2003 Avalanche

I am planning on going to look at an 03 Avalanche tomorrow and I was wondering what you guys thought would be a fair price. From the pictures it looks like it is in decent shape but I know it has been run in salt water so I am betting there are some hidden issues that dont show in the pictures. It looks like a Storm 1 so it has the manual wake plate and center ballast only but it does have Perfect Pass and a tower with racks. It isnt a C4 either so it has the walk through transom.

I'd pass on a walkthrough transom, storm 1 salt used Avy... but that's just me.

offer 19.

I agree with Delta. Too many issues to overcome unless you are steeling it.

I think that boat only used in fresh water is worth somewhere in teh 22.5-25k range depending on condition. because of the salt use I would put it somewhere in the 17.5-20k range assuming it has been maintaned and cared for properly. Does the boat have a fresh water cooling system installed? If it is abused and not well cared for and been in salt I would say less then 15k.

Found the ad for the boat. It is nice that it has a brand new aluminum trailer. The boat itself doesn't look too bad but hard to tell. It has very little hours and if they are telling the truth about just using it in brackish(assuming that is what they mean by marshy) water I suppose it is better than straight salt water. I don't think it is worth what they are asking but at 17.5 or 20k it might be a pretty solid deal. Just have it checked out and made sure there isn't any excessive corrosion anywhere.

Personally, I would pass. I really do not like the layout of the walk through Avy. In addition, I think you can find 04 Avy C4 for $25 K. I have seen several 05 Avy C4 for $30K.

This ^ plus I feel like lots of people have issues with the non c4 Avy. The Avy I have been in was storm 3 and c4. It had a meaty wakeboard wake and amazing surf wake

Yeah I think the price will have to be right to make it work. I honestly think I wouldn't mind the walk through. I like the extra floor space compared to the full wrap around and I think I could pretty easily have some custom cushions made if I wanted the extra seat. I also already have a fly high rear seat sac that I think would fit in the walk through locker which I think would be enough weight for my needs.

I've heard of avys with washy wake issues. I know the non c4 doesn't have a big locker on the right like the left due to the walk thru. I also think that makes it imbalanced... If you want it, go for it, but don't ask for advice and then ignore it. Id kill for an Avy, but not a non c4. leave it to rust...

get the right boat the first time. don't rush into a boat just because you want a boat and it's a good price. Get the right one.

You could always try this

http://www.centurioncrew.com/index.p...gh-conversion/

Having been a Centurion rep from 2000-2006 I would pass on the Walk thru Avy. It's design is more for families that are ocassional recreational boarders. It's perfect for families and more of a hanging out party cOve environment. If you plan on boarding and progressing the C4 version is where is at. The washy wake was a problem in 2006. Centurion had a bad batch of boats leave te factory with a mid aligned jig for te tracking fins I think if was narrowed down too. It was caught and the boats effected were recalled. You just really need to weight it evenly and in most cases a little more on the passenger side as the deep v causes the prop torque when you put an aggressive prop on the to lean a bit more to the drivers side while under way. I always found that a solid 200-350lb sac extra on the passenger side with just a driver was perfect depending on the model.

You really want an Avy or any centurion outfitted with the hydraulic wake plate/ Bennette tab. It's a must in my opinion. It can be retrofitted or added to a boat without it but the factory mount is def the way to go as it puts the control at your fingertips. Other than that like others said.....don't rush in. If you are wanting to start being a boarder who is gonna progress to inverts and spins and want weight the walk through isn't the boat. If you want to surf regular foot or just have a boat to board occasionally, hang out and party the walk thru is def the ticket. If the boat only has center ballast it's not a wash either. Is very easy to plumb sacs in and all my 5 centurions I owned I ended up pulling the rear tanks anyways and installing bags for room and added weight.

Well I went to look at it the boat over the weekend and as to be expected it wasnt in pristine shape but it wasnt terrible. They were in the process of replacing the steering cable and exhaust manifolds so the boat was in pieces so it was hard to get a great feel for it. They acted like once those repairs were done it would be 100% but there was still some corrosion on some of the pulleys and other hardware which wouldnt be a big deal to replace if I could get it for the right price. I made him an offer for what I thought it was worth and it doesnt look like he is going to be willing to come down that far so it looks like the search will continue.

In terms of the model and the not rushing into anything I totaly agree with all of the comments. Since having a kid it seems we do a lot more cruising, hanging out, and surfing than boarding these days so my criteria is based around that. I want something that will be good for the family, have a good ride in choppy water. In terms of wake I am looking for an improvement on the surf wake from 97 Supra SunSport and wakeboarding wake that is at least equal to it. With all of those things in mind I have more less narrowed my search down to an Avy or a Tige 22 or 24V. Price range is less than 30k but the closer to 20 the better which is why I was pretty interested in this particular Avy. I also dont mind/enjoy tinkering on my boats so adding things like automatic trim tabs and ballast systems isnt a big deal for me as long as the numbers work out.(Although the link above about taking a cutoff wheel to the fiberglass is a little hardcore for me. If the deal ends up going through I will post up some more pics as the mods begin taking place.

I have the walk thru transom, and it works great for holding all the surfboards, thats mainly all we do. You can weigh that side down with lead if you want to wakeboard. I like the C-4 better, but if you can get the Avy with a walk thru for a great price and you don't wakeboard that much, you will be happy with it! They are great in rough water and put out a good wakeboard wake and a awesome surf wave!