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how much did you pay for your Av

2003VAAV said:
Well it did/does require being good friends with a British woman, and that ain't easy!
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I'm so gullible, I would be a friend to anyone, sometimes you have to work hard for a good friendship. My wife and I have been friends for about fifty years, I met her when I was 9 and she was 7 and we've been best friends ever since. I'm now 58 and she's 56, it's been a rough and rocky road, but I wouldn't change a thing. I'm not sure if British women are the same as American women, but they all have that attitude. lol
 
picked up my 02 4x4 at a friends auction, wrecked on the driver side for $1800. after replacing all the parts AND paint (i found the parts and installed them, buddy painted them) i got $3500 into it (parts ,auction price, and paint). 133k miles and clean as a whistle.
 
Bought my 2013 Black Diamond LT last month (October 2020) for $27k. (No sun roof which is a bummer.)

49k miles. Minor repairs needed which I've paid about $250+ for so far.

Got from a used car dealership, but it's only had one owner. Clearly has lived a life even at 49k - minor body/paint issues that I'm planning to take care of except for one rear quarter panel where someone did a s****y job of repainting it. Ugh. The interior is super clean.

Always wanted a big black truck, and my best friend has a 2010 black LTZ. Planning on getting black bow ties for front and back. Possibly pipes too.

(Current issue: the stupid tailgate falls open. I've read up on it and will work on that.)
 
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Got my first Avalanche in March 2019 for 3k and truly am loving the experience of ownership. She came to me with 215k and was maintained very well by the first owner but the second one didn't take as good care so she was a bit tired.
I have her a little over a year before I decided to start making her happy again. She is rewarding me with a smooth reliable ride.
Don't know why I never bought one sooner!
 
I guess you could say I got mine for $300.00.

In 2015, a psychotic idiot was speeding down the shoulder of the fast lane on the interstate and decided to swerve over into my lane, smashing my truck. My insurance company totaled it against my wishes and gave me $9,200 for my 2003 1500 Z-71 with 198K miles on it. Being the original owner I was dead set against totaling it, however their offer was way more than the book on it so I accepted it with the stipulation that i could purchase it back from them. They agreed, and wanted $1,300.00 for it. Sold!

I was really happy with my decision until I reviewed the paperwork they wanted me to sign. Then I was no longer happy. I was ecstatic! I was the Cheshire cat when I found that they had not included $1,000.00 in benefits for some factory options I had. They agreed, added an additional $1,000.00 to the payoff and cut me a check for $10,200.00 before deducting $1,300 for my buying it back. Hence the $300.00.

I knew that there was no frame or drivetrain issues, as I had been driving it since the accident and it drove just fine. I was installed a new windshield, (not even out of alignment, go figure!) replaced the front cladded bumper cover (which I have always hated) with an aftermarket Ranch Hand STEEL bumper, along with the driver's door hinge bushings. I kept the small dent in my door skin and front fender as a reminder.

Being the original owner I knew the exact condition of my AV, so buying it back, replacing a few things and still driving it to this day was not only an easy choice but a godsend in a way. I was able to pay off a lot of credit card debt in the process and bought real steel aftermarket truck bumpers front and rear for $1,200 or so.

It is no longer a salvaged vehicle. When I replaced the above mentions parts, I was again able to reinsure it for full coverage auto insurance.

Don
 
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Oberloh said:
I guess you could say I got mine for $300.00. In 2015 a psychotic idiot drove on the shoulder of the fast lane and eventually swerved over into my lane smashing my truck. My insurance company totaled it against my wishes and gave me $9,200 for my 2003 1500 Z-71 with 198K miles on it. Being the original owner I was dead set against totaling it. But their offer was way more than book on it so I accepted it with the stipulation that i could purchase it back from them. They agreed, and wanted $1,300.00 for it. Sold! I was ecstatic until I reviewed the paperwork they had wanted me to sign. Then I was no longer ecstatic. I was worse! I was the Cheshire cat when I found that they had not included $1,000.00 in benefits of some factory options. They agreed and cut me a check for $10,200.00 before deducting $1,300 for my buying it back. Hence the $300.00.

I knew that there were no frame or drivetrain issues, and it drove it just fine while I was installing a new windshield, (not even out of alignment, go figure!) replacing the front cladded bumper cover (which I have always hated) with a Ranch Hand STEEL bumper, along with the driver's door hinge bushings. I still have a small dent in my door skin and front fender.

Being the original owner I knew the exact condition of my AV, so buying it back, replacing a few things and still driving it to this day was not only an easy choice but a godsend in a way. I was able to pay off a lot of credit card debt in the process.
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Being a fellow mellow yellow, I want to see full on pictures of your beast.
 
frito said:
Being a fellow mellow yellow, I want to see full on pictures of your beast.
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I'll post some soon. It's not yet a beast but like you, I love the 2003-only color also. I have driven it since new, beat it up a bit, over towed with it and it spent the first 12 years of its life living and hunting in Northern Indiana winters with no garage or carport. 220k miles now days but still runs perfect.

