I want to get a new vehicle and I was wondering about the Avalanche. I’m a sucker for things like Swiss Army knives and similar gimmicky things that do more than thing at a time. I’m also aware that multi-function gadgets are often pretty crappy compared to single function things.
Has anyone here ever driven one of these gas guzzling monstrosities? If so could you let me know how it was for you?
My dad has one. I personally think they’re hideous, but that’s me. Do you plan on hauling dirty things like gravel and dirt? Because if you are, this isn’t the best vehicle for you b/c when you “convert” it from an SUV to a truck by doing something to the rear seats (I’m unclear on exactly what) the insides of the passenger doors are now exposed to whatever you’re hauling. My dad seems to like his, and it’s comfortable to ride in. That’s all I’ve got.
ETA: I think the Nissan Titan is pretty gadgety, and got good reviews from the car magazines IIRC.
Disgusting, hideous abominations. Cheap-looking plastic trim. I sat inside one once and thought the interior was shitty looking too. I love the old-school, straight-line, rugged Ford and Chevy trucks from between 1980 and 1995 - I hate trucks that are tarted up as luxury vehicles.
If you want to be like every other weekend-warrior suit’n’tie dork who thinks getting a big truck will make him badass, get an Avalanche. If you want to be unique, get something else.
What do you need. This is a huge vehicle, over 18 ft. long, hard to maneuver in parking lots and other tight places. It’s a gas guzzler and, in my opinion, they’re ugly to look at. In some states it’s also expensive to register each year, much more than a pass. car, not to mention the insurance cost.
Do you frequently haul cargo and passengers? If so, this may be the right vehicle, but otherwise I’d think twice about buying one.
There is someone on this board that loves his.
Myself, they look like they would be hard to see out of. I also don’t like all the plastic trim on the Avalanche.
I’m in the position of almost needing a truck. Well, technically I do have a truck, but I just use it to plow snow.
Anyway, I bought a Nissan Pathfinder. And come to think of it, it has pretty many gadgets I guess. Very useful vehicle too.
A co-worker got stuck with a Chevy Blazer that she can’t afford the payments on anymore. When talking with the dealership about possibly trading it in they informed her that she owed more than it was worth (it’s only a couple years old) and Chevy’s lose value as soon as you drive them off the lot. I guess they figured they’d be honest since they couldn’t stick her with another new car and they didn’t want the piece of crap back.
I’d go with a Toyota or Nissan.
To be fair, all cars lose value as soon as you drive them off the lot; it’s not just Chevys.
I think he meant that Chevys lose more value than others.
As far as the Chevy Avalanche…well, why don’t you just get a t-shirt made that says “I have more money than sense.”
My wife and I own an Avalanche. We like it because it holds a lot of mulch when I want to take care of the back yard, yet I can fold down the divider between the bed and the back seat for times we want to haul a lot of stuff that isn’t dirty, like pinball machines.
Admittedly it is large and can be difficult to park, and with gas expensive, we drive the Saab more often (since it’s a convertible, it’s more fun anyway), but for hauling we were not disappointed with the truck. We paid less than 30k for ours brand new and I would not pay much more than that for it. We’ve had zero mechanical or cosmetic problems.
You could go for the Subaru Baja. Same gimmick as the Avalanche, just as many gizmos, but smaller and with full time four wheel drive.
A Baja sounds interesting. Maybe I’ll look at one. Thanks for the suggestion.
The Bajas are sexy and we looked at one when we were shopping three years ago, but keep in mind they haul less (not necessarily a bad thing), and production on them stopped in April of 2006, although you can still presumably get new vehicles.
And the Escalade version looks even worse - SHINY cheap-looking plastic trim.
Yes, that’s what she meant. 