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      06-21-2025, 10:54 AM   #1
zx10guy
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Interview with former GM engineer.

This video popped up in my feed. While some of what was discussed isn't new to me, some of the other discussion points were. Definitely informative and thought provoking. Makes me want to keep my current used car lot going longer with the designed to fail junk that's being sold at top dollar these days.

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      06-21-2025, 12:24 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zx10guy View Post
This video popped up in my feed. While some of what was discussed isn't new to me, some of the other discussion points were. Definitely informative and thought provoking. Makes me want to keep my current used car lot going longer with the designed to fail junk that's being sold at top dollar these days.
TLDR.
Not a fan of "anonymous" leaks from disgruntled folks too afraid to introduce themselves by name. Since when is talking about GM after retirement requires hiding one's face and identity?



a
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      06-21-2025, 12:36 PM   #3
zx10guy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by afadeev View Post
TLDR.
Not a fan of "anonymous" leaks from disgruntled folks too afraid to introduce themselves by name. Since when is talking about GM after retirement requires hiding one's face and identity?



a
Because if you watched the video, he still provides consultative work in the industry. Despite him not working at GM, lots of industries are a closed group which can cause you to be black listed from doing work for anyone else.
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      06-21-2025, 01:40 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zx10guy View Post
Because if you watched the video, he still provides consultative work in the industry. Despite him not working at GM, lots of industries are a closed group which can cause you to be black listed from doing work for anyone else.
I've worked with a few US-Big-3 refugees, their story is always the same::
- I am the good guy, everyone else made mistakes or took short-cuts.
- Government made us do bad things, but I'm the "good guy".
- Bean counters made us do bad things, but I'm the "good guy".

Zero accountability for own short-comings at either the old job, or the new one. I've let go of a bunch of those guys for THAT exact reason - total refusal to take accountability for own actions/in-actions. Event guys with seamingly good head on thier shoulders get permanently mind-f*cked that way after spending any length of time working for Detroit-3.

a

P.S.: I've never owned a US-Big-3 product, and have zero plans to change that policy.
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Last edited by afadeev; 06-21-2025 at 02:19 PM..
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      06-21-2025, 06:53 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by afadeev View Post

P.S.: I've never owned a US-Big-3 product, and have zero plans to change that policy.
Didn’t watch the video, don’t really care, but it isn’t just US car manufacturers that take shortcuts or cheat. VW dieselgate is a perfect example.

I love my full-size GM trucks and I have lots of friends with Ford and Dodge trucks who are very happy too.
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      06-22-2025, 02:30 PM   #6
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German brands are worse than any other, regarding designed-to-fail. Many examples to point to.
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      06-25-2025, 02:58 PM   #7
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Unfortunately, this is set to continue for the foreseeable future. Most people that aren't enthusiasts don't understand this and most people don't even comprehend basic economics enough to know they are getting raw-dogged into a never ending payment schedule on a depreciating liability.

The only way I see this changing is a massive cultural shift by the people who vote with their dollar and just outright refuse to buy these things.
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      06-26-2025, 07:52 AM   #8
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I agree with yonki.

Manufacturers "want" their cars to last outside of warranty... But not without service costs. That "well if I'm gonna have monthly upkeep and service I may as well have a payment on a new car" mindset is strong, and they make choices that cause parts to have issues outside of warranty.

Our expedition has a pair of heater hoses that are shared with the f150. They have a plastic y joint in them that leaks on EVERY SINGLE ONE eventually. Dealer cost to replace? $2400. DIY cost to replace? $175 and an hour with new coolant and hoses. That's major margin they're driving for dealerships, and if you're not a confident DIYer, that's a pretty serious expense on a car that was 5.5-6 years old at the time, and if you're a wife who has a loser husband who can't fix cars, you're going to be looking at your car like "I'm still paying on this car for a year and I'm gonna be paying for expensive repairs? Maybe I should just get a new one, that'll be cheaper overall".

It's BS, and I hate it. Luckily I can work on cars.
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      06-26-2025, 08:56 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chassis View Post
German brands are worse than any other, regarding designed-to-fail. Many examples to point to.
We just sold our 2018 x3 because with only 83k miles it started leaking coolant from brittle plastic coolant components..
Every other month it was another leak, another repair needed and my wife had zero trust in the car anymore.

- Oil Filter Housing
- Turbo Return Line
- Radiator
- Heater Control Valve

What a big piece of manure, Sold the car and never looked back..

There is no reason for a car thats been maintained to a T should start puking all over itself at less than 7 years old / & less than 85k miles ( 0-80k miles it was pretty solid ).

