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I have a 2000 Silo Premiere. I had the dealer install a Class III hitch (he subbed out the work to a local trailer guy). I chose Class III because it is a sturdier hitch then Class II. My van has the trailering package. As mentioned in another post, the Silo is only rated to tow 3500 lbs. (less with the van loaded with people and/or stuff). I towed a pop-up camper with mine (g.v.w. 2100 lbs. on the camper). The van had 6 people in it and lots of stuff (large roof box on top with stuff as well). Camper was packed full as well. I had no problem towing with it. I adhered to the owner's manual and kept my driving to 55 m.p.h. (very hard to do for me) as I wanted to break in the transaxle properly for towing. Good luck with your shopping.
Anyone else out there having problems with General's that are OE? These are 2000 xp GT's.
BTW - why trade in an Explorer? It does have decent interior space, but not enough with 2 kids, especially if we try to go anywhere with more than one other person (it only seats 5). And any of the larger SUV's are too big for my garage, so that leaves me with the van being the most logical choice. I also am getting sick of all the recalls with the Ford!
Barry
any guidence from the Silo community? the posts seem to be mostly positive. Also I am concerned about resale if, as I have read, that Oldsmobile is being fazed out by GM.
any comments would be welcomed and appreciated. I currently have a Grand Caravan that we have had 3 transmissions in within 90,000 miles... so do not wish another albatross.
Thanks!
Original sale date was January 2001 so I shouldn't have a problem. I'm guessing that the salesman was hiding this or didn't know.
I don't understand why a salesman would hide this...
Along those lines, does anyone else have a Silhouette AWD yet? We have 1500 miles on ours and love it. The DVD system is great for long drives (we have a 6 year old and two 3 year olds). We have the 6 passenger model (all captains chairs) and usually run with one of the middle row chairs out for more space.
Has anybody else had this problem?
Cupholders are broken yet again. $70 each to get replaced. Kids step on them when going between seats. Maybe I should replace the kids ).
My 01 Silo (company car) just hit 36K miles. Not bad for 10 months. No problems (if you don't count the tires). Averaging 24 mpg. And MUCH improved cupholders. They don't break, but it's hard to get to the swithces for the fog lights and rear wiper when a drink is in the dashboard cupholder.
Mikey
Seems that with 0% financing, they are nearly sold out, and have several incoming units presold. Used cars were everywhere.
Get 'em while you can.
Mikey
Even with the current incentives I couldn't see paying for new with deals like this.
In addition to the base it had:
Traction Control
Rear audio control
Rear air
backup assist
Driver Info Center
Universal Garage Door
OnStar (standard I believe)
Power sliding passenger door
Updated stereo with CD/cassette and coax speakers
Alloy Wheels
Towing package
Anti Theft Alarm
The seats are cloth, but that is what we prefer (Ever sit on a leather seat in winter in Nebraska?) And the front seats are not power adjusted. Power front seat are about the only option I can see that wasn't added to the GL.
Edmonds TMV lists a clean '01 GSL, black (didn't now your color, tried a neutral one) with 17,000 miles in Boston at $21,731.
The one I bought was owned by the dealer so I had complete repair history. The only problem was a faulty airbag module.
17,000 miles sounds like a lot in one year, but I suppose it could be almost a year and a half old now.
I got the 6.25% financing by applying for 6.49% from Peoples here at Edmonds and asking them to beat it. Either rate is good. The rate the deal offers is negotiable. The original dealer rate offered was 7.25% so they came down a point.
The first salesman I talked to at my dealer told me the extended GM warranty was not transferable. There was a salesman I had worked for before that was more honest and said he didn't know. It is transferable for $35 dollars so don't forget to get that.
To me yours sounds like a good deal if it has been maintained.
Good luck!
Great deal on that 8K used Silo! I sure enjoy mine, except for some minor problems which have all been fixed. Worried though about the leak mentioned above??
