Duramax is my 12th GM vehicle

[Dustdevil1]

1964 Chevrolet El Camino
1969 Chevrolet 1/2 Ton Pickup C10
1976 Chevrolet Suburban
1981 Chevrolet Suburban
1982 Buick Regal
1984 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
1988 Pontiac Bonneville SSE
1994 Chevrolet Suburban
1998 Chevrolet Blazer
2000 Chevrolet Impala
2003 Chevrolet Impala
2003 Chevrolet HD2500 Duramax Crew Cab 4X4

Did not buy them all new. All have held up reasonably well except for the injectors and the front hubs on this 03 pickup. My dad had a bunch of Chevrolets also, throughout many years. He also had several Cadillacs, Lincolns, a Buick, a VW, and once had a Hyundai. My departures from GM have been a Triumph Spitfire, a Jeep CJ5, a VW Superbeetle, a Chrysler Concorde, a MINI Cooper S, and two Infiniti G Sedans. Everything held up well except the Spitfire and the Chrysler.

Anyone else seem to have good experiences with the GM brand, or otherwise?

[DmaxMaverick]

Wow. That list looks a lot like mine. Add a few more GM pickups, an 88 Baretta (fun, fast), as well as other brands mixed in. My first was also a 1964 El Camino, which I restored. The only "foreigners" I had were Mazda RX's (pre-7's). Those were fun! I still have a 68 GMC step-side in line for a restore.

[Dustdevil1]

I would say this is a bit skewed in favor of GM, LOL! I do like the looks of the new Impala, though.

[DmaxMaverick]

I haven't paid attention to the "new" Impalas, but my wife still drives a 2000. She won't give it up. She says fix it until you can't. She loves the car, and won't give it up for a new one. 300K miles, with minimal repairs. It still looks and runs well, and gets good mileage.

[Dustdevil1]

That's pretty good mileage. The old 3800 is pretty rugged. My 2000 Impala had about 105k on it when I sold it to my son. He drove it for a couple of years. Blew the intake manifold off it when the battery ran dead. For some reason, if that starter doesn't have enough push to turn it over TDC, and the 3800 backs up, it can explode back into the intake manifold, which is molded plastic. Almost took my head off while I was adjusting the jumper cables, and it caught fire. But overall, it was a reliable car.

I think my tenure with GM vehicles may be over, though. Just found out they will decline to help with my injector replacement. They leaned on the dealer to offer a 15% discount on the job. But GM didn't kick in a dime. Dealer is decent and offered in good faith. Connell Chevrolet in Costa Mesa is pretty good. I would definitely recommend them for work on the Duramax. They have good diesel Techs. I think GM should have worked with Bosch to find a real solution to this injector problem a long time ago.

[More Power]

My first car... at age 14 was a 1956 Studebaker wagon, given to me by a neighbor. The small 6-cyl had a bad rod bearing, but it would run a couple dozen miles before it needed a new bearing. That's about how far I drove it...

My second (at age 15) is the one car from my youth that I most wish I still owned... I bought it for $15, but it needed a front clip, engine & trans and new paint. The interior was perfect and the remainder of the car was rust-free and beautiful - a 1955 Chevrolet Belair 2-door hardtop. I did get it put together and driveable using a low time 265 V-8 and hydromatic, and a lot of other parts. Unfortunately, I sold it not long after. Back in the day, Tri-Five Chevies were cheap and plentiful, but kids recognized even then that they were special.

I met my wife while driving a 1964 Chevy Impala 2-door HT, and we were driving/owned a '55 Chevy 210 (2-door post) the day we were married.

Perhaps because of that first '55 and others, I've been in the GM camp... with a few exceptions... a 1955 Ford Sunliner convertible, a 1969 Cuda and a 1974 Plymouth Satellite (think Road Runner - my first new car).

Jim