Revealing more than a scratch?

[Imcrazy]

6 hours ago, Dubblrest1985 said:

Im unsure on the cooled seats, heated yes. Z71, navigation, power rear window, no sunroof. 

 

The dealership has its own body shop but they didn't want to repair it themselves. Again, i’m assuming that it has been repaired before. If that scratch were not there, then i wouldn’t have had a clue or been suspect of anything else had happened. Body lines looked smooth and straight etc. 

 

Dan, I agree with your statement about it being a broad spectrum, if you will. In talking with others about potential purchase, including this one. I too have come across those guys who say "i picked up the same truck for far less than that..." Come to find out it's a double cab SLE with twice the mileage and half of the bells and whistles. 

 

I notified the dealership yesterday of my decision, so I'll keep looking. I kind of prefer the 2016 and up "facelift" so maybe I'll save up a few more pennies and pursue a newer model. 

The BIG improvement on a 2016+ Sierra is the HID headlamps I had a 2014 and the headlights were IMO dangerous... If I had kept the truck I would have bought a good HID kit for sure... I do miss my GMC though, just kinda cooler than a Chevy IMO BUT, if you can get excited about a Silverado there seems to be MANY more available in the market... I am happy with my 2016...

Edited May 8, 2019 by Imcrazy

[spenpet]

10 hours ago, Imcrazy said:

... just kinda cooler than a Chevy IMO ...

this made me chuckle...to each their own...

[Sierra Dan]

19 hours ago, GN2018 said:

Did a quick Carfax search and I’m back to my original statement.  To save money, I’d go for a higher mileage truck rather than a damaged one.  Seems like at about 70K miles, you can get a nice truck for under $25K.  I’d take the 30K extra miles but to each his own.  Best of luck with your search.

Loaded or higher trim level package crew cabs are still in the low 30's with 65k+ miles on them around here.

It is hard to find one for 25K unless it has 100k or is a 2wd, or all beat up and not well taken care of.

I have been helping a neighbor in his search for a good used K2 Silverado or Sierra.

[Sierra Dan]

17 hours ago, Dubblrest1985 said:

Dan, I agree with your statement about it being a broad spectrum, if you will. In talking with others about potential purchase, including this one. I too have come across those guys who say "i picked up the same truck for far less than that..." Come to find out it's a double cab SLE with twice the mileage and half of the bells and whistles. 

Amen Aaron.

[L86 All Terrain]

Knowing most dealers, like Vickars Chevrolet in Winnipeg Manitoba, I am surprised they didn't hit it with bondo, quick rattle can spray job and hoped you didn't notice. Those Shysters trying to get me in a "mint" 2500 that just didn't quite look right to me. Front bumper was pushed in about 1/4" but was barely noticeable so I climbed under to see a 1" ripple in the box panel that was completely filled with bondo from the outside and sprayed over. This "fix" would have made it a week before the bondo cracked up. Walked away from that dealer and will never set foot there again. I hate scammers. Don't settle on a paint damaged truck unless they are knocking $5k off the FMV.  

Edited May 8, 2019 by L86 All Terrain

[Sierra Dan]

On ‎5‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 8:29 PM, Dubblrest1985 said:

Wow, thank you for all of the great responses!

 

The dealership quoted me an out the door price of under $30k. Which within my search criteria, for anything comparable is about 2k+ less than the asking price for any other truck. Factoring in all the taxes title etc, that's about $5k less total. Although I feel the price is reasonable, it isn't a steal that makes it worth the risk, IMO.

 

FWIW the CarFax is clear. As some of you have said, the carfax is only as good as the documentation being entered into the system

All you can do is follow your gut and let your conscious be your guide.

If you envision yourself being able to sleep at night knowing what the truck is then you are good to go.

 

A few things to look at on this '14 Sierra...…..

 

Check the A/C Condenser up front for any oil spots near the weld seams on the driver side.

Check the Radiator on the drivers side top after the truck has been warmed up. Check for an antifreeze smell in the grille area.

Do the both front seats get warm with the seat heating controls?

Does the truck come to a stop with little brake pedal effort at around 25mph and below?

These are several major potential problems with the earlier '14 and '15 K2 trucks.

Point these issues out to the dealer and see how they respond.

 

Are you buying this with an extended warranty or are they offering it at a CPO price?

30K range should come certified or with some kind of warranty.

[Dubblrest1985]

Welp, I am certainly glad that you all helped talk me off the ledge of buying that basket case that I originally inquired about.

 

Last night I took ownership of a 2017 Crew Cab Elevation SLE. When I get a chance I will make a more formal introduction! It's been a long wait, but I am glad to finally be a part of the cool guys club

[Nitrousbird]

On 5/7/2019 at 2:20 PM, Sierra Dan said:

Loaded is a broad term. I have heard many friends and other members here state that their vehicles are "Loaded"

To me, Loaded means every option you can get on a truck. Denali is truly Loaded.

