So about 6 months ago I bought a 1988 Chevy S10 Blazer for $1200. It's the 4x4 4.3 V6 model and it has 239K miles. This is a 2nd car I originally was going to use just as a short-term winter weather & recreational off-road & fishing rig to use in places where my 2010 Hyundai Genesis coupe can't go.

It needed some work on the front end which was in bad shape - my mechanic replaced several components of the front end / suspension, cost me about $700, and a couple smaller repairs - door handle and wiper motor cost another $150, so I have just over $2000 in this truck right now.

All other essential systems are fine according to my mechanic. It does need some work on non-essential systems like air conditioning, cruise control, etc... and needs some aesthetic work but I'm not too worried about that at the moment.

I've become more attached to this truck than originally planned - I've been using it more often as a daily driver and using it for recreation purposes for which it's proven more capable than I thought it would. So I'm getting to "like" this vehicle more.

My question is.... should I sink money into it that will make it last longer - ie: an engine and/or transmission rebuild? Would that make it last another 70-100K miles? Or should I just drive it till it dies (which I expect in less than 40K miles) then go back on the market?

 

Mine has 271xxx bought for 1300 at 225xxx about 7 years ago engine is still strong just rebuilt the tranny about 2 years ago because of stupidity of redlining the rpm in neutral and putting it into gear, a fuel pump, and right now it has a misfire but for how "well" I maintained it is pretty good

 

You wouldnt be on a Blazer forum if the answer you expected was no!!!!