Won't buy another chevy truck (kind of a rant)

[PA hayseed]

I've owned chevy pickups for about 25 years, from s-10s to 2500's. I have generally liked them, but can't buy another. I went to the dealership to get my truck looked at (was still under warranty 3/36). They told me that my truck needed new rotors and discs all the way around, that they were completely shot. The truck had about 32,000 miles on it, and not driven hard. I said no problem, go ahead, it is under warranty. Shockingly they said it isn't covered (bumper to bumper), and that it would be over $1,000. I said hold on a second, all four discs and rotors are completely shot in under 36,000 miles, and you wan't over 1k to fix, no thank you. I thought I would just be on my merry way, nope. I had to pay them over $100 for their inspection. I called my buddy who runs the Ford garage and asked him how much rotors and disks would cost, and he told me like $600. I said I want someone other than me to do this so if this goes further they can't say harry the homeowner did something wrong. Drove there and he said yeah, they are all completely shot, and he was shocked that they charged me and that they wanted over 1K and it wasn't covered under a warranty (maybe not parts but labor as a dealer). So now I am mad, so I call chevy customer service....

Told customer service what happened, what the prices were, what the charges were, mileage yada yada yada. They said they needed to get back in contact with me. A couple of days later they asked me some more questions, like do I drive in snow (Yeah I live in the north), do I ever trailer anything (yeah truck specifically built for trailering), do they use salt on the road in winter? I am not getting a good feeling.

I get called again a couple of days later, dealer said that the salt on the road deteriorated the brakes, and that I trailer, so that this isn't covered. I told the chevy person, I said how can I own a truck with a hitch, that I ordered with trailering options, and not drive it year round? Salt on the road, are you fn kiddin me? They spread that from November to April every year. So, if I didn't drive my truck int he winter, and didn't trailer it, i would be covered under warranty? I told her you have got to be kidding me. In her defense she did sound like she understood I was getting shafted here. So I still had to pay the inspection, and it wasn't covered. I asked her why the chevy dealership was over 1k for the brakes and the Ford dealership was $600 (no special prices from my buddy). Answer OEM.?!?

Ok, I'm salty, but can get over it. About 1 week later I get a letter in the mail from chevy. I'm thinking, maybe someone reconsidered, or some junk coupon for "future service". No, it was notice from Chevrolet that some brakes fail on their vehicles and have issues. If your brakes fail and you die be sure to take your truck into the dealership to have them fixed (obviously not their words).

So, Chevy customer care knew that a brake issue was known for my vehicle, the dealership knew it too, and they both lied and stuck me with the bill. Not going to do it again, once bitten twice shy. I'll let someone new lie to me next time.

FYI - my grandfather (now deceased) was a GM retiree. My entire family owned chevy's.

 

[dodge man]

My question is how often do you tow and does your trailer have brakes? If you tow a lot and no trailer brakes, I don't think its Chevy's fault. If you don't tow often and don't drive the truck hard, that's pretty early for needing brakes. The back ones are really surprising they usually last much longer .

 

[fried1765]

I've owned chevy pickups for about 25 years, from s-10s to 2500's. I have generally liked them, but can't buy another. I went to the dealership to get my truck looked at (was still under warranty 3/36). They told me that my truck needed new rotors and discs all the way around, that they were completely shot. The truck had about 32,000 miles on it, and not driven hard. I said no problem, go ahead, it is under warranty. Shockingly they said it isn't covered (bumper to bumper), and that it would be over $1,000. I said hold on a second, all four discs and rotors are completely shot in under 36,000 miles, and you wan't over 1k to fix, no thank you. I thought I would just be on my merry way, nope. I had to pay them over $100 for their inspection. I called my buddy who runs the Ford garage and asked him how much rotors and disks would cost, and he told me like $600. I said I want someone other than me to do this so if this goes further they can't say harry the homeowner did something wrong. Drove there and he said yeah, they are all completely shot, and he was shocked that they charged me and that they wanted over 1K and it wasn't covered under a warranty (maybe not parts but labor as a dealer). So now I am mad, so I call chevy customer service....

Told customer service what happened, what the prices were, what the charges were, mileage yada yada yada. They said they needed to get back in contact with me. A couple of days later they asked me some more questions, like do I drive in snow (Yeah I live in the north), do I ever trailer anything (yeah truck specifically built for trailering), do they use salt on the road in winter? I am not getting a good feeling.

