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Initial Believer Or Convert?

M

mha

GUEST
Nothing of any importance here, just killing time. After reading just how much Y'all rave about your AVs I'm curious if you felt that way the first time you laid eyes on one or if it it took you some time to warm up. I'll admit to being a convert. My dealer buddy preached to me for months that I wouldn't believe the ride and needed to drive one. I wouldn't even sit in one. Just too strong for me. My dealer got one with 3500 miles on it traded by a guy who swapped it for an EXT. The money was real right so that got me behind the wheel for a weekend test drive. That's all it took. The ride was better than any I'd had. Then when I started playing with the features I quickly realized how well it would work for what I do. I was in. I had a guy ask me if I had problems with the rear view backing. I told him I did initially but cutting the eye slits bigger in the grocery bag took care of it. I took a world of grief for quite a while and actually hadn't even made up my own mind on the looks. I just loved the way it drove. My neck of the woods ain't much on change and I bet I've got more stories than most. I never thought about wheels or mods on AV#1. You can't teach a pig to sing. Anyway, that was then; now I'm a convert. The regular trucks look old to me. Your pics here of wheels and mods have inspired me. I wanted white with a sunroof so I've swapped into AV#2 with no regrets. The AV really is the truck for me. It's funny too that comments from others are softening. A lot more serious inquires and positive comments now and less ribbing.

So, anyway, without burning up as much paper as I just did......

Why did you buy one?

For you was it love at first sight or a love that grew over time?



 
saw it, had to have it - my dad had bought the Ford ST the day it came out, I understood the concept as he pitched it to me (I have a young kid w/ car seat which requires full size back seat, plus I am always hauling lumber, motorcycles etc.) but was myself looking at a Dodge quad cab PU and had one picked out when the Av hit the dealers - perfect, full size interior and full size bed capability if necessary. I have to admit the looks had to grow on me for a week or two. I have always had a 4x4 or two in my stable, and I do get off road from time to time.

really love this truck
 
It took me awhile to get used to the whole cladding thing. I liked the look of the vehicle overall, just didn't care for the plastic. I have since seen that it has saved me a couple of times from dings/scratches so far. I'm used to it now, and the ride is what impressed me too when I drove it the first time. I was expecting it to drive like a truck and that would be that. But to my surprise, it was a very nice riding beast (Z66, which probably rides a little better than the Z71 or 2500), and I was faily pleased with the power considering it was moving 2 1/2 tons. I had never bought anything other than cars, so this was the vehicle that did it for me. That, and the fact that we just bought a house last year and will have an endless supply of "home improvement" projects. It's been great so far, 6300 miles and counting...
 
Well I was a pickup man? no pun!! I loved my 1500 extended cab 4x4 Chevy with brush bar and light bar. Then a funny thing happened, the family got bigger. The wife wants four doors and some room to haul things. I moved into a Tahoe, then the Tahoe Z71. I really missed my pickup. Do you know what it is like to get mulch for the garden using a Tahoe? First you put plastic down in the back so you do not get it dirty. Of course you broke a bag and get is all over the place. The wife wants it cleaned up right now. Or worse, go get a Christmas Tree, Try stuffing one of them into a Tahoe. When the Avalanche prototype came along I liked the idea of the convert-a-cab, but to be honest I was not to thrilled on the cladding. Solution! Let the wife take the Tahoe Christmas shopping at the mall. Guess what? More door dents then I could count. Well the cladding started to look real good. I could not wait for the production version. I wrote chevy and they sent me a toy Avalanche until the production one could be built. Then a big draw back, I go to order the Avalanche and I find out that the only engine I can get is the 5.3L. Now I need to tow a 6000lbs trailer. I write chevy with my comments and they send me a nice letter telling me that they will be coming out with a 2500 Avalanche. That sold me. By the way. When the wife first saw the Avalanche she knew the Tahoe was doomed. Just a little story to pass the time.
 
My wife and I both new we had to have one when we were at the 2001 Brickyard 400 NASCAR race last summer. Chevy had at least 100 Victory Red Avs there for driver parading. They literally circled the track. When we went to the infield area near the museum, they had one you could get closer to in Sunset Orange. That's the color I wanted but she said black. No biggie, black was my second choice.

