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2004 Chevy Silverado 2500HD LLY Duramax (Lifetime California Truck!) - $16,000 (Avondale Estates)
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Lifetime California truck. Four previous owners- all CA. Bar some surface scale on underside (humid GA summer mostly), she's rust-FREE. Fifth-wheel/goose-neck. Rear air suspension fitted with Bilstein shocks all round. Nitto Terra Grappler's installed at 284,623 miles (9,000 miles ago). Upgraded 40 gallon Titan fuel tank. Trailer-brake controller.
I purchased this truck in California in August 2025, bringing it back to Georgia in January-March of this year (broke the journey up piece-meal at weekends due to work commitments). Yep, this good ol' truck drove 2400 miles from CA to GA without breaking sweat...and I'd hop in her again and head back there in the morning.
This is as straight, as rust-free and as unmolested an LLY as you are going to find. No tune, nothing deleted, nothing messed with. In fact, it passed its CA SMOG in August 2025 no problem (I have the certificate). Diesel trucks aren't required to be inspected here in GA but a potential new buyer can be rest assured this truck passed the most thorough inspection in the country barely 15 months ago. She's bone stock under the hood. If tuning and deleting whatever is you thing- here's a blank canvas for you. If you're looking for an unmessed-with truck, just put diesel in her and drive...
Let's get down to some details.
- 293k miles and going up (I'm dailying her)
- Lifetime California truck: NO RUST on body or frame
- Everything works: AC, cruise, electric seats, power adjust mirrors, power locks, power windows (passenger side a bit slow going up sometimes)
- 2x brand new batteries in September 2026- have receipts (why she needed two new batteries we'll get to later)
- Fuel filter housing re-built (new viton seals, new aluminium bleed screw (upgrade from OE strip-prone plastic))
- Dirty Hooker Diesel low pressure fuel lines (from filter housing to FICM)
^^^these two items resolved the loss of fuel prime previous owner reported^^^
- Docs Diesel fuel filter replaced at 292k
- Transmission fluid (Castrol Transynd 668) and (OE Alison) filter replaced 292k
- Oil (Rotella 15W-40) & filter (Wix) replaced at 293k
- Cabin air filter, engine air filter replaced in last two months
Now onto the fun stuff that took MONTHS to resolve...
The previous owner reported a parasitic electrical draw that was intermittent and killing the batteries in 3 days at times. This was a long-winded troubleshooting effort that took months to resolve, and it turned out to be 3 separate issues:
1. Instrument Cluster (intermittent 150-200mA draw- MAIN ISSUE)
Existing cluster was sent off to be professionally rehabilitated by Circuit Board Medics (there is a known issue with these units called silver migration, it was fixed and resolved)
2. Aftermarket Dorman CJ2 HVAC Control Module (80mA Constant Draw)
Replaced with OE used unit from Ebay (all HVAC blend door actuators calibrated and all working fine)
3. Scosche Stereo Interface (20mA Constant Draw)
Aftermarket head unit installed by previous owner had a defective stereo interface. This was again replaced with an OE used unit from Ebay that new works fine).
^^^the truck now reads a correct KEY OFF ENGINE OFF draw of 20mA. She'll sit around unused longer than my wife's 2018 Rav4 now without any issues. Brand new batteries were installed once this issue was resolved. The old batteries had been killed too many times and were failing the test^^^
What Else...
- Front driver and passenger seat foam/covers replaced- old ones were torn up (see pics, there are basically brand new). This is not a throw-over cover/cushion combo...the seats were torn apart and new cushions/covers fitted.
- Faded headlights brought back to life with wet sand and polish
- New mirrors (heated, turn signal). Old mirrors had failing brackets that would make them fold in at speed.
- The clear coat on the hood was badly faded...I used VGG's wipe on clear to take the worst of the look off- this ain't a show truck- it improves the look but IT IS NOT PERFECT
- Old tailgate had a run in with a fifth wheel hitch and was badly bent. New tailgate fitted.
- Bad ground on driver side taillight fixed- dim brake/turn-signals resolved
- Taillights wet sanded and polished
- Intermediate steering column shaft replaced (upgrade/resolution to OE weak point)
- OE steering shaft bearing (another known weak spot) replaced with upgraded Dorman "green bearing"
- New matte black wheel center covers and black lug nuts installed to replaced faded chrome ones I got with the truck. I'm not a fan of the chrome wheels but it is what it is...the black helps to dilute it a bit.
- Hot-only driver's side air vent issue resolved...turned out to be a combination of things (Dorman module, existing OE driver's side blend door actuator)...but needless to say both driver's and passenger's side vents now blow hot AND cold as requested
Other equipment/details on truck from previous owner:
- Brand new rotors, calipers and pads on the rear wheels.
- 4x Nitto Grappler's installed approx. 9,000 miles ago
- Airbag suspension on the rear
- Has both goose neck and receiver hitches
- Upgraded 40gal fuel tank
- Removable truck bed cover (hard cover)
Like I've tried to present throughout this listing- it is not a show-truck- there are a couple of issues as you'd expect from a 293k, 22 year old working truck:
- It's got some dents and scratches
- Aforementioned clear coat on the hood "fixed" with VGG wipe on clear
- Front passenger CV/drive shaft boot is torn (this is something I may actually tackle before sale)
- The head liner is sagging in multiple places
- She seems to have a minor PS fluid leak...but we're talking MINOR
- Rear diff pumpkin shows signs of previous leak- whether that's from filling overflow or a previous leak...she doesn't leave any puddles
- Parking brake doesn't work, but what GMT 800 parking brake does? Unless you live up the side of a mountain, this is something most people will live with. Plus that parking cowl in the Alison would probably hold 20,000lbs...
Okay, I think that's about it. I'm not in a rush to sell. To be quite honest, I was planning on keeping her through the winter but it was a quiet Sunday so decided to test the water here. I think I have it priced fairly having been tracking prices for these trucks over the past 3-4 months. I am open to negotiation (within reason) but I will not negotiate over the phone. If you show enough interest to show up in person and on-time, we can absolutely chat. No trades.
Anyway, if you've made it this far, you're interested. Please email me your name and cell number and we can arrange a time to talk on the phone. Please do not email me "is it available". Trust me, 5 minutes after selling her, the listing will be down. If you have a question you'd like answered, I'll answer it.
Thanks for reading and have a nice day.