Questions from another world...

Dear truck owners,

I am a 17 year old male who lives in Houston, TX and owns a 1990 Honda Civic. It will soon be time for me to pass the Honda to my younger brother, and time for me to go shopping. I'm an avid windsurfer and have always been attracted by Chevy trucks. My favorite truck would be any Silverado 1500 3 doors Ext. Cab between the years of 1999 and 2002, preferably z71 of course. Even though I may have the money to buy a truck, I still don't think I am educated enough to make a wise choice.

The first things that concern me are, from about 3 months of reading on these boards, the common problems that occur with the 99 to 02 1500 Silverados, whether the engine knock or loose sensors. If I were to buy a used truck, how would I know if these problems had occured? Even though, from what I've read, the repairs seemed easy to do by yourself, it still concerns me to put down about 14k and have problems with the truck.

Second, the size difference, from a Civic to a Chevy, doesn't bother me. But the insurance and gas mileage do. I'm used to paying 100$ a month for insurance and 12$ for a full tank of gas that will give me 300 miles, how will a Silverado compare to that?

Lastly, I've somewhat doubted myself that I would use the truck to its potenial. It would be great for windsurfing, since the gear would go in the bed, but other than that I don't know if I'd use the truck as a "truck." Is this a problem? A truck to me is just a car with an open extension in the back. Trucks seem also almost indestructible, and can of course handle terrain unlike my tiny Honda, which is slowly breaking down.

Anyways, sorry for the long read. I thought before making a decision on what to do I'd ask some experts. I can so see myself cruising in a black Silverado z71 with BFG All - Terrains with my windsurfing gear loaded in the back :sunglasse, but I'm just not sure! I would appreciate any and all help. Thanks a bunch.

Jacques

ps - I had other questions, but can't remember them. Will post when they come back to me.

Hey Chuck, I have a 99' Z71 ext.cab I absolutely love it, my first car was a Civic as well, I use my truck to pull my quad (03' suzuki Ltz400 quadracer) My truck was owned by a 70year old man who bass fished, it was a baby.. not all people are so lucky, some people beat the snot out of their trucks, im working on getting some pics to put on the forum i have to borrow my buds camera, anyways mine has that cold tick noise to it... once its warm it goes away (its a chevy thing) my neighbors does it, and my friends sierra does it, a truck being a car with an open back theory is wrong, most cars have a uni body not a solid frame, these trucks have a solid frame which makes it a crap load heavier, I fill my tank once a week and it cost around $33, if I take my bike to NH or travel kiss that goodbye these trucks are not very economical.. I work about 3 mins from my house therefore not a problem for me, but if you do signifigant traveling you should think about your gas budget.. When purchasing ask to see service reciepts and check the owners manual, service times and dates should be checked off and dated, I change my oil every 2500 miles, a lil bit excessive but I take pride in my toys.. some people dont believe in changing oil so make it a point to buy a truck that has been treated fairly. Shoot for a 00' thats when they put the 4th opening door in, trust me you will like having the extra door..
-Jimmy

In my humble opinion, Honda's a great car. Chevrolet's a great thuck. But to compare is definitely apples and oranges. I just thank it's great that a 17 year old can consider such a nice vehicle. When I was that age I had to drive old clunkers. (Come to think of it, I still drive a old clunker!)

ive been down that road, I drove some crap boxes till I could afford what I wanted. Chuck, just make sure you can afford the upkeep and gas bill.. If your considering college, Silverados aren't exactly small, you will have more dings and scratches than you can count, My girlfriend always offers to drive when we go out, she knows im parking far far away from everyone.. haha

I bought my '99 Silverado Z-71 for work. I run a metal fabricating business and need something that can haul, tow and pull the occasional forklift out of a muddy parking lot. My personal car is a 318ti which is somewhat similar in size to your Civic.

I was raised on Chevys and have always had good experiences with their trucks. I have an '85 with a hard 200,000 miles and it's still running fair. Had an '88 with 250,000+ before the odometer quit and drove it for another year. My current '99 has 99,000 miles and runs like an '04.

The milage isn't great but for me it's livable since I use it primarily for work. And lately I'm finding that I drive it more than my car since I like it so well.

