starting to get fed up!

[67_C-30]

I bought a 2000 Z71 new. It only has 104,000 miles on it and I've replaced a rearend (under warranty at 3,000 miles), had the parking brakes replaced 3 times (under warranty/recall and they still don't work worth a ****), A $500 fuel pump, a $200 water pump, a $60 thermostat (because the stat is built into the water neck), the A/C doesn't work, the driver's door started sounding like it was going fall off about 10,000 miles after it was new, the PLASTIC door handle broke, the PLASTIC tailgate latch has broken twice, the factory rear sliding window leaks on the top part of the seal (not the slider). I was backing up in my yard Sunday and I hear a squeal and the power steering pump crapped out. It is a cheap made POS. I was so mad Sunday that I seriously considering ripping LS engine and 5 speed out it and crushing the **** thing. I'm sick of it. I'm going to fix the P/S to make driveable, and its gone. Its crying shame that something 11 years ago that was $25,000 is going to worth $4500, if I'm lucky. I really don't think I'll ever waste my money on a new truck. There is no advantage over an older truck, IMO. The fuel mileage is nothing special and is not any better than 80's trucks with OD were, the parts are stupid expensive for it, and truck itself is a flimsy, plastic piece of junk. Never again!

[60ratrod]

well i bought the thing for a family hauler when we were talking about having a second kid. so i wanted a tahoe. then we found out she's gonna be having twins so now i need to get the 3rd row brackets, i already have one of the 3rd row seats. but with things popping up i'm not certain i wanna stay under it. again if more major things pop then its gone. and sorry to hear about the 2000

[crazy-101]

I agree with 67 older trucks are A LOT better! You spend $60,000 on a new truck made of plastic and computers, no normal person can work on them. Older trucks you can work on and don't have to worry about a finicky computer.

When I bought my '95 last July three days after I bought it the trans. went out, the dealer payed for it all and I got a loaner car, took them a month to get it back to me. Then a week after I got it back it was leaking tranny fluid like no other, pretty pissed to say the least and they again payed for it and I got a loaner. Then in August me and my dad had to totally rebuild the rear brakes and all rear brake lines. In December all my gauge/dash lights burned out at night all at the same time, not sure why put new bulbs in and works fine now. Also in December I had to take it in to get the upper ball joints replaced since they exploded when I was working in the snow and NEEDED my truck. Finally, a week ago I went to open the door at Farm and Fleet and I broke the interior door handle.

Not as bad as some of the horror stories here but definitely a pain. The worse problem in my '68 was an oil leak. Go figure.

[67_C-30]

In my case, I have tons of parts, including engines, transmissions and whole parts trucks to keep an old truck running. I can totally rebuild a SBC (including boring the block) for about the same as what I paid for a fuel pump and water pump on my Z71.

I bought my Military Blazer from Government Liquidation for $1505 back in April of last year and it had 46,000 miles. It now has 55,000 miles and I've HAD to do NOTHING but change the oil twice. I've upgraded some stuff, but nothing that had to be done to keep it on the road. It averages 7 MPG better than my Z71 (although diesel is higher per gallon). I drove my red '69 SWB for 2 1/2 years and over 13,000 miles and did nothing put a battery in it besides maintenance. My Z71 has been paid off a long time, so haven't had a payment since 2004, but when I bought the truck I intended for to last me a LONG time. I put a lot of miles on my vehicles in a year's time, so I have always purposely driven other trucks a lot of times to keep the mileage down on the Z71. Its a crying shame that a vehicle that has been used no harder than it has (it has NEVER, not once been in any mud) is falling apart. I have treated the older trucks much harder, and they keep on trucking. I have never broken a door handle, tailgate latch, never had a rearend explode, or brake pads go to hell in 10,000 miles on an old truck. I have had to replace fuel pumps, water pumps, and power steering pumps on them - but a water pump is $20 - $25, a fuel pump is $15, and power steering pump is $35 - $40. I'm fine with adopting "dinosaur" status and driver older stuff that is more reliable, better looking, and cheaper to maintain.
There was a time all that ^^^ mattered to car manufacturers.

[60ratrod]

sounds like you got lucky with your blazer. i've seen all of the last batch of military vehicles here on base before we got 2010s and they were all beat to hell. they may have had only 15k on the clock, but they looked like they had 3 million miles on them. but again i bought this 01 as a dd/family hauler.