sgtkuwait

Hello All,

You have a great forum here and some great posters. I need some advice and having gotten it from dealers I think it would be more helpful from guys on this forum.

I am redeploying from the sandbox soon and will be retired immediately as I have reached the mandatory age of 60. I wish to pursue my hobbies of fishing and hunting on a larger scale now and a car will not do it. Due to this forum I have decided on a Silverado rather than a Ford or Dodge. I am asking you guys to look at my three options that are available to me back home at a couple of dealers and give me your opinion. Please forgive me if my post is out of line but I don't know where I could get better input than here.

If you would please tell me your choice of these trucks and any issues I should be aware of for the years listed.

2004 34482 miles $22,400
2003 30,041 $19,495
2002 49000 $17,995

all are 5.3 eng, auto trans, short box, ext cab. No cap or bed liner. I want to put a slide in camper on this truck. All three are Z71 models.

thanks for any input I really appreciate this as I am pretty ignorant on these pickups.

sgtkuwait

TexasF355F1

If you have any links to go with these that would be great.

But in my opinion, the 2003 is the best deal hands down. I think most people on here will probably agree. My friend has a 2003 Z71 and hasn't had any trouble. He drives nearly a hundred miles a day 5 days a week. He's a hunter and fisher as yourself.

Thank you for your service in our military. We all appreciate that.

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*Under Construction - New sig to debut*

guumbah

I say the 2003 as well, based on just the info at hand. There may be a compelling reason to pick another one (condition, features, etc), but that one is the best based on price & mileage. For comparison, my 2002 had less miles than that, and also has Quadrasteer, but I paid less than that just a few months ago, so I don't think that's the best deal. And the 2004 seems like a big jump in price for just a year newer, especially with MORE miles.

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silverado122775

Two things to consider here.
Throttle and Body style.
From 2003 and up the throttle was electronic. meaning no cable. I had a 2003 and did not like the throttle-by-wire feature. Cable is much better in my opinion, plus you can tell when the throttle-body is getting dirty

I like the 1999-2002 NBS. 03 and up just did not attrack me, but that is a personal preferance.

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2000 Silverado Z71, 5.3L, K&N GenII Air Intake, Y-pipe Exhaust (no muffler), Bosch Platnium +4 plugs.

guumbah

Good point. I could have gotten an '03 for a little more money at the same time I got this one. Granted, it had a few more miles averaged per year, and no Quadrasteer, but style also entered in to the decision. Good point about the throttle too...

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Rmbodie

Hey Sarg , Welcome aboard . Thank You for what you are doing in service of of our GREAT nation . I hope you will be home soon enough for this years hunting season . Mine is just getting started .
The trucks you listed are good trucks . Just for reference I bought my 2002 for 11K with 84K miles from an individual. It had a couple of cosmetic blemishes that did not bother me on a hunt truck . Of course I had to customise it immediately because every third truck looked just like it on the highway (champayne). try cars.com thats where I found mine .
My brother-in-law is about to deploy somewhere in the region . Signal bridgade . Good luck .Rob

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2000 Trans Am six speed Blackbird .Fast enough stock!
2005 Grand Prix.
2005 2500HD Silverado 4x4 , Duramax!!!!!!! Lifted ,Pumped,Humped,Thumped!