Wife and I also dislike leather seats. In the GMT800 the cloth seats are almost indestructible where the leather dried out and disintegrated in a few years. I know my folks have 240k on their 03 and the cloth looks like it did when it had 30k miles on it. Unbelievable.
That's all I got on this topic.
In reply to John Welsh :
I can say with almost 100% certainty that she would both not like the looks of the Armadas and that they'd be bigger than she'd be comfortable with- the Colorado is pushing the upper edge of what she thinks she'd be comfortable with size-wise. We walked over to stand by a Silverado (roughtly in the size-class of the Armada, and they had some nice 2018 models for about what the Colorado cost), and she was just like, "Nope, too much of a boat."
When I made it through the hoops to jump through to figure out the rates that we could get through USAA I was seeing about a 3.5% APR for new cars, which would put our payments for a 5-year loan at within a few dollars of the higher-end Colorado they were pushing and about $35/month more than a 3-year lease on the one she liked more. So, if we can get that rate or anywhere close to it, instead of after 3 years having to either get another lease and pay $5-600/month for another 3 years or pay/finance over $20k to buy the truck, we could pay 2 more years of the same and own it outright (and still likely be worth close to $20k, especially around here).
Shop for your best- real - rate. Likely a CU. Make sure to know terms and don't just quote some nonsense teaser rate that you have not qualified for... Then give the dealer an opportunity to meet or beat. Make sure that it is simple interest. And understand that pricing on warranties can be negotiable as well. The dealer gets a spiff for financing (like a bank does) and may swing you an even better deal on the vehicle if you finance with them.
I’ve had my Colorado Z71 for a month now and we like it. The wife likes it more than any DD I’ve ever brought home. We ate taking it to CO next month instead of her VW and we can enjoy some of CO’s greatest unpaved roads with ease and in comfort.
I have a friend with a previous generation Colorado that has had a persistent electrical issue. Multiple trips to the dealer have failed to fix it. Sometimes when he turns the key nothing happens. Like it's dead. Now he's afraid to drive it so he doesn't get stuck somewhere. Maybe an aberration, you asked for experience.
Ashyukun (Robert) said:In reply to skierd :
For better or worse, in this case it doesn’t matter whether a different brand/model would be a better value/hold its value or potentially more comfortable- the first criteria is that she likes how it looks, and she definitely doesn’t like how the Tacoma or Rangers look. She’s more ambivalent about the Ridgeline (actually liked the previous gen better) but for now is pretty set on the Colorado. Even though I’ll drive it a lot, it is and will be her vehicle so unless there’s a serious flaw or downside I’ll go along with what she wants.
Just guessing, but doesn't a Tacoma lease for a couple hundred a month less than a Colorado? Are the looks of the Toyota/Chevy bad/good enough to offset a few grand a year out of pocket?
So, the Dancer (and me, technically, but it is primarily hers...) is now the proud new owner of a black 2019 Colorado 'Work Truck'. We went back in yesterday to talk about the financing on it not expecting to drive away with it (we haven't cleaned out and prepped the Mariner to trade in yet, and won't drop it off until Friday) but they were willing to finalize everything without seeing it (hopefully they won't regret that...). We ended up deciding to get some of the extended warranties on it because we've had definite problems with losing tires on her vehicles in the past and don't know how well the seats will hold up to a 85-lb dog roaming around the back seat and spending lots of time with his front paws on the center console- and it's just nice to know that it's one vehicle that I don't have to worry about maintaining for quite a while.
The good: Though she's only had it for the night, she's really happy with it. It's good to have her in something that we know is either going to be reliable or they're going to fix for her under warranty and with a rental loaner.
The bad: By going with their financing we got several thousand more off in incentives- but holy hell the interest rates through GM financing sucked hard. We ultimately didn't worry about it too much because after a few payments we can refinance/pay off the current financing with a better rate loan (likely through USAA, but we've got time to investigate other options too) and for now the (required) payments are about what they would have been for the lease.
The interesting/unusual:
-Despite being a $35k MSRP truck with a modest number of bell and whistles stock, the base Work Truck model that we got does NOT come with keyless entry- at all. She really wanted the remote start like her Mariner has and we negotiated for them to install the factory one as part of the purchase, but without getting that (and until it comes in and they program it for the truck) it's 'put the key in the door and turn it' to lock/unlock it- something that it's kind of surprising is still a thing in 2019.
-The 'Work Truck' model doesn't have an 'auto' mode for the 4WD system and the more expensive (by like $10k, which is why we didn't go with it) Z71 package does. That kind of surprised us because otherwise mechanically beyond suspension tuning they're pretty much the same. Not really a problem, but before buying it I did try and drive home the point that unlike her current SUV the Colorado is RWD and that it will be have differently on slick roads.
-I really hope she doesn't back into something trying to get used to the backup camera system... for better or worse though as large at it is she's going to need to at least partially use it.
Can’t upload the pic from my work computer with the main post, so here’s one from the phone:
Oh, and something I forgot in the larger post under the 'amusing' category:
She's already named the truck 'Black Beauty,' which is highly amusing to me because I used to name all of my vehicles and she gave me a lot of grief about it...