I finally decided to put some money into it (actually my wife ok'd it) so its on jack stands as I am typing this. I am currently installing new leveling keys and longer Bilsteins (2-1/2 inch) in the front and stiffer, longer coils and longer shocks in the rear. With camping/tool boxes in the bed it sat level before but lower. lol. So with 4 inch longer and larger diameter coils it should sit 2-1/2 half to 3 inches higher with an increased payload to help with additional racks and equipment.
I am installing new tubular upper control arms, and urethane bushing top and bottom, longer sway bar links, and moog ball joints again.
In my younger years my son and I built many 3/4 and 1 ton Fords with 500 hp big blocks, 8-12 inch lifts, and 40 inch mud tires. Now being older, I just want to add a small lift with slightly bigger tires to overland with so my wife and I can still climb in and out of it. ;)
The only engine mod so far is the air intake and a mild tune. It has great compression still and does not burn oil yet so I may keep it stock for another 100K miles. Then the 383 bore or 6.0 replacement, unless I can find an 03-06 2500 in decent condition that is.

I will post pictures ASAP.

Don
 
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Oberloh said:
I'll post some soon. It's not yet a beast but like you, I love the 2003-only color also. I have driven it since new, beat it up a bit, over towed with it and it spent the first 12 years of its life living and hunting in Northern Indiana winters with no garage or carport. 220k miles now days but still runs perfect.

I finally decided to put some money into it (actually my wife ok'd it) so its on jack stands as I am typing this. I am currently installing new leveling keys and longer Bilsteins (2-1/2 inch) in the front and stiffer, longer coils and longer shocks in the rear. With camping/tool boxes in the bed it sat level before but lower. lol. So with 4 inch longer and larger diameter coils it should sit 2-1/2 half to 3 inches higher with an increased payload to help with additional racks and equipment.
I am installing new tubular upper control arms, and urethane bushing top and bottom, longer sway bar links, and moog ball joints again.
In my younger years my son and I built many 3/4 and 1 ton Fords with 500 hp big blocks, 8-12 inch lifts, and 40 inch mud tires. Now being older, I just want to add a small lift with slightly bigger tires to overland with so my wife and I can still climb in and out of it. ;)
The only engine mod so far is the air intake and a mild tune. It has great compression still and does not burn oil yet so I may keep it stock for another 100K miles. Then the 383 bore or 6.0 replacement, unless I can find an 03-06 2500 in decent condition that is.

I will post pictures ASAP.

Don
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LOL, mine is on jack stands at the moment too. Just got my over axle brake lines today (three days early). This month it's replacing the rear end - all brake components and Rancho 9000 shocks. While I'm under there I'm hitting everything with a wire wheel, will pressure wash it and then spray with rust Reformer. The PA winters in its previous life and last six years with me here with Cincinnati salt and brine have not been kind to it.
 
frito said:
LOL, mine is on jack stands at the moment too. Just got my over axle brake lines today (three days early). This month it's replacing the rear end - all brake components and Rancho 9000 shocks. While I'm under there I'm hitting everything with a wire wheel, will pressure wash it and then spray with rust Reformer. The PA winters in its previous life and last six years with me here with Cincinnati salt and brine have not been kind to it.
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What kind of rust remover are you using, I have a little on my frame and I would like to take care of it before it gets any worse.
 
I'm hitting it with a wire wheel and then gonna spray it with Rustoleum Rust Reformer. I am about as close to an expert on this as I am to the man on the moon so take what I am doing with a huge grain of salt.

I'm going to the front when I replace my front suspension in a month or two. Once it's been touched up I'm going to buy either a Fluid Film kit or most likely a Corrosion Free kit and spray it and other rides very well. I haven't tried Bay 6 on Old 74 by Holman Motors but am contemplating renting a bay with lift for that exercise.

What really stinks is I'm getting a good case of the bubbles over the right rear wheel. I see some significant body work in my future. I'm just hoping I can slow it down a year or two while I save the funds.
 
frito said:
I'm hitting it with a wire wheel and then gonna spray it with Rustoleum Rust Reformer. I am about as close to an expert on this as I am to the man on the moon so take what I am doing with a huge grain of salt.

I'm going to the front when I replace my front suspension in a month or two. Once it's been touched up I'm going to buy either a Fluid Film kit or most likely a Corrosion Free kit and spray it and other rides very well. I haven't tried Bay 6 on Old 74 by Holman Motors but am contemplating renting a bay with lift for that exercise.

What really stinks is I'm getting a good case of the bubbles over the right rear wheel. I see some significant body work in my future. I'm just hoping I can slow it down a year or two while I save the funds.
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I have a couple of spots on my quarter panel right behind the doors, I can fix it but matching the color is going to be a little strategic, I think someone has had the entire thing painted once before and it's not a perfect match to the factory color. I might have to take it to a friend of mine and have him do the paint work. He has one of those fancy gadgets that can read the color and mix it up with a computer.
 
I got mine from a friend for $3,800 with 171k on it. Had some little things to fix on it. But the engine is super clean and runs really great. Not at all disappointed in it at all. Plan to fix whatever goes wrong with it. Easy for me to get in and out of since I have a really jacked up set of vertebrae in my back. Like the adjustable seats and the heat comes in real nice when in pain..
 
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