I'm considering buying an 04 Blazer (65K miles, 9K bucks). I've read horrible reviews on the Blazers, and great reviews, so I don't know where to go really. You guys might be a little biased, but I figure I'd ask anyways...are the Blazers "problem" trucks or are they pretty reliable?

Are the 04's pretty user friendly as in simple repairs or is this a thing I'll be bringing to my mechanic every month?

I really like the look, size, and 4wd...I drove one last weekend and it was pretty smooth and handled well...I can definately see myself in it but everyone is telling me to buy foregin[:'(]

 

Well for one, don't buy foreign, and when the blazer is running great it is extremely dependable and an amazing vehicle. It is just like any other vehicle though, there are problem spots, I don't know specifics for the 04, but I love my 98 and would buy it again if I had to go back and do it again

 

I have an 04 and am very happy, so far. 57,000 on it and no major problems, 19 mpg around town and I have yet to see an upstate NY snow storm that has stopped it.

 

Not really alot of major issues to worry about on these. It's not like the trannys in Hondas or head gaskets in Land Rovers. The 4.3L vortec is nice and powerful, and has a ton of low end torque. Tranny is real strong...look up 4L60E on wikipedia...its pretty much THE tranny since 1960/70/whenever GM started using it.

And we're the best people to ask...if there's a problem that's been had, we've probably dealt with it . Biggest pains are ball joints tend to be a problem ~100k, and dex-cool coolant can cause issues for you if the truck has not been properly maintained.

Two things to check: First, look under the hood...if the radiator cap is black plastic with red lettering (Stock), replace with metal stant cap (works better). Second, look in the coolant resevoir tank. If you see a whole lot of muddy brown clumps/build up, you might want to ask the dealership for a coolant flush. The dexcool breaks down when contacted with air (caused by the stock rad. cap) and the sludging can clog radiator fins and heater cores. Easily avoided with maintenance (keeping it flushed at the right intervals, and topping off when needed).

I'd say buy it! (there's the bias [8D])

 

oh yeah ...me id deff go for it ive had mine for 2 years done routine maitainceand stuff lie that and now its a 95 and it had 189,000 give or take a few and its run good the only prob i had was a back fire... but it has 189,000 on it as far as power ive drove others but that 4.3 is a beast on road and off

 

Hey guys, don't knock foreign. I've got foreign. It's a '99 BLazer ex Japan & it's made in New Jersey. lol

 

New Jersey FTW...lol... GM just recently tore down the S10 andBlazer Plant.

 

welcome to forum. my blaze has been reliable. no major issues

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've been asking around and I've heard that the newer Blazers (2002 and up) have "major issues"...when pressed to explain in a little more detail all he said was "front end stuff and ball jointsgo at around 100k miles".

I've also been looking at the Ford Explorers, but they seem to have too many bells and whistles for what I want; which is a pretty bare bones SUV.

 

If you want bare bones in an explorer, get the XLS.