I'm looking at a 1998 GMC Jimmy, its got about 130k on it, had a motor rebuild 20k ago, and a couple of other things replaced.


no rust, the guy says its solid

I really dont know anything about blazers


also, is this a good off road truck? I have some worries about clearance.


thanks.


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Welcome to the forum.
It looks like a nice truck. As with any vehicle maintainence is the key. If it has been maintained well, then it's probably going to be good.
I don't think many of the guys or girls on this site have had many clearance issues.
If you spend some time reading through the many sections and post here you may get a better idea of what some of the maintainence and repair issues could be.
If it looks as good on the interior as the exterior, it runs and rides and stops well and the price is reasonable and you like it, then I say go for it.

 

Blazers and Jimmy's are pretty solid and usually last a long time. All in all they are good vehicles, but they have their share of problems.

Here are a few to look for before you purchase:

Oil Lines. They are probably leaking. They always leak. If they aren't leaking a bit, they were just replaced and will start leaking again eventually. Keep an eye on them. Heck... that's probably why the engine "was rebuilt" in the first place.
Rear Wiper. Does it work?
Rear Defrost. Does it work?
Front brakes. Check the calipers. They like to rattle and stick.
Intake gasket. They will always leak.
Water pump & alternator. Listen to it run with the hood up. These two things are seriously disposable parts on blazers. You will buy many of them
Front end. These things eat ball joints and other front end components.
ABS wires... There was actually a post earlier today on this. Cheap fix, but important (your ABS will randomly engage if the wire fail)
Check as much of the electrical gizmo's as you can. Make sure everything works. These things are known for bad hazard switches, which cause brake lights to fail, and other quirky electrical problems in the dash.

90% of the problems with these things are minor. The tranny is solid, and the engine will outlive the rest of the vehicle.

As for offroading, they can hold their own pretty well. You can always lift it and throw on some bigger tires.

Mods for these things are cheap, so there is alot you can do to them on a limited budget.

For a V6 these things have a whack of power. I'm still impressed when I accelerate and the thing just wants to go.

Winter driving is great. They are heavy so they handle well and plow through deep snow.

Honestly, I love and hate my blazer at the same time. It's a solid vehicle, with alot of quirks.

But this is all just my experience. The others here may have more to add.

M

 

Trust me, the ground clearance is just fine on the Blazer in off-road conditions. A couple years ago, I was an unbeliever, a friend took me up on a mountain trail that his family leases for hunting. And when we got up there, some jerks had obviously taken 4 wheelers through during or after a heavy rain and created deep ruts. I told my friend there was no way in heck he was gonna get through this stuff. I was wrong.. (BTW, he had a posi and some really nasty tires, I can't remember what brand they were off hand but they did the trick.)... Blazers are like old hammers, they fly off the handle once in a while, but they still work. That one looks in pretty decent shape.

 

Thanks guys, you all seem to know alot about these cars, I'm sure I'll be back.