 Pontiac GTP ....Junk.... traded after 2 years ( Wife hated this car because of all the problems )

2000 Isuzu Rodeo....Junk... compete engine rebuild @ 71k kms

2003 Chevy Trailblazer LTZ .... don't even get me going.... paid $47,000 new and worth $2600.00 now

 

So you tell me if buy used is so bad, why were these car/trucks bought brand new and all with major problems... Have owned used before (imports) as we currently do....

 

Wasn't trying to badmouth your new ride, Nissan is a good brand! I have one... the Xterra is a good looking vehicle with tons of interior room!

 

Whoever traded it may have just traded because it's a bit of a gas hog, does it have the 3.5L engine?

[Chris]

Crap on GM all you want but people are crapping on Nissan, BMW... every other manufacturer at the same time for the same reasons.

 

Check out the "Truck Trader" and see how many domestics (GM, Ford, Dodge) are for sale compared to the imports (Toyota, Nissan). Probably about 10:1 ratio that says something about owner satisfaction. Also check out the resale value of the domestics as opposed to the imports. The imports definately hold their value. The domestics do not. That says alot also.

 

There are stories of lemons and of great vehicles on both sides of the fence. But I think the lemons are rare with the imports just as the great vehicles are rare with the domestics. Either way, I'll never buy GM junk again....ever!

[Puckhead]

^^Bingo!

 

Not all domestic built cars are junk... plenty of good one's out there but the reputation isn't down to good marketing or import novelty. It's due to a lot of bad experiences. These car companies are learning the hard way that good will, once taken for granted, is hard to get back.

[2 tone z71]

Check out the "Truck Trader" and see how many domestics (GM, Ford, Dodge) are for sale compared to the imports (Toyota, Nissan). Probably about 10:1 ratio that says something about owner satisfaction. Also check out the resale value of the domestics as opposed to the imports. The imports definately hold their value. The domestics do not. That says alot also.

 

There are stories of lemons and of great vehicles on both sides of the fence. But I think the lemons are rare with the imports just as the great vehicles are rare with the domestics. Either way, I'll never buy GM junk again....ever!

 

 

are ya for real pal .look on the highway theres 100s of GMs Fords @ Dodges rolling down that asphalt you may see a import once in awhile how the hell can ya even compare theres hundreds of thousands out there thats why theres more for sale,and to the original poster nice Nissan im sure you will love it ,lets talk about it when its got 315000kms on it

[Lunatic]

Check out the "Truck Trader" and see how many domestics (GM, Ford, Dodge) are for sale compared to the imports (Toyota, Nissan). Probably about 10:1 ratio that says something about owner satisfaction. Also check out the resale value of the domestics as opposed to the imports. The imports definately hold their value. The domestics do not. That says alot also.

 

There are stories of lemons and of great vehicles on both sides of the fence. But I think the lemons are rare with the imports just as the great vehicles are rare with the domestics. Either way, I'll never buy GM junk again....ever!

 

LMAO!!

lemons are rare for imports. thats a good one. you mean you just dont hear about them as often.

like above poster has said. look where the trucks are needed and used for heavy duty situations and 10:1 it will be a gm or ford over an import.

 

my chevy is 500,000k and still going.

[tizfun]

This Xterra has the 4.0ltr engine.. 265 hp with 285lbs torque....Can't be any worse than my Trailblazer... Trailblazer could only get 400 kms to the tank.. As for it being a truck. We all have different thoughts of what trucks are.... It's an SUV..... not a truck....

 

The domestics may have the full size truck market, but looking at the Nissan Titan and the Toyota Tundra there is some definite competition here.. These are well fitted TRUCKS that most or if not all are very happy with.. I guess it depends on what you're using it for...

 

I was in a 2009 Nissan Titan, it's an NFL Edition... Wow.... what a beautiful interior and great curb appeal...

 

My wife cars before my daughter totalled 4 weeks ago was a 2002 Nissan Altima 3.5 loaded... loved the car, great on gas and with 257,000 kms on it.. Our insurance company gave us $6800.00 for it... Only serviced at Nissan and it only went in 3 times for repairs..

 

1/ Gas tank neck that you fill, was rusted... $266.00

2/ ABS on the rear.. drilled them and repaired $528.00

3/ Back wheel bearing replaced... $ 471.00

 

 

She now drive a 2007 Nissan Maxima SE again loaded ( something about her cars have to be that way.. got love her....) and she is on cloud 9... What a great car, with great miliage, beautiful interior, power to spare and what a great ride.....

 

So our Family is now very proud owers of Nissan's and there's no turning back..... Bye Bye...........Domestics.............

 

Tiz

[2 tone z71]

the Titans made by Ford crazy eh