Truck prices

bowtiefan · July 13, 2001

Man i just got back from the local chevy dealer looks at some silverado and they had 3 new avalanches. The 3 avalanches are sweet but man ?,500 for the black one that was a z71 they had a blue 4x4 that was ?.500 then they had a light brown 2 wheel drive and that thing was ?,500 thats crazy for a 2 wheel drive truck. The silverado i looked at were anywere from ?,500 to ?,000 and the tahoe's holy crap ?,000 all the way up to ?,000 i about sh!t my pants when i seen the ?,000 for a tahoe thats crazy. Sorry about all this i just cant believe the price of vehicles nowadays.

pwitzleb · July 13, 2001

Prices are defintely going toward the moon. I drove a pretty basic Z71 Av a couple of weeks ago, and even ? over invoice for the truck was pushing ?k. I also checked out the Z71 Tahoe and GMC Yukon Denali and was pretty impressed ...until you see a sticker over ?k for it...with things like OPTIONAL Sunroof, steps, etc. Crazy!

The thing that really frags me is that we pay mucho bucks for a loaded up LS or LT truck, and get the same chez climate controls, bad plastic dash, etc. from the 1500 2wd work truck they sell for commercial....the General better start putting some more content & quality into theses prices or someone is gonna take their lunches ...

Jpshostr · July 13, 2001

This is the thing that really burns me up about these city slickers with no reason to have a HD pickup insisting they get one, all outfitted with leather and GPS. Makes these trucks too dang expensive for the people who really need them, contractors, farmers, etc. That is part of the reason we bought a new pickup last fall. We got a great deal on a brand new Classic style truck and knew that if we waited for the new HDs to come out they would be way too high. It would be nice to have a new HD, but ?.80 corn sure doesn't go a long way towards paying for a ?K truck.

Shaners · July 13, 2001

Pickups, SUV's and minivans are all high demand vehicles and people are willing to pay what they ask... It's a yuppy thing now to own a truck...

The only good thing is that there are alot of very good used low milage trucks on the market that have had nothing in the bed and have been driven just back and forth to work. You can pick one of these ones up for a good price...

I am one of the people mentioned above (unfortunatly). I need a truck about 500 miles a year (I tow an 8000lb travel trailer. The rest of the time there is a fiberglass cap on the back and all I haul is bicycles and the dog and some occaisional firewood.

For example, my old truck ('00 Silverado excab 4x4) is sitting on the dealers lot for 24900 and it has 4k miles on it. (Not even broken in yet). I would think you could buy this truck for 23500 and have basically a brand new truck and save almost 10 grand from what it stickered at...

Stepside Z · July 13, 2001

I think the trick is to order one. That way you get what you want and are not paying for what you don't want.

BIG BLUE · July 13, 2001

bowtiefan,

Oh man don't get me started! This is a soapbox that I often get on and am glad to see someone else share the same opinion. I agree with Shaners, it's a yuppie thing to own a truck or an "SUV" now.

I was at the dealer last week and drove an Avalanche for the hay of it, and I just had to laugh at the sales guy who was already talking about monthly payments before he even got the keys for the test drive!

After the drive, I pulled in the lot and parked it right next to a 2500CC shorty with an 8.1/Allison and simply asked the sales guy why would I pay ?,500 for a 1/2 ton Avalanche with a 5.3L when I could have this HD for a few bucks more! Of course it's not really apples to apples comparison but he saw my point.

This is one of the main reasons I don't buy new vehicles. I get the GM employee discount and I still tend to buy a 2 year old vehicle, but I'm constantly looking for them and always pay cash when I find them.

We have 2 Suburbans and pickup in the drive and I bought all of them 1 or 2 years old. For instance, my wife drives our 97 Sub, that I bought it in 99 with 50,000 miles on it from a guy who kept immaculate service records and drove daily round trip 125 miles or more. Sticker on that truck was ?,500 and I paid ?,000. I bought an extended warranty for another ?,000 and have been very happy. I don't mind not having the "new car smell" or having the newest design on the block but that's just me.

The thing is, we "need" all 3 trucks. The pickup is used for plowing in the winter and hauls a Bobcat part time. The 97 Sub hauls our travel trailer for 4 months a year and the other Sub is at the cottage and is needed for hauling firewood and getting into the back entry with 3 kids and a weekend load.

