Help me decide...

[Boricua SS]

little history on my story as most know, some dont... and im sure some are tired oof reading about my back and forth .. i posted the same thread on ssowners, but i know i'll get more responses and thoughts here...

back in march 2012 the beaSSt spun a bearing... after 2 months at the dealership and going back and forth with GMPP, i got a new motor or so we thought.. get the truck back in May 2012 and the new motor is knocking... almost as bad as the spun bearing was (hence why we all think it is a rebuilt one and not the new crate one that was supposed to be installed)... dealer said to drive her until september, then bring her back for winter storage, and a full tear down of the new motor to see whats going on (i only put 1500 miles on the new motor so far)... this past wednesday July 11th, im coming home from a gas station, go to give her gas as the light turns green, and BOOM... there goes the tranny (43k miles on her and all stock, no servos, no stall, etc...).. or so i think.. i go to drop her off at the dealership on thursday, tranny resumes normal functionailty.. so my guess is electrical.. MAF, etc...

so heres my dilemma... im under warranty (GMPP w/zero deductible until January 2013, or 62,xxx so obviously I'll hit year before mileage).. if all these issues happened while out of warranty, the truck would be sitting for years to come until i could fix her.. i dont have the funds to build her up like everyone else does (forged, stroked, cam, heads, intake, built trans, stall, etc...) when these types of issues happen (at least not now) and she is not my DD as i have another vehicle... so with these things happening do i want to sacrafice it and keep her and just make her the all out power house that i once dreamed of when i bought her? or get rid of her now once shes fixed...

so my question to you all is... would you trade your SS or Trailvoy in once it was all fixed since optimal trade value is now (kbb says mine is still worth over 18k), and if you did, what would you trade for... keep in mind i have another vehicle, so im looking for a weeekend warrior, cruise vehicle... budget is between 20-30k.. 30k being otd price at max... i've been lookin at used 2010-2011 Camaro SS' with under 15k miles on them, a chit load of Mustang GT's and above, couple of Vette's, etc... i still want speed if i were to get rid of the SS.. hence the big V8 coupe's... havent really crossed off turbo'd vehicles either... but i want power and speed.. or i should say, i want a vehicle that can at least handle the factory power thats thrown at it.. but in the end, if the numbers dont add up, I'll have no choice but to keep the SS and pay down on her more to even things out...

any ideas or suggestions, im all ears...

 

[CdnGMan]

Personally, I'd keep it once it's been fixed...

Look at the fun you've had with it thus far... plus, the way I look at it, if you can get 18K for it and you're will to spend up to 30K for a "new" ride, that's approx 12K that you could put into the beaSSt to get it to where you'd be VERY happy with...

Knowing that I'm driving a pretty rare vehicle that's almost brand new doesn't hurt either... but that's just me...

 

[jrSS]

Mmmm. If they fix it keep it. U have a brand new motor bud. If its still acting funny trade up.

 

[Boricua SS]

Personally, I'd keep it once it's been fixed...

Look at the fun you've had with it thus far... plus, the way I look at it, if you can get 18K for it and you're will to spend up to 30K for a "new" ride, that's approx 12K that you could put into the beaSSt to get it to where you'd be VERY happy with...

Knowing that I'm driving a pretty rare vehicle that's almost brand new doesn't hurt either... but that's just me...

the thing is, i dont have the 12k lol... with the 18 i would get on trade (or i hope i would), 8500 would go towards my loan on her now, then the 9500ish would go towards the new vehicle.. basically i would need to keep my payments where theyre at now or maybe like $50 bucks higher...

but thats whats a toss up to me... the SS is a rare piece now and days.. especially in my area.. well a modded one at least..

Mmmm. If they fix it keep it. U have a brand new motor bud. If its still acting funny trade up.

well tranny is getting fixed now... motor... im just tired of the back and forth.. and just as my confidence was building... bam.. dropped the tranny lol... then whose to say after the tear down, then it goes back together, what next? by that time, the market miight close up a bit, values could go down, etc...

basically if i can get over 18k for her, and the numbers work out on the new vehicle, then im about 85-90% sold on the fact that she will be gone... im going to talk to the dealership on monday since my dad works as well... so we'll see..

 

[jrSS]

Like another somebody said..they should have a warranty on the new motor and workmanship on the new mtor and trans..

