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What would pay for this: '03 Avalanche w/ some wear

vi edit

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
I've been eyeing Avalanches for a couple years now because of their utility. I like the functionality the midgate provides and is perfect for what I want.

I'm not looking for it to be a daily driver, just something that will get used on the weekends for hauling stuff and during the winter as a snow beater and salt absorber instead of my other car.

A guy who works with my landlord is selling his '03 Z71 Avalanche. It's got 115k miles, which isn't that much for the 5.3L. Lots of them go for 200k+.

However it does have it's share of items that need some TLC.

- Tailgate latch needs replaced, it works, but it's got problems(common on all GM trucks).
- Front rotors and pads need replaced and probably an alignment too
- AC has a leak so it doesn't keep a charge
- Drivers window power motor is getting a little flaky
- Somebody caught the front bumper plastic trim and it's pulled away a bit..
- Drivers seat leather is worn down to the padding on the edge (pretty much every single high milage Avalanche has this)

Outside of those, it runs great, transmission is smooth and it's well kept. Tires are almost new and paint is still in great shape. It's just an almost 10 year old truck with some wear.

He's asking $9700. KBB and Edmunds both say he's over by $1500-2500. Dealer would probably give him half that given the wear/cosmetic items.

If you were in the market for a 3rd vehicle/beater truck what do you think this thing is really worth?
 
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Half of his current asking price would be a good starting point. Nearly 10 large for a 7 year old truck with 115,000+ miles is, uh, optimistic IMO.
 
franksta said:
Half of his current asking price would be a good starting point. Nearly 10 large for a 7 year old truck with 115,000+ miles is, uh, optimistic IMO.
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Look at the prices on Autotrader. Dealers would be asking 50% higher than his for the same truck in clean condition. It's retarded.
 
I think he's high. I bought a 04 RCSB Silverado Z71 2 years ago with 119K for $7K. It is fully loaded for a RCSB... 5.3L V8, 3.73s, and the G80 locking differential. It has a good bit wear on it too.

2003s might not be your best bet to be honest. GM switched to the updated body style that year and it included a lot of electrical changes. Most people with 2003s have stepper motor issues with the speedometer and other guages. i.e. the only way to fix it is have it repaired for ~$200 or the dealer will put a new cluser for twice as much.

The 4L60E transmission in that truck isn't the strongest so I would make sure the fluid looks good and its been regularly serviced.

I've had issues with the intermediate steering shaft binding that resonates through the column as popping noises. The updated shaft from GM is doing the same thing. You can regreese and it should stop the binding for 10-15K miles. I've also had issues with the actuators that control the air temp on the HVAC system. They are known to go bad and will cost you around $150 each.

Being a Z71 4x4 the front end might have wear too. The pitman / idler arm will need serviced at some point and its an expensive job.

Overall they are good trucks. The LS based motors are light years ahead of the old 350s and will last for quite a while if they serviced correctly. I get 18-19MPG in mine if I take it easy on the highway. It wil stay around 15-16 in town.
 
I'd offer $7500 firm.


Those trucks are hideous though. Why not save a little more and pick up a later model without that nasty plastic body cladding?
 
angry hampster said:
I'd offer $7500 firm.


Those trucks are hideous though. Why not save a little more and pick up a later model without that nasty plastic body cladding?
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The one I'm looking at has a dark grey metallic paint and the cladding honestly isn't that bad of an eye sore. It blends in better than just about any other color. The flat color paints (white, bright red, ect) do look horrible with the body armor.

I would certainly prefer cladless...but again it's going to be a beater/hauler so I don't really care so much about looks.

joutlaw - thanks for the info. Will certainly looking into the items you mentioned.
 
A quick thing; the window motor can be fixed. Most of the time it is 3 little peices of plastic that wear out in the motor head. Remove the motor and open the head and just replace those parts ($6 at rockauto or $8 at advance) and thats all. So that is very minor detail IMO.

The other stuff is also minor IMO for a vehicle that has over 100k. As already said check the trans fluid and also the other fluids to make sure they have eben replaced and/or for problems. Plan on doing a FULL tune-up/refresh on it. Change all the fluid, plugs, filters, etc... Price it out through rockauto as they are pretty cheap and good place to pick up items like that. Also if the shocks have never been done add that to the price.


My beater truck is a 1994 Mazda "Ranger" B4000. I got it for $2000 and put another $300 in parts in it. Has run great and been chugging along for 2 years now.
 