I can diy most things but some issues require more specialized tools and process's on these newer cars that are not easily DIY'd.

The car cost thousands in repairs that should never be needed with a car this new.. Cars are more and more looking to just work past the warranty or lease and the German cars are by far the biggest offenders.

Love my BMW's been driving them for 20 years ( still have my E36 ) and finally had to move on to other brands.. Just couldnt stand throwing money down the drain,
Just sit at the BMW dealer for a few hours and see how many disgruntled people come through the doors about these kind of issues.

Plastic is fine for many things, oil pans, intake manifolds etc, but the coolant system flanges is not one of them.
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      06-26-2025, 09:07 AM   #10
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We have a 2012 BMW X3 with 145k miles. Bought it with 139k, but knew the owner since 75k and he knew the owner from new. Last of the naturally aspirated motors. The turbos put more heat into the engine compartment. Am doing some maintenance on it and will probably do the cooling system in the next year. I think the pump has been replaced before.
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      06-26-2025, 09:31 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pbonsalb View Post
We have a 2012 BMW X3 with 145k miles. Bought it with 139k, but knew the owner since 75k and he knew the owner from new. Last of the naturally aspirated motors. The turbos put more heat into the engine compartment. Am doing some maintenance on it and will probably do the cooling system in the next year. I think the pump has been replaced before.
If its an N52 NA Motor my 2008 N52 3series was rock solid, my complaints above are from a Turbo B48.
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      07-23-2025, 11:15 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlkGS View Post
I agree with yonki.

Manufacturers "want" their cars to last outside of warranty... But not without service costs. That "well if I'm gonna have monthly upkeep and service I may as well have a payment on a new car" mindset is strong, and they make choices that cause parts to have issues outside of warranty.

Our expedition has a pair of heater hoses that are shared with the f150. They have a plastic y joint in them that leaks on EVERY SINGLE ONE eventually. Dealer cost to replace? $2400. DIY cost to replace? $175 and an hour with new coolant and hoses. That's major margin they're driving for dealerships, and if you're not a confident DIYer, that's a pretty serious expense on a car that was 5.5-6 years old at the time, and if you're a wife who has a loser husband who can't fix cars, you're going to be looking at your car like "I'm still paying on this car for a year and I'm gonna be paying for expensive repairs? Maybe I should just get a new one, that'll be cheaper overall".

It's BS, and I hate it. Luckily I can work on cars.

Funny, that reminds me of the heater core plastic connectors on NBS GMC/Chevy trucks. They ALL fail and you can easily replace them with a metal fitting for peanuts but yet the OEM choose plastic.

On a positive note, maybe as the world gets harder and owning cars continue to get more expensive, these hard times will start making harder men and we'll see more of a return to conserve and maintenance cars and goods in general and value them as they should
be. Maybe we are on the cusp of a cultural shift...

...or maybe the movie Idiocracy will continue to be a documentary.
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      07-23-2025, 12:59 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yonkinator View Post
Funny, that reminds me of the heater core plastic connectors on NBS GMC/Chevy trucks. They ALL fail and you can easily replace them with a metal fitting for peanuts but yet the OEM choose plastic.

On a positive note, maybe as the world gets harder and owning cars continue to get more expensive, these hard times will start making harder men and we'll see more of a return to conserve and maintenance cars and goods in general and value them as they should
be. Maybe we are on the cusp of a cultural shift...

...or maybe the movie Idiocracy will continue to be a documentary.
Not sure what NBS stands for, but my 2011 Avalanche has been rock solid, currently at 160,xxx miles. LOVE this truck, so versatile. I intend to keep it for a while, at least past 200K. Hope I didn't jinx it. Lol.

Last edited by HDMI; 07-23-2025 at 03:17 PM..
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      07-23-2025, 01:42 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HDMI View Post
Not sure what NBS stands for, buy my 2011 Avalanche has been rock solid, currently as 160,xxx miles. LOVE this truck, so versatile. I intend to keep it for a while, at least past 200K. Hope I didn't jinx it. Lol.
NBS is "New Body Style", as a opposed to the "OBS - Old Body Style" trucks. NBS truck are more commonly called the cat eye generation now. A 2011 I think would have been an NNBS.

Why nobody ever referred to them by their GMT platform numbers is beyond me.
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      07-23-2025, 01:47 PM   #15
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NBS = new body style.
I’ve had 1986, 1994, 2008 GMC diesel trucks and now a 2019 GMC gas 1500, the early two had some issues but I still put over 300,000km on each of them before selling them off. The 2008 Duramax (250,000 km when I got rid of it) and current one (145,000km now)have been really great, trouble free.
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