 

[Boricua SS]

Like another somebody said..they should have a warranty on the new motor and workmanship on the new mtor and trans..

yea i just read that... there is a 3yr/50k mile warrranty on the new motor.. trans, im not sure of yet, as they havent told me whats wrong...

 

[Denali n DOO]

Personally I would keep it... For now. I too have a new motor that I still don't think is right, first tranny fluid in the coolant and then oil in the coolant. I still have engine warranty, it came with 3 yrs. once I get this figured out it should be good to go. But if it can't be solved then it's gonna go! I know I got a for sure lemon with repair value so far that exceeds 50% of what I paid for it. Usually after every repair, and there's been a shit load of em latley, I just sit back and crack open another Bud and say "there, she's finally 100%", then usually within a week I'm cracking another Bud and starting a thread for the new problem. If it wasn't for the support here and the other place prior, I would have ditched this thing along time ago...I'd love to own a Sierra Denali but certainly can't afford one now.

 

[Boricua SS]

Personally I would keep it... For now. I too have a new motor that I still don't think is right, first tranny fluid in the coolant and then oil in the coolant. I still have engine warranty, it came with 3 yrs. once I get this figured out it should be good to go. But if it can't be solved then it's gonna go! I know I got a for sure lemon with repair value so far that exceeds 50% of what I paid for it. Usually after every repair, and there's been a shit load of em latley, I just sit back and crack open another Bud and say "there, she's finally 100%", then usually within a week I'm cracking another Bud and starting a thread for the new problem. If it wasn't for the support here and the other place prior, I would have ditched this thing along time ago...I'd love to own a Sierra Denali but certainly can't afford one now.

great info man.... souds like youre in the same boat as me... decisions, decisions lol...

 

[Denali n DOO]

great info man.... souds like youre in the same boat as me... decisions, decisions lol...

Yep, same boat! And when I prove the engine or the install to be faulty I'll be asking for my out of pocket maintainence so far, a rad flush at $184 and new hoses $231.00. My engine warranty is till Feb 2013. I will sue them if need be. I've taken that route before and won! They probably messed something up when they swapped your motor. Keep on top of it and you'll succeed. !

 

[BO TIE SS]

What I would use to help me decide is what the problem is with the tranny. If it's the tranny itself, I'd be more likely to trade it in. If it's a control module or something else electronic, I'd keep it.

On the other hand...if you start putting away that $50 that you were talking about increasing your payments, eventually you could buy a built tranny to handle the performance mods you'd like to do someday.

 

[ItsOnVoy]

I'm the kind of person who doesn't want a headache with a car also something wrong or what not. I know my next car is going to more then likely a Cadillac cts performance. Runs about the same 0-60 as the tbss without mods. So mod the cts and of course more and gas is better on it.

Over all I personally would get rid of it if I had the option for a good trade in price you know. You never know what cannot happen once out of warranty! And that is way more money itself. It's your choice bro do what your heart tells you to do and don't look back if you do trade it

 

[Boricua SS]

What I would use to help me decide is what the problem is with the tranny. If it's the tranny itself, I'd be more likely to trade it in. If it's a control module or something else electronic, I'd keep it.

On the other hand...if you start putting away that $50 that you were talking about increasing your payments, eventually you could buy a built tranny to handle the performance mods you'd like to do someday.

Touché my friend.... touché

I'm the kind of person who doesn't want a headache with a car also something wrong or what not. I know my next car is going to more then likely a Cadillac cts performance. Runs about the same 0-60 as the tbss without mods. So mod the cts and of course more and gas is better on it.

Over all I personally would get rid of it if I had the option for a good trade in price you know. You never know what cannot happen once out of warranty! And that is way more money itself. It's your choice bro do what your heart tells you to do and don't look back if you do trade it

Hit the nail on the head.. its all a numbers game.. if I get the 18-19k for it, then I'm leaning towards trading.. anything less, and I can't afford the next vehicle that I want...

 

[ItsOnVoy]

Hit the nail on the head.. its all a numbers game.. if I get the 18-19k for it, then I'm leaning towards trading.. anything less, and I can't afford the next vehicle that I want...