Loaded for an SLT would include Power Sunroof, Air Conditioned/Vented seats, Navigation (i06) , Z71 package and a sliding rear window to boot.

Does this SLT have those 3 features?

My SLT is more loaded than a number of the K2 Denali's out there.  Denali with the Ultimate package is truly loaded.

 

SLT Premium Plus package gets you all the bells/whistles the regular Denali gets (20" wheels, heated/cooled seats, Bose, Nav, bucket seats and all the electronic options).  Differences at that point are painted vs chrome bumpers, different grill, different gauge cluster, chrome latch on the center console, slightly different stitching on the seats, Mag Ride (I don't deem that as a good thing) and Denali badging.  Sunroof, 22" wheels, power steps, 6.2L motor were all options.  

 

As for the original truck in question - $30,000 for what sounds like a previously wrecked, 43k mile, SLT Premium (not plus) with a 5.3L and no sunroof.  Hard pass.  My '18, bought a year ago brand new, was $44,055 out the door before tax.  That's 0 miles, 6.2L motor ($2500 option), Sunroof ($1000 option), Premium Plus (~$4000 over a SLT premium).  Let's not forget the '16+ get the LED headlights on the front end refresh, which are way better) and the HMI 2.5, which gives you a better interface and Android Auto / CarPlay.  I am not a new vehicle kind of buyer typically, but I was seeing things like this in my search and it just didn't make any sense to buy used.

[2018GMC]

On 11/17/2019 at 11:54 AM, Nitrousbird said:

My SLT is more loaded than a number of the K2 Denali's out there.  Denali with the Ultimate package is truly loaded.

 

SLT Premium Plus package gets you all the bells/whistles the regular Denali gets (20" wheels, heated/cooled seats, Bose, Nav, bucket seats and all the electronic options).  Differences at that point are painted vs chrome bumpers, different grill, different gauge cluster, chrome latch on the center console, slightly different stitching on the seats, Mag Ride (I don't deem that as a good thing) and Denali badging.  Sunroof, 22" wheels, power steps, 6.2L motor were all options.  

 

As for the original truck in question - $30,000 for what sounds like a previously wrecked, 43k mile, SLT Premium (not plus) with a 5.3L and no sunroof.  Hard pass.  My '18, bought a year ago brand new, was $44,055 out the door before tax.  That's 0 miles, 6.2L motor ($2500 option), Sunroof ($1000 option), Premium Plus (~$4000 over a SLT premium).  Let's not forget the '16+ get the LED headlights on the front end refresh, which are way better) and the HMI 2.5, which gives you a better interface and Android Auto / CarPlay.  I am not a new vehicle kind of buyer typically, but I was seeing things like this in my search and it just didn't make any sense to buy used.

I agree, I bought SLT PP max tow because you couldn’t get Denali with max tow and 3;42 gears (12k towing) instead of the 3;23 on Denali (9k towing). 

Edited December 27, 2019 by 2018GMC

[mikeyk101]

Cautionary tale about Carfax... Several years ago, I purchased a 2 year old Pacifica off ebay... It came with a clean Carfax that showed no problems or previous accidents. The price was right so I bought it. I had it for 5 years but during that time, there were a few things that raised flags. One was a weird rubbing over some bumps after I put a new set of tires on it. After the 5 years, I finally decided it was time to change vehicles and I found a truck I really wanted at a dealership. When working the deal, the salesman asked me about the accident my Pacifica was involved in. I knew that there were no known accidents while I owned it and the Carfax I had initially gotten didnt mention any. We went back and forth about it until the salesman produced an Autocheck report which identified this Pacifica had been involved in an accident at rail yard just after being built and prior to being titled which identified that it had reported frame damage! The current Carfax pulled still didnt show any accidents. I was able to verify the Autocheck report as it supplied a accident report number and through contacting the agency that had taken the report. I was beyond pissed as this cost me several thousand on the trade in. It was too late to try and file any kind of claim so I sucked it up and just took the loss.

 

So my point is to not rely on just one report, especially Carfax. Like others mentioned, do a complete visual of the vehicle on your own as well. The Autocheck ended up being more accurate in the details.

[wforrest08]

I like how CarFox makes a big deal out of ONE OWNER vehicles... Never mind 3/4 of them are prior rental cars... While technically I guess they are one owners not probably exactly what most people think when they think one owner...

[davester]

I don't understand why anyone puts any real significance in a Carfax report, or any other vehicle report.  They only can give a negative result for me (ie, show multiple accidents, or a lot of repairs).  A report showing nothing just tells me maybe nothing bad happened to the vehicle, or maybe the report just didn't get information from wherever the vehicle was repaired (at home or a non-reporting mechanic, or even from a shop that reports to that agency, but was just not entered correctly).