General Motors didn’t make out all too well in the latest Consumer Reports Reliability Survey. The non-profit organization ranked GM brands towards the bottom of the list.
The reliability survey comes from owner responses, which CR said it received feedback on more than 500,000 vehicles in the latest survey. Vehicles spanned the 2000-2018 model years and covered 300 models.
The biggest fall from grace was the Buick brand. The brand placed eighth last year but tumbled 11 spots to 19th place. That’s a major fall from 2016 when Buick became the first U.S. auto brand to crack the top three rankings since data collection began in the 1980s.
Owners cited issues with the 2018 Buick Enclave’s nine-speed automatic transmission as a real sour point. And it gets worse from there.
Buick was the best-ranked GM brand in the latest survey. Chevrolet placed 23rd, down from 18th place; GMC placed 25th, up from 26th place; and Cadillac held steady in 28th place. The luxury division was the second-worst ranked brand, only behind Volvo. The only Cadillac vehicle deemed “better than average” was the XTS sedan, coincidentally enough.
Ford placed 18th, down from 15th place, and FCA’s brands (Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler) placed 21st, 22nd and 24th, respectively.
Each GM brand has hovered toward the bottom of rankings for years, but this year’s list included a few bright spots. CR gave its recommendation nod to the Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Suburban. Each vehicle earned good scores in the reliability survey.
Domestic brands continue to perform poorly in the survey partially due to adding some untested technologies. As GM tries to play catch up with new turbocharged engines, transmissions with more gears and other technologies, the likelihood something hasn’t been entirely ironed out increases.
Comments
Cold, hard facts again. You can’t buy Consumer Reports. New GM is like old GM. A welfare queen with a new name is still a welfare queen.
How’s your check engine light today?
Go back under your bridge troll!
You speak the truth. I have a ‘14 Chevy Sonic. I’ve done everything I can to maintain that car. I’ve had to replace the following:
Transmission
Water Pump
Alternator
Radiator
Catalytic Converter
Purge Valve
Sway Bar Links
Front Struts
Strut Mounts
Air Intake Hose
… and a Chevy dealership called to ask if I’m in the market for a new car.. I told him, ‘if I was, it wouldn’t be a GM product’.
As a 2012 Sonic 1.4T owner, I feel your pain
I bet you drive the car a lot thus the repairs. Duh.
I bought the vehicle certified Pre-owned with 15k miles. Reason why I purchased it was because of affordability, and the extended warranty that lasts until 100k for the powertrain. I reached 97.5k miles in March 2018. I had my transmission fluid changed less than 300 miles after 97.5k. The service technician who replaced my transmission fluid even stated that my transmission was in great shape for how many miles it had on it, and most times he’d see more wear. I drove across the country, and ended my trip with 105,431mi. My transmission was making a winding noise in the first 2 gears. I was on my way to a chevy dealership to have it checked out. On my way, the transmission popped out of gear. My drive indicator went away, check engine light came on, service vehicle soon light came on. I could still drive it, but the tachometer was all over the place. My point is, I have all my service records for this car, have taken every bit of maintenance for it to the dealer, and the transmission failed in less than 8k miles after a clean bill of health… If people knew they were going to be f*cked this hard, they wouldn’t buy the vehicle. That’s just what GM did to me. My next vehicle won’t be a GM product. It won’t be an ICE. It’ll be an electric car. Less mechanical parts, less maintenance, no oil changes, less engine noise, more comfortable, less expensive to charge, increased longevity and durability. It’s the future regardless of what people say.
I have a 2013 Chevy Sonic with 187,000 miles. The car has been nothing but bulletproof!
Just regular maintainance.
Does not burn oil, as the dipstick is full at every oil change.
Look at all of these likes compared to dislikes…
“I like things that support beliefs I already have!”
Anyone hear heard of “cognitive dissonance?” If not, look it up.
Tom, though… Seriously, I am happy you haven’t had any issues. As a GM employee that decided to leave due to the massive headaches their vehicles cause their owners, who in turn, caused me headaches, it’s nice to see. Good luck, and God bless.
Literally so many butt hurt GM fans. ?? GM makes sub-par quality vehicles. Only built to last the warranty, and after that most of them begin to wither away. The reason GM sells extended warranties? Because they know you’ll need it.
