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On the brink of buying!!...but....

B

Beanman

Full Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2003
Messages
97
Location
San Antonio TX
Well, I am very close to purchasing an AV. Here are my concerns:

I am buying from Nick Chevrolet Pontiac in PA, and I am in San Antonio TX.

This means that I will never really get to see the truck till I have bought it. No test drive, nothing.

My reassurance is that:

1. this place was voted best dealership for customer satisfaction the last 9 years in a row for both new and used vehicles.

2. the vehicle was purchased new from them by thier insurance guy. All the service was done there, and the owner just traded it in for a newer one.

4. The salseman swears that the vehicle is in top condition (said he would "write it in his own blood"), and that everything is pristine!

It is an 03 DGM Z71 with sunroof, 40,513 miles for 27,000.

Am I being too rash in purchasing it without seeing it (just a few pictures). I might be blinded by my NEED to own this truck!

Also, to clarify, if I do get it it should have:
bag for the 3 bed panels
trailer wiring an 4 prong adapter

...anything else? (I know the insulated bag joke)

Also, I noticed it had a pinstripe, are those easy to take off? How?

thanks for all the help!!
 
This is just my personal opinion, but with 40,000 miles, you should be able to get a better deal than that, remember you are now out of warranty....
 
You should go to KBB and price it out with all the options it has and see what range you get. Remember, they probably wouldn't have given him the full trade-in value, so that should give you a number to see where the actual price of the truck is.
 
Beanman,

Just to throw in my .02... I have been looking for 3 weeks solid for a used AV. I am almost to the point of being sick of them (well, not really ;D)

I live in Tallahassee, Florida and have talked to salespeople from Miami to Atlanta to Ohio to South Carolina to Missisippi to Missouri.....the list goes on.. eBay, cars.com, autotrader.com

I finally found an old post here in the for sale forum and asked if he still had it. I got lucky, I'll post the whole story after I pick it up.

Anyway, having seen just about everything out there, my first feeling about your post was the price seemed a bit high for 40k miles.

Secondly, I can relate to the long-distance buying worries but mine only has 13k on it. It might be worth seeing if a member lives nearby that can take a look for you. I have looked at a few 2003's with under 20k miles for less than $25k - in pristine shape.

Anyway, if you have the time, keep looking, Don't know if you are set on green, that's one color I was not interested in, but if not, I can tell you where there are some good deals.

I'm still waiting for my road trip to New Orleans to pick mine up. Think I'm gonna wait for this hurricane to pass through before I head over there.

Was I rambling? Or did I make any sense at all? Must be the waitin-for-my-SOM blues
 
thanks for the advice guys... I am set on DARK GREY METALLIC! SUnroof, and preferably 4:10 gears.

I would LOVE it if someone from around Trentum PA (15084) would be able to go and look at the truck.

I am back and forth on whether I want to take the plunge or not.

He quoted a shipping cost of $1,194 to ship to San Antonio. I have had some dealerships offer to ship for free. Is this a reasonable price?

Also, I have to pay TX sales tax, title and licencse... I have no clue...is that right?

Again THANKS for all the help, I am DYING to get an avalanche!

 
If they even THINK you are THAT ANXIOUS...the
price won't come down...
My advise...follow russpang's advise...
sit tight...look around...that price you are considering is TOO HIGH IMHO...
 
Oh no... these guys think I am about to buy from somewhere else unless the price comes down and shipping as well. I told them one dealership offered free delivery (which they did, just not on the avalanche I wanted). They should think they are going to have to work some magic to keep me interested, but I am really chomping at the bit.
 
Bag - yes. Trailer wiring and adapter - no. Those were part of the 2003 cost-cuts. VERY few had them. If you do end up with one, likely it'll be the wrong harness anyway ;) 2003+ is different than 2002 and earlier. Simple repin, but a notable issue if you don't address it.
 
Yep! the 03 & newer are wired different, if it came with the (now) option.
IMO
For that transport cost, I'd find the time or have a trusted friend (s) go get it and look it over. The idea of a local member looking at it may be convenient but some folks may not want to take a risk... I hope they will, but....

Anotherwords,
I hope it'll work out for you but good dealer or not, without seeing it (or a respected opinion of someone who did). Nope!
 
Bean,

Have you checked cars.com?

Go to advanced search, set your miles/price and then type "gray" "grey" or "charcoal" - you'll be surprised what comes up. I'm a newbie so I thought DGM was green. DGM was actually my second choice and i saw a bunch of them with low, low miles for the price you are looking at.
 
Did you try Carmax. They will ship any vehicle they have anywhere in the country to you for$150. If you decide to buy it they with credit the $150 to the purchase. If you decide not too you are out $150.
 
Bean,

BTW - I have a whole bunch of DGM AVs saved from my search.

Tell me specifically what you are looking for.

Cladding? Leather? Sunroof? What matters and what doesn't?

 
Beanman said:
He quoted a shipping cost of $1,194 to ship to San Antonio. I have had some dealerships offer to ship for free. Is this a reasonable price?

