Used Chevy Silverado vs. The Competition

Pickup trucks are supremely popular in America, and the best-selling category of vehicles in most states. But that means that competition is fierce, and choosing the right truck isn’t always easy. It gets even more difficult when you buy used, since the advantages or disadvantages of a current model might not apply to even the previous year’s model. That’s why we put together this comparison, to look past things like each vehicle’s history of awards as well as historical engine choices and reputation, to demonstrate why the Chevy Silverado is your best choice when looking at Used Pickup trucks.

Let’s start with the longest-running rivalry in the world of pickups, Chevy VS Ford. And we’ll start with the opinions from one of the most-respected automotive journalism outlets in the country, Car & Driver. The C&D 10Best* list has served as a guide to well-made vehicles for decades. On the 10Best* list, Trucks and SUVs are combined into one category, meaning pickups can be pushed off the list just by the sheer volume of SUVs currently on the market. But the Silverado has still managed to win five 10Best awards to the F-150’s two. The F-150’s wins were also heavily influenced by the F-150 Raptor, an exciting truck, to be sure, but a small-volume performance model that doesn’t really represent the majority of the F-150 mine-up. The F-150’s two wins were also back-to-back, while the Silverado’s five were more spread out, representing a consistent approach to quality that is vitally important to those buying a used pickup.

Although the pickup market is largely dominated by domestic brands, Toyota trucks hold a big enough market share that the Tundra should be included in this comparison. Although the Tundra has zero 10Best* wins, it has won the MotorTrend Truck of The Year** award twice. This award hasn’t been around for nearly as long as the 10Best awards, and there’s only one winner per year, rather than 10, so two wins is quite an accomplishment. But four wins, which is the number held by the Silverado, is even more impressive. But there is perhaps a bigger issue for used buyers, and that is that the Tundra isn’t nearly as popular as the Silverado, with Chevrolet selling between 4 and 5 Silverados for every Tundra Toyota sells, depending on the year. That means your selection of used Silverados is going to be much greater, meaning it should be easier to find the options you want, and pricing will be more competitive.

Last up is the Ram 1500, which is much more popular than the Tundra, and therefore theoretically easier to find in the used market. Unfortunately, the Ram struggles to compete with the Silverado when it comes to versatility, one of the most important qualities for a truck to have. There are only two available bed lengths available for the Ram, compared to the three available choices for the Silverado, with the longest bed for the Silverado having no comparable version on the Ram. Similarly, there are twice as many engine options for the Silverado, including a diesel option, not something that’s available on the Ram. That’s part of the reason why the Silverado also has a higher towing capacity, definitely an important quality for a truck to have. So, while it’s about as easy to find a used Ram 1500 as it is to find a Silverado, finding a used example that’s actually right for what you need a truck to do is much easier when you’re shopping for a Silverado.

*Source: https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a45964575/10best-trucks-suvs-2024/

**Source: **Source: https://www.motortrend.com/news/chevrolet-colorado-2024-truck-of-the-year/