purchasing a new 2500 sierra

Big_Mike23 · May 27, 2018

whats up gang? Greetings from south Florida. I was recently in a car accident and my Suburban was totaled out. :-( bummer right? SO I'm thinking about going into the realm of heavy duty trucks and purchasing a 2500 Sierra. Leaning toward the 6.6 SLT. I've been reading the forums and saw a couple of horror stories about trucks coming from the factory jacked up. So at the expense of those before me (thanks fellas)I want to try and avoid the issues that others made. Is there a general checklist one should use when purchasing a new truck from the factory diesel or gasser? thanks for the repsonses back!!!

Colossus · May 27, 2018

Glad you are doing your research. Sorry about your suburban and hope you are ok! May I suggest you go over to duramaxforum.com and ask your question there? Lots of good advice there regarding the diesels. I am not sure about how the 2018 models are doing thus far, but the biggest issues for the duramax since 2011 has been the DPF & DEF and NOX sensors. Without that emissions crap, the Duramax is bulletproof. I had an 08 and a 2012. the 08 was my favorite. The 2012 gave me trouble with the DPF, DEF, and NOX sensors. You'll see over on Duramax Forum the same situation. Most who are able to, decide to delete the emissions crap once the factory warranty is up, so long as they don't have emissions testing where they live. I like a clean running truck, but that emissions crap is very expensive. Sadly, Ford, Dodge, and GM have all had issues with the emissions side of the fence.

redwngr · May 27, 2018

The 6.6 was changed from LML to L5P beginning with the 2017 MY.

Completely new engine.

What sort of 'jacked up' issues are you asking about?

Big_Mike23 · May 27, 2018

1 hour ago, redwngr said:

The 6.6 was changed from LML to L5P beginning with the 2017 MY.

Completely new engine.

What sort of 'jacked up' issues are you asking about?

well I just reading through a post earlier where the OP was explaining that he bought a 2500 and the next morning or 3 days later he saw pink fluid in the driveway. Supposedly it was a factory issue where somebody messed up on the line I believe.

Big_Mike23 · May 27, 2018

10 hours ago, Colossus said:

Glad you are doing your research. Sorry about your suburban and hope you are ok! May I suggest you go over to duramaxforum.com and ask your question there? Lots of good advice there regarding the diesels. I am not sure about how the 2018 models are doing thus far, but the biggest issues for the duramax since 2011 has been the DPF & DEF and NOX sensors. Without that emissions crap, the Duramax is bulletproof. I had an 08 and a 2012. the 08 was my favorite. The 2012 gave me trouble with the DPF, DEF, and NOX sensors. You'll see over on Duramax Forum the same situation. Most who are able to, decide to delete the emissions crap once the factory warranty is up, so long as they don't have emissions testing where they live. I like a clean running truck, but that emissions crap is very expensive. Sadly, Ford, Dodge, and GM have all had issues with the emissions side of the fence.

thanks for the well wishes. Ill take a look into the forum that you mentioned.

redwngr · May 27, 2018

58 minutes ago, Big_Mike23 said:

well I just reading through a post earlier where the OP was explaining that he bought a 2500 and the next morning or 3 days later he saw pink fluid in the driveway. Supposedly it was a factory issue where somebody messed up on the line I believe.

Was the post about a 6.0 or a 6.6?

I haunt the diesel forums.

Certainly there can be problems, but I'm not buying that they are common.

So far, the L5P (2017/18) has been a completely different intro than the first couple years of the LML (2011 thru 2016)

grandpalarry777 · May 28, 2018

Big_Mike23

I had similar questions (not just about factory errors) when I was looking into buying my first diesel pusher motor home. It seemed like every forum I looked at showed numerous terrible problems with the various makes and models people owned. It gave me second thoughts about buying ANY motor home.

After a while, I started to realize that while there seemed to be endless problems, when I put it in perspective I was looking at a very small percentage of motor homes on the road.

