The Used 2015 Chevy Silverado: A Body Built for Business and a Cabin Designed to Spoil, Even Six Years Later
Judy Antell
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The 2015 Chevy Silverado is a pickup truck disguised as a luxury car.
In the movie “Working Girl,” Melanie Griffith’s character got the world’s attention when she uttered the captivating line, “I have a head for business and a bod for sin.”
From this angle, the Chevy Silverado looks like a luxury car. With a running board for climbing in
The 2015 Chevrolet Silverado could say this too. It has a cabin for luxury and a body for business. This is truck for someone who wants to tow her boat on the weekend, bring firewood to her summer house and have blind spot monitors, adaptive cruise control, plenty of USB ports and leather seats. In short, the truck for someone who wants to have it all.
In that spirit, you can scroll to the bottom of this page to find out how the 2015 Silverado has fared in the past six years as a used vehicle. Check out its market value, its reliability, and how it’s aged.
This is how we transported luggage; roomy, but problematic in the rain
The Silverado’s cabin has all the accouterments you’d expect in a luxury vehicle, from a huge sunroof to 4G LTE Wi-Fi connectivity to Chevy’s OnStar roadside assistance. What savvy truck owners know is that a bed cover is a key piece of equipment: there’s no place to put luggage if say, you are driving to the Savannah airport, as we did, in the pouring rain. We had checked out of our Hilton Head condo and were spending the day in Beaufort, South Carolina, and had nowhere to hide our bags for the day (luckily our friends, who were spending the night, stowed the luggage in their hotel room).
A secret storage bin held my bag
But we did enjoy many of the Silverado’s perks. We didn’t take advantage of the truck’s towing capabilities, but we did use the truck’s bed to bring our rental bikes to a Hilton Head nature preserve. We had read that you could bike around the preserve on certain paths. What was not clear was that you couldn’t bike into the gated community. We had to drive in with our bikes in the back, then cycle around, something we couldn’t have done with a car.
We were almost always parked next to another pickup truck in Georgia and South Carolina
An EZ Lift and lower tailgate make accessing the bed easier – though my limber daughters, with years of gymnastics behind them, preferred vaulting into the bed. For getting into the cab, the running board was welcome.
Fit for a family adventure
Plenty of room in the back seat, and light from the huge sunroof and back windows
If you have JetSkis, downhill skis, a kayak, or love to go antiquing, the Silverado will come in very handy. We also used the Silverado as a cover – a family of vegetarian New York Jews in the South, we were sure we’d stick out like sore thumbs. But we got to blend in – sort of – when we cruised around in a tricked out Silverado pick-up truck.
We were frankly amazed by the number of pick-up trucks we saw everywhere – we were in Savannah, Georgia, and Hilton Head and Beaufort, South Carolina. And we fit right in. At one point, waiting for the light, there were Silverados on either side of us.
Room for all
The Silverado’s bed made bringing our bikes along an easy task
We drove a truck with a crew cab, meaning it had a full size back seat and four doors. The rear seats flip up, offering storage space for small bags such as computer bags, light duffels or shopping bags. But our three daughters had plenty of room in the back seat, except when they rode with their suitcases on their laps in the rain. There are also lots of nooks and crannies throughout the cabin, where you stash a laptop, tablet, purse, picnic lunch or New York City identity.
Staying connected
The center console, with plugs, storage, and easy to use buttons
The Wi-Fi hotspot was useful when we drove around the low country; you can connect up to seven devices and the 4G LTE gets a better signal than the typical phone gets. Battery power wasn’t an issue; the truck has 3 USB ports and two standard household plugs, so we all stayed fully charged.
The OnStar directions were perfect, except for our very last destination. Inexplicably, the voice command told us to make the next possible U-turn when we were heading to the airport; since there were no airport signs, we followed the advice and headed away from our destination (perhaps it was plotting another route to the airport?). But a quick double check by one of my kids (who was on the Wi-Fi network) set us straight.
The truck for every need
The huge truck bed; use your imagination for the adventures it can bring
You can truly “have it your way” with the Silverado – there are regular cab versions, with just one row of seats, starting at $27,300; then you can choose a standard or long box, depending on how much you plan to haul. Crew cabs, the 2 row, 4 door trucks, come in short or standard box versions; then there’s a double cab, with 2 doors and 2 rows. There are 5 trim levels, 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive and a full suite of options.
What we loved
- Luxury interior, including heated front leather seats, an option, and leather steering wheel, standard
- Chevrolet MyLink with Siri Eyes Free
- OnStar
- EZ Lift and lower tailgate
- Step in the bumper–makes it easy to get in and out of the truck bed
- Remote keyless entry and remote vehicle start
What you need to know
- Base price: $45,810. Price for the model we drove, the 1500 Z71 4 WD LTZ crew, with heated steering wheel, 20 inch chrome wheels, power sunroof, driver alert package, leather heated and cooled front seats, power sunroof and more, brought the price up to $54,550.
- Takes regular gasoline
- Not great fuel economy; 16 mpg in the city, 22 or 23 on the highway, depending on whether you have 4 wheel drive. And if you tow anything, your mpg will further decrease
- Even with huge rear and side view mirrors and rear view camera, parking is a challenge
- 5-Star government safety rating, the highest available
- 3 year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty
- 5 year/100,000 mile power train warranty
How Does the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado Fare as a Used Car?
The 2015 Chevrolet Silverado is a reliable pickup truck that can get the job done… if you’re willing to give it some TLC. There have been a handful of recalls and known issues that have impacted the drive and quality of the truck, but if you’re careful with maintenance, you’ll be rewarded with a vehicle that can double as your work truck and your luxury ride.
Market Value
You can usually find the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado priced between $17,475 to $35,050, but prices will vary based on location, wear and tear, and the packages included on the model when it was new.
Trouble Spots
- Driver’s seatbelts can suffer from broken cables, which can cause injury
- Air bags can become separated from the inflator, so they won’t inflate when in a crash
- The car can brake or pull to one side suddenly after a driveline sensors fail
- Air conditioning unit is prone to failure
- Transmission can suffer from major and minor problems
- Brakes can rapidly get soft
What Owners Are Saying
- “Acceleration is excellent with the V-8 engine and handling is on par with a body on frame sport utility. Of course, it is not a sports car!” – Carl C., South Carolina
- “Acceleration is great with a 5.3L V8. Handling is good for a truck. Parking can be cumbersome in tight spaces, but often I will park in reverse to take advantage of the rear camera, then you are ready to pull forward when leaving.” – Benjamin P, Florida
- “The Silverado has an extremely comfortable ride–comparable to an upscale sedan. Noise is almost non-existent.” – Michael H, South Carolina