Nice truck, but will it be reliable?
Written: Apr 17 '02 (Updated Jan 13 '03)
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Pros: power, seat comfort, smooth ride, sportside looks, availability on lots
Cons: balky transmission, build quality concerns, cheap tires, pricey
The Bottom Line: A smooth, comfortable, powerful pickup. Consider the Toyota Tundra if reliability is a top concern, or the Dodge Ram if you like more personality.
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| brucec32's Full Review: 2002 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Reg Cab |
This is our 2nd Chevrolet Truck purchase in the last year or so. We previously had a 2001 Tahoe that we sold because my wife disliked its floaty ride and it was hard to park in the garage where she worked due to its height. After a stint in a nice but expensive car, we decided to save some money by returning her to a pickup to drive.
We chose the Silverado. I already have a Toyota Tundra, so two would be boring, and she wanted a regular cab truck since we don't haul kids or passengers often and its easier to maneuver than a longer extended cab truck. We looked real hard at the new 2002 Dodge Rams, but found it nearly impossible to find one outfitted like we wanted. They all seemed to have odd combinations of options, and very few regular cab models at all that weren't v6 stripper models. And since she wanted something that looked good, we chose a black reg cab sportside z71 Silverado and upgraded the rather boring wheels and slippery/mediocre Firestone tires with American Racing aftermarket wheels and excellent Dunlop radial rover tires.
Here's my thoughts on the Silverado.
EXTERIOR:
While many Siverados can look really plain and conservative, more aggressive wheels/tires and 4x4 stance do help. The paint looks fine to me. I think the Ram has more interesting lines, but the grill is over the top. The "upgraded" Firestone 265/75-16 OWL tires are a joke. $353 extra for cheapo tires that are not suitable for offroad use, and are slippery in the rain on the road. They even look bad to me. I guess Chevy got a great deal on them since Ford isn't buying them now. This is definitely an option to pass on. Sell your takeoffs and you can buy great tires for about the same as you'd have spent on the Firestones. I recommend Michelin, Dunlop, or BF Goodrich as quality brands that perform and last.
INTERIOR: Like the Tahoe, I find it really comfortable and spacious to drive. The seats are wide and support is decent for a truck. This truck fits me well. There isn't as much room behind the seat as the regular cab ram, but we added a pace edwards roll top cover on the bed for plenty of dry storage. The interior is typical truck plasticy, but again, it's fine with me. The stereo is a bit boomy, but sounds better than many base systems. I like the power off feature where the radio and accessory power stays on after the key is removed, until you open the door. I chose the charcol gray interior. The fold down armrest on the bench seat works fine and is comfortably padded. I see no reason to pay for bucket seats on this vehicle, especially since you might need to carry a 3rd person from time to time.
POWERTRAIN: This is a mixed bag. The 5.3L V8 engine is surprisingly powerful and smooth. It's very quiet at cruising speed, and things only get harsh when accelerating hard. This is a very fast truck, but the light rear end means you'll spin your tires if you punch it too hard. The auto transmission is unfortunately not as smooth as the engine. Downshifts for power are harsh and lurchy. My tundra is a much smoother combination. This engine has more power that you can comfortably use because of the shifting problems under load. Still, it has enough torque to get you moving even w/o downshifting if you take it easy on the throttle.
HANDLING/RIDE/BRAKING: While this is a 4x4 and shouldn't be compared to sporty vehicles, it actually rides smoothly for a truck, even better than some 2wd models I've owned. The extra few inches of wheelbase seem to help the ride vs. the really short Tahoe. The z71 package adds HD shocks that I like because the ride is firmer and more composed than the softly sprung Tahoe we had. In fact, we chose the Z71 not for offroad use, but because the modest price increase was less than buying shocks to upgrade the stock ones. Handling is decent, with less body lean than my Tundra. Road feel is a little numb, but this is a truck. It's a very quiet truck on the hwy. Braking seems composed and though some complain of squishy brakes on the Silverado, we haven't noticed any problems. The Silverado definitely feels more composed than the similar Tahoe, which strikes me as too softly sprung for the top heavy configuration. Invest in an anti-sway bar and hd shocks if you want a Tahoe, for safety's sake.