You know how it goes, people who are having problems are more apt to report those problems in forums than are those who have no or minimal problems. You always see the horror stories but rarely hear from those who are doing OK. Once I realized this, I still did my research but then made the best deal I could on the best motor home I could find in my price range.

The same holds true for a new truck. You should always do your homework but you need to keep reported problems in context to the number of trucks on the road where people have good experiences.

Big_Mike23 · May 28, 2018

22 hours ago, redwngr said:

Was the post about a 6.0 or a 6.6?

I haunt the diesel forums.

Certainly there can be problems, but I'm not buying that they are common.

So far, the L5P (2017/18) has been a completely different intro than the first couple years of the LML (2011 thru 2016)

i understand that. guess I'm just overly cautious about this new buy. on the grand scale the issue(s) that some people are reporting is a drop of water in a pool.

Big_Mike23 · May 28, 2018

14 minutes ago, grandpalarry777 said:

Big_Mike23

I had similar questions (not just about factory errors) when I was looking into buying my first diesel pusher motor home. It seemed like every forum I looked at showed numerous terrible problems with the various makes and models people owned. It gave me second thoughts about buying ANY motor home.

After a while, I started to realize that while there seemed to be endless problems, when I put it in perspective I was looking at a very small percentage of motor homes on the road.

You know how it goes, people who are having problems are more apt to report those problems in forums than are those who have no or minimal problems. You always see the horror stories but rarely hear from those who are doing OK. Once I realized this, I still did my research but then made the best deal I could on the best motor home I could find in my price range.

The same holds true for a new truck. You should always do your homework but you need to keep reported problems in context to the number of trucks on the road where people have good experiences.

funny you typed this when you did. i was just beginning to think this way. i guess i was letting small issues fester into bigger concerns. thanks for the response.

2017HD · June 6, 2018

While I know that buying the first year of anything can be risky - but I bought the first 2007 HD with the 6 speed tranny and the first integrated trailer brake controller - all performed without issues for 10yrs. Now I bought the first generation of the LP5 DMax - so far so good. I really felt good when I watched Gale Banks Performance tear one down and compare it to the previous version - the difference was astounding - and all for the good - Gale said that he could get another 20% out of it using the existing parts and a quick tune - just a fuel pump, injector, and turbo tweak. He said the lower end bearings were all over designed and he loved the new intake manifold design.

This kind of talk coming from such a respected name in diesel powerplants gives me even more confidence that my new truck will tow my new TT well into the future.

I know I only have a little over 12k right now it will get more on her in a few years when I retire.

avalonandl · June 12, 2018

I would not be concerned, the LP5 is a great engine.

ImBroke · August 14, 2018

Got 8k on my 2018, and I will say it hauls like a beast.

ewbldavis · August 20, 2018

Depending on just how much hauling you do, don't write of the 6.0L gasser. If you haul daily, get a diesel. If not, maybe look at the gas.

With the expense and the DEF/emissions garbage, I decided to stick with a gas engine. I tow a 34'/8500# travel trailer, and the gas engine has performed flawlessly. I've always loved diesels, but have not regretted getting a gasser instead. As a daily driver and the few trips we take, it's perfect.

redwngr · August 20, 2018

DEF is $4.00 gallon, and uses about 1.5 -2 gal per 100 gallons of fuel, so cost is insignificant.

Under 1 cent per mile when towing, less when not towing.

Nothing wrong with a 6.0, but cost of def shouldn't be a deciding factor.

ewbldavis · August 21, 2018

21 hours ago, redwngr said:

DEF is $4.00 gallon, and uses about 1.5 -2 gal per 100 gallons of fuel, so cost is insignificant.

Under 1 cent per mile when towing, less when not towing.

Nothing wrong with a 6.0, but cost of def shouldn't be a deciding factor.

The cost of the actual DEF was most certainly not a factor. Is the HP pumps, tank heaters, and several other big-ticket components (should one fail) plus the cost of a diesel itself and diesel maintenance. I'm not "dogging" diesels - just mentioning my preference and experience with a gas as information for OP. Always wanted a diesel, but wasn't a good choice for my needs.