Is it a 4x4 or does it just have the Z71 package? I thought at one point you could get that on a 2WD. I'd definitely check that if the 4WD was something you needed.
 
Search back in this forum, seems like "CPA" traded in his 04 with a few issues and got a pretty good penny on a trade-in, so prices may stay pretty high.

Front rotors and pads and easy and cheap.

My truck is a 99 and I haven't had any major issues with it in almost 300,000 miles. Fuel pump was the most expensive repair it has ever had. Of course with that many miles and and spotty maintenance, its really on its last legs, but I still expect it to easily last through the end of the year before I have to replace it.

I would buy another GM truck without hesitation, but others have had no so great stories with them, may just be luck of the draw.
 
Yeh, my Dad has an '03 Silverado that has been a massive hunk of shit. It's a 4x4 with the 4.3L (which has no place in a full size truck IMHO).

Anywhoo...he's had the afore mentioned steering column issues..three times. Fuel tank had to be replaced for a sensor that was bad. And most recently was a rebuild of the top half @ 88k miles since antifreeze was leaking in and nuked it. And those are just the big things. Lots of other little nickel and dime things.

With GM it's like you either get a good one or it's a turd for the life of the vehicle.
 
For a weekend truck...sounds good. Price seems a bit high. If you can get the price to around 7500 I think you've done well. My one question is whether it is really worth having a weekend truck for $7500? The salt absorber makes a bit more sense...but is your other car worth enough (am I right that it is a Malibu Maxx) to put another $7500 into a truck to preserve the Maxx. Not trying to disuade you...just wanting to throw the reality check out there.
 
"Weekend hauler" is probably misleading. Over the next few years I'll be hauling a massive amount of crap in and out of my house. I'm building a home and will be bringing in sheet rock, lumber, ect as I slowly finish off the basement. Plus I've got *a lot* of landscaping to do that will require lots of trips to pick up plants, landscaping block, ect.

And on top of that, we're a few miles from a state park and like taking bikes over to it to ride and it's just easier to toss them in the back of a truck than it is to load them on a carrier for a few minute drive.

Lots of little stuff. The appeal of the Avalanche is that you can still haul a family of four if needed. But when you need to haul you just dump the midgate and you've got a fully enclosed 8' bed to haul sheetrock, lumber, ect in.
 
^

Yea we rented a truck and did other things when we first got our house.
But after seeing how often we, and the family, use it the truck has paid for itself in rentals, deilivery fees, and free mulch.
 
vi edit said:
"Weekend hauler" is probably misleading. Over the next few years I'll be hauling a massive amount of crap in and out of my house. I'm building a home and will be bringing in sheet rock, lumber, ect as I slowly finish off the basement. Plus I've got *a lot* of landscaping to do that will require lots of trips to pick up plants, landscaping block, ect.

And on top of that, we're a few miles from a state park and like taking bikes over to it to ride and it's just easier to toss them in the back of a truck than it is to load them on a carrier for a few minute drive.

Lots of little stuff. The appeal of the Avalanche is that you can still haul a family of four if needed. But when you need to haul you just dump the midgate and you've got a fully enclosed 8' bed to haul sheetrock, lumber, ect in.
Click to expand...

Fair enough 🙂 Just wanted to throw that check in there. I know when I see a possible deal I very quickly start wanting it before thinking through whether I really needed it...or whether I'm going to get out of it what it cost me. I'm sure you'll use it a lot.
 
No doubt I could get by without one. That's not a question. I had a truck before having my daughter. Traded it in for the Maxx so that I had more room for the car seat and the 50% better highway milage was a plus too. The three years since I traded that in I've been borrowing my Dad's truck. But with him having a boat now I almost have to take a day off of work or plan way out in advance to work around his fishing trips on the weekends if I need to use it.

Getting to be a pain in the ass. My need for one is really going to spike over the next 18 months and then drop off a bit. But it's nice having a 3rd vehicle around in case the others need work done or for the winter to keep the others in better shape.
 
- Tailgate latch needs replaced, it works, but it's got problems(common on all GM trucks).
- Front rotors and pads need replaced and probably an alignment too
- AC has a leak so it doesn't keep a charge
- Drivers window power motor is getting a little flaky
- Somebody caught the front bumper plastic trim and it's pulled away a bit..
- Drivers seat leather is worn down to the padding on the edge (pretty much every single high milage Avalanche has this)
Click to expand...

Get him to drop the cost it will take you to spice it up. Also, do you really need AC in the Winter?
 
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