Purchasing a new truck

[Gianni76]

Hello all. 

 

I am about to purchase a new vehicle and am considering a 2014-2016 silverado 1500. Im wondering if anyone here has any of these years that has put a lot of kms on it. I wondering how reliable they are and what problems if any you have ran into with them. The reason I'm asking is because I purchased a subscription to Consumer Reports and Reliability was only a 2/5 and overall satisfaction was a 3/5.

 

I just paid off a 2011 F150 a year ago and now it has a stretched timing chain @ 140k. I really don't want to buy a piece of shit again.

 

Also, the dealership gave me a 2014 1500 to try out for a few days and i really loved the truck except for one thing. In comparison to my F150 it was an extremely rough ride. It seems like every dam bump on the highway was pretty jarring. Even my lady friend noticed it clearly and she doesn't give a shit about anything when it comes to vehicles. I've heard gm/chevy ride a little stiffer but this seemed pretty bad. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[MixerDriver]

Before I begin, let me just say to take anything you read with a grain of salt. You will hear of the 5 people that had a problem, but you never hear about the 1,000 that didn't.

 

I have a 2014 Sierra 4.3 I've had for about 9 months now. Had 50k miles on it when I bought it, and I'm about ready to hit 70k miles. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with it. Rides good, hauls/tows pretty good, gets good gas mileage, and hasn't left me stranded yet.

 

It was flawless the first 7 or 8 months, but some issues have been coming up as of late. The passenger window fell into the door, so I've got it shimmed up. All 4 control arm bushings are dry rotted, and the ball joints are starting to get a little loose. I replaced the upper control arms on both sides, but still have to do the lowers. The big issue I'm having is the steering rack will need to be replaced soon. The mounting bushings are rotted and the rack itself is getting worn out. The steering has been getting worse and worse over the last few weeks. I've had a couple electrical glitches here and there, but nothing severe enough for me to remember (:

 

I bought this truck hoping to get a couple years without repairs, but it is what it is I guess. Most of my problems are front end related, and, to be fair, I live in Michigan, and our roads are crap. Especially around me, it seems the county spends more money on their annual Christmas party than they do the roads. 

[Gianni76]

@MixerDriver Hey, thanks for the input. All in all the repairs you mentioned (aside from the window) seems like regular maintenance at 70 000 miles. I asked this same question in another group and a mechanic at a dealership said that in 2014 chevy added new parts to the truck and they have a lot more minor problems-- 4:1 ratio for 2014s needing repairs to 2015s....Something to consider i guess.  

 

I feel your pain with the roads. Im from Canada Alberta and the freezing and thawing every year basically means its impossible to keep a smooth flat road. 

[SirenRed16]

Before I begin, let me just say to take anything you read with a grain of salt. You will hear of the 5 people that had a problem, but you never hear about the 1,000 that didn't.
 
I have a 2014 Sierra 4.3 I've had for about 9 months now. Had 50k miles on it when I bought it, and I'm about ready to hit 70k miles. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with it. Rides good, hauls/tows pretty good, gets good gas mileage, and hasn't left me stranded yet.
 
It was flawless the first 7 or 8 months, but some issues have been coming up as of late. The passenger window fell into the door, so I've got it shimmed up. All 4 control arm bushings are dry rotted, and the ball joints are starting to get a little loose. I replaced the upper control arms on both sides, but still have to do the lowers. The big issue I'm having is the steering rack will need to be replaced soon. The mounting bushings are rotted and the rack itself is getting worn out. The steering has been getting worse and worse over the last few weeks. I've had a couple electrical glitches here and there, but nothing severe enough for me to remember (:
 
I bought this truck hoping to get a couple years without repairs, but it is what it is I guess. Most of my problems are front end related, and, to be fair, I live in Michigan, and our roads are crap. Especially around me, it seems the county spends more money on their annual Christmas party than they do the roads. 

Do you have a leveling kit up front or it stock upfront?

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[MixerDriver]

1 minute ago, SirenRed16 said:

Do you have a leveling kit up front or it stock upfront?

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Truck is bone stock

[FlipZ71]

I have a 2015 z71,  dealer installed level kit

Truck was harsh on front end,  never stayed planted when hitting bumps.. 

I had custom tuned it at 5000 miles using BBP....   I now have 55,000 miles and have had no problems....  

