Greetings. I am seeking some input on an opportunity. A close friend’s mother passed away, and left behind a 2012 Chevy Colorodo Crew Cab. They are considering selling it. It is well equiped. 4wd, 3.7 five cyl engine. It has 25,000 miles on it! It is a time capsule. Besides having one scratch, it’s like a new truck. Most of the info online relates to these vehicles when they are high milage and really used up. I drove it and looked it over and you will not find one in better shape, however I am the kind of person that keeps vehicles a long time. I am wondering what the overall impression is of this vehicle and if well cared for will it be worth keeping? The condition is impressive, but I am a little shy about newer vehicles as I have had issues with GM vehicles in the past. Anyway, any comments are appreciated.
This is simple. Have a shop inspect the vehicle and give you list of service things that should be done and what they may cost. Check several online sites for the value and if what they are asking is fine with you then buy it. Just remember that if you do have trouble with it after you buy it don’t blame them.
+1
It’s possible that the OP can just get away with just replacing the old dried-out tires and the old H2O contaminated brake fluid, but only an inspection by a qualified mechanic will tell the full story.
If you like it and are getting a really good deal on it, the buy it, replaced all the tires (including spare if full size), the battery (depending on age and condition) and All the fluids, then enjoy it until it starts giving you problems, then either fix it or dump it…
Only you can make the decision… And yes, if able, have it inspected by a pro…
If you like this vehicle, and are getting a good deal, buy it. If you waste too much time thinking about it, the window of opportunity will close, and the truck will be sold.
Yes. Vehicles from an estate tend to have been owned and driven by a mature person. They grew up when people took care of their vehicles, and back then, vehicles required a lot more maintenance than today’s vehicles. They also tended to be easier on the throttle.
But there are a couple of things to look out for. The vehicle was mostly driven by her husband and after he died, she did not drive the truck at all or very little. Things go downhill on a vehicle that isn’t driven regularly.
Her husband may have been meticulous on the maintenance, and she may have tried, but little old ladies are prey for unscrupulous mechanics that may charge for maintenance not done.
But the elderly do tend to maintain better records so check the glove box for maintenance receipts.
Over the years, I have bought a lot of cars from estates and they have always been very good deals. The 5 cylinder engine can run a little rougher than an even numbered cylinder engine, but they are reliable to 200k and with good maintenance, even 300k. Trannies are good, just have the U-joints inspected closely and the front hubs. If the u-joint in the rear driveshaft go bad, they can crack the trans to transfer case adapter. You do not want to find out what a bad hub can do.
We used to have several of these 1st generation Chevy Colorados in our fleet
They are truly low-quality vehicles, imo
Only problems Ive seen with estate vehicles is when they were last driven on salty briney roads and then they sat with that corrosive junk on the undercarriage for a few years as the vehicle sat.
Ive seen some low mileage otherwise clean vehicles with fairly rusty undercarriages around here. Especially since tgey started pretreating the roads with “car eater” before it snows.
Tom and Ray talked about how damaging salt was before and even suggested we all should stay at home while it melted lol.
Oh, that and rodent damage.
What I see most often in these situations is the surviving relatives have unrealistic expectations on the value of something like this. Without knowing what they are going to ask for it, no sense investing any time into what ifs…
It all comes down to the price. The miles are low but age does it thing, so don’t value it just based on miles. So, if this car had 120K miles would you still be interested.
The estate part is fine, the part that is a “friend” makes negotiating tricky. I always feel like I can’t “low-ball” cars for sale by friends. I have passed on quite a few.
I appreciate all the advice, however looking back perhaps I placed too much emphasis on the “estate” portion of my question. I have known the family for over 40 years and they have been meticulous in the care of the vehicle. I will have a local shop look it over, still, the core of my question should have related to the vehicle itself. With such low miles and great condition it seems like a slam dunk, however I had parts issues with GM in the past and am afraid to get sucked back into that situation. Regardless, thanks for all the advice.
These were low-quality vehicles
slapped together using low-grade parts, inside and out
The cylinder heads on ALL of them . . . even the ones that were supposedly improved . . . had severe valvetrain issues, where the valve seats would become pitted, resulting in low compression and misfires. This even happened at low mileage
Let me again stress how low-quality the interior parts are. They break down rapidly.
These trucks are barely better than the preceding S-10
I think you should pass, both because of what I said and also what the others said . . . you don’t do business with friends. That’s the best way to lose friends
If you buy it cheap and find issues you don’t like, rusty frame or dodgy trans then it might be harder to resell. You can always find another buyer. Usually.
Along time friend knew we were thinking of selling or trading a vehicle . They calles and wanted to have a price so one of their family members who had limited funds might buy it. I just said we had not made a decision yet because doing business with friends or relatives can be a problem . Shortly after avoiding the deal the vehicle developed a very expensive problem which the friends relatives would not be able to afford the repair. It may not have affected the friend ship but this way no awkward conversations were needed.
I did not know this (about the Colorado), and the preceding S-10 was an excellent compact truck. I see them on the road every single day. The S-10 was reasonably reliable, and the interior held up reasonably well, other than the top of the dash, which cracks if not protected from the sun.
well, you just learned something from a pro
I profoundly disagree with you
which proves not a single thing. You have absolutely no idea what condition they’re in. There are plenty of garbage-quality vehicles still being driven
They’re low-quality trucks and it’s far more than the dash that’s cheap
Again, say what you want
But my sample size is quite large and I’ve been working on them professionally for awhile
So you’re entitled to your opinion, which I suspect will remain in the minority
The advice is reasonable. If the estate sale is an auction at no reserve, buying the truck might be worth it.
Even if it has a bad reputation it might be worth buying at $1500 for example. Would it still be a “slam dunk” if they wanted $15k ? You can’t divorce the asking price from the equation or when asking people’s advice if it’s a wise purchase. But good luck. db4690 knows what he’s talking about regarding these trucks in general…disregard at your peril…
Below is information about the valve seat problem for 2004 to 2006 Colorado engines, the problem was addressed in 2008.
Most engine complaints posted on carcomplaints.com are for 2004 - 2006 model years, there are no engine complaints for 2010 - 2012 model years.
Noone . . . and I mean NOONE . . . is letting a 2012 Chevy Colorado in ANY condition go for $1500
Not in our universe, fwiw
@Nevada_545 we have Colorados in our fleet that are new enough to SUPPOSEDLY not have the valve seat problems
But they DO have the same problems