Puredrifting
03-24-2004, 03:26 PM
Hi all:
Please bear with me, first time I have posted here. I live near LA, just got back from Phoenix last night with my new (used) 2WD shortbed 2500HD D/A. Drove great all of the way in from Phoenix. I do have a couple of probably obvious (probably dumb) questions that I am hoping you can give me advice on?
This truck is a very good condition unit. I ran CarFax, my brother works at a GMC dealership so he was able to pull the original invoice for me. I test drove it, looked it over and everything seemed pretty normal, no injector issues (I believe), no electrical, engine, suspension, paint or body issues that I could see. It had 16,916 miles on it when I picked it up. I drove about 450 miles last night from Phoenix and every thing seemed fine, however there are a few little things that I could use some help on.
1. Steering wheel is off center by about 1-1.5" Truck still has stock 245 size tires on it. I take it that this can be remedied with a simple alignment usually?
2. The driver side Duramax badge (above the 2500HD badge) looks like it is warped. It is securely fastened to the body on either end but it kind of bulges out away from the body panel in the middle, by a good 1/4". The one on the passenger side is flush as it should be. Should I have this replaced? I am concerned about an area that may have originally had some kind of adhesive on the paint from where the badge originally was, becoming corroded or water or debris getting trapped behind it and starting a rust problem. Advice? Don't know if GM will replace this under warranty as it is kind of cosmetic and kind of not.
3. At some point, somebody smoked a cigar in this truck. It's not overpowering, but it's definitely there. Neither I or my wife smoke but it really is bugging my wife. Do you feel a full carpet and upholstery shampoo and cleaning might alleviate this along with an air freshener or do you think the smell will always be there no matter what we do? Doesn't bother me too much, eespecially once I have been driving a while but it is bugging the heck out of my wife. Advice? All cloth, if it matters.
4. As the new owner of a used vehicle with approximately 19,000 miles or about a year and half of factory GM 3 year 36k mile warranty, do I need to "register" the truck with GM with me as the new owner or something in order to obtain warranty work? I have the owners manual and the little service manual that goes in the same owners manual slip cover but other than that, no warranty transfer type of paperwork. Advice?
5. The truck is at 17k miles. Is the normal factory service at 15k miles? Would a GM computer somewhere have whether or not this truck has had it's 15k service? If you had just bought this truck, would you take it to the dealer to have them "go through it" a total inspection? Or if I can verify that the truck had it's 15k service so I not need to bother with this? I read about all of the axles down on fluid and other gotchas on here and I am concerned. I am by no means a mechanic, I can do simple things but I don't want to overlook an obvious "boy, if you would have caught this earlier type of issue".
6. The last one (and this is a real dummy question). I tried adjusting the clock in the stereo. I used to sell car stereos so I am not completely incompetent. This truck has the stock stereo with the CD player. In the manual, it alludes to setting the clock with the set button or setting the clock with a the hours and minutes button (no pictures of where these are located). This head unit doesn't seem to have either button or function. I even tried holding down every button on the stereo while holding the seek button but no dice. Is the clock "set" button located somewhere besides the head unit. Same with the hours/minutes buttons? I cannot locate either. Am I really that lame or what am I overlooking here. It's pretty sad when I RTFM and I still cannot set the clock. Either I am thick or this manual is wrong. Advice? Did they relocate this
Please bear with me, first time I have posted here. I live near LA, just got back from Phoenix last night with my new (used) 2WD shortbed 2500HD D/A. Drove great all of the way in from Phoenix. I do have a couple of probably obvious (probably dumb) questions that I am hoping you can give me advice on?
This truck is a very good condition unit. I ran CarFax, my brother works at a GMC dealership so he was able to pull the original invoice for me. I test drove it, looked it over and everything seemed pretty normal, no injector issues (I believe), no electrical, engine, suspension, paint or body issues that I could see. It had 16,916 miles on it when I picked it up. I drove about 450 miles last night from Phoenix and every thing seemed fine, however there are a few little things that I could use some help on.
1. Steering wheel is off center by about 1-1.5" Truck still has stock 245 size tires on it. I take it that this can be remedied with a simple alignment usually?
2. The driver side Duramax badge (above the 2500HD badge) looks like it is warped. It is securely fastened to the body on either end but it kind of bulges out away from the body panel in the middle, by a good 1/4". The one on the passenger side is flush as it should be. Should I have this replaced? I am concerned about an area that may have originally had some kind of adhesive on the paint from where the badge originally was, becoming corroded or water or debris getting trapped behind it and starting a rust problem. Advice? Don't know if GM will replace this under warranty as it is kind of cosmetic and kind of not.
3. At some point, somebody smoked a cigar in this truck. It's not overpowering, but it's definitely there. Neither I or my wife smoke but it really is bugging my wife. Do you feel a full carpet and upholstery shampoo and cleaning might alleviate this along with an air freshener or do you think the smell will always be there no matter what we do? Doesn't bother me too much, eespecially once I have been driving a while but it is bugging the heck out of my wife. Advice? All cloth, if it matters.
4. As the new owner of a used vehicle with approximately 19,000 miles or about a year and half of factory GM 3 year 36k mile warranty, do I need to "register" the truck with GM with me as the new owner or something in order to obtain warranty work? I have the owners manual and the little service manual that goes in the same owners manual slip cover but other than that, no warranty transfer type of paperwork. Advice?
5. The truck is at 17k miles. Is the normal factory service at 15k miles? Would a GM computer somewhere have whether or not this truck has had it's 15k service? If you had just bought this truck, would you take it to the dealer to have them "go through it" a total inspection? Or if I can verify that the truck had it's 15k service so I not need to bother with this? I read about all of the axles down on fluid and other gotchas on here and I am concerned. I am by no means a mechanic, I can do simple things but I don't want to overlook an obvious "boy, if you would have caught this earlier type of issue".
6. The last one (and this is a real dummy question). I tried adjusting the clock in the stereo. I used to sell car stereos so I am not completely incompetent. This truck has the stock stereo with the CD player. In the manual, it alludes to setting the clock with the set button or setting the clock with a the hours and minutes button (no pictures of where these are located). This head unit doesn't seem to have either button or function. I even tried holding down every button on the stereo while holding the seek button but no dice. Is the clock "set" button located somewhere besides the head unit. Same with the hours/minutes buttons? I cannot locate either. Am I really that lame or what am I overlooking here. It's pretty sad when I RTFM and I still cannot set the clock. Either I am thick or this manual is wrong. Advice? Did they relocate this