So, I say let these people pay sticker for these trucks and sell them to me a couple years later for a huge price difference because they just "gotta have the newest thing on the block" and can compare monthly payments with there friends. ;)

My .02,

BIG BLUE

(Edited by BIG BLUE at 9:42 am on July 13, 2001)

bowtiefan · July 13, 2001

It really pi**es me off the way the truck prices are theres no need for it. The prices are just to darn high.

76BBSub · July 13, 2001

That's why I now have a '76 Suburban...It's paid for, bigger than a new one, no full-coverage insurance expense, and I can fix it myself for cheap.

I had a '99 GMC Sierra X-cab that stickered for over ?K, I can't believe that truck prices have gone up that much! I mean, I believe you guys, I just can't believe that the manufacturers are getting away with it.

I'd rather have a new Vette for that kind of money.

Jeff

Chuggernaut · July 14, 2001

Where do they get off pricing the Trailblazer LTZ ?k above the Silverado LT??? Aside from the obvious midsize/fullsize, powertrain and towing differances, the Silverado ex-cab LT even has more rear seat legroom!!

DigUout · July 15, 2001

There are a lot of things I would do with ?,000.

Buying an Avalanche is not one of them.

Chevyc10 · July 15, 2001

I took a really good look at an Avalanche yesterday...very nice, sweet, huge, awesome, not to mention USELESS AT ?,500. If someone pays that kind of money for a vehicle like that and actually uses it, then they can shut me up by smashing me with their wallet! LOL...

mblrds · July 15, 2001

Quote: from Chevyc10 on 9:48 am on July 15, 2001
... USELESS AT ?,500.

Yeah, that's the impression I get whenever I see a Avalanche. What good is the covered bed, even if you do drop the mid-gate?

I will say this though, look-wise it does grow on you. The darker ones do look better than the lighter colored ones.

Chuggernaut · July 15, 2001

Quote: from Chevyc10 on 9:48 am on July 15, 2001
... USELESS AT ?,500.

And what, a ?,000 Trailblazer isn't useless?? How about a ?,000 Tahoe?? Or a ?,000 'Burban -- good luck finding someone small enough AND willing to sit in the third row seat. Even better luck finding storage room for it when you realize you won't be using it.

Maybe I'm going off the deep end here, maybe I'm not a full-blown truck guy... heck, maybe I'm the yuppie you guys keep griping about.

Face it. It's a GM. It's a truck with a specialized purpose. AND considering I've seen 10 of these on the road now and local dealers can't keep them in the lot (unlike the Aztecs that they can't get rid of) I'm betting they will be around a while.

To me, a reg. cab longbed is useless because I will be toting the family around.

The extended cab helps for short trips, but not for the long road trips that I find myself taking on a semi-regular basis.

The ?k 2500/3500 HD Crew Cab is nice, I would enjoy the extra power from the 8.1L, but driving 70 miles round trip every day won't be too good on the wallet come pump time, and it'd be tricky to park in the company lot.

The SUV's are just too expensive and it would piss me off big time tearing up the interior when I need to haul stuff.

SO PLEASE. QUIT YOUR WHINING ABOUT THE AVALANCHE. If you don't like it, go buy a Silverado if it suits your needs better. It's not like they said they're replacing the Silverado with this truck... they're merely offering more options. And considering the number of F-150 SuperCrews and Dakota Quadcabs on the road, it's about time GM did something.

Granted, I agree that the pricetag is a bit high, but so are the tags on ALL new trucks out there.

(Edited by Chuggernaut at 1:51 pm on July 15, 2001)

mblrds · July 15, 2001

Quote: from Chuggernaut on 1:46 pm on July 15, 2001
The extended cab helps for short trips, but not for the long road trips [/br]

I'll have you know that not a month after I got my truck, the whole family took a trip to Florida! That's 6 people, 450 miles. Didn't have any complaining or fussing from the youngers!

Or is 450 miles a short trip?

Chuggernaut · July 16, 2001

Quote: from mblrds on 5:08 pm on July 15, 2001
Quote: from Chuggernaut on 1:46 pm on July 15, 2001
The extended cab helps for short trips, but not for the long road trips [/br]

I'll have you know that not a month after I got my truck, the whole family took a trip to Florida! That's 6 people, 450 miles. Didn't have any complaining or fussing from the youngers!

Or is 450 miles a short trip?

mblrds,

450 miles is about the same distance as the one I was referring to when we go to visit the inlaws. I had forgotten that they increased the interior space in the '99-ups. When I posted, I just remembered how tight it was when I didn't call shotgun soon enough and had to ride to Subway over lunch in the back of a coworker's '96 C/K.