How long will a GM car really last?

[Angrybird 12]

I was just wondering how many stories we have on here about long lasting GM cars.

I guess this would be one.

Last night I was watching TRU-TV and i am not really sure what program it was, Some videos program, but there was one about a guy that had a mid 80's model Chevy Celebrity that he had been trying to sell but nobody would buy. he and his buddies decided to take it out to the desert to a place where people abadoned things they no longer need and destroy the car. The video showed them trashing the car, running it into everything they could find out there, even an old golf cart that was sitting there they ran over it several times, the car still ran, they built a ramp and jumped the car over it and over a fire they built several times, I mean this car looked like a rolling junkyard yet it still ran, finally to get rid of the car they set it on fire..The person that was doing the voiceover sounded amazed that the car could take so much abuse and keep going.. what was funny was after all this destruction the police saw the fire from a nearby interstate and came to investigate, and arrested the guys for disorderly conduct...

just to show that that Chevy was really tough...

[Camaro_Corvette]

I've always thought the harder you run a chevy, the better it runs. Drive it like ya stole it.

[FenwickHockey65]

'89 GMC Safari SLT, bought new, still runs to this day with over 300,000 miles, no problems whatsoever...

'93 Saturn SW2, bought new, my dad drove it to work every day for 13 years, over 50 miles every day, lasted 240,000 miles until it blew a head gasket.

[Legend]

89 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24, drove it for 11 years and over 200,000 miles. Replaced nothing other than a clutch cable (minus normal maintenance of course).

Have a friend with a 2002 Cavalier LS Sport with more than 260,000 on it and runs like a top still!

These are Cavaliers...what I call parts bin cars (you know, left over stuff at GM so lets build a car with them!)!

I think longevity is all related to maintenance. Take care of the car like you are suppose to and it will last! Don't, and you get the horror stories how a Chevy failed after just 10,000 miles!

[SS4EVER]

My old 01 Cavalier has over 110k miles and is still going strong. It's been my brothers car for the last three years...

My parents had a 93 Chevy Lumina APV (Minivan) that had well over 130k miles and no problems at all with the engine or transmission in the entire duration they owned the car. They finally sold it like 2 years ago. Car is known to still be running by the current owner.

but we've also had our share of problems with some GM cars too.

My 06 Cobalt SS/SC is probably one of the worst quality vehicles by GM that I've ever owned. It's fun to drive, pretty quick, and it's sporty but not made well what-so-ever.

We also have a 97 Chevy Express 1500 that has had numerous problems with the ECU, which a couple Chevy dealerships failed to properly diagnose, until the warranty expired.... (We think the dealer did this on purpose... because we told them what it was...) however it too has over 100k miles and is still doing fine after the ECU was finally replaced at our expense...


With GM I think it's hit and miss. For the most part I'd say their trucks and SUV's are pretty solid vehicles, but their sub-compact economy cars are under par for the most part... At least in my experience...

[KatarHol]

My Father-in-law's Chevy work truck,V6 Silverado,has about 270,000 miles on it and still going strong. My friend had a LS1 Z28 with 250,000 miles on it when she traded it,no problems. My Grandfather had a '78 Silverado and a mid-'80s GMC Truck that were mostly farm trucks that had the hell beaten out of them and the Silverado is still kicking around. My parents Trailblazer has 150,000+ miles on it and no problems.
I think it's good maintence and luck for most all modern cars. We've been mostly fortunate with the Fords and GM's that i or my family have had,same with all of our Japanese cars. We've had a rough time with a '00 BMW and a '95 Camaro. But,it's luck again,because one of my uncles owns nothing but BMW's and he has no problems.

[Angrybird 12]

89 chevy truck, 140,000 miles
86 S-10 blazer 140,000 miles
85 Saturn SW-1 128,000 miles
65 Corvair, 120,000 miles
77 K5 Blazer, 126,000 miles
90 Chevy Lumina 90,000 miles
76 Chevy Chevette 100,000 miles
86 Pontiac Fiero 124,000 miles
88 Pontiac Fiero 102,000 miles

These are all vehicles that had that many miles on them when I sold them (some I had bought used and did not put all the miles on them myself), I know in 3 cases that those went for several more years without problems, because i continued to see them running around town.

[Superman09]

My dad used to drive an '83 diesel GMC suburban. We got rid of it at around 350,000 and I talked to the guy we sold it to (former coach of mine) Monday and he said it is still running strong with well over 600K. Never had any major problems a couple water pumps and other basic stuff but to this day there as never been a single bulb replaced on the rear of that truck. 25 years on the same bulbs?!?!?! GM did something right there

[radz28]

Hey - If Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear can get a whole cow on the roof of his Camaro without it breaking, I think that's gotta' be a pretty well-built car, LOL!

[storm79]

well my 94 grand prix has 200,000 on it and it's been treated like dirt haha and it's still running

the inside is clean and everyting but i drive it like a bat out of hell

[camaro5]

Originally Posted by camaro_corvette

I've always thought the harder you run a chevy, the better it runs. Drive it like ya stole it.

What makes you think I didn't steal it? lol

[BowtieGuy]

My family has never owned anything but GM product. Excluding an Altima my mom owned that ran very well. Every one of them ran till they were paid off and then some, and were all worth it.

[Milk 1027]

My family owned a 1990 Pontiac Grand AM. It was a daily driver and although it had been in more than four serious fender-benders the exterior had nothing more than a few scratches. Don't know how many miles it had but we sold it in 2002 and it finally gave out on the people that we sold it to two years later.

[MerF]

I totally agree that the entire facade about domestics not being built to last is awful. I digress to what I still to this day believe was the best build trucks on the road ever...the mid-80's to mid-90s F-150s with 300ci I6 engines. Such a torque-filled engine that could haul until the wheels fell off then haul a bunch more for good measure. They were truly working trucks and I loved them.

Then something weird happened to Ford quality...it just fell on it's face and Chevy took the reigns back over in the truck department and have been running strong since. The point is, the Domestics do it, the problem is they do it in the trucks mostly...and usually the people who run up that many miles on a truck are workers that just need it to do it's job, not brag about it.