Funny between the wife and I, we’ve owned three 2014-18 GM trucks and SUV’s. They have never let us down. My 2014 Silverado 1500 has 140k miles on it now and no issue aside from basic recalls ffor software updates. Her mother has a 2006 Saturn Ion with 285k miles on it. The only repairs were caused by collisions with animals and a tire change shop that destroyed the lugnuts and wheel studs. The ecotec 4cylikder even has the original timing chain.
.
Like Ive said before any car whether its Toyota or Gm can be reliable and some can not. There isn’t a such thing as a perfect car in this unperfected world.
all brands offer extended warranties and I never had one –all my GM Oldsmobiles & Buicks (15) racked up over 150K were sold when we purchased another I have too say that’s good enough fir us
Do you enjoy spending your free time in the shop?
Depends on how much you drive whether you need an extended warranty. Treat a f-n car right and it should do you right.
Charles, I’m looking for advise. I need you to tell me what more I needed to do to treat my f-n car right. My wife’s Cadillac ATS was sitting in the driveway all washed, cleaned, polished, fluids checked, oil changed, tires aired up. Just ran home from work for lunch break. When she got back in her WELL TAKEN CARE OF CADILLAC ATS the JUNK CUE SCREEN WAS DELAMINATED. Please tell me HOW to prevent it because there are literally thousands of us that want to know.
4 Impala’s 3 that had well into the 170-180K mile range and not one ever left me stranded or needed an engine or transmission replaced. Surprise! My current 2017 has been 100% for the 23K miles I have owned it so far. My butt feels just fine thank you
Why are you here? Did you lose your way back to the bridge you crawled out from under?
I guess all my GMs with well over 100k and zero problems aren’t apart of these equations…
I also have driven GM over 37. Most I drove well over 100K some with troubles some without never said a word to anyone just fixed and moved on. However the last 3 – 2014,2015,2017, have had troubles. I’m not in any way saying that more GM vehicles have troubles than ones that do not have troubles. BUT if you get one of the ones that have troubles it is a HORRIBLE experience.
As a retired person who drives two days a week, (for extra income), I drive Dodge & Kia vans with 250K to 300K miles: both continue to drive well and tight. I have been a GM fan all my life. After 50 years of driving: I have an old Buick, and for a new vehicle, I bought a Jeep. Somewhere along the line, GM has lost the way to the heart.
Every GM vehical I ever had has been great. Over 200k on a GMC Envoy, had and olds Delta 88 with 180k on it, had a Cobalt with 150k before I traded it for a Camaro and I have a Chevy Cruze now as well. I always get from point A to point B with no issues.
2017 Impala 2.5 just turned 22K with zero issues so far. In fact all 4 of my Impala’s have been really good vehicles.
You only have 22k miles…. ? Of course nothing has went wrong.
Well I know plenty of Jeep/Hyundai/Honda and Ford owners that had has multiple issues with less than 10K miles. This survey of CR involves owners of the years listed with new cars in the first couple of years ownership. Miles can range from 5K to 50K. I was stating that so far in 22 or now 23K miles that my 4th Impala has been 100% reliable.
Gm went way down hill expessilly with customer satisfaction. I have a 90buick Skylark has a great engine 00 Buick regal gs supercharged 240000 still no issues. Then we got a 12 Chevy Captiva let me tell you this is the biggest piece of s**t gm has. Not only is it a load of rolling junk, we purchased the extended warranty on top of still having manafacturing warranty to only be told by our Ed bozarth in Topeka KS and by gm Corp. That they will not cover the 5000+ of repairs need. Not only that they lied for 2 years about the repair needing to be done. Then magically just after the 100000 warrant is up then they see the issue milage of 101000ish . U think we’ll it’s ok the extended warranty will cover this nope it sure won’t. Not only that but it was in the shop 8 times an I work on cars myself and told them each time what to look for and what if was….. Nope 9th time after demanding there best mechanic to speak with me he found it . What a waste of a dealership. And when you contact gm Corp u are expecting then to help you. Nope. I was told they stand by the descions of there dealer’s…. O wait gm you stand by those crooks . No thanks gm you have alot of making up to do before I purchase a vehicle again from u. Unfortunate for you I am purchasing 2 new vehicles after the first of the year. Won’t be gm. Won’t be from Ed bozarth. Gm own up to your mistakes and stop siding with the crooks you call dealers
Have purchased 21 GM vehicles for private and business. Have had very few problems thru out the years.
