What should I get as a winter vehicle???

846 Views 23 Replies 14 Participants Last post by focalBlur, Oct 31, 2003

MASSIVE_SVT

Discussion Starter · Oct 27, 2003

2

I was thinking pretty much anything with a v6, 4x4, and has lots of room for things, and power for towing my snowmobile up north.

I found two in my area that look good, no rust, strong engines, and would meet my qualifications. What do you think about these-
1984 Chevrolet S10 Blazer 4x4-
Price $1895
Mileage 152019
Exterior Color Green
Interior Color Grey
Body Style Sport Utility
Doors Two Door
Engine 6 