The frame was rusted through beyond repair - I would need a whole new frame. GM should be held responsible for this, forced to repair or compensate, just as Toyota was.
Frame rusted enough that bed and cab hit into each other as the frame flexed. I repaired by welding in steel 1 year ago, and now the rest of frame and the cross braces rusted through. Truck is useless - it would need new frame. Maybe it is time for a class action suit against GM for these poor quality frames that are failing at an alarming rate.
I bought this brand new in 2003-2004. It has only 54K miles on it, but my mechanic inspected it the other day and said the frame is all rusted out and would not pass it. Now I have to look for another vehicle ASAP, when I SHOULD have been able to drive this at least another 10 years. I'm mad, and my wife is furious! (at Chevy). Now she's a Chrysler hater AND a Chevy hater (she's a Ford girl). I will be looking for Fords now, because I too, believe they are much better built. Whatever you do, don't buy a Chevy Colorado (cheap interior too), and especially don't buy a used one!
I just bought this 2004 Chevy Colorado from United Auto Group in Putnam, CT. It's used with only 60000 miles on it. It was a one owner car with no damage or issues according to CarFAX. The visual inspection over the car all looked great. the engine runs smooth. Everything about the car check out fine. The dealer was not aware of any issues other than an issue with ABS fault they were willing to fix. I decided to buy the car as I was in the market for a truck. I found out it had an open recall on a brake switch.
I took it to Don Mallon's a Chevy dealership in Norwich, CT. They preformed the Recall service and did an Inspection as part of the process. I received a call letting me know there is a problem with the truck. They had finished the service successfully but upon inspection they found rot throughout the frame. Look at the attached pictures. I spoke with their body shop I was advised that the Truck should never had been sold in it's current condition and that it is unsafe to drive. Nothing short of a full frame replacement would fix the problem. The rot was throughout the entire frame. They were able to poke holes threw the frame in several different locations with a screwdriver.
The damage is similar to what happened to my Dodge Caliber. It suffered from a similar issue but with the engine cradle an it was very well documented issue and Dodge came through and extended the warranty. They replaced the engine cradle free of charge and extended the warranty for another 5 years regardless of mileage. This really restored my faith in car companies. The ironic thing is I got rid of the Dodge replaced it with this truck. I can only hope GM does the right thing by me here!
I'm in the process of trying to return the truck and get my money back from the dealer. This is a shame as I really liked the truck and it's my first experience with owning a GM vehicle. From the research I have done online looks like it would cost between $9k to $12k in order to repair. I'm very disappointed. I though Chevy and GM were supposed to be the standard of well make American cars.
I bought the truck from used car lot in Maryland with MD vehicle inspection, took it to Pennsylvania where I live and failed inspection. Was told vehicle is unsafe and will not pass inspection. Took it back to dealer, they sent it to another shop. Was told it can be fixed by welding new steel on frame. My worry is, where else is the frame nearly rusted through? I wouldn't think a 10 year old truck would be that bad unless it was parked in salt water or the steel used in the frame is low grade. I can't be the only one with this problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
The frame was rusted through beyond repair - I would need a whole new frame. GM should be held responsible for this, forced to repair or compensate, just as Toyota was.
- Damien C., West Mifflin, PA, US