After test-driving my truck, I knew I was taking it home, which I did. Got the wife's signoff and off we went to the dealership to complete the paperwork. Thank you 2002 cash back, GM Loyalty Discount and GM Supplier Discount. For without you, I'd certainly not have the loaded Z71 I now call Beast!

Jamie
 
Definitely an initial believer! I don't remember exactly when I saw the first article covering the concept Av, but I do remember a fairly early detalied writeup in Car and Driver. That did it - I pretty well knew that I wanted one. Turned my wife around too - she wanted a full size crew cab pickup - but in my opinion they are too d*mn long - probably wouldn't fit in the garage (the Av bearly does).

Seeing my first Av in person necessitated a test drive which sold both of us even further! Bought our pewter Z-71 in December - no regrets!
 
initial believer. totally. saw it for the first time in a mt mag a few years ago as concept and had to wipe the drule off my chin. ;)
 
It kinda snuck up on me. I saw the concept truck at the LA Auto show. The more I thought about it the more I liked it. I have one co-worker that saw mine and thought it was ugly. Then it grew on him. He asked me to open it up and let him see it. Two weeks later he asked for a test drive. A couple of weeks later he went to my buddy at the dealer and had them find one for him.
 
I loved the concept truck. I wasn't sure if I would ever buy one, if at that time they were to make them. When I found out they were going to make it, I was still skeptical about practicality. How could I justify one.

Well, the lease on our Mountaineer came due. Had to look for a new vehicle. The first thing we did, was look at the new redesigned mountaineer. Took it for a test drive and hated it! J Mays, who did such a wonderful job designing the New Beetle, screwed up big time on the new Mountaineer. I guess he should stick to small cars.


Well, after driving just about ever SUV out there, I convinced my wife to test drive the AV. That was it, end of story. ;D
 
Wife wanted a new Silverado, I wanted to get another Tahoe. Then I saw a small clip in one of my auto mags for the first time. I knew right then and there that I would drive an Avalanche some day. The only problem was Chevy was not sure if it was going to be a production truck. This was late 1999 - early 2000. I followed every bit of information that I could find. Press books, brochures, posters, pictures, you name it. Finally as I could not stand it any longer they hit the streets. Sold the 1995 Tahoe and picked up the Av in October. Boy am I happy that I waited. The wife is happy, I'm happy.

All smiles ;D since October.
 
Hello all,

I just picked up my new Av yesterday. I must admit that it took me a long time to warm up to the looks. My company is a GM supplier-partner (we also ge the same deal from Ford and Nissan, so I didn't look at just Chevy), so I get a great deal on these vehicles. Since I was in the market for a truck, I looked at the AV on the Chevy website. The engineer in me came out and I decided that it couldn't hurt to test drive one...right? :eek:

I guess the Pewter Z66 in my driveway shows which truck won (even if it will take me a little while to get used to this beast - my last truck was a Mazda!). ;)

 
I am a real convert. I had never owned a truck or any GM product in my life. I was a Japanese fan early in life, then a Chrysler man. (I feel like I'm at an AA meeting) :D

I had never heard of an Av, never thoght of an Av, wouldn't even consider going into a Chevy dealer. Then we were watching the Olympics and my 15 y/o duaghter saw the commercials and said we should get one. I sent her to the net to price it, she came back and said $40K. I said no way.

Then I saw the commercial and I hit the web. Saw it was more like $30K . It took a week to sell the wife, then a week to find a 2WD in somehting other than black or white, and now I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Now the next problem - we got rid of the wife's minivan and she now has my Sebring convertible. She wants to dump it for a Toyota Prius! ??? Help! :cautious:

Fred
 
If nothing else the mpg of the Prius will balance out your AV - you will have a politically correct family - or something like that. ;D
 
"Then I saw her face, and I'm a believer!
Not a trace, of doubt in my mind!
I'm in love....hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....
Oh I'm a believer..."
 
Av fan from the concept. I just wanted to wait for any flaws to be fixed before I decided to buy. I now have nearly 4,000 miles and not a single regret. The stlye reminds me of the old Volkswagon Thing, which was the first car I learned to drive as a kid.
 
