2003 Chevrolet Avalanche - Dependable, reliable, awesome
I have the 2003 sunset orange Avalanche 2wd. When these first came out in 2002, they were ugly. GMC increased the look and body and made them look better. When I purchased my truck, no other make or model had the sunset orange color. It's a unique color that has been copied several times, but not to perfection like mine. This truck is more than dependable. It has enough room for five people to fit comfortably. I installed a DVD player for my son at the time when he was growing up for entertainment. He was very talkative back then. The loading part in the back can expand by putting down the back seats and unlatching the windows. You'd have to see it in order to visualized. There's an ice chest on the driver's side back side panel. Both side panels can be storage space for valuables or, ... (more)
I have the 2003 sunset orange Avalanche 2wd. When these first came out in 2002, they were ugly. GMC increased the look and body and made them look better. When I purchased my truck, no other make or model had the sunset orange color. It's a unique color that has been copied several times, but not to perfection like mine. This truck is more than dependable. It has enough room for five people to fit comfortably. I installed a DVD player for my son at the time when he was growing up for entertainment. He was very talkative back then. The loading part in the back can expand by putting down the back seats and unlatching the windows. You'd have to see it in order to visualized. There's an ice chest on the driver's side back side panel. Both side panels can be storage space for valuables or, in my case, grocery with ice for when you're not going straight home after shopping. The speed on these trucks is awesome, but you can't stop on a dime. Most people will move out of your way because in a rear view mirror, they're a beast!! People get scared and move. The anti-brake system is superb. The body and maintenance on this vehicle is top notch. I always had maintenance done at the dealership. I call my truck Ava. She's 14 years old, and she still looks brand new. I get compliments all the time. I don't have any cons except they don't make these anymore. I paid $30k when the sales person wanted $42k.
My memorable story is using my truck to move my daughter about 6x, yes, six times. I saved her a lot of money because I know how to pack my truck to carry everything. We were able to move her in about three trips and saved her over $400 on one move. I value my truck tremendously. Most men couldn't believe it was my truck, and I paid for it with my own money.
My memorable story is using my truck to move my daughter about 6x, yes, six times. I saved her a lot of money because I know how to pack my truck to carry everything. We were able to move her in about three trips and saved her over $400 on one move. I value my truck tremendously. Most men couldn't believe it was my truck, and I paid for it with my own money.
Dependable, speed, maintenance, loading and unloading, carrying whatever is needed to transport, and built to last!! The tank is 30 gallons, so that lasted about a week driving to work and back home. That's when gas was reasonable. I had to fuel up every Friday.
Dependable, speed, maintenance, loading and unloading, carrying whatever is needed to transport, and built to last!! The tank is 30 gallons, so that lasted about a week driving to work and back home. That's when gas was reasonable. I had to fuel up every Friday.
The only con was they don't make these anymore. My truck has lasted for 14 years w/o any trouble at all. Others I heard had brake issues, but I feel if you learn how to drive at a reasonable speed and take care of your investment, it'll last like mine has.
The only con was they don't make these anymore. My truck has lasted for 14 years w/o any trouble at all. Others I heard had brake issues, but I feel if you learn how to drive at a reasonable speed and take care of your investment, it'll last like mine has.
2003 Chevrolet Avalanche - Frustrated, problematic, expensive.
I like the size. It is a rather large truck. I also like the 4 doors, which made it a family vehicle with hauling capacity. While I appreciate the ability to haul things and the handy bed cover to keep things from getting wet or stolen, this vehicle has been rife with performance problems. So far the shocks have had to be replaced along with the transmission and brakes several times. Also, the tires seem to wear out fairly quickly, even though I don't do much driving on rough terrain. The truck bed itself is much shorter than most trucks. This makes hauling large loads difficult. I liked the bright color when I bought it because it was an unusual deep orange. That made it easy to distinguish from other models. I like the roominess of the inside. It has plenty of legroom and can easily ... (more)
I like the size. It is a rather large truck. I also like the 4 doors, which made it a family vehicle with hauling capacity. While I appreciate the ability to haul things and the handy bed cover to keep things from getting wet or stolen, this vehicle has been rife with performance problems. So far the shocks have had to be replaced along with the transmission and brakes several times. Also, the tires seem to wear out fairly quickly, even though I don't do much driving on rough terrain. The truck bed itself is much shorter than most trucks. This makes hauling large loads difficult. I liked the bright color when I bought it because it was an unusual deep orange. That made it easy to distinguish from other models. I like the roominess of the inside. It has plenty of legroom and can easily fit a family of five. I also love the fact that you can take the back window out completely, which made hauling wood easy.
Since the truck sits so high, my family and I were able to safely cross the top of an old slab ( locally known as "The Old Slab") that went from one side of a river to the other. It was quite the adventure and super fun.
Since the truck sits so high, my family and I were able to safely cross the top of an old slab ( locally known as "The Old Slab") that went from one side of a river to the other. It was quite the adventure and super fun.
The pros of this vehicle are the ability to cover the truck bed when needed, plenty of leg room for passengers on the inside, the excellent sound system and radio, the unique vehicle color, traction control and large bright headlights.
The pros of this vehicle are the ability to cover the truck bed when needed, plenty of leg room for passengers on the inside, the excellent sound system and radio, the unique vehicle color, traction control and large bright headlights.
The most negative things about this vehicle in my opinion are that the transmission wears out quickly, the tires wear out even more quickly, the 4-wheel-drive works sporadically, the oil slowly leaks, it's not very powerful going up hills, the truck bed is shorter than most other trucks of the same class, the brakes need to be replaced often and if you haul something really heavy you will have to replace the shocks and struts.
The most negative things about this vehicle in my opinion are that the transmission wears out quickly, the tires wear out even more quickly, the 4-wheel-drive works sporadically, the oil slowly leaks, it's not very powerful going up hills, the truck bed is shorter than most other trucks of the same class, the brakes need to be replaced often and if you haul something really heavy you will have to replace the shocks and struts.
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