Chevy Cruz tough little car as well as Impala’s that we have owned.
Wake up , GM!
It’s tough reading that the “New GM” is being outpaced in quality by other global manufactures. Luckily my wife’s 2012 Equinox has been flawless since new, even the tires lasted 101k. We fully expect to replace it with a new Equinox Diesel in a new years unless she wants something larger.
Even the mighty Silverado HD is near the bottom of CR’s 10 worst list, with the RAM 3500 at the very bottom. SERIOUSLY? I am getting ready to replace my 07 GMC Dually with a 2019, and can’t imagine buying another truck besides a GM. But its pretty hard to hear the trucks you know and love are considered bottom of the barrel for quality after running my 06 2500 DMax/manual for 270k since new and having 235k on the 07 Dually.
I hope GM’s ranking on CR’s list does not tarnish my experience with a new Chevy 3500 Diesel Dually…
Ok, I’ve lost confidence in CR. The Cruze?! I was given one as a rental for a day. In 30+ years of driving, I had never driven a worse car. This, coming from a guy who bought an “early launch Hyundai Excel”. Uhhg.
Overall I’ve had only normal wear and tear on all the Chevys I’ve owned and few repairs until we bought a 2013 Traverse new. We use this vehicle as our family hauler and take excellent care of our vehicles. But after 56,000 miles, we have now had the front struts replaced, front hubs and steering knuckle replaced, a belt tensioner pulley replaced, a/c compressor and related parts replaced, master window switch replaced and now the valve body in the transmission. Most unreliable Chevy Ive ever owned. The engines seems to be louder than it use to be also. Idk if we have a lemon or are all Traverses this bad? Seems like the Silverado was the most dependable of all of them.
I wish my 07 acadia would hold up as well as my 78 catalina oh I forgot they don’t make them like that anymore
Consumer Reports and JD Power are “THE” authority. What do you GM fanatics expect? Detroit is basically an assembler of Chinese components.
Chevy is winning all the JD Power awards. I have purchased washing machines and refrigerators that CR rated the best, and they turned out to be the worst!
It seems to be hit or miss on a lot of vehicles especially depending on years. Seeing mention of the Cruze in earlier comments, I know that quite a few have been in and out of a dealership where I am for a water pump lasting about 40k. I just rented a CTS with 3800 miles on it for a trip and I had issues with the Bluetooth never conecting to my phone, even though it would show connected. When making a call actually worked, it did so for 30 seconds before no longer being connected. The cruise control was also pretty rough with in continuously lunging forward and backing off the entire time. The touch censors on the climate control also we’re hit or miss when it came to working. I do enjoy my 06 Impala despite the transmission and steering issues, but even after 174k and dealing with those issues for at least the last 80-100k it’s still going strong.
Google search “Consumer Reports biased against American cars”
It’s their fault that a Toyota Corolla never having its oil changed, endures much longer than an American car…? Yea, I don’t think so… everyone in my family, although they all work for either a metal company that produces GM their steel, and aluminum, or rubber components, tells me I should have bought a Toyota or Honda. ?
So you get 150,000 hits and you pick a few that support your beliefs. Doesn’t make it factual. You need to read up to find out how Google works. LOL
I used to find it interesting how CR loved the Toyota Corolla but hated on the Chevy/GEO Prizm…despite the fact they were the same car built at the same plant (NUMMI) by the same workforce with different style and badging…
While the range of quality issues has gotten much smaller, and one vehicle can drag down an entire brand, or one problem can ding an entire vehicle line, I am still disappointed to see GM so low on the list.
Joe, I have heard that analogy before. Here is the answer I gave before. GM troubles were handled by GM. Toyota problems were handled by Toyota. PERIOD. That’s the difference. I find it so hard to believe that GM and its happy owners can’t figure out that if someone bought the exact same vehicle and that exact vehicle had the exact problems with the exact same owner even. If GM did NOTHING in one instance and FIXED the other instance that the owners would feel different, the same owner.