A few things going forward with the truck:
Nice purchase! I love the Custom edition wheels.
There is a trim between WT and Z71, the LT. Mine is that trim and has the auto 4WD selection. I keep it in 2WD most the time anyway.
Hopefully the dealer can code factory keyless to your truck. I think these trucks are weird in certain instances. For example, you can't put a factory brake controller on a truck that didn't come equipped with it as the wiring harness is completely different.
In reply to MINIzguy :
Yeah, I figure she's going to have it in 2WD pretty much all the time except when we're climbing the hill up to our cabin property (which is the only time I have the Infinity in actual 4WD as well). I keep the Infinity in 2WD as well and only switch it over to AWD mode when it's raining/snowing out because it makes taking off from a stop easier.
They checked by the VIN to confirm that they can put the remote start/keyless entry on to it before we bought it. Honestly it wouldn't at all surprise us if they didn't have to do anything internal to the truck- just get the fob and program it- as I'd expect it's a common enough option that they already have the receiver hardware default built into the truck but make you pay extra for the fob (and programming it).
Nice truck - GM gave me a $2000 rebate if I use their 8% financing. They tack it back on to your principal if you refinance under 6 months.
Refinancing is common I guess but you have to pay some fees for it but in the end I made out on the rebate.
Enjoy your truck.
Datsun310Guy said:Nice truck - GM gave me a $2000 rebate if I use their 8% financing. They tack it back on to your principal if you refinance under 6 months.
Refinancing is common I guess but you have to pay some fees for it but in the end I made out on the rebate.
Enjoy your truck.
Yup, that's what they told us too (regarding the 6 months thing) so it's good to hear that we got the straight answer on that since I didn't see details on that in reading through the ream of paperwork in buying it. We're fine with making the current payments for the rest of the year- it gives things time to stabilize once the cabin is done and (hopefully...) making money so we'll know better how quickly we can pay the truck off.
Financing for vehicles is weird, at least when you're used to looking at mortgages... for a mortgage when you get a shorter-term loan (15-year vs. 30-year) you get a better interest rate, but for car loans the shorter the term the worse the interest rate.
Does that trim level have cruise control?
In reply to eastsideTim :
Ummm.... actually, it may not. -_-;
She doesn't really care though- but I am the one who drives for any length of trip. If it doesn't, I'll probably ask if it's possible to add the factory cruise to it (and what that costs), if it's not possible than I can just drive without it until it's out of warranty and add an aftermarket one.
Ashyukun (Robert) said:In reply to eastsideTim :
Ummm.... actually, it may not. -_-;
She doesn't really care though- but I am the one who drives for any length of trip. If it doesn't, I'll probably ask if it's possible to add the factory cruise to it (and what that costs), if it's not possible than I can just drive without it until it's out of warranty and add an aftermarket one.
I'm not sure if you can add factory cruise or not, but I bet you can. Typically it's just a matter of swapping the steering wheel for one with the cruise switches and then programming all the modules to wake up the cruise control functions
If you read any of the truck magazines, they put the Colo/Canyon at the top of all of their lists. Even above the new Ranger AND the Taco.
Curtis said:If you read any of the truck magazines, they put the Colo/Canyon at the top of all of their lists. Even above the new Ranger AND the Taco.
And the Gladiator and Ridgeline. Most recent comparo I saw was Colorado Z71 in 1st, followed by the Ridgeline, then the Gladiator, then the Ranger in last
A few of my favorite cheap add-ons for the GM twins:
and a leveling kit of your choice.
edit: AMP Research bed extender comes in handy too w/ the short bed. https://www.amp-research.com/amp-research-74817-01a-bedxtender-hd-max
I’m not sure what color your dog is, or if it sheds, but our little fat white dogs fur stuck to the cloth in my 2013 k3500 like you wouldn’t believe. It was so bad I finally found a set of used leather seats for it, which are more comfortable and I don’t have to worry about the dog hair.
If he’s mainly going to be in the back, I’ve seen seat covers designed for dogs that should be easy to quickly install and remove.
In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :
I've driven my explorer without cruise control for about 14 years. It's nice but it's also not so bad not having it
In reply to fasted58 :
That console organizer looks quite useful- will definitely be seeing about picking that up.
The power tailgate lock is something I was wondering about when we were checking the truck out, but I'd worry installing it would void the warranty since it isn't simply plug-and-play...
I'll have to see what she thinks about the handling before putting a sway bar on it, but it is a bit surprising that it doesn't have one.
Thanks!
2020 will have auto locking tailgates.....
I just ordered the console organizer. Carhartt makes covers for the seats. I’m tempted to get a set for dirty days.
I’m looking at a paragon bed cover. It’s an interesting way to retract and looks easy to remove.
In reply to AnthonyGS :
The Peragon covers are certainly interesting, and I like the way they work- but I don't think they'd work for what she will be carrying most of the time because the need for the cover to 'drop down' into the bed wouldn't work.
I ordered the console organizer too- it looks like it will be quite useful. Debated getting the glove box organizer as well, but held off on it for now.
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