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Chevrolet Avalanche Care and Maintenance

76 messages,  Last post on Oct 02, 2008 at 9:48 AM

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#7 of 76 303 Protectant Website by invested Jul 15, 2001 (8:41 am)
http://www.303products.com
#9 of 76 Body Cladding by mlm4 Jul 18, 2001 (10:12 am)
I don't (yet) own an Avalanche (not ready to give up my '99 2-Door Tahoe), but I've seen them at auto shows and recently a few on the road and now my supermarket has one on display (not sure why - there doesn't appear to be any promotion - need to ask the manager) - and I'm intrigued. I'm warming up to the styling and I really like the feature content. I like the body cladding because it is much more durable than a painted surface. I realize that it is too soon to know for sure, but one of my concerns is maintenance of all that body cladding and plastic trim. I'm afraid it will fade over time (especially in the Florida sunshine). If I go out into the parking lot I can find late-model Cherokees and CR-Vs and the like with once black plastic parts that are now approaching a very light grey. Thoughts?
#10 of 76 Body cladding concerns by invested Jul 18, 2001 (11:04 am)
I too share your concerns about the cladding over time. I love the aggressive look that it gives the AV though and the protection against door dings in parking lots and rock chips ect. It just doesn't seem to look as tough without it. I was comparing it to the Cadillac Escalade EXT which Edmunds just did a write up about on their home page and the AV's front end and with the cladding definitely looks better.   I did call Chevy about it and they said that the cladding is included in the 3 yr. warranty. I guess that is a decent amount of time to test it. Someone on the board recommended 303 protectant and I did find their website and go to it. It does seem to be something that will protect the cladding from the elements. I ordered a sample package of all of their products for $5.00 to cover the shipping I am waiting for it to arrive. That seems to be the only alternative - to find a good product for it. I did notice quite a few brand new trucks and SUV's on the road by various car makers and they all seem to have some body cladding on them. I guess that is the way it is going. As far as looks go I really think people are just unsure of the unfamiliar. They are all coming around though as you can see, even most people I talked to who didn't like the looks at first now say it is growing on them. Some people can't handle too much change at once, but after everyone sees all that it is capable of they are speechless and agree that it is a very cool concept. To me to have the best of both worlds (truck & SUV) and an awesome ride is worth it.
#11 of 76 Maintenance of cladding by markiii Jul 18, 2001 (1:27 pm)
Can anybody explain why they feel Armor All is so bad? I had great luck with it on my Jeep Grand plastic, it always brought it back to like new. Sure, it would fade off with washing, but it never did damage I could notice over 7+yrs. I get more snow than sun so maybe the fading didn't show up? I checked on the 303 (thanks for the website info) but I'd never heard of it before and don't know why to switch.    Mark
#12 of 76 More Body Cladding Stuff by frankfx1 Jul 18, 2001 (8:27 pm)
To drone on about the cladding some more.... this gray plastic body panel treatment is not new. The Jeep uses it on the lower body panels and it seems to stand up to the years, but the AV has plastic on the top side roll bar and also on the bed covers. I wonder if it will stand up to the sun and the snow? It would be really depressing to have a faded truck after a couple of years. I also wonder about rattling panels after the years go by. I would hope that Chevy has that under control. Since the AV is so new, I think many folks are on the fence over this issue (cladding).   On another subject, judging from the # of AV's I see on road here in SF bay area sales are a little sluggish (I have seen 3 over the last few weeks). I wonder how sales are really going? Any chevy marketing folks on-line:)   Joe
#13 of 76 Cladding - Technical hoohah by fpmike Jul 20, 2001 (6:38 am)
There is a bit of information regarding the material and longevity of the cladding on the Avalanche Pickup discussion group. See message #539. Scroll throug the history of that discussion for lots of insights and opinions.
#14 of 76 Wanting to buy Avalanche , also interesting link concerning body cladding (or whatever) by jtberry45 Sep 09, 2001 (6:28 pm)
Ive read many post concerning the body cladding. I too am concerned. Not only on whether or not the sun will hurt it or even if wax will stain it but what about the finish beneath the cladding? Do you just not worry about it ? Hmm,, anyway here is an interesting link from the folks that made that cladding stuff. http://www.equistarchem.com/
#15 of 76 Equistar did the rigid pieces... by timfarn Sep 10, 2001 (6:38 am)
Unsure as to who made the cladding, but these folks did the hard covers and storage units.
#16 of 76 Cladding by ygmn Sep 27, 2001 (4:32 pm)
Its just a plastic. Wash it. Dry it. Protect it. Repeat as required.   Whats the big deal?   Think of it as less paint to wax.   I just washed mine. Less time to wash the Avalanche than my Tahoe.

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