This has very little to do with the vehicle any more. Its the LACK OF CUSTOMER SERVICE. GM itself has ZERO customer service. The GM dealers are to handle it PERIOD. The trouble is some dealers could care less about GM. Its a product they sell like any other to make profit. If they don’t sell GM they sell brand X. Same difference to them. If CR called me, or sent me a review to fill out, I would tell them the last three GM products I drive have had troubles and GM customer service is terrible. GM has a HUGE database filled with ALL owner issues. They know who drives there vehicles. They know who is happy and who is not. The larger OWNERS SITES are getting more popular every day. People are connecting the dots more every day. One has to wonder how GM can have a TV AD in reliability, but if you read the OWNER SITES they are filled with troubles. Some owner sited will banish you for complaining about your troubles and just want to try to help people, isn’t that GM’s job to help there consumer. I just don’t get it anymore, but its SAD.
And that’s why Toyota is the #1 car maker in the world with a market cap 4 times the size of GM and better profitability.
Joe R.
That must be because the Corolla was NEVER produced at the NUMMI plant. You are FAKE NEWS.
“The first model NUMMI produced was the Chevrolet Nova (1984–1988). This was followed by the Geo Prizm (1989–1997), the Chevrolet Prizm (1998–2002) and the Hilux (1991–1995, predecessor of the Tacoma), as well as the Toyota Voltz, the Japanese right-hand drive version of the Pontiac Vibe. Both of the latter are based on the Toyota Matrix.”
The quality control at the NUMMI plant was different for GM and Toyota vehicles with the Toyota’s having far more quality checks than the ones with GM badges.
55 thumbs down for ‘how’s your engine light?’ Sorry to hear. Can we get a count on recurrent ‘Service Stabilitrak’, too?
A million views on YouTube for GM fuel pump replacement. Do we believe people look that up for fun?
To be fair, somebody has to be last in every competition, but when it’s always the usual suspects, you call that a clue.
Funny, there are sure are a lot of views for videos on how to change the Tundra’s starter, known for it’s short lifespan and 8 hour replacement procedure. Similar with the Tundra’s 60k mile water pump lifespan and failure prone Air Injection Pump. The cost to have a Toyota dealer replace the starter or air injection pump often runs between $800 and $1,000.
I always take CR numbers lightly. It’s only their bias opinionated subscribers. To me it’s not how many issues, it’s the cost. My sons 2009 BMW 335i. Pretty much sat in the garage, only 60k miles. AC evaporator core replacement, $2300, electric water pump, $900. $9500 from Carmax was a blessing. Does CR include recalls? The joke is if you want a BMW only get a lease so the warranty does not run out.
My 2012 Silverado had one little problem, an $18 part and I changed out the right wheel speed sensor. 69,000 miles and just completed a 3200 mile trip with an average of 19mpg.
What about recalls? If they are included in this CR report? It would put Honda and Audi at the bottom of the list. http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/news/takata-airbag-recall-list-cars-article-1.2602999
I wish they would include recalls. Our 2014 ATS recalls, our 2015 Canyon recalls, our 2017 Denali HD recalls. This is what I have been saying. Just because the others have troubles is meaningless. Lets just say all manufactures have 100 problems with 100 vehicles. Well if the others recall all 100 troubles and FIX them, MOST of the owners are still happy, MOST. But if GM has 100 problems with 100 vehicles, IT SEEMS TO ME, they recall 70 and let the rest of the owners down that leaves you with 30 NOT HAPPY. Sure 70 are happy, but 30 are not.
AMEN!
19 MPG?! That can’t make for a low cost of ownership. SUVs and trucks. I don’t get it. I see it all the time, bed empty, not towing, not off-road. Lot’s of mean looking women in their SUVs with a “stay out of my f___ing way” look on their face. Bigger profit margins for GM, Ford and Chrysler. Must be a machismo thing. Reminds me of the early Tim Allen monkey stuff.
My 19mpg was at highway speed, 75-80mph, yep over the speed limit sometimes 85, a 5500 lb vehicle, the pu bed was load with stuff under the teanou cover. All of it would never fit in a sedan nor SUV. One day my son called me to take home a 65” TV. Just won’t fit in a Mazda 3. Then volunteering at my church I brought Two tons of railroad ties to the dump, took several trips. In the south with st Augustine grass, it only comes from sod farms. Try puting twenty pieces in your sedan let alone an occasional pallet of sod that weights 2250 lbs. I need a new grill, can’t gat them in a sedan either. I just did a bathroom remodel, can’t get a bathtub in a sedan either. For years I towed the wife’s Murano back and forth to our second home. Can’t do that with a sedan.
