Buying A Used Pick-Up

[Sophon]

I am in the market for a newer but used pick-up. I am primarily looking for an extended cab version, but was very tempted by a 2011 Chevrolet Colorado LT Z71 4dr 4wd AT with 58k on the odomoter. This pick-up would have been 880k baht when new, and is for sale at only 599k which is a much larger savings that you would normally get on a one year old pick-up. Given the mileage and the price I was not surprised when I found out that the pick-up was originally sold in January 2011.

However, the vehicle has some problems that has cooled my interest quite a bit. In order of importance these are:

1. The paperwork confirms that the vehicle was originally sold in January 2011. However, the VIN indicates that it was actually build in 2008 making it a 2008 or at best a 2009 model, so it would have been sitting in the factory or a showroom for a couple of years before being sold. Is this normal? From a resale point of view would you consider this a 2008 or a 2011 vehicle?

2. It looks like the owner didn't take the pick-up in for it's 10k and 20k service checks, but did the 30k after 3 months the 40k after 6 months and the 50k after 11 months. Would you consider it a problem that the first two service checks were skipped, and would it affect the warranty on the vehicle?

3. There is a burn hole in the middle of the back seat. The seat covers is not leather but not exactly fabric either, I think it might be what is called "kayak" in the specifications (whatever that is). The hole is a little bigger that a cigarette and goes straight through the material. Is there any quick (and cheap) fixes, or is it ether live with it or have the whole seat recovered (sounds expensive)?

4. There are quite a few very superficial scratches to the left front dor. The scratches a multidirectional, and looks to me like the scratches that might be caused by brushing up against some bushes. Can such scratches easily and cheaply be "buffed" out again?

So what are your thoughts? Is this a vehicle to walk away from, or are the problems justified by the price?

Sophon

Edited February 2, 2012 by Sophon

[MoonRiverOasis]

1) It is unusual for it to be sitting around that long, yes. Under the Thai system, it's definitely a 2011 vehicle though.

2) Most manufacturers work on a "3 strike" rule - i.e. miss 3 scheduled services, and no more warranty. It sounds like this truck one strike short of this, but it would be worhtwhile making a call to GM to verify.

3) I can't htink of any fixes that wouldn't look like patchwork. Retrimming the whole thing shouldn't cost more than around 1-2K Baht, and you might even find that a new seat squab from GM is a reasonably priced option.

4) Depends on the depth of the scratches. if it's just in the clear coat a cutting compund can take them out. Any deeper and it'll need a repaint. A full door respray normally costs ~3-4K baht.

[SoCalChris]

I was looking to buy a 2005-2007 Chevy Colorado Z71 commonrail a couple of years ago and ran into a similar situation as you. Several of the 2007 trucks I looked at turned out to have been made in 2005. It smelled fishy to me and I walked away from them as I know in Thailand you need to be careful. It looks as if Chevy did it again with their newer model Z71s, and I didn't run into this problem with any of the other truck manufacturers.

However, the one thing that would make me pass on this deal you describe is the lack of doing the 10k and 20K service checks. IMO, those are the most important ones as the engine/drivetrain is breaking itself in then and there will be a higher amount of metal particulates in the oil. And a 30K interval between a service check is bad enough already. The engine will probably have an above average amount of wear on it than a typical engine with 58K.

Edited February 2, 2012 by SoCalChris

[transam]

Grey import ?

[MoonRiverOasis]

Grey import ?

hrmm, only of it had a steering wheel on the left

[Sophon]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Even though it's tecnically a 2011 vehicle it's still a 2008/09 model, so surely the resale value wll be less than a genuine 2011 model? But I guess that kind of evens out with the current low sale price.

I agree that the missed service checks are a serious consideration, specially considering the very high mileage the first three months (34k km). Of course, it's possible that the owner changed the oil himself, doing on average about 400 km a day there would not have been much time for servicing the vehicle, but there is no way of knowing so it's probably better to assume that nothing was done.

And no, the steering wheel wasn't on the left Besides the VIN confirmed that the vehicle was built in Thailand ('MP' in the first two positions).

Sophon

[ludditeman]

Sounds unusual, as there is a waiting list for most new cars.

I would think it is a 2008 car, maybe a cut and shut, old body with new documents, or variation on that theme.

(how about cut the VIN, or entire front off a wrecked car, fix it back on an older stolen car)

Having a 'gap' in the service history could be hiding it's real past and age.

Edited February 2, 2012 by ludditeman

[transam]

Grey import ?

hrmm, only of it had a steering wheel on the left

A pal in UK bought a grey Toyo that was RHD.