Ok here is an odd question/request. My wife has a 1999 blazer with 150,000 miles and we are in the market for a new(er) SUV. Problem is....she doesnt like ANYTHING out there as much as her 1999 Blazer LS 4door 4wd. I have 3 options.

1. Keep adding new parts when something fails to keep it on the road. The problem with this is that every night I worry about something going wrong. Especially in the snow. I have already replaced the transfer case motor and had a transmission overhaul done by the dealer.

2. Buy a new SUV. she finds faults in everything we look at that is under the 50k pricepoint. She likes the newer cadillacs and bmw's, but if a car payment is more than a mortgage...I say hell no.

3. I find a pristine blazer (not Trailblazer) to replace this one with.

Does anyone have any idea on which SUV's are out there similar to the blazer, and more of a shot in the dark, does anyone know someone who has a sweet blazer they would be willing to part with that has low miles and no body rust/damage (from the south/california)?

Thanks.

 

I understand, my wife likes our Blazer a lot. I know of nothing out there that is as a Blazer other than a S-10 Jimmy.
Just keep fixing it is cheaper than buying another.

 

Your wife sounds like a smart woman. I looked at a lot of vehicles, and the 99-02 Blazer 4dr/2wd was my pick. I looked for a long time till I found one that wasn't beat to death or had a million miles. They are out there, they are cheap, but they are few and far between.

Your wife's truck only has 150k on it? That's where I started! 150k these days is nothing. For what 2 car payments would run you, you can fix everything on the Blazer and keep it happy.

The ONLY SUV out there today that I would even remotely consider new, is the Dodge Durango. And that is only if I can get a non-Mercedes engine. Germans make the worst engines and vehicles on the road today.... They killed Chrysler with their terrible engineering. I'm so happy the Italians took it over.

 

Correction, the Jimmy is an s15

 

im kinda the same way i like the 90s vehicles. check craigslist or put a want ad on some forums, im gonna do the same thing my 1990 is getting kinda rotted, when the time comes to get a new one im gonna go down south and bring one back

 

Just a note. There seems to be different opinions on the 4.7 being MB. I have heard from a couple of old Mopar guys that the 4.7 was from Mitsubishi not MB. But either way it is a junk engine, I owned one. The Durango has its problems & with a Hemi is 16 mpg at best. I know people with them. Now the NEW Durango 2011-13 is a nice looking SUV but then you go back to no LO gear in transfer case. For off-roading a HI & LO in the transfer case is a must for me. Mine Blazer Carfaxed out with no issues it had 102,000 miles on it when I bought it in March of last year. A few car payments hasn't fixed mine. I'm $12,000 into it. So I have a NEW one piece at a time 1998 Blazer 4x4. I could of gone to Brazil & bought a 2013 Blazer 4x4 & shipped it back for not much more.

Rich,I stand corrected. That is why they cost a little more. LOL

 

Yes, I only mean the brand new Fiat-engineered Durango. The MB era one is a piece of trash. The 97-2001 with the 318 or 360, those are good vehicles. Granted, all SUV's are going to get subpar MPG. The only good MPG SUV would be something like a Ford Escape, but who wants a Ford? Not me. The rule in the Mopar world is if the engine ends in .7, avoid it. They all have oiling problems.

As for the no LO gear in 4wd, all the modern 4wd's use CV joints instead of u-joints and live axles. I wouldn't want to stress a CV joint by doing any low range use. These newer SUV's are just station wagons with higher ground clearance

 

Our Blazer 4x4 gets 18-21 mpg on the road about 13-15 mpg in town. For a SUV that is the best in class. same years Explorer 4x4 gets close. The Escape V-6 4x4 only gets about 18-24 MPG according to the guys I have talked to with them.
I haven't heard of many issues with the 5.7 Hemi. So your telling me the 5.7 Hemi is not a good engine? The 4.7 big issue from what I know is heads & gaskets. Then spark plugs only getting 25,000/set. With the Dakota 4x4 we owned with a 4 sp auto & 3:55 gears it was a dog in the hills unless you like running high RPM, which for an old school 50-60s guy I have never gotten use to running a vehicle at high RPMs all the time to make power. I guess that is why I just love my 99 Ram QC 4x4 V-10 5 speed manual. Max torque 450 ft/lbs @ 2400 RPMs.
Living in the west that is one reason we own a very expensive Blazer 4x4. Good road mileage, comfortable to drive for 10 hours straight, good power, & very good off-road ability, because of the two speed transfer case & full frame. I have no use for a AWD station wagon unless it gets better mileage than our 1990 Honda Civic LX. Which is around 30-35 MPG on road. About 26-28 MPG in town. Other than ground clearance the Civic front wheel drive works very well even in snow & ice. If you add cables it goes through about everything except high snow banks, But most 4x4 have their limits also.

 

Sorry, but you could not PAY me to own a chrysler product. Well you could when I haul it to the scrap yard. LOL