Does Chevy Really Make the "Longest Lasting" Trucks? New Study Helps Answer Burning Question

[Gorehamj]

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
4-4-2018

Chevrolet has long used the term "longest lasting" in its truck advertisements. There is no doubt that Chevy is in the running, but what about GMC? What about those pesky Toyotas? And if we may insert some complete heresy, what about the Honda Ridgeline? A new study conducted by one of GM-Trucks.com's industry friends helps shed some light on the question.

 

The new study by iSeeCars examined over 13 million vehicle transactions in 2017 and noted their mileage. iSeeCars then sought to determine which models had a higher percentage of sales with over 200,000 miles on the odometer. No study is perfect, but the sample size is huge in this study, and using 200,000 miles as an "endpoint' seems pretty valid. Only 1.2% of vehicle models overall sold had that many miles on the odometer.

 

The next question before answering whether Chevys are the longest lasting is, "what is a truck?" Not everyone considers vehicles like the Toyota Tacoma and Honda Ridgeline "trucks." We know that sounds crazy, but after a half-decade of writing news stories on the subject and then reading comments underneath by truck owners, it is clear that many truck owners only count body-on-frame "1500" full-sized pickups and larger as "trucks." 

 

We've posted the results above in the top of page image. If you count midsize trucks as "trucks," then the Tacoma is ahead by a country mile. If you count unit-body (weak in the knees, minivans with a roof-ectomy, too small, too soft, and nobody considers them real trucks) pickups as "trucks," then the Ridgeline is tied for number two on the list. If the Toyota Tundra is a "truck," and we are not sure how to exclude that one, then it just barely edges out the Chevy Silverado. What we find interesting is that the Silverado is meaningfully ahead of the GMC Sierra. Maybe since they are "professional grade" they live a harder life?

 

So in a nutshell, if we disqualify the top three trucks because "nobody uses them like real work trucks," then the Chevy Silverado is indeed the Longest Lasting truck sold in America.  

 

[MaverickZ71]

Ram has been advertising that they have the most reliable, longest lasting trucks in their TV commercials the last couple of years.  Not sure how they can all make that claim.  But that Ram commercial had me at "F6F Hellcat".  

Edited April 4, 2018 by MaverickZ71

[mookdoc6]

I would probably throw out the top two spots and keep the Tundra as it's a full size.  Tundra is what? 120,00k yearly or two months of GM's sales.....I would bet dollars to donuts at comparable GM sales figures....Tundra would have more comparable quality, repairs, ownership issues...

[i82much]

The problem with this kind of study is you can't normalize for the type of use received by the vehicle.  Say you daily drive a 3500HD and I daily drive a Colorado.  Well, the 3500HD ought to last just about forever under those conditions.  But in truth, a 3500HD driver is much more likely to be beating his truck silly than daily driving it like most Colorado drivers.

 

Same is true with something like  a Jeep Wrangler.   I personally think vehicles in the Jeep brand generally has shoddy reliability due to being FCA products.  On top of that, a lot of people put their Wranglers through off-road stuff they would never do to another SUV.  So I think of a Wrangler as being basically only as crappy as any other FCA product, not a particularly crappy FCA product, if that makes any sense.

[Logan Lanfear]

Definitely dont have enough information on the test to have a real conclusion.  This test seems to show that Chevy lasts the longest out of the "big 3".  But what years did they survey? Theres so many variables that go into the amount of miles a truck has.  
 

I've tried to never buy into one truck brand is better than the other.  If you ask me, they all break and they all need to be fixed.  In my experience, I have found GM to be easy to work on so thats what I drive.  

[j-ten-ner]

9 hours ago, Gorehamj said:

...sought to determine which models had a higher percentage of sales with over 200,000 miles on the odometer...

Just because a car was sold with under 200k's doesn't mean that it's not still running.

I think it would be a better idea to go by the cost of owner ship within 200,000 miles and the number of repairs needed to achieve the mileage.

