You just brought back a memory from like 20 yrs ago, I don't remember the make of the car but I do remember a car salesman literally hanging by the door jumping up and down on it to show me how well built the car was.

I knew one thing for sure I was not going to buy the car on the showroom floor that he did it to :lol:

This is the part I was thinking about when posting about scratching it ... yeah no doubt you should use it I just think I'm so accustomed to avoiding doing anything that scratches my car that I don't think my OCD could handle it.

Probably

Apparently it's not always the cable. It can be bed misalignment.

:flipiff: :D

yeah, I think that started in 2014. The assist system also makes it much more difficult to steal a tailgate (at least on the 1/2 tons and up) not sure about Matt's truck, but I assume it is the same system

:lol:

If I make it to JV's I will be driving my newish 1500. You will be more than welcome to take it out for a drive

I’ve had a Ranger and now a Silverado.

My full-size rides A LOT nicer. It hauls more, tows more, plows through deep snow better, camps better, etc. than my dinky Ranger.

The only thing my Ranger does better is pass by gas stations.

I very much appreciate the offer... but this seems like a terrible idea. :lol:
Nanananana I can't hear you.

[Jedi Mind Trick on] It's not a mid-size truck you're looking for [Jedi Mind Trick off]

:lol::lol::bustingup:bustingup

I have a 2011 Silverado that I've owned since new, and I don't think I've had any of those issues. Well, okay, the rear bumper is not quite aligned correctly any more, but that's because it was replaced after I was hit and the body shop was a little lazy with fitting the replacement part. :dunno: I should probably fix it at some point.

I did have some odd issues two years ago, but after the dealer threw a bunch of crap at it, I think the true culprit was a $35 crank position sensor that I replaced myself. Almost seven years and 101,000 miles later, the only real problem I have is a finicky window switch panel. I think it just needs to be replaced; it'll intermittently fail to raise the rear windows, and today (after I did some tinkering with the door open during some rain) the auto-down feature on the driver's window stopped working.

Say what you will about trucks -- mine is proving to be an excellent purchase, and the only vehicle I've driven for 100,000 miles. Mine was even made in Mexico.

One thing that amazes me about trucks (full size, at least) is how well they hold their value. My father in law gets a new Silverado every couple of years and trades in his old one for a surprisingly large amount of $.

Yeah, but the Ranger was a really old platform and was never known for doing much of anything well.

I don't think any comparison between a Ranger and the current Colorado would be remotely reasonable.

Also interesting about cost of ownership... GM is more liberal with the incentives on the Silverado. Apparently the Colorado is selling well enough to not need as many.

So if you buy a Silverado with a big pile of incentives it can be close in price to a Colorado. Then 3 years later when you sell its worth more. So the Silverado cost of ownership can end up being equal to or better than a Colorado.

I did the math on this several years ago... it's almost never worth it to buy a used full-size truck. The exception would be getting something that is fully depreciated (like, really old).

It's crazy, right? The used market is set as if new trucks sell at MSRP. But they don't.

I started looking at used Colorado's, but there are a lot of complaints about the 2015-16's 6-speed transmission. They switched to a much better 8-speed tranny in 2017 so I decided I wanted 2017+.

And the used market for 1-year old Colorados wasn't compelling enough to steer me away from owning a new truck.

Some SUVs are like that too. The 4Runner's resale was ridiculously good, even on trade-in.

I ended up buying the Ram used, for three reasons

1) Friends with the prior owner, who got me a courtesy trade through the dealer where he was buying his replacement. So, it was well under market value and a known quantity
2) Chrysler still hadn't announced when the 1500 EcoDiesel was coming back to the market and I didn't want to wait
3) I wasn't willing to shell out $70k+ for a new diesel 3/4 ton truck.

In retrospect... while I really like the truck, financially it probably would have been smarter to buy a new F150 EcoBoost. But there are many things I just despise about the current generation of Ford trucks and I wanted to try a diesel. #noregerts

Indeed, you're right.

Iirc, it had the ancient Twin I-Beam suspension. When I'd go over a bumpy road at a pretty good clip, that truck would bounce sideways. With a gutless 2.3L four banger, it really struggled to haul heavy loads.

I've thought about fixing up my current beater by installing a 4 to 6 inch lift kit, bigger wheels/tires, and a repaint. But in its current stock form, it guzzles gas pretty badly, and if I did those mods, it would gulp down fuel at an even more alarming rate.

I really don't use it enough to spend big money to make it look good....

Don't have much truck needs, but I do like the ecodiesel engine... Let's see what kind of fix will come out, if any. I'm sure you could have found one used or certified. Even non-certified, mopar warranty is quite reasonable. The problem is you have to deal with FCA dealers.

I parked the e46 next to the Colorado today and walking to my car(s) this afternoon I was stuck by how low and short the e46 is in comparison.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...16cf5e2a3a.jpg

Your car is still looking good :thumbup:

Please do me a favor and get some center caps for those wheels ... it is driving my OCD crazy !!

:lol:

I just swapped them on yesterday and I was too lazy to swap the caps in yet. But I will soon!

I couldn’t look beyond the half-eaten front bumper. 😁

I finally got around to doing this. I swapped the tailgate cables, and sure enough it's better. The difference in cable length roughly matches the amount the bed is not square. Yippee. :lol:

It's not perfect, but if I sit on the side that is slack it tightens up. That's good enough for me. I just didn't want the tailgate to warp if I put something heavy on it.

I still love having a truck.

Did you try playing with the PSI in the tires? -3 PSI really made a big difference in ride quality in my 1/2 ton.


It still drives like a truck . . . but a much better behaved truck.

I checked them and remembered thinking... Hmmm, that's not particularly high. But now I can't remember what it was.

34-35psi maybe?

I used to run with 45 in the fronts and 40 in the back, both 5 psi above the recommended on the door jamb, to improve fuel economy.

I noticed that the tread wasn't wearing evenly, so I lowered them back to 40 in the fronts and 35 in the back.

5 psi DOES make a difference in ride quality.

If you're a homeowner with a big yard, a truck is a "must-have" vehicle in the stable.

I really should try lowering the tire pressures in the Ram. They are 65psi front / 80psi rear from towing, and the ride is pretty jiggly (Bilsteins notwithstanding).

Yeah, that must be a harsh ride when not towing.

The years we spent traveling (and towing) full time in our RV's taught me so much about tire pressures. I only use the data on the door jam as reference. You really need to know the pressure/weight range info from the tire manufacture. (and have a good idea/ or weigh your axle weights)

It's really not harsh at all, but it could certainly be better.