Is Chevy Simply buying its Silverado sales gains?

[Gorehamj]

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
6/9/2015

Silverado sales have been through the roof these past few months with many outlets now reporting that the Silverado is "gaining on the Ford F-150." But is it really? The Ford has been constrained due to production changes to the body we all know about. Then there is the huge amount of cash on the dash Chevy is using to lure Silverado buyers.

 

24/7 Wall Street reports that Silverado customers are being given up to $8,500 off the price of a new Silverado before negotiations even begin. That is easy to believe if you look at the advert Chevy is running right now (above image).

 

Do you think the Silverado is making progress due to its design, or Chevy making full advantage of a lack of F-150s in the marketplace coupled with huge discounts? Or is it all of the above?

[newdude]

I'd say incentives, and a well engineered truck but most likely incentives are leading out.

[Nargg]

Ford gained a lot of market by being the cheapest truck on the market. So, why can't GM do that too?

[JacekPSUr1]

I wonder how many people actually 'qualify' for the full $8,500 amount in rebates/incentives. I stopped over at a local Chevy dealer and he didn't mention any rebates/incentives and was pushing for the full MSRP price of $45K for a Silverado with Z71 package. These rebates/incentives are close to being false advertisement as they make it seem like GM gives this money away to its customers, which is not the case.

[[email protected]]

I just bought a new Silverado Double Cab LTZ. We looked at and drove both the Ford F150 and the Chevy. Ford has come a long way up in terms of being very competitive with Chevy. Fit, Finish, Ride, Comfort and Features are all on a par with Chevy today. Ford actually had an edge with engine choice for me - but none of the local Dealers had any on hand.. 3.5V6 Turbo..loads of low end torque - and with the right rear gear - 3.7:1 - 11,000 lbs tow ratings. {might have been the same with the 3.5}.

I needed a truck to pull an enclosed car hauler - so any truck in the Dealers inventory had to provide the right engine/gearing and suspension packages. In the Tampa Bay Area - it seems that very few Dealers really paid attention to having trucks on hand that were equipped to TOW anything. Checked over 8 different Chevy Dealers before finding the truck I needed to buy.

Truth is - I would have bought an F150 - if any Ford Dealers had a Double Cab with the right engine/gears/suspension etc. The incentives/discounts from Chevy made me “buy now” - rather than wait for the 2016’s to come out. Additionally a strong Used Truck Market at present - which made it easy for me - to resell my 2005 Silverado 2500HD Crew Cab also give me an incentive to buy a new Chevy now.

In the end - I traded up 10 Model Years - but down from a 3/4 ton to 1/2 ton - - for just less than $2,000.00 per model year. Of course the new truck is far better equipped..

[FeelTheThunder]

I had 25 years of ford before buying my first Chevy in 2008. I was always fixing my Fords (under full warranty, first three years) and the down time time and inconvenience was just too much. I have bought 5 new Silverados since 2008 and the only warranty claims I had was to aim the headlights and the Onstar remote start from my iPhone not working properly. 3 of these were loaded LTZ's max trailering packages 6.0L,6.2L,6.2L.

 

I have always received around 10-12K off the sticker price in Canada.

 

In my experience it is just a better built truck, and a lot of friends I have told my story to have listened and no longer buy Fords.

[Jsdirt]

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but get ready to start fixing your Chevy ... Some will be sooner than others, but it's inevitable these days.

 

From what I see out there lately, no matter what the brand, your going to have problems at some point. Manufacturing quality ain't what it used to be, that's for sure. The more wiring and electronics they cram into these things, the worse it's going to get. Couple that with cheaply made, thin gauge wire, and your just asking for trouble.

 

Fords seem to rust out faster than GM's ... but GM's aren't immune. After 14 years the truck my dad paid $40 LARGE for is unable to tow ... because the frame is about to rot in half back there. Bed, rockers, and cab corners are smoked, plus, it's sitting in my yard after getting towed 3.5 hours one way back from NY after croaking on the side of the highway, for no reason but failure prone electronics. How great is it that a diesel "can go 300k + miles" ... but 90% of the truck will never make it close to that! After 15 years my neighbor's 7.3 F350 is still running great ... but the entire body from front to rear is about to fall off the frame. And the oil pan rusted through. The truck is in such bad shape that you'd need a plasma cutter to get to the engine to fix the pan ... SAD.

 

My '07 was the first new vehicle I ever bought in my life. Spent most of the first 36k in and out of the dealership with a multitude of warranty issues. On my second front end job in 75k miles. Struts failed at 50k. Interior squeaked and rattled WORSE than a 266k mile '94 K1500 I sold after I bought this one, and STILL does. Front diff started puking gear oil out the driver's side axle seal at 50k or so. Then the TPMS b/s I dealt with trying to run new wheels. At least I haven't had a check engine light yet, but I'm sure that's next ...

 

I love the truck, but I'm pretty disgusted with it considering all the money I shelled out for this thing - not only on the purchase price, but higher insurance and taxes to boot. I got around just fine in my 40 year old beater, and had 1/4 as many issues. It's only "brand new" for a few months ... and after that it's just a used truck. Not worth the cash, IMO. Lesson learned the hard way. I'll never buy another.

 

I wish you guys luck with your new ones. Just hope GM has got their heads out of their collective asses by now. Something tells me to doubt that though ...

[pinnerman08]

I think they really are doing the right thing!! Last month I got a 2015 High Country sticker price pushing 58,000 and I got it for 50 out the door!!

[mtbadbob]

No vehicle is immune to problems as all are mechanical, man-made products. Chevy's just hold up better in my world, got 202k out of my '07 2500 HD Crew New Body, & I spent less than $500 on repairs total, including plugs & wires at 119k. Even the stock battery lasted almost 7 years w/remote start here in Montana winters. Sold it to my mechanic buddy & hope like hell my '15 HD is near as good of a truck as that one was.

[GPGuy]

Just remember that one of the reasons Ford is the sales leader is because GM's sales are split between the Silverado and Sierra. I wouldn't choose it over either of the GM trucks but I have to admit that the newest Ford F150 is the best looking one they've had in a while...Just never liked the last 2 generations of the F150.

[Jsdirt]

They also ride 200% better than my Silverado, even with Bilsteins installed. I got to drive my neighbor's Ecoboost to run an errand while the wife had my truck - night and day ride.

 

He doesn't have it anymore though. That engine was so complicated not even FoMoCo engineers straight from Detroit could figure out why it would die intermittently while passing. Had to sue Ford to get them to take the lemon back!

[MikeNH]

They also ride 200% better than my Silverado, even with Bilsteins installed. I got to drive my neighbor's Ecoboost to run an errand while the wife had my truck - night and day ride.

 

He doesn't have it anymore though. That engine was so complicated not even FoMoCo engineers straight from Detroit could figure out why it would die intermittently while passing. Had to sue Ford to get them to take the lemon back!

 

You're comparing a 2015 to a 2007?

[Imcrazy]

Ford sells more trucks because they don't last and need to be replaced often.

[Jsdirt]

 

You're comparing a 2015 to a 2007?

And your point is??? My truck has 76k miles. The Bilsteins which are 10x better than stock have 23k or so on them. Brand new, basically. Plus new ball joints all the way around, and a new upper control arm. I don't think they've made that much advancement in suspension technology in 8 years. My 40 year old El Camino rode better than the Silverado did off the showroom floor!

[MikeNH]

There's a lot more to suspension tuning than shocks. Bilstein makes good stuff but they tend to be on the firm side in my experience.