Needs:
3.8
dual air (texas)
nice to have dual sliders
what years are good and which to be avoided? when did the plastic go away? what year did the 3.8 become available? is the 97 a trouble prone new model?
Thanks,
S
The 3.8, while a excellent engine, does not overcome the previous design shortcomings according to the reviewers. I have yet to get to test drive the latest generation GM van, but will this weekend. Many of the reviews say "fun to drive" which seemed mutually exclusive with "mini-van". I was also surprised to see the 0-60 of the 3.4 below 10 sec - the new Buick Rendevous for instance has same powertrain but is slow - 11 sec 0-60.
I know the '97 does not have dual doors - a big drawback, but being cheap the lower price of this model is a plus and this isn't our main vehicle, our Maxima is.
Also surprising is the excellent reliability rating from users like on carpoint.com - where the Transport gets all top marks. You look at Consumer reports and they give the GM vans great marks in everything but "integrity" and what they call body construction/trim (name escapes me now). I have heard complaints about wind noise. Have people tried soaping up the car and then running the vent on HIGH speed fan to see where the air is coming out (makes bubbles). I would think this would not be such a hard thing to find. Fixing it might not be easy, but usually some silicone on the rubber seals works wonders.
The van I'm going to look at supposedly has only had the belt changed since it was new besides scheduled maint. - that is excellent. Our 2000 Maxima (supposedly one of the best cars) just had a oxygen sensor go out on it at 11 months and 12k into its life.
The GM transmissions are also much better than the competitions, that is a big factor.
I was looking at a extended cab full size pickup but I these vans get better gas milage and have a lot more people room - I'm wondering if a 4x8 sheet of plywood would fit on the floor w/o seats attached. Anyone try that?
DD
I have been impressed at the number of people who like these vans - you can tell a lot from these discussion groups (try a Dodge van group!) and it seems most of you are mostly happy with the vehicles.
DD
Try that in your SUV...
Mikey
As far as the new Silhouette, our 2001 GL has been trouble free for 3,400 miles. Changing the oil myself with ramps was easy. It appears that other ordinary service such as spark plugs and longer life service such as alternators will be difficult due to the cramped engine bay. One note on hauling 4x8 sheets of material. The van gets narrower towards the top, so you won't be able to stack insulation board that high. Finally, I find the ride, handling, and quietness of this 2001 GL to be better than I expected.
Drove the van in not the best mood, but it was smooth. The high-profile tires and soft springs (esp. in rear) did not make handling a strong point, but I'm not a van driver. The motor pulled acceptably, but seemed a bit reluctant to spin (rev) like the imports. Torque of course was reasonable. Brakes worked ok, but the "brake" light stayed on even with the parking brake released.
In summary, the driving experience was not enough to make me further consider getting a van, but I bet some better tires and wheels/shocks rear springs/airbags. would make a world of difference.
The van w/o rear air in Houston is not worth even considering. I think only the longer ones had it a option, going off the pontiac.com web site info for the new ones. I guess I'll have to look at some extended wheelbase models if I keep looking at them.
For a value of a used vehicle for load carrying and only occassional trips with lots of passengers (like camping etc.) I'm going to look at some of the old style. They practically give those away. Anything I need to look for on one of these old vans? Any cool options I should attempt to find? I'd like load leveling if they had that, and the 3.8 auto.
Anyway, that's it.
Just had an Oil Change at the local GM dealer.
Also had them look at my "Air Bag" warning light as it was coming on now and then for the last month or so. They found the driver side "ground" to be the problem. They cleaned it up and applied some grease to it.
Now on the way home...., I noticed the engine idle to be a little "off".
Immediately reminded me of when you turn on the AC and load is applied to the engine.
Upon checking, found the AC to be off.
Anyway, a few minutes later, turned on the front defroster. Heard a C L I C K.
Again, thought the AC must be on... nothing. Same symptom, it clicks and the idle goes up a bit and settles down.
