Finally done truck shopping. berkeley dealers
Had 8 miles when i test drove it. Only thing it was missing from my needs was the gooseneck prep package, but I had the parts to do that myself included in the deal(hitch and wiring harness). Also, because business owner, I get my choice of 5 different bosch tool sets/tools via the Ram commercial incentive program.
Nice score. Well done. Hopefully the messing about was worth it.
Yes! Now you can get that trailer emptied lol....
Very nice! You will enjoy that truck.
Wow, that is nice!
Congrats!
I wish I could afford a truck that new.
Hope you have many uneventful miles ahead of you. 
Whatever you put in the cubby holes in the rear floors will be quickly forgot about and you will tear your hair out trying to find it. Its happened to me a couple times.
Nice deal! Looks massively competent.
Im just relieved to be done shopping. It's so much easier shopping for $700 cars. I've come out of this ordeal (test drove first candidate December 26th) with a new hatred of new car dealers. By this week i was just laughing off all the screwing they were trying to do. These guys did fine by me but it really took too darn long. I think we were there for 5 hours and I didn't play the "let me take this to the manager" game. I said I want this truck for X, you're giving me Y for my trade, and you're supplying me with part numbers A and B because this truck doesn't have the gooseneck hitch package. The rest was waiting time, which annoys the crap out of me.
In the end I've got a new rig with warranty for not much more per month than the Avalanche was costing me between payments and the cost of repairs spread out in a monthly average. It was not nickel and diming me, it was benjamin and granting me to death. A grand here, 2 grand there, 200 here, 400 there is murder.
Now to figure out which trailer I want.
Keep me advised on the trailer search too.
Glad you got what you wanted, finally
I rather like that, congrats!
Glad you were finally able to get what you were looking for!
chandlerGTi wrote: Yes! Now you can get that trailer emptied lol....
going to take advantage of the weather this week to get that old dually stripped after work so the trailer will be ready to load your new piece of fine ass american sports car onto. the only thing keeping me from crying inside is that i know you want to make it great again, and i just have too many projects.
considering this trailer:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/331791356347?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
but trying to find a deal on a slightly used one first.
once i get the trailer, i'm going to start looking to go south and pick up a couple clean pickups or classics once a month to begin with, so if i'm going anywhere near where a GRMer needs something run, it goes unsaid that i'll hook you guys up with cheap transport if i'm empty.
I bought the Avalanche in May 2013, and in 3 months short of 3 years of ownership i paid right around $6,700 in repairs. Big, catastrophic repairs. I did the math and including my payment I was averaging almost $550 a month to drive that truck. That also doesn't count that the down time was so bad and the truck was so unreliable at the time that I had to buy a van to drive last February when the rear axle exploded to get to work the next day and avoid pissed off customers. So for under $140 more a month, I have a brand new 1 ton with a warranty. I did all my homework and this has been a 3 month process.
I enjoyed the hell out of the avalanche when it was working right, but I was to the point that it could not be trusted anymore. We barely made it home from the challenge, and it had to go right to the driveline shop for a rear axle rebuild after that.
So what'd they give for the Avalanche and what's the plan to protect against rust?
In reply to patgizz:
I'll be spending the majority of my time in Biloxi so I'll let you know if anything pops up that might bring some $$ up north.
OHSCrifle wrote: So what'd they give for the Avalanche and what's the plan to protect against rust?
more than i owed, which is all i wanted really. i'd had trade offers ranging from 3500-5500 and they were almost the high mark. i was realistic about it's condition and that it has a cracked windshield, inop fog light switch, hole in leather on driver's seat, CEL for o2 and evap, and a couple other phantom things that were proving impossible to diagnose. the most fitting thing came to mind about the avalanche when i had the rear axle rebuilt and the howl was gone(toasted pinion bearing) but the highway speed vibration was still there as was the phantom driveline clunk, and it's that i was throwing good money after bad. last year i used every dime of my impala repair fund to fix the truck. same thing the year before.
for rust, we're going to take apart everything necessary to get the cosmoline type spray into every possible nook and cranny. my dad bought a 5 gallon bucket and the spray gun a few years ago and my mom's 2005 astro from utah is just as rust free as it was when they got it and she drives it every day in the salt.
pete, i'll keep that in mind. the more places i can search where i've got someone on the ground the better.
Nice truck. I love the color.
In reply to patgizz:
Sent you a PM
got nothing. usually they go through. chevylumina at gmail.com
In reply to patgizz:
Here's some possible inspiration:
Those were just on the first page...
petegossett wrote: In reply to patgizz: Here's some possible inspiration: 70 Torino w/GT parts Lifted 89 Cherokee for $1k 98 Prelude for $2900 87 Isuzu P-up for $1500 83 Dodge 4x4 short bed Those were just on the first page...
yeah i don't have the trailer yet 
the torino would be a problem, i'd probably keep it for me and lose sight of the goal. i love those things. i'm building up startup capital right now.
2 whole days later, i still like it so that's a good sign. usually with bad purchases i'm concerned the next morning. it's got 120 miles now and has been to lowes twice, home depot once, and true value once.
picked up a slim kobalt toolbox at lowes. it was on clearance and all tool storage including truck boxes is an additional 20% off, plus i had a coupon so it was $101. that'll be for my straps and chains and towing stuff. all of that was formerly in the saddle boxes on the avalanche, which i do miss dearly. those were perfect.
the step up is almost impossible, the truck is ginormous. like "holy berkeley the hood is taller than the roof of the mazda 5 in front of us" ginormous. my son says all the cars around us look like ants. when the side steps arrive they'll be going on immediately.
took it by my uncle's house, he works at valley freightliner in cleveland in the parts department so i'll be able to get my cummins specific stuff(filters and crap, DEF too) at his employee cost. he was getting a little too excited checking it out.
back to driving the 428k mile chevy express work van tomorrow.
Nice rig. If you need eyes on a vehicle in the macon GA area, let me know. Also if you're looking for something specific i can keep an eye out.
Very nice rig.
Too darn big. Anything that needs a stepladder to get into the box is too darn big.
Based on what I see around me, though, I am wrong.
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