CR strikes again. Same old bullcrap story.
What a load I have a 15 Traverse not a single problem with it I feel GM’s quality is excellent. If anything I feel Toyota’s quality is going down hill they feel so cheap.
Maybe these reports should start citing the suppliers used and put the pressure on them, not the companies that use their parts to assemble into a car.
Other than the facts that the manufacturers specify the design, manufacture, materials, timing, supplier and how much they pay them … you make a great point 😉
That’s why they call them Stupid Ugly Vehicles.
If anyone takes the time to see how CR comes up with ratings you would realize that personal opinions don’t enter into the calculations and reliability doesn’t mean every single vehicle is bad from any given manufacturer. The fact is the newer cars (last 3 years or so) have huge electrical/infotainment/center stack problems across the board but sadly GM has gone downhill. My C6 Corvette has huge track mileage and is literally “Chevy tough” while 2 C7s have been taken back because of excessive problems. A few years ago their products were better, this is rating based on recent cars. So your old 150k truck isn’t like a newer vehicle.
CR methodology has strong selection bias (only CR members are surveyed, and only the ones who return their surveys get counted) and even worse confirmation bias (readers of CR are expecting to have more problems with American cars, thus such readers are more likely to engage in surveys).
I wouldn’t dismiss CR’s results, but their data isn’t really all that great.
For an example of how much “noise” is in their data, you can compare the reliability of two vehicles made in the same factory. For example, Trax vs Encore. For some years they are vastly different in reliability despite being essentially the same car. That’s noise, and it shows that CR’s results are not accurate enough to make anything but the most vague conclusions.
GM is just a big corporation that doesn’t give a damn about its customers only cares about its bottom line. Unfortunately they are all like that. If you like GM then buy GM, it really makes no difference.
if GM made the only cars on the road CR would still knock them down , CR ‘s opinion is worth zero I canceled mine
If recalls were included Toyota wouldn’t be on the list at all. They have about a recall for as many vehicles made.
Again if a recall fixes the vehicle, that is what MOST vehicle owners want. Most owners WOULD prefer a recall because it FORCES vehicle brands to fix there products. Some recalls are voluntary some are forced. I would love to know which brands voluntarily recall there products more, and which brands are forced to recall there products more.
My chevy malibu 2005 was recalled in 2017 a steering wheel torque sensor replacement. Recall fixed the problem for 3 years ,2 mos, 5000 miles. Same problem with steering wheel twitching contacted GM said 1 recall after that 1 year warranty. Your problem. Did offer for me to go in debt for a new car with $1000 off sticker. I declined. Offer made to me after contacting BBB to resolve my issue. They did not. The repair bill came to $606.20 less that the $1000 I was offered in exchange for 5 years of car payments. The recall took 12 years, same issue after only 3 years after replacement. GM so generously offers 12 mos for the same issue to appear. Any reason to expect this sensor to last?
Consumer report is a left wing conspiracy.
https://media0.giphy.com/media/26n6ziTEeDDbowBkQ/giphy.gif?cid=3640f6095bd2378764383874516ab8ba
Consumer Reports is nothing but crap on paper. Anyone who buys anything based on their recommendation is a gullible fool. The people who subscribe to it are the ones who respond to their “survey” and if you want to see WHO that is just look at the trolls who jumped on this article to belch out their comments.
A lot of people like to bad mouth GM. Personally there are a hell of a lot worse car brands out there. Try buying a Nissan or Honda and see what will happen down the road. It’s well documented their quality has diminished greatly. Watch 30+ year mechanic Scotty Kilmer on YouTube and find out the real truth about car brand reliability. Get a car with the crappy designed CVT transmission and see what happens at 20,000 miles.
Scotty Kilmer is the first that speaks bad about GM.
I’ve leased 2 Chevy Volts with 0 problems. Hats off to GM engineering.
Yeah I never believed gm was good anyway. Especially when my mother’s equinox keeps stalling and it only has 40 something K miles.
Then my aunt’s 15 Malibu sounds like it runs on
Rocks for motor oil.