What car do you have in mind? still that mazda or something different? maybe a older m5 shits quick as hell, makes the ss look like my voy loll

I think you can get a older m5 like 05 and up for a good price if you like bmws

 

[Ghoster]

Kinda sounds to me like you are tired of it. I know I sure as hell would be!! I don't own, and wouldn't own, a vehicle that keeps going back to the dealership. Unlike you, I am not in need of something with zero to 60 or 1/4 mile power. In general, the reliability on a vehicle like that isn't going to be as good as a simple non-high performance vehicle. Think long and hard about what you NEED, WANT, and absolutely MUST HAVE. Really sit down and think it through and write it down. Also consider this... how much longer are the payments on the SS? And when its paid off.... if you save those payments for a year how many performance mods could you do then?

 

[McGMT]

You can get whatever you want buddy as long as you give this father of 3 with no thrills left your old SS... Pleaaase?

 

[Boricua SS]

What car do you have in mind? still that mazda or something different? maybe a older m5 shits quick as hell, makes the ss look like my voy loll

I think you can get a older m5 like 05 and up for a good price if you like bmws

The Mazda isn't out of the question, but I have steered clear of that route (turbo FWD 4 banger)... I'm lookin at Camaro SS', Mustang GT's or the new 5.0's, or a few used Z06's.. basically big V8 RWD's

Kinda sounds to me like you are tired of it. I know I sure as hell would be!! I don't own, and wouldn't own, a vehicle that keeps going back to the dealership. Unlike you, I am not in need of something with zero to 60 or 1/4 mile power. In general, the reliability on a vehicle like that isn't going to be as good as a simple non-high performance vehicle. Think long and hard about what you NEED, WANT, and absolutely MUST HAVE. Really sit down and think it through and write it down. Also consider this... how much longer are the payments on the SS? And when its paid off.... if you save those payments for a year how many performance mods could you do then?

Kinda and kinda not.. I'm not tired of the SS, I'm tired of the trips to the dealer, and GM with they're so called new sh***y motor... the wow factor is still there for me.. after all, its an SS... its not a must have, or a need as she is not my DD.. I have my Grand Prix for that.. she is more or less my wknd warrior, Sunday cruise toy.. I have about 2 more years on the loan left.. but that is a great idea.. I would have the funds to put a nice dent in her.... great logic though.. didn't look at things as you and Sam suggested...

You can get whatever you want buddy as long as you give this father of 3 with no thrills left your old SS... Pleaaase?

I'll keep you in mind if I decide to let her go

 

[Regulator]

Trade it in, but only after you come to Indiana and help me with my engine swap. Do you think they would notice if you traded in an SS with a I6?

Seriously though, just because you can fit into a Camaro now doesn't mean you have to go out and buy one. Despite the issues with the motor, and now a potential tranny replacement, I would still stay in it. Since it is not a daily driver you have the luxury of it spending time at the dealership. I would stay on top of them until they get it right. Essentially you have the opportunity to have an SS with a brand new drivetrain and that is something I wouldn't walk away from.

 

[Boricua SS]

Trade it in, but only after you come to Indiana and help me with my engine swap. Do you think they would notice if you traded in an SS with a I6?

Seriously though, just because you can fit into a Camaro now doesn't mean you have to go out and buy one. Despite the issues with the motor, and now a potential tranny replacement, I would still stay in it. Since it is not a daily driver you have the luxury of it spending time at the dealership. I would stay on top of them until they get it right. Essentially you have the opportunity to have an SS with a brand new drivetrain and that is something I wouldn't walk away from.

I'd be willing to bet they wouldn't know.. sometimes when I would drop her off for warranty work, I would have to go to the work bay and tell them how to fix things.. now that's funny

And that wouldn't be the only reason to buy an SS Camaro .. but I hear ya bro... thx for the input

 

[harmless]

I'd keep her. Once them techs get their heads outta their asses and fix everything right, you'll have a collector's item with a whole new powertrain with a NEW warranty on it.

I wouldn't pass that up if my life depended on it.

We have a very rare jem of automotive history Sir. We need to preserve that!

 

[Boricua SS]

I'd keep her. Once them techs get their heads outta their asses and fix everything right, you'll have a collector's item with a whole new powertrain with a NEW warranty on it.

I wouldn't pass that up if my life depended on it.

We have a very rare jem of automotive history Sir. We need to preserve that!

that we do Stef... thx for the advice...

and thank you everyone... its still a toss up, but thats why i wanted to get everyones input... you all have opened up my eyes to ideas that i didnt even think of... i know poeple would be biased due to the platform and forum that we're on, but very good input..