I guess I'm a convert. I owned a 98 Dodge Durango. It was a good truck and I liked it a lot. There were definitely some corners cut though. Dodge builds a nice truck at a reasonable price, but there is no comparison with the K2500 Avalanche. Everything is built much heaver duty. I like the 8.1L engine, great power. The Durango had a 5.2L (31:cool: - a good engine but not all that much power (always downshifting going up hills on the freeway) plus the gas mileage was only about 12 around town (of course I get only about 9.5 with the Av).

I didn't like the cladding much at first. The ads on TV didn't help much, but after driving one, wow what a nice truck. I would like to see a few more items available though - the big ones would be an on-board trip computer, remote locking tailgate and maybe a navigation system. Otherwise this is an outstanding truck. Cheers, Jim
 
saw a commercial for one, went and drove one the next day, took the wife for a ride in it the next day, and one day for the dealer prep and for me to clean out the 98 durango, then drove it home.no convert here INITIAL BELIEVER ALL THE WAY ;D :cool:
 
Love at first sight. I had heard a little about the Avalanche, but paid no attention. One of the local dealers had a red one at a state fair (along with a bright yellow corvette) and as soon as I saw it grabbed my attention. I checked them out on the internet for the next week, and decided I should have one.
 
I loved the Avalanche from the first second I saw the truck.

I'm a truck guy, but in our retirement years we've drifted to buying a new Suburban every few years.

Kinda like Reese's peanut butter cups, we've got a lot of truck in our SUV - or a lot of SUV in our truck.

LONG LIVE THE AVALANCHE ;D

Steve
 
I am an initial believer of the Av. I remember seeing it in a concept vehicle article a few years ago. My wife loves it too especially after the test drive she was sold. She like the cladding as well there so no problems. After reading all the reviews I am sure that it would be perfect for my wife and I and future family increases. However, I am still waiting to get mine.....need to sell another vehicle first. Hopefully soon, we cant wait.
 
I was a skeptic at first after seeing the first couple of commercials (I'm sure we all agree that the advertising manger should be canned), but having the same dilemma as a previous poster having two kids in the last 17 months and owning only 2 door cars something had to be done.

Sold my Ford Ranger and my wife's Honda Civic for a used Ford Explorer (still own a Honda CRX for commuting). The explorer solved the problem of hauling the new ones around, but not my numerous trips to Home Depot and the local nursery. After telling my wife that each purchase at Home Depot and the nursery would now include a twenty dollar or more delivery fee, she was sold on the idea the I needed another truck (owned one for the last 11 years), but was leery of the full sized trucks that could haul the little ones.

After seeing an Av in real life (1500 Z-71 green with natural leather), reading the posts on this site, and doing some additional research I was sold but still had to convince the wife (she defiantly was not impressed with the AV based on the commercials). Went and looked at a used 2500, the first thing my wife said was that should could not believe the amount of room inside and how nice and quite it rode.

Needless to say we purchased the truck that day and its lived up to all expectations. Thing runs like no tomorrow, cruised up Kenosha Pass in Colorado like it was the flat lands.

 
INITIAL BELIEVER

I Saw One At The Houston Autoshow A Couple Years Back, Talked With The Chevy Rep, And Filled Out A Survey On The Avalanche.

Then Ole' Chevrolet Kept Sending Me More Surveys, And Status Updates, About Features, Colors, Etc. And Even Notified Me When You Could Start Ordering One, When They Would Hit The Dealer Lots, Etc. Excellent Product Updates.

When They Stated Showing Up, I Started Looking And Driving.. And Trying To DEAL, I Purchased Mine In June 2001

Very Happy With It !


BlackZ71
 
Sold my extended-cab Sierra after kid 2 came along in '96, because it didn't have enough doors. Regretted every day since. Had the mom-mobile Toyota Previa (hated it, except that the kids could ride in the way-back, and not be yelling in my ears). Swapped it for the Isuzu Trooper. Much better truck than the Toyota.

We rented a Suburban for a trip from Texas to New Mexico, a couple of years ago, loved the space and the ride. In fact, my wife would not let me drive most of the way home -- not good, because West Texas is pretty boring if you're not driving! Read about the Av as a Suburban with a bed, figured that was the mix we needed. Bought the Blue in February 02. My wife gets to drive it nights and weekends, when it needs gas.

I suppose I was an initial believer, sight unseen. Everything else has been a bonus.

 
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