Check the Corvette, Silverado, and Sierra forums if you want to read about GM’s POS 8L90 transmission, and how AFM
contributes to wear. Horror stories about dealers and that is normal BS. Was thinking about a new Silverado not with that transmission or DFM.
My wife and I own a new 2018 Traverse and had nothing but problems with it. It’s our first GM car in 9 years and might be our last again. It has had problems from day 1.
The roof rails were corroded and had to be replaced. The wheel speed sensor went out and the vehicle sat in the dealer for a month!! Meanwhile I contacted GM directly and had them pay for my monthly payment and my XM and my Wifi. Now the tailgate won’t work properly and the engine is idling rough along with the transmission acting strange intermittently.
So go ahead and tell me CR is wrong. I used to believe that until now as I’m experiencing it firsthand.
I lease an Equinox and the experience at the dealership was so bad that I’ll buy an used Chevy just for the sake of not ever going to a dealership again.
No surprise to me. We own a 2014 Cadillac ATS, 2015 GMC Canyon, 2017 GMC Denali HD. I would rate them terrible also. For the GM lovers like myself I have also had Great GM vehicles. In fact our last 3 were great vehicles and well over 140,000 each. However the new ones are nothing but JUNK. BUT the worst thing isn’t only the vehicles but GM will do NOTHING for the owners. To those who say Toyota should be on here because of problems, Toyota FIXES THERE VEHICLES. Toyota FIXES THERE KNOWN PROBLEMS. GM DOES NOTHING. Toyota or Lexus was #1 or high because unlike GM they care about there owners. I haven’t said a word about GM in 37 years of ownership but the last 3 vehicles JUNK.
13 GM vehicles in 30 years of driving. I don’t keep them long enough for problems but I also won’t ever even consider owning anything else.
Second generation, GM, grew up inna GM town, 40+ years working for GM. Seen it go from 50+% market share to bankruptcy. Couldn’t stand it any longer, retired early to get away from it all. Their products (and attitude to employees and customers) suck, I’ve heard it ALL. Also, mechanic, so I can keep my cars running. Seen family and friends disgusted and leave GM. I believe CR, based on my experience. Their Chevy/JDPowers ads for reliability r a joke, I don’t buy brand new and sell before 3yrs old.
Over all GM is doing a pretty good job. I fault the modern electronics hiccups for most of their hits. They still need to step it up a bit though with Mary Barra’s statement about no more crappy cars I think. Also CR is a biased left leaning tree hugger rag at any rate, and to me they should always be viewed while squinting a little.
Lean right or left, the results comes from over 600,000 of their subscribers who reside all over the place.
When Buick was near the top, GM and Buick guys were thumping their chests.
You can have a bad experience from any auto maker. People just need to keep an open-mind that one vehicle they have does not mean that every model is problematic. I generally keep my vehicles till the wheels fall off.
The ’84 Cadillac Cimarron was a mix bag and kept that car for four years.
I had a ’96 Honda Civic which was O.K. in reliability but has its usual bugs since it was a brand new first year design.
My previous car was the ’06 B6 Passat which was problematic and have something else fix on it almost every six months. It was the best car I own when it came to performance, steering feel (probably the best part of the car) and fuel efficiency on the highway but the worst car also for as problems, maintenance and repairs are concerned. But for whatever reason, most people gave me positive comments on it. I had a love and hate relationship of the car.
My current car is the ’15 Regal 2.4 and that car is the most reliable bar none so far. The only things about it that i will complain about is poor fit and finish on the exterior and interior currently. When I first got the car, the Onstar system was defective, rear-view mirror was not steady, and imitated wood trim on the console was misaligned and had them corrected under warranty. The only problems currently, also, is that I have exterior paint on the hood of the car that is slightly faded. Also, not a big deal, but when I close the sunroof, every once in a while the roof senses something halfway and go back to open all the way again till I press the button second time to close all the way. I have over 60K miles on it with zero problems ever since I had the car over a year now. So, hopefully I will keep this vehicle for a very long time till the wheels start falling off of it.