RELIABILITY, DEALER EXPERIENCE, RESALE VALUE: Overall, most Domestic makes are average at best. I've owned them all, and they've all been pretty good, but not great. This Silverado started off on a bad note, however. At 1270 miles the oil pump died! Luckily, the check oil light came on as designed and I was in the driveway when it happened. If on the road, the engine probably would have destroyed itself before my wife noticed the light and responded. Even after a few seconds of running, I heard the valves clicking from oil starvation. After a tow to the dealership, it was replaced under warranty. Let's hope that's not a sign of things to come.
My Dealer experience with Chevrolet was mixed. Two dealers I negotiated with were old fashioned "slick" ones and had ridiculous prices they refused to come off of. My 3rd try yielded an excellent no-haggle experience at a rural dealership at a price near invoice, minus a $2002 rebate. The deal was done on the phone and they did a great job of having the truck ready to go when we arrived to pick it up. We were gone in 10 minutes. Their service writer was a little surly to my wife when she called to see when our BRAND NEW truck would be fixed after not hearing from them for a few days. A call to the sales dept, reminding them we were referring my brother there for a vehicle purchase soon, resulting in the Truck being fixed immediately. They even let us pick it up on a Saturday.
Based on my research, (here in Georgia) Chevy full size trucks seem to have fantastic resale value. Even though they cost a little more than the competion, I figure I'll recoup most of it on resale. Much like my Toyota Tundra will return more on resale also.
I paid $25,500 for a LS Silverado Reg Cab 4x4, Z71 pkg, 265/75 tires, and the sportside bed. Toss in $800 of wheels/tires upgrade (after selling the takeoffs) and a $569 bed cover and it's getting up there. This is a lot for a regular cab truck, but pickup resale is good compared to cars and it will be cheaper in the long run than our previous car. Silverados don't require much more than oil changes and simple maintenance. An extended cab is probably a better, more useful bet, but if you have to park it in tight quarters watch out. The regular cab is really nimble.
Overall, this is a nice truck. No real glaring flaws. I just hope it doesn't have lots of problems, like some Silverados I've read about. You have to "gussy it up" to make it a good looking truck, so it can get expensive. Without the $2002 Rebate, I would call it overpriced. I suspect that the 4.8L V8 would be more than adequate for most light users, and that would save you about $800.
UPDATE 8/27/02: The truck continues to get waves and compliments on its looks. Its performance, however isn't as pretty. On a recent trip to Florida in 95 degree weather, the air conditioning faded and eventually went out completely for a while. Shutting the unit off for 15 minutes seemed to restore some of its cooling power, but it will definitely need a trip to the shop to fix.
I have also begun hearing some looseness and clunks in the transmission when transitioning from off-throttle to accelerating.
There is a resonating metallic rattle coming from under the vehicle at certain times. Will have it checked, also.
Gas mileage is 15 mpg in urban driving.
Throttle tip in is very abrupt, making it difficult to smoothly maneuver at slow speeds.
Ride is very smooth for a 4x4, but it really does feel a lot more detached and vague than the Tundra. I prefer the feedback of the Tundra.
Overall, my Toyota Tundra is simply more refined and reliable than this truck. Based on the impressions I get from this truck, I'd expect more trouble free use from my 3 year old Tundra than this 6 month old Silverado.
UPDATE 1/13/03:
Well,after a little less than a year of ownership, this Silverado is gone. My wife wanted to return to driving a sport sedan and even though my Tundra was over 3 years old and this truck was almost new, I prefer my Tundra, so we sold the Silverado privately. Resale value for a regular cab 4x4 sportside was not as good as hoped for. Probably because anybody who can afford a used pickup at $23,000 can also afford a new one, and off-roading buyers were wanting a more affordable ride they won't mind getting dirty.
Overall, I like the truck, but it didn't inspire much affection or confidence for the long haul. Early clunks, sounds, and breakdowns just didn't inspire much confidence that it would be reliable as it got older. As a $21,000 2wd truck with the less expensive 4.8L engine, and no sportside bed, it makes more sense than as a $26,000 regular cab truck with more limited utility value, since it was approaching the cost of an extended cab model, which fits more people's needs. My wife chose it based more on good looks than practicality, though.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 25,500
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: LS Reg Cab 4x4 sportside
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Epinions.com ID:
brucec32
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Member: Bruce C
Location: Atlanta, GA
Reviews written: 131
Trusted by: 72 members
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