Reader Report: Chevy Colorado Duramax on Back Order & Not Available for Purchase Yet

2016 chevy colorado duramax
2016 Chevy Colorado Duramax

The 2016 Chevy Colorado and the GMC Canyon are two of the hottest new pickup trucks in America. According to GM, GMC Canyon sales were up more than 160 percent in November, over the same month a year ago. 

We confirmed these stats by speaking with Ryan Johnson, the Manager at Brighton’s Johnson Auto Plaza, a local Chevy dealership. Johnson said that they can’t keep the new Colorado pickup truck on the lot. He added that normally when a new truck is introduced there’s a short period of a few weeks to a month when availability is limited, but after a few months the dealership normally has a line of the trucks for sale. Not so with the new Chevy Colorado.

Johnson went on to add that he’s lucky if the dealership has two of the trucks on sale on the lot at any given time. Keep in mind this is over a year now from when the truck went on sale.

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One reason for the scarcity of the new GM mid-sized twin trucks is of course extremely high demand. Thus it should be no surprise that we have received reader reports and questions about the delay in the delivery of the 2016 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon Duramax diesel trucks.

Recently Ryan January who ordered a Colorado Duramax back in August sent us this email. January writes:

Today marks day 133 since my order and the 3rd time my target production week has been surpassed without having a truck produced.  Those that have been produced are being held at the factory and currently unreleased.  Looking at the site for the sister-truck, the Canyon, the website now lists it ‘coming 2016’ rather than the fall of 2015 that GM previously touted.  

I’ve been working with my dealer in an attempt to get more information, however we have yet to receive any official word from GM on what the issues are or a realistic date on when they may be delivered.

My story isn’t unique, below you’ll find a link to a spreadsheet  (curated by members of coloradofans.com) shows 63 people in a similar situation.  This is the vast majority of diesel orders that I’m currently aware of.

Most information we have amassed at this point have been Wentzville workers or dealers having off the record conversations with regional managers.

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He is still waiting for word from his dealership and/or Chevrolet as to the build date of his truck. This is over 135 days since placing the order. Ryan and 63 other members of coloradofans.com forum are in a similar boat. They created a spreadsheet that shows the waiting period for the diesel Canyons or Colorados. 55 people have been waiting for over 40 days since placing an order.

 

Ryan Johnson, the Manager at Brighton’s Johnson Auto Plaza, confirmed that his dealership has not taken delivery of any new diesel Colorados from the factory yet. His customers are also waiting for the new truck to arrive. Johnson added that he believes production of the new trucks is starting out extremely slowly with only very small numbers currently being built.

We have contacted GM for comment. As soon as we have a statement from GM we will update you on the status of the new Diesel mid-sized trucks. Could it be that GM underestimated the demand for the new diesel version of the Canyon and Colorado twins?

This is certainly a possibility. It is also true that the EPA is taking a much harder look at all diesel powered vehicles since the VW “Dieselgate” emissions cheating story broke earlier this year. However this is just speculation on our part. We will follow this story to keep you updated on the status of the only mid-sized diesel trucks for sale in the United States.

Please stay tuned.