You might want to consider a mid-sized truck if ecco and gas prices are of major concern. I had a 4X4 Toyota for two years and other than not being able to haul large loads of steel and aluminum it was a great truck for the $$ and got good gas milage... for a truck.

All in all, I doubt if you read this board you'll get a lemon and by now you should know what to be looking for. $14,000 is a lot to throw down for anything but I don't know that you'd find a better full sized truck or one you'd be more happy with.

Good luck.

Im going to have to agree with what everyone else is telling you. They are cool trucks. I love mine to death. But the gas bill is something to look at. I dont consider myself driving my truck alot and I still fill up more than once a week. I usually get about 5 days on a tank. When you figure a 26 gallon tank at $1.60+ per gallon, it really gets high. Another thing is most people cant leave there truck alone. I know I'm that way. There are so many things to do to these trucks, you will always be looking to get that next mod. Which is cool but does get pricey. If you think you can afford $100- $200 dollars a month for fuel then go for it! I know I love my truck, although I'm always looking for that mod that will give me 1-2 mpg!

One more thing, a truck is not undestructable. I would say that there very durable under certin conditions but you cant expect to just run over or smash into anything and not have any problems. Each truck has its limits.

Hope you do get a truck and enjoy it though!

Hey Chuck, I have a 99' Z71 ext.cab I absolutely love it, my first car was a Civic as well, I use my truck to pull my quad (03' suzuki Ltz400 quadracer) My truck was owned by a 70year old man who bass fished, it was a baby.. not all people are so lucky, some people beat the snot out of their trucks, im working on getting some pics to put on the forum i have to borrow my buds camera, anyways mine has that cold tick noise to it... once its warm it goes away (its a chevy thing) my neighbors does it, and my friends sierra does it, a truck being a car with an open back theory is wrong, most cars have a uni body not a solid frame, these trucks have a solid frame which makes it a crap load heavier, I fill my tank once a week and it cost around $33, if I take my bike to NH or travel kiss that goodbye these trucks are not very economical.. I work about 3 mins from my house therefore not a problem for me, but if you do signifigant traveling you should think about your gas budget.. When purchasing ask to see service reciepts and check the owners manual, service times and dates should be checked off and dated, I change my oil every 2500 miles, a lil bit excessive but I take pride in my toys.. some people dont believe in changing oil so make it a point to buy a truck that has been treated fairly. Shoot for a 00' thats when they put the 4th opening door in, trust me you will like having the extra door..
-Jimmy

Jimmy - Thanks for the info on the truck. The gas costs do concern me, but aren't the biggest concern. For now, school is very close to home. I plan on going to college in Texas, not too far from home. Depending on how things go, I'll visit back home every now and then. Other than that, I haven't driven long distances except to windsurf in Texas City, which is only 30 minutes. I'll have to research some more to look into the gas costs.

Gooseneck - I've been driving my old "clunker" for a few years now, and it has given me nothing but problems. In fact, it is in the shop now getting a new distributor, and last week I had to change the coverter.

For some reason I wrote that I was 17, but I've been 18 for 3 months. I guess it hasn't hit me yet. Anyways, I understand what you are saying about me being of young age and having such a vehicule. I'm fed up with the Honda, and being forced to get something else anyways. I like the Silverado 1500 because it is the "smaller" of the full size pickups, so it's not a beast. If I were to buy a 1500, I would plan to keep it for a long time.

Fabrikator - Thanks for your comments. 14k is a lot, but I've seen lower. I'm just very picky about the mileage/condition, so I'll have to look around more and hope to get less.

Rositis - The gas costs are a concern, I will look into it some more. As for mods, I may put new tires, but that would be it. No dual exhaust or lifts. I like them stockish.

And yea I know they aren't indestructible, I was being a little sarcastic. But it is a lot tougher than my Civic where I cringe everytime I go over railroad tracks thinking another CV Joint will bust on me or the car will fall apart. I sort of look like these when I go over them :uhoh:


Thanks guys for your comments! I've only looked around moderatly for a truck, a few ads in the newspaper and Ebay. Have any of you had any experience buying a truck through Ebay? Oh and another question, besides the basic questions regarding purchasing a vehicule, are there any specific ones for a truck, especially the kind of Silverado I'm looking into?