Also, I have to pay TX sales tax, title and licencse... I have no clue...is that right?
Click to expand...

Yes, you'll have to pay TX sales tax which is 6.25% of the purchase price. The title and tag will cost you somewhere around $70 or so.l

Just my $.02 worth, but I have to agree with everyone else. This does not sound like a good deal to me. Not counting tax, you're going to have to pay $28,194 to get this vehicle. I just bought mine brand new with 28 miles on the OD for almost exactly the same price, and with the exception of 4wd and a 2500, I got just damn near every option available.

Some other things you might consider is you really don't want to get stuck on one particular color, because that is going to severely restrict your pool of vehicles. It's better to go the other direction. Take a look at all of the available colors, and weed out the ones you can't live with.

Try listing all of the things you HAVE to have, then list all of the things you WANT on an AV, and I would venture to guess that the members of this club can find you a lot better deal.
 
i don't think that is such a good deal. especially since you can't see, or drive, it before you purchase.
i have been thinking about lettig my '04 AV go with 10k on it for a Z71 Suburban. all they want to give me is $27k to $28 for it. it is in very good condition. the customer appreciation money would not even help me much. the payment still would have been $125 - $10 more a month. i pay them that extra each month anyway. i just don't want to "have" to pay that much.
the deal about the vehicle being driven by their insurance guy... i don't believe that for a second. it could be true, but i would be leary. we are talking about people who make a living off of doing whatever it takes to make a sale. also, if all the service was done there at the dealer ask to se proof. surely, they should be able to provide service invoices. just keep looking.
one last thing. seems to me that the deal you seem to be getting is not all that great once you factor in pickup/ delivery. i just drove to Houston from Virginia in April. let me tell you sir... that was a long drive. you will have another 2k miles on it before you get it home. Texas seemed to have quite a variety of trucks. seems as if you should be able to get a deal there. i know Texas is truck country, but if you wait a month, or two, the dealers will have to offer a good deal on the '04's to make room for the '05's. they will have to make it very tempting to the potential customer since the summer gas prices have slowed their sales a bit. with this in mind you should be able to walk away with a nice vehicle tha as no miles, and a warranty. good luck.
 
If your wanting to see pics of it. Try to locate a member living near by and see if they'll go by and snap some pics of it. Let the dealership know who's coming buy and you want them to be able to look it over and take pics. I don't think a fellow club member would tell you it looks great if it doesn't. WE would want some one to do that to us. If I lived close by I would do it for ya, It's about as far for me to go look at it as it is for you. Just an idea. Hope it works out. You'll love the AV! ;D

Pete
 
Ahhh... words of wisdom from everybody. Thanks a lot guys. I really need to have an objective approach to all of this, but it is hard.

You all have been a great help. it is true that in a few months there will be a new market of used cars since 05 will be coming out. I have been looking forever in Texas but just can;t seem to find what I want.

NEED
Z71 or 2500 4x4
Cladding
Sunroof
DGM (sorry, I am very bound to this color)

WANT
4:10
Dark interior (don't care if leather or cloth)

Unless this guys drastically lowers the price and can anser all my questions and send me all the photos, I will probably keep waiting for a good one to show up in my area. (Texas has NO cladded Avalanches...hardly)

Yes, I have tried carmax (I am having them alert me if any new DGM come in), cars.com, auto trader, etc. Let me know if there are any other sites.

Thanks for the help guys, this site is the best!

 
Someone from Tarentum PA To go and Look at it? I'm your man, I live about 10 Minutes away from Nick Chevy.

PM Me for More Details and we can discuss what you're looking for and exactly which AV I should be looking for.

JW
 
Kewl!
icon_thumright.gif
 
JW said:
Someone from Tarentum PA To go and Look at it? I'm your man, I live about 10 Minutes away from Nick Chevy.

PM Me for More Details and we can discuss what you're looking for and exactly which AV I should be looking for.

JW
Click to expand...

Now were talking! That's what the club is all about right there!!!!! I give you two thumbs up my AV brother!!! (y) (y)

Pete
 
You really have to drive them before making any decision, especially given their Mexican factory origin. I drove three separate trucks, and all were drastically different. It came down to two, both with the same options and mileage. One felt really solid, and the other all rattly and loose. Sadly, the rattletrap was my first choice for color, but I went for the better built one instead.
 
rab356 said:
This is just my personal opinion, but with 40,000 miles, you should be able to get a better deal than that, remember you are now out of warranty....
Click to expand...

I agree with rab356. Sounds like too much. I bought the 03 DGM in my sig in June (2 months ago) with 8000 miles on it, demonstrator (new car warranty minus 6 months), licensed as new, for $31,000.
 
Thanks for all the honest feedback everyone, I know that whenever I do buy, it will be the right truck at the right price. I have talked to them about the price and they said they will see what they can do.

I let them know I had a few other tempting offers that I could go to. The main guy does not come in till wedsday though, so i won't be able to find out till then about any price drop. If it does not drop, I probably won;t get it.

The price for delivery is on a flatbed truck so no added miles will be procured.
 
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