More than likely, I will get another GM vehicle, hopefully a Cadillac. In all honesty, I am not a GM fanboy but am a car enthusiast in general and to any automaker I will be open to buy any of their products if the product appeal to me and pass my expectations. I will not buy VW again which is the only brand I will not go back to because I don’t know what their true definition is, meaning a bread-n-butter automaker with high maintenance and repair costs 3/4ths. the price of the German luxury brands does not make much sense as an ownership is concerned. Previous generation VWs had that luxury car exterior looks but now, they are bland and cheap looking with a identity crisis IMO. However, I do like the fact that with the timing chain, you don’t have to replace of the life of any GM vehicle is reason enough alone to stay with GM.
Here’s why GM stinks.
My $100,000 former GM halo car, the XLR will be totaled by the insurance company if a headlight or tail light is broken in an accident. GM has ZERO of them for available for purchase.
My $60,000 2013 Avalanche with 20,000 miles on it has a completely rusted frame. My 2003 Envoy with 120,000 miles has a better looking frame.
GM has quit caring about it’s customers, and just wants to shovel cars out the door.
Anyone thinking of buying a possible $170,000 Mid Engine Halo car should remember these things. GM will not support it beyond the last warranty date. Period.
David B.
That’s no different than anybody else. Manufacturers are responsible to support products for 7 years. After that, it depends on parts volume and is up to their discretion. That applies to Ford or Mercedes Benz and everybody else.
As products are now changing more quickly, expect this period to be reduced in the future.
Make friends with your local junk yards if you have old cars.
Mercedes has brand new parts for 70 year old cars. In stock.
It’s not like “every other company” to not stock parts.
If you want to play in the sand box with Mercedes, you better do what they do, or better.
If you think that you can get everything for all Mercedes going back 70 years, you are in for a big surprise.
Sure they have “some parts” and will custom make some at a very healthy margin for certain models. For electronics on many cars, you’re SOL. I needed some special bolts (yield to break) for my supercharger on my 2008 E55 and they were discontinued in North America. Tried to get them from Europe but either unavailable or they won’t ship. After hours of research, had to settle for what was available. I’ve been told that some of the electronics is either discontinued or about to be.
Ever wonder why you rarely see old Mercs or even BMWs? (other than the cheap low end models)
BTW, GM isn’t even close to being a serious competitor to MB. Take a look at the product range and market share in each segment. MB is a world brand while GM is now basically US and China.
Cadillac barely has 1.5% of the world luxury market and that’s being very optimistic.
GM doesn’t want to compete with luxury brands. GM simply wants to sell the public the highest price Chevrolet they can period.
So you’re saying GM has been lying for the last 20 years every time they talk about competing with them? LOL
Yes, I never said Mercedes has every part, I realize they don’t even come close.
The point is Mercedes themselves run a warehouse for very old parts. GM does not.
Again I will start by saying I AM a GM guy, 37 years now. And YES that’s what I’m saying. OK GM lovers like myself, you CAN NOT have it both ways. Either GM-Cadillac is doing a TERRIBLE job of making decisions, OR they are not trying to compete. PEOPLE you can’t thumbs down the FACTS, it doesn’t work that way.
If GM-Cadillac WAS truly trying to compete they would INVEST IN A LONG TERM PLAN. You can NOT compete with the LEADERS OF THE WORLD in luxury and NOT INVEST. It simply can NOT be done. And STICK WITH THE LONG TERM PLAN. You can NOT quit every four years and start over. AND A CHEVROLLAC is NOT going to compete.
Say its Mercedes your trying to beat. THE BEST OR NOTHING. READ it THE BEST OR NOTHING. The BEST. Mercedes is TRYING. Sure we ALL have already agreed everyone has an opinion and Mercedes does NOT hit a home run every day all day long. However there is NO question they are the WORLD LEADER in this game.
GM is simply trying to sell a GM vehicle at the largest profit. GM could care less about CADILLAC, or any other BRAND of GM. GM IS GM. GM is NOT Cadillac. GM is developing MASS vehicles to the market, selling them to the dealers, and letting the dealers handle the rest. AND THE MONEY PEOPLE ARE IN CHARGE. The MONEY people, NOT the DREAMERS and DESIGNERS, or the ENGINEERS.
Mercedes, Audi and BMW did NOT win this battle in the USA over night. It took YEARS. Years of CONSISTANTLY building on AVERAGE a better mousetrap. Not EVERY one is or was better but on AVERAGE YES THEY ARE BETTER. IT IS A FACT. Why is Cadillac trying to compete with them. Do ANY of you people know history, they were ALL, and I mean ALL trying to compete with Cadillac once.
