How good is a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado LT?

tonyghkbve · June 8, 2014

After taking such time to decide what kind of Chevrolet Silverado I am willing to buy and keep for a long time, I have made my FINAL decision. I want to buy a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 extended cab LT, 2WD 5.3 Vortec engine in dark blue metallic with tan cloth interior. I'm hoping I can find one that was well-maintained, preferably garaged kept, 1 owner or 2 the most, body and paint in near-excellent condition. Like new interior etc..With that being said, how good are these trucks? Like how much does it cost to own them, etc..I want a truck just like this one here

Chris · June 8, 2014

Not bad.

kstruckcountry · June 8, 2014

The best, IMHO lol. I have only had a couple things go wrong, currently sitting @ 111k. Blower motor resistor, not expensive. Transfer case actuator and torsion bar crossmember mounts, both not relevant to you. Wheel bearings, one bad one for preventative maintenance. Currently my door sensor is going bad on the driver side. Belts and U-joints, preventative maintenance. Regular fluid changes. Spark plugs and wires. I think they're great trucks to own, fun to drive and pretty easy to work on.

Rich2011SierraSLE · June 8, 2014

You do want to specifically look at the brake lines along the frame under the driver's door, especially if your prospective truck comes from one of the "snow" states. There have been many issues with severe corrosion at this point causing the line(s) to rupture with complete loss of braking. So far, GM isn't recalling or helping with the repairs. Replacement of these lines seems to be running in the neighborhood of $1100-$1500. Several threads about this failure on this forum.

Rich2011SierraSLE · June 8, 2014

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/148105-brake-line-replacement/

white1500 · June 8, 2014

That truck looks very nice, hopefully it has been well maintained and has not lived in snow. And what gears does it have???

The gears are important to how you want the truck to behave.

And I don't like tan interiors but if the rest of the package is exceptional I would live with it.

Beer Belly · June 9, 2014

Loved my '06.....had issues at 93,000 miles, and decided to go with a new truck rather than throw another $1,700 at it after dropping $1,200 the month before.....I feel my '06 is a better truck than my '13.....I don't see us keeping this truck at the end of the lease (which was the original plan), it already feels like an old truck at just over 12,000 miles. Don't get me wrong, not all that bad a truck, just feel the '06 was better.

02suburbanZ71 · June 9, 2014

Loved my '06.....had issues at 93,000 miles, and decided to go with a new truck rather than throw another $1,700 at it after dropping $1,200 the month before.....I feel my '06 is a better truck than my '13.....I don't see us keeping this truck at the end of the lease (which was the original plan), it already feels like an old truck at just over 12,000 miles. Don't get me wrong, not all that bad a truck, just feel the '06 was better.

My personal opinion were the 99-02 trucks were some of the best and 03-06. The new stuff is just flimsy

Chris · June 9, 2014

My personal opinion were the 99-02 trucks were some of the best and 03-06. The new stuff is just flimsy

There is no 99-02, they are all the same from 99-07c. Same engines, transmissions, transfer cases, axles, and main body panels. What set the 03-07c apart was upgraded electronics and more comfortable seats.

02suburbanZ71 · June 9, 2014

There is no 99-02, they are all the same from 99-07c. Same engines, transmissions, transfer cases, axles, and main body panels. What set the 03-07c apart was upgraded electronics and more comfortable seats.

Correct

white1500 · June 10, 2014

My favorite trucks of all time are the 00'02 silverado and I would get another one in a heart beat. From my office today I saw a green version of mine drive by towing a few thousand pounds and it just looked so perfect.

So once again, a well maintained gmt800 is a no brianer imo. If you take care of it, it will take care of you.

Daryl LBZ · June 10, 2014

I'm the second owner of an 06 with 232,000 miles. It has it's problems that I'll slowly get it fixed up, but it's still far from junk.

00Silverado4x4 · June 10, 2014

Just shy of 8 yrs and 122k miles on my '06, first and only owner. Still going strong. Little things along the way, currently the biggest "problem" I have is the fuel gauge not reading. I've gone through a couple of hub bearings and front axle seals, but that could be just as much my fault and is GM's. I use & abuse my truck, then go back and fix it up and she just keeps going. Find a good one, look it over real good, test drive it the way you would if you already owned it. Then if all seems good, buy it, enjoy.

tonyghkbve · June 10, 2014

That truck looks very nice, hopefully it has been well maintained and has not lived in snow. And what gears does it have???

The gears are important to how you want the truck to behave.

And I don't like tan interiors but if the rest of the package is exceptional I would live with it.

I don't know what gears it has, that's just an example picture that I pulled from the web. I am looking towards a 3.42 gear ratio preferrably. My dad has the 07 classic extended cab wt with 3.23 gears and 4.3 vortec and it isn't very strong in acceleration. A tiny motor trying to drive a huge truck doesn't make sense. A regular cab, short bed truck is an exception.