"Those People"

DARKWAV · February 23, 2005

Add one 2002 4WD GMC Sierra 2500HD SLT SB (6.0/4.10) to the driveway! This thing looks like a brand new vehicle, only 12900 miles, fully loaded. Paid $500 over what Edmunds.com recommended. It was a no-pressure sale. No regrets about what we paid (27.5K at a Toyta/Scion dealership for something that is virtually comparable to the 37-40K 2005 truck in the GMC dealership next door). Best customer service I have ever had at a dealership.

This thing must have been someone’s toy-hauler. Only signs of use I have seen so far include beach (or possible desert) sand under the bedliner (thinking about replacing the bedliner with spray-in…time to use the Search function), and a small ding on a frame cross member under the drivers door. Condition of the paint and frame indicate this thing was garaged.

2500HD is way more truck than we were planning to get, but we could not pass this up. It meets the basic minimum requirements of a Silverado/Sierra 4WD Crew Cab. It is my wife’s first color choice, and she also happened to prefer the Sierras over the Silverado when we were checking out new vehicles at the auto show several weeks ago. It will be her daily driver.

Something like a Z-71 Colorado Crew would have been a sensible choice, but she wanted more interior room. Avalanche was on her list for the last couple years, but the bed was on the small side and she didn’t like the access to it. So, a Z-71 1500 Crew Cab seemed to be the best fit without being too far over the top. However, as far as used 4WD CC go, it seems like there are more 2500HDs available than 1500s. There were some 40-50K mile 2001 2500HD (6.0 LS/SLE) for around $19-23K, a few 20K mile 1500 LS 2004 around $25K, but the best options to date has been this SLT and a 2004 18K mile white Silverado LS Z71 advertised at $30K.

We are now officially “Those People.”

I think we fit the Nissan Titan demographic, both work, live a few miles outside of downtown. Even worse, the 17.5 ft boat we will be “hauling” with this truck…is actually a canoe.

3/4 Ton Truck to transport a canoe.

Somehow that seems so wrong.

At least my wife is a civil engineer. She does visit worksites (new developments, watershed areas, storm drainage channels) several times a month.

I can feel better knowing she is safer in that truck than her no-airbag restraint 94 S-10.

I will no longer be tempted to take the Impala out on a long drive to the desert for hiking when the last couple miles of the trip are on rutted desert roads (with Border Patrol riding my a$$ … what looks so suspicious about an Impala out in the middle of the desert anyway?).

We can finally drive out to those trailheads at the far end of roads marked for 4WD vehicles (did this a few times in the 2WD S-10, but drove in with our rock-crawling, big-tire, 4.56 geared, winch-equipped Jeep friends).

So what if we are now “those people” … having a wife that drives a bad-a$$ truck makes up for it! The real downside to this situation is that the truck makes my “Big-Bad-Black” 96 Impala SS look like a sport compact.

Grrrrr.