GM is NOT trying to compete. GM is trying to sell the NOT 1% a luxury vehicle because there are more of them, but at the same time not trying to loose the 1%ers they have still left. This is why you have a BASE Cadillac, LOW power with NO STANDARD options. You are trying to sell a dreamer a Cadillac, or simply someone who doesn’t care one bit, a vehicle that looks cool in there eyes.
You LOL. Because the REAL luxury LEADERS are LOL all the way to the BANK.
Hire this guy, hire that guy, move here, move there, put this person in charge of this guy, put that person in charge of that guy, hire this new marketing person, hire that marketing person. WHATEVER. There are literally a TON of Cadillac owners having troubles with the Cadillacs they own, THE CUSTOMER, and GM IS DOING NOTHING. LOL alright how are those Cadillac sales numbers going. LOL alright.
GM-Cadillac, start building a QUALITY vehicle, not ALL will be great, AND when you get the ones that are NOT great FIX them for the CUSTOMER and the CUSTOMER WILL buy another. LOL
to mr gm stinks when you mention your problems —back a few years Toyota was replacing their truck frames because they were rusting —just saying
Ill start by again saying I AM A GM GUY. So I won’t go as far as GM stinks. BUT, and I’ll say it again BUT, GM CUSTOMER SERVICE STINKS. Tom G in your own words TOYOTA WAS REPLACING THEIR TRUCK FRAMES. That should be enough said BUT , again BUT, I still don’t think most here get it. I think we have ALL established that ALL vehicle brands have troubles from time to time BUT, again BUT, OTHER BRANDS FIX THE KNOWN FAULTY DESIGNS AND FAULTY PARTS. And again just for you, probably not ALL troubles from every other brands are dealt with BUT, and again BUT, ******MOST***** are. Look at Cadillac CUE screens, every day you can read Cadillac forums and people are having troubles or they are delaminating, BUT GM-Cadillac is doing NOTHING.
Honda’s first Civics imported in the 70s exploded with rust years out of warranty. Guess what Honda did? They offered everyone with the problem Repair or cash. GM has NEVER done something like that, even after known issues like poor paint in certain years, frames that were never coated properly, and let’s not even talk about the last 15 years of their trucks rear brake lines rusting through, that they never fixed through multiple model year updates.
Since we live in a GM town, my wife convinced me 8 years ago to give GM, specifically Buick, another try. We have 6 cars between 2008 Honda to a 2014 Chevy. Two older Toyotas as well. There is no doubt in my mind that GM quality has NOT improved since the 1980s when I first started to purchase them. Even worst, fleet wide defects (i.e. 2.4 oil consumption) are not honored, unlike Honda/Toyota, and when force GM will skirt around warranty repairs such as issuing a recall for cars only under 40,000 miles when the problem has existed on models over 5 years old (which would average over 70,000 miles). GM has poor engineering and even worse does not stand behind their products when defects are glaringly obvious. Each Buick/GM has a least 4 repairs, that should be covered by a recall, that GM has skirted/refuses to take responsibility for. If fixed at a GM dealer, these repairs for each car approach the cost of the vehicle. In the meantime, my three Toyotas/Hondas contine to be trouble free, despite having double the mileage. Run away from any GM (including Buick) product unless you have an excessive amount of cash that you wish to donate to GM shareholders. I prefer to use this money for several vacations to Tahiti.
SO totally discusted w GM. 2nd generation, grew up in a GM town, worked in GM foundry, 3 dealerships, 30 yrs as an engineer, assembly & manufacturing plants, bought many Chevys. Involved w GM from >50 market share, thru bankruptcy. I wanted so hard to believe, got fed up, retired early. Got screwed again w t lame salaried retiree health insurance.
Disgusting t way they treat customers and employees, FOR DECADES!!
My son has a 2015 Chevy PU, been to t dealer for major repairs, engine AND trans, and many other items.
One time I went into t dealer, w service bulletinS in hand, they still couldn’t get it right. Customer Service #800 was less than useless.
Fixed my neighbor’s Toyota, had to go to t dealer for a special part. They have TWO walls of appreciation letters posted, NEVER seen that w GM.
Telling everyone I know to avoid GM, period!