How many of you own a Chevy Silverado? (1 Viewer)

[ace peterson]

I was thinking, not so seriously, about getting a new truck sometime. The Silverado's seem to have my attention more than any other truck right now. Do any of you own one? And if so how do you like it? Anyone dislike the Silverado for any reason? Just curious.

Ace

 

[Andrew_Sch]

My dad has one. It's just the basic, bottom-of-the-line, no frills, single cab from their first model year ('98 I think). In my uneducated opinion, it's one damn fine truck.

 

[Trevor H]

I prefer the looks of the GMC Sierra myself, but other than that they are the same truck.

 

[Allen W]

I have a '90 Chevy Silverado Stepside. It still looks good and runs good with a 165,000 miles on it. The only thing I do not like about it is it did not come with cupholders. I might have to trade it in on a new one just to get cupholders.
The only thing I will do different next time is to get the extended cab, just to have a little more room.
I would not buy a '99 (just because I prefer not to buy the first year of any generation car till they work out some of the manufacturing kinks). I have looked over and driven the new ones and they seem to keep getting more refined, more comforable and a better ride.

 

[Trevor H]

Allen, Chev makes a great dual cup holder for their 88-94 trucks, it bolts on in about 2 mins. using existing holes and screws. You can pick them up at any CHEV/GMC dealer for about 20 bucks, I have one in my 89 GMC Sierra and it works great.

 

[Allen W]

Thanks Trevor! You just saved me about eighteen thousand bucks! I will go pick up one of those bolt in on cup holders. I was sort of kidding about that, but you never know what you will learn at the HTF.
Sometime next year I do hope to upgrade to an extended cab though. Do you know if I can just bolt one of those on for 20 bucks?

 

[ace peterson]

I was sort of kidding about that, but you never know what you will learn at the HTF.

So true. So true.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I work for a Toyota dealer and have driven a number of customer's Tundras, their full-size V8 extended cab pickup.

I had occasion to rent an 02 Silverado for an overnight 400 mile round trip to Sacramento to pick up a couple of recliners.

The Chevy I rented as an extended cab LS 2wd model with the base 4.7 liter V8 and the usual cruise control, power windows/locks, keyless entry and CD stereo system.

In almost every respect I thought the Chevy was better driving and handling than the Tundra. The body was totally rattle free, a feat for a 4door extracab (not a crewcab) and very solid feeling, the brakes were nice and firm and easy to modulate, not spongy with low pedal as on most Tundras I've driven. I was impressed by the assembly quality and appearance of the interior, not to mention the vast room. The AC was fantastic.

The ride on the Chevy was a bit firmer, definitely more confidence inspiring and less floaty and not in the least uncomfortable. The Silverado cruised serenely down the freeway at 75 with great directional stability, almost totally unaffected by crosswinds and the wakes of the largest 18 wheelers. I didn't actually check the fuel economy, but it made the 400 mile round trip on a little less than half a tank of gas, took maybe 16-18 gallons to fill up before I returned it.

The engine and trans were exceedingly smooth and quiet, and did not mind being revved out to 5k rpm, which surprised me as I'm used to American V8s not wanting to go much over 3k without getting thrashy. The Chev's pushrod engine revved out and performed at least as well as Toyota's double overhead cam 32 valve unit.

I'm not a truck guy as a rule, much preferring small sporty cars, but by the end of this trip I was really looking for good reasons why I should have a Silverado.

I can't remember the last time I was so favorably impressed by a domestically designed and built vehicle, and was surprised to find that at I found its' driving characteristics noticeably superior to the Tundra's and its' apparent quality to be at least as good, with a more solid and rattle free body structure.

 

[ace peterson]

Nice review, Steve!

 

[Shane Martin]

I bought a 1998 Full Size Extended Cab. To make it simple I'll say that is the last Chevrolet/GM product I'll ever own.
To date I've owned:
Pontiac Fiero(bad car yes I know)
Saturn Sc-1(horrid reliability and noisy!)
Chevy Ext Truck.
I'm not 100% sure that Chevy has fixed the issues with the quality control in the past 2 years but all I got was a POS. It was in the shop weeks on end. Exhaust system was totally replaced from the factory from the manifold back as it was all defective. A/C was replaced twice. Other nit picky things were replaced as well including the 3rd door latch which never worked.
Overall My experiences with GM even with the 2 last cars were horrid at best. I'm not certain that they've fixed their QC issues but they have scarred me for life. As much as I'm very ant-Ford, they make a better truck as far as reliability is concerned from my experience. My friend tells me that Dodge is even worse.
At this point if I buy another truck, It'll be a Ford Lightning. /shrug Maybe I got a lemon. Course that would be 2 lemons in the past 2 GM purchases

 

[Henry Carmona]

I absolutely love it!!!


'99 Silverado X-tended cab Z-71 / 5.3 / ProComp 6" lift / SuperLift 5.5" block / 315x75x16 Xterrains / 16x8 Atlas wheels / 4.56 gears / Auburn Pro Series Diff / K&N filter / Gibson single exhaust / EGR mod / TB Bypass / De-Screened / HPP III / Smitybuilt Nerf Bars / Suburban Grille /

 

[Henry Carmona]

I prefer the looks of the GMC Sierra myself, but other than that they are the same truck.

Here you go Trevor

The 2003 Models have a slightly different look and some good features.
Read about them here:
http://www.gm-trucks.com/ART_2003_pre_sierra.shtml

 

[Andrew_Sch]

I hate trucks that ride so low like the one in your picture. The point of a truck is to ride high above all those whimps in their puny little cars.

 

[Allen W]

There are a few sites I have found that have alot of good info for trucks including Link Removed www.edmunds.com and www.fullsizechevy.com.

 

[ace peterson]

Thanks for the links, Allen. I'll check them out.

 

[Justin Doring]

I have a '98 Silverado LS standard cab, short bed Z-71 with the 5.7, and I love it. It was the last model year of the old style Silverados, so I got a great deal on it ($28,000 list, $22,000 paid). I haven't had a single problem with it, and it runs like a dream. It's also great off road! The only disadvantage is that it likes fuel!

The new Dodge Ram looks pretty shweet, but time will tell if it is a good vehicle or not. Chevys, on the other hand, are proven.

I personally wouldn't buy an American car, with the possible exception of a Corvette Z-06, but their trucks and SUVs are excellent. Chevy: Like a rock.

 

[Mark Paquette]

I have a 2000 Silverado LT, Z-71, extended cab, pretty much the works. It's a great truck. I have zero complaints about it. For a full sized truck with a v-8 the mileage isn't too shabby, I can get 20 on the highway. Compare that to some of the other full sized trucks. My Silverado remains rattle free after almost 3 years of ownership and 40k miles. I use it to pull a 3,500 pound boat/trailer combo and it does a great job. I recommend a Silverado to anyone looking for full sized truck.