Chuck, Just a lil idea, A buddy that rides with me has a Zr2 S-10 4.3 and loves it they are set up just like the silverado and are alot cheaper and better on gas, you could get a newer model for less. I personally would ta

my earlier reply got cut off, anyways I would take whatever you are thinking of buying to a mechanic to have checked out!, I have never bought any autos on Ebay im not sure how that would work...Im guessing there would be a transport charge?? Im not sure I would be comfortable bidding on somthing I cant inspect myself.. Let me know what you end up with..
-Jimmy

The Zr2 s-10 are nice, I agree!

Chuck,

Just bought an '01 1500 ext cab about 4 mos ago. (not z71, but 5.3L engine) Figure on 15 mpg average for gas. Test drove Chevy, Dodge, and Ford. After that the higher price for Chevy's just didn't matter enough to deter me, had to have a Chevy. To me, Chevy's had more take off power than Dodge/Ford and best ride in the cab by far. I love my new ride.

I bought mine from a dealer "GM certified". Only problem so far was a busted spring insulator, and it was covered because I bought the extended GMPP warranty. Another 36k/3yr on top of bumper to bumper that covers alot of key parts. So if there are any lemon parts, they should show up by 72k miles...

Have you looked into the new Colorados? Don't know how much they are but that might be big enough for what you want and more fuel efficient than Silverados and they look great.

$1.60 for gas?! One of the bummers about Southern California I guess, stuff around here is $2.15 minimum...

I just bought a 99 and with 265 tires I get about 14 in town and 17 on highway. The 5.3 has great power and yes mine has most of the typical silverado issues. The gas gauge is the most annoying.
The smaller trucks are a very good budget idea but they won't be noticably bigger than a typical 4 door civic inside. My main suggestion for you considering your age would be to check with your insurance for quotes for coverage on the different trucks you consider. As I remember at 18 insurance was way more expensive than gas. Whatevre you decide; enjoy it.

Another option on the trucks is looking at a newer s10 they are bad little units great power better gas miliage then a full sized but i would say the hell with it get what u really want, and i can tell you one more better thing that you'll like more then the civic is if you do have to buy a part for the chevy it will be way cheaper then the rice rocket. Everything on them rice rockets are an arm and a leg.

Thanks for the replies.

Jimmiz, Rositis and Miller - I shly looked into S-10s, but immediately dismissed them because of their rather small cabin space. And even though not full size, it's better gas mileage and lower insurance quotes are appealing. I'll look more into it.

Garype - Thanks for the info. 15 mpg is not too good, as with a Honda I'll get around 20 for 12$ worth of gas. As for Coloradoes, I don't think I will be looking for anything new. Oh, and the gas price fluxed again down here so it's around 1.50$ :biggrin:

Buttnekked - Thanks for the info. I think the '99 is my favorite model, it must look especially nice with those tires. The typical silverado issues didn't scare me much, it was more a basic question as to whether a truck would be really necessary, especially if it wasn't economically safe for an entering college student (even though I really really wanted one). I checked with our family's insurance, and got a quote or an '00 5.3L 2wd, which came out to 2,400$ every 6 months!! Even though I chose a higher end truck, I assume the others are most likely closely the same. Yikes!

Unfortunately, I think I have ruled out getting a truck. I did ride around in a '99 5.3L and did enjoy it. Actually it surpassed my expectations of the bulk plastic interior like my mom's Camaro, and the ride was better than I expected. But, when a full tank of gas will put me down 35$ and half a year of insurance for 2,400$ (compared to 12/600), it turned my head. Even though I may be able to afford it, it is too much just to make windsurfing more convient and just to HAVE a truck. I've only ruled out getting a truck now at this age and time of college, but I will continue to lust for one and maybe in a few years I can make things work.

I'd like to thank you guys (can't believe I'm saying this) for steering me away from a full size pickup, for now, and educating me into a wiser decision. Thanks a bunch!

I am kind of late on this but I will give you my 2 cents. You may be making the right choice right now for staying away from the full size. I drove a 94 sonoma for 3 years and had very little problems with it.Insurance wasn't to bad (I am 21). It go around 24mpg (4 banger) and got me back and forth to college (100 miles one way) It was much nicer to park at school (I go to Purdue). Now I am driving a Z71. I love the truck but the cost of fuel and trying to park it is a pain...And its starting to get dents from the parking lot at school, and I have only had it month. :mad: The Sonoma never got a dent go figure.