Ok, I tried turning on the AC..... worked, but, as usual, heard the ever so familiar "AC" click that I normally would, complete with the idle increase. No problem, expected on this setting.
Now, without the AC, when I do notice the above symptoms, the AC light is off.
Another thing, this ONLY happens when I have the settings @ defrost.... warm or cold.
Do not hear the click or see a difference with the idle on the vent settings.
Have never had this happen until today.
Any ideas?? Thanks,
R.
P.S. sorry for the long post !!
Also, I NEVER had this happen prior to today on the Silo. Not to mention, the AC light does NOT come on.
Here is an idea........ can you guys (2000 owners) check your vans and let me know if you have the same "Clicking / RPM" shift with yours.
Would be great to pinpoint this without getting the dealer involved. Better yet, if it's something they messed up, then they need to correct it quickly.
Thank !!!!
R
I'm shopping used and I was wondering, since I don't remember seeing exterior badging on the EXT vans, is there a easy way to tell if the van is EXT or regular? Someone like me who is not super familiar with them would be hard pressed to tell right away.
Looking at a 98 with quad captains chairs and leather. Are the captains chairs a pain the butt for kids, or are they fine? my kid now is 6moths.
Thanks in advance,
DD
The captains chairs are great for kids. They hold child seats and boosters well, and will be the most comfortable when those are outgrown. We have a 2002 Premeire AWD with 6 captains chairs, one six year old (in a booster) behind the driver, and two 3 year olds (in toddler seats) in the back. We normally leave the seat next to the passenger side slider out of the van to provide a staging area (really helps in winter).
The '98 GLS didn't have view screen thing like so many of you have but it has about everything else - dual doors, load leveling, leather, dual air, dual power seats, side air bags, etc etc. My kid is only 6mo old and I can add a aftermarket view screen, I'm pretty handy.
It was much firmer in the rear with the air shocks than the poncho I drove w/o them and good tires like michelins really make a huge difference in one van being terrible handling and one being decent. And the leather power seats are very pimped out and super comforatble. This is a road tripping baby I tell ya! The thing is super clean and runs straight, brakes straight, great motor condition, etc. I agreed on the purchase wth the owner but will have to get the wife over to see it while I get some money together. The van is super clean even rugs are still new looking, no dents, 60k miles. I got it for $10,900 - a steal in my opinion given the prices on new ones. Blue book ranged from 10.5 to 12.9k, and given the great condition of the van, I'm doing ok. I didn't want to screw the guy at Christmas and he didnt' have to sell right away either, so we compromised. The new vans with 0% and the new features were tempting but for me this is a better use of capital on a depreciated asset, and we won't be driving it all that much.
I'm going to upgrade to some aftermarket mags to make it look cooler, as the prev. owner has whitewalls on it! Ughhh!!!!!! Puke!!!!. Has anyone gone to a +1 (16" wheel) and if so how do you like it? I figured the base wheel / tire combo the base poncho was the reason I was not sold on the Poncho I drove. PS. You can see what it looks like with different wheels at tirerack.com BTW
Would also like to add a subwoofer that is out of the way. The van has 4 captains chairs, so it rules out under the second seat -- Any hints appreciated.
Also, I'm sort of a tweaker on suspensions - I think this van needs a rear sway bar to keep it more neutral handling (not pushing through corners). Has anyone tried this? I've added Addco rear anti-sway bars to my last two vehicles (shadow turbo and dodge truck) and it really helps roadholding and is cheap at like $120.
DirkDaddy
this problem is sort of like drinking a cold beer. The cold can will condense water vapor in the air. A can coozie both keeps your beer cold longer and greatly reduces the condensation. So does drinking it in very low humidity environment.
Using this analogy -
1. you can remove the plastic and make sure the metal roof is insulated - go into your house attic and get a handful of insulation and pack it full, then reinstall the console.
2. you can run the AC more and take the moisture out of the air in your van.
3. both 1 & 2
I have not removed the part you're talking about but I'm guessing based on prior experience.
DD