I get called again a couple of days later, dealer said that the salt on the road deteriorated the brakes, and that I trailer, so that this isn't covered. I told the chevy person, I said how can I own a truck with a hitch, that I ordered with trailering options, and not drive it year round? Salt on the road, are you fn kiddin me? They spread that from November to April every year. So, if I didn't drive my truck int he winter, and didn't trailer it, i would be covered under warranty? I told her you have got to be kidding me. In her defense she did sound like she understood I was getting shafted here. So I still had to pay the inspection, and it wasn't covered. I asked her why the chevy dealership was over 1k for the brakes and the Ford dealership was $600 (no special prices from my buddy). Answer OEM.?!?

Ok, I'm salty, but can get over it. About 1 week later I get a letter in the mail from chevy. I'm thinking, maybe someone reconsidered, or some junk coupon for "future service". No, it was notice from Chevrolet that some brakes fail on their vehicles and have issues. If your brakes fail and you die be sure to take your truck into the dealership to have them fixed (obviously not their words).

So, Chevy customer care knew that a brake issue was known for my vehicle, the dealership knew it too, and they both lied and stuck me with the bill. Not going to do it again, once bitten twice shy. I'll let someone new lie to me next time.

FYI - my grandfather (now deceased) was a GM retiree. My entire family owned chevy's.

Sure am glad I spend winters in Florida.
Suburban stays stored in warm dry building in the North.
K2500 4x4 Suburban brakes would also probably cost $1000 to replace,.... if I drove it in Winter.
I will be very careful to NEVER drive my GM vehicle in Winter!
Thanks!
I was not aware, just how very helpful (?) a GM/Chevy dealer could be.

 

[Deere Dude]

But 36,000 miles seems to quick unless drove in salt water and let it sit for an extended period of time.

At 90,000 my GMC dually needed new rotors and surprisingly the pads seemed fail, but I had them changed anyway. The rotors were all rusted. The fix for me was to make sure the brakes get hit hard now and then if not towing monthly at least just to keep the rotors clean from rust.

 

[widefat]

Google Magnesium Chloride as a road pre-treat chemical.
Nasty stuff.

 

[Gary Fowler]

My Olds Bravada (which I recently gave to my daughter) has over 120K on original brake pads and discs and still has plenty of pad on them. It spent the first 2 years in Canada and was driven year round. My Chevy truck has a bit over 50K, never driven in the salt and brakes are still good. I have pulled trailers with it all its life although nothing heavy that didn't have trailer brakes.
I doubt that your next Ford will be any different. My neighbor had to have a complete brake job on his Ford F 150 at less than 30K and he never pulls trailers and never stops hard (at least when I have been riding with him). I think he had to have brake pads changed again at 50K. SO Fords dont seem to be any different, sometimes you just get one that wears the brakes faster than others.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I could write almost the same rant about my Dodge, I'll NEVER own another one!! PEROID!

Then there's the dead Ford 350 that's sitting here AGAIN!

I guess that's what makes the world go around!

SR

 

[Tomtint]

..I'm certainly not a GM fan...IMO they have been on a steady quality decline for several years. But that being said, I had a 2016 F450 dump truck that really saw very little use other than pushing snow and spreading salt.. at about 3000 miles, it needed all new rotors, pads and caliipers .....at 3,000 miles ! The mag chloride absolutely clobbered them and letting it sit after plowing was not any good forit. Dealer replaced it all under warranty, no charge at all. ...on a side note...as the mechanic was driving it in and out of his bay for the road test..he noticed drops of oil on the ground.....the oil filter was also rotted almost all the way through.... The crap they pre treat the road s with is brutally harsh on all things metal... 2-3 year old trucks up here look like they have been in salt water for 20 years.

 

[5030]

GM = Government Motors.....:laughing:

Having posted that, my wife just bought a Suburban.....:laughing:



I do 95% of my own stuff and get my parts from Rock Auto or 1A Auto or Autozone if in a pinch. I can rebrake any of my 4 buggies for about 400 bucks, with everything new, including brake hoses and a fluid change. The ONLY time a dealer sees me is if there is a recall.

I'm not brand loyal except Kubota and that is because I have a stellar dealer.

 

[5030]

If you live and drive in any area where chemicals are used to de-ice roads, no matter what they are, it's in your best interest to wash the underside of your buggy every chance you get. I wash mine as much as possible with a pressure washer with a wide spray tip installed. Glean on top don't mean squat really. Clean on the underside means everything. Clean and flushed off from chemicals / road salt residue. remember, almost everything under there is metal and metal corrodes (including aluminum).