• If you currently own, previously owned or want to own an Avalanche, we welcome you to become a member today. Membership is FREE, register now!

Just traded in my 2013 Avalanche for a 4Runner

G

gr8filed

Full Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2006
Messages
41
I am saying goodbye to my 2013 Avalanche, I was the original owner. Its the first time in my life {and im 53 years old} that you will not find a american made truck in my driveway. I am a Auto Mechanic by trade my entire life and just got fed up by the quality of the american car and truck. The final straw on my 80,000 mile totally maintained truck was the fuel pump sending unit rusting out and leaking fuel. I had to change it on the hottest day of the year. It looked like swiss cheese. While doing the job i looked around and noticed the frame covered in rust, brake lines starting to rust, paint starting to bubble on the rear 1/4 panels. I work on cars all day everyday and there is not an american made truck i would buy like the 4runner. I find it unacceptable that my truck looked so poor after only 7 years. It is nice and shiny on the outside but I can see what's coming. On the bright side, we love the toyota 4runner, not the same vehicle at all but our needs have changed. Best of luck, this forum has been great.
 
The Toyota should serve you well.

The rust issues you describe is one of the many reasons I will never live any further north than I already do.

Neither my 2003 Avalanche nor my 2004 EXT have any rust to speak of, as is the same with most vehicles in my region.

Best of luck with your new truck!

:) (y)
 
gr8filed said:
I am saying goodbye to my 2013 Avalanche, I was the original owner. Its the first time in my life {and im 53 years old} that you will not find a american made truck in my driveway. I am a Auto Mechanic by trade my entire life and just got fed up by the quality of the american car and truck. The final straw on my 80,000 mile totally maintained truck was the fuel pump sending unit rusting out and leaking fuel. I had to change it on the hottest day of the year. It looked like swiss cheese. While doing the job i looked around and noticed the frame covered in rust, brake lines starting to rust, paint starting to bubble on the rear 1/4 panels. I work on cars all day everyday and there is not an american made truck i would buy like the 4runner. I find it unacceptable that my truck looked so poor after only 7 years. It is nice and shiny on the outside but I can see what's coming. On the bright side, we love the toyota 4runner, not the same vehicle at all but our needs have changed. Best of luck, this forum has been great.
Click to expand...
I'm a new member and I hate to see you go, I'm a firm believer of buying American, but what's made in America? Most of the frames are made in Mexico and Toyota has experienced the badly rusted frame damages in the past. They have since upgraded the frames. If I ever get rid of my Avy, I would also buy a Toyota. Good Luck!!!
 
Not only the vehicles changed over the years but chemicals put out on the roads to "make them safe" in bad weather has increased as well with no regard on vehicle deterioration. Maybe more effort is need by manufacturers and owners to design and maintain the underside of their vehicles?
maybe a market for good rust removal and undercoating businesses....Otherwise just more "planned obsolescence" to get us to buy new cars more frequently...
 
Vaeagleav said:
Not only the vehicles changed over the years but chemicals put out on the roads to "make them safe" in bad weather has increased as well with no regard on vehicle deterioration. Maybe more effort is need by manufacturers and owners to design and maintain the underside of their vehicles?
maybe a market for good rust removal and undercoating businesses....Otherwise just more "planned obsolescence" to get us to buy new cars more frequently...
Click to expand...
I for one would just prefer them to plow and drop sand for traction. That seemed to work wonderfully when we went to Alaska back in 1994. Making the "roads safer" at the expense of making my vehicle unsafe is not a trade-off I favor. I'm sure I'm in the minority with that line of thinking but I'm pretty used to it. ;)
 
The beet juice/salt brine mixture that they use in MO to pretreat roads absolutely destroys vehicles. I wish the wienies who Female Dog about not being able to go where they want, anytime they want would shut their traps and wait 12 hours to get on the road after a big snowstorm.
 
Rust isn't acceptable from where I live, That was why as a kid we would find nice older cars in hay fields...behind barns etc., in fact the car me and a friend built a 1956 4 dr. w/6cyl that we bought from a farmer for $50 Dropped a 283ci in it that we rebuilt in it and that was our daily driver/fun car.
Moral of the story..Rust is cancer and it just spreads... Reminds me my wife had a brother inlaw from Ohio that came to live in Idaho his car was a 5 year old Ford Fairlane....It was so rusty I could see the driveline u joint spin at the rear end when he took off.....
My AV is from Florida it spent it's first five years there, hopefully I don't see bubbles in the future
 
Remind me never to live in the rust belt please!

I hate to say it but in 7 years the Toyota will fare no better than the AV did. If you live in the North East, it's just a fact of life until they change how they treat the roads. I live in the PNW, and we have pretty rust free vehicles here, I own a 98 S10, no rust, 2x 2001 S10's and again no rust, my neighbor has a 98 C1500, no rust, my 2004 AV again no rust.

I watch a YouTube channel called South Main Auto, he is from NY and I have seen rigs of all types on his channel with parts so rusty you would have thought they came out of the ocean after 15 years. These are vehicles that are only a few years old, that shouldn't be rusted like this.
 
Massey said:
Remind me never to live in the rust belt please!

I hate to say it but in 7 years the Toyota will fare no better than the AV did. If you live in the North East, it's just a fact of life until they change how they treat the roads. I live in the PNW, and we have pretty rust free vehicles here, I own a 98 S10, no rust, 2x 2001 S10's and again no rust, my neighbor has a 98 C1500, no rust, my 2004 AV again no rust.

I watch a YouTube channel called South Main Auto, he is from NY and I have seen rigs of all types on his channel with parts so rusty you would have thought they came out of the ocean after 15 years. These are vehicles that are only a few years old, that shouldn't be rusted like this.
Click to expand...
I watch South Maine Auto too, they have some very rusty vehicles because of so much salt. I'm in Cincinnati Ohio and we get some snow from time to time but nothing like up there. I have a couple of spots on my quarter panels right behind the doors but the undercarriage is still in good shape. And as far as the Toyota, my son in law has one that he purchased new and he has had to replace both rear quarter panels due to rust, the rust was so bad it actually started to leak water around the lower seal of the rear quarter window.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top