Only slight issue,  I started developing a funny knock when steering....   But that disappeared when I installed a zone 4.5 lift with Bilsteins and an extra leaf in the rear.  

 So far this truck as been great in comparison to my 09....   

 

[wforrest08]

8 hours ago, Gianni76 said:

. It seems like every dam bump on the highway was pretty jarring. Even my lady friend noticed it clearly and she doesn't give a shit about anything when it comes to vehicles. I've heard gm/chevy ride a little stiffer but this seemed pretty bad. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Is the 14 a Z71? A fair amount of Z71 owners NOT ALL say the Zs ride like sh!t because of the factory Rancho shocks. I bought my 15 new non Z 4x4 with the black strut/shocks and it was by far the smoothest full size I’ve evered owned. I’d stick my head under there and see what’s on it. If theres Ranch-o-junks that’s probably the problem also see if the rears are leaking common for them if so see if the dealer will swap them out. Some Z owners have swapped them out for black take offs from a non Z as they can be had cheap.

[elcamino]

Buy as low mileage a truck as you can find and one that has not been modified in any way.  Friends kid  bought a Silverado from a used car dealer, I believe it's 2014 with 5.3L.  The truck looks to be in good condition but it had a lot of extra stuff on it that he liked, CAI, loud exhaust, bigger aggressive tires and apparently suspension lift.  Well in the last year he has had to spend a lot of extra $ repairing what the previous owner did to it and lots of shops don't want to touch it because its not stock.  He took it to a Chevy dealer and they flat out told him his problems are the result of the OS tires and jacked up suspension.  They will not touch it and several other shops won't either.  

[KARNUT]

Some dealers in Texas have that done new with warranty. If I was going to buy anything used I buy through a new car dealership. Any mods would have to be blessed by the dealer. May cost a little more, worth it.


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[Gianni76]

10 hours ago, wforrest08 said:

Is the 14 a Z71? A fair amount of Z71 owners NOT ALL say the Zs ride like sh!t because of the factory Rancho shocks. I bought my 15 new non Z 4x4 with the black strut/shocks and it was by far the smoothest full size I’ve evered owned. I’d stick my head under there and see what’s on it. If theres Ranch-o-junks that’s probably the problem also see if the rears are leaking common for them if so see if the dealer will swap them out. Some Z owners have swapped them out for black take offs from a non Z as they can be had cheap.

@wforrest08 No the truck is not a Z71--Its a 1500 LT. What colour are Rancho shocks? Or does it say Rancho on them? It seems like that could have been the problem but i wasn't aware of that. Ill definitely keep that in mind as i continue my shopping. Thanks  

[Dnt]

2014 SLT Z71 CC SB 5.3   approx 45k miles  Ranchos were leaking and rusty. Replaced with Gabriel' Ultras at approx 20 bucks a piece from autoanything. Takes about ten minutes to trade out the rear shocks on these trucks. Just a  regular wear item like a tire. 

 

 

[wforrest08]

They are white front and rear shocks have a red cover like pic posted above. LT non Z factories all black front and back don’t know how many miles tha 14 has maybe it’s just time for a new set? If it’s leveled in the front or lifted some guys claim they’ll ride ruff depending on how it’s leveled these trucks sit about 2” higher in the rear from the factory so if you can’t tell by looking on level ground measure from the ground to the middle bottom of the wheel well front should be 2” lower if stock. 

[Gianni76]

7 minutes ago, wforrest08 said:

They are white front and rear shocks have a red cover like pic posted above. LT non Z factories all black front and back don’t know how many miles tha 14 has maybe it’s just time for a new set? If it’s leveled in the front or lifted some guys claim they’ll ride ruff depending on how it’s leveled these trucks sit about 2” higher in the rear from the factory so if you can’t tell by looking on level ground measure from the ground to the middle bottom of the wheel well front should be 2” lower if stock. 

Ya the 14 had 100 000km (60 000 miles) so its possible they were warn out. Ill keep an eye out for this problem. But if you guys aren't finding yours super rough something funny must be going on. They are holding a 15 LT for me with 50 000km on it so it will be a good comparison. Thanks for the help!

[Gianni76]

@Dnt Perfect, thanks for the pics  

[Gianni76]

Has anyone had or heard of any issues regarding the engine? Isn't this new system where the engine drops 4 cylinders while driving fairly new? Just don't want to run into the same issue like i did with my F150.