 

so long

j-ten-ner

[Loco-diablo]

Doesn't Chevy and Ram say longest lasting "FULL SIZE" trucks in their adds? That would exclude the Tacoma, which BTW, is a great mid size truck. 

 

[muddkatt]

While I can appreciate the idea behind this set of facts, they actually prove nothing. My interpretation of the data is Tacoma, Ridgeline, and Tundra trucks are more likely to have problems once they cross 200K miles that causes people to decide to trade them rather than repair them. My 2001 Sierra has 323K miles on it, original engine and transmission and this truck tows loads that should be hooked up to a 2500. I have no intention of getting rid of it EVER. Living in the south, rust is not an issue, so it should last another 30 years, or until I die. Thinking about it, who in the Hell would want to keep a Toyota or Honda for 50 years?

[Grumpy Bear]

Here's some data for you. 100% of all trucks and cars I've ever owned have gone in excess of 200K. Ford, Chevy, Buick and AMC. Over 50 years driving. (excluding a few still in present service that have yet to have the chance and two totaled) More than half of those over 300K. I'm thinking it's more about the maintenance and in what service than what model or manufacture. It isn't 1940 anymore people. Oh, unless you own a Yugo!!  

 

That this data even suggest that only 1.2% of ALL models make it to this milestone says something pretty awful about the people that own them and their attitudes about personal depreciable possessions and how they feel about the earth they live on and in. Thanks for sharing John. I haven't felt like a good puke in like forever. 

[MikeNH]

The commercials for all the different brands can rightfully claim longest lasting because they all pick different data points to do so. It’s usually done by the number of active registrations and Ram will pick one year range, Chevy another and so on. 

 

The numbers are smaller than I thought they’d be but not of much relevance to me as I switch vehicles every 2-3 years. 

Edited April 6, 2018 by MikeNH

[KARNUT]

In the business I retired from, my costumers drive lots of miles. Seeing trucks in excess of 200K miles is common. Fords seemed to be the most common preferred brand. I saw examples of all the brands with that mileage. They didn’t get the recommended service during their life cycle.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CadillacLuke24]

7 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

. I'm thinking it's more about the maintenance and in what service than what model or manufacture.

 

That this data even suggest that only 1.2% of ALL models make it to this milestone says something pretty awful about the people that own them and their attitudes about personal depreciable possessions and how they feel about the earth they live on and in. 

Cars and trucks anymore are disposable. I have a hard time wrapping my head around that, spending such a large chunk of change on that. Sure, stuff wears out, but still. Like Dad is shocked at how well his DTS does at 142k miles. I drove it earlier this week, and even with a leaky steering rack and struts that may be factory, that car is so nice. Then again, it doesn't hurt that the previous owners were dealership owners and kept up with maintenance. 

 

You hit the nail on the head with maintenance. Clyde is a major wake up call for me in terms of how you SHOULD maintain a vehicle. Even with my OCD maintenance, I was looking over the recommended service interval and noticed I missed brake fluid change. Sure, it may not be the end of the world, but if you keep up with maintenance, you'll get a better return on your investment. 

 

Then again, I bought my truck with a lifetime in mind, rarely anybody approaches anything with that mindset anymore. Just a thought. 

[milligan]

Maybe GM truck owners keep their vehicles

 

Interesting study, but I don't think it says anything other than some models of 200k vehicles trade hands more often than others.

[qwank]

why does it have to be just mileage?  there's plenty of old Chevy's driving around still.  Trucks from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s are all over the place still, even older.  Whats the oldest Toyota you ever see running around? 80s maybe? 

[i82much]

i bet a big factor is resale.  if your car is worth $500, you have it towed away, if it is worth 4k, you get it running decent and sell it.  so the reputation of honda and toyota for running forever is a self-fulfilling prophecy, it keeps their resale up, so people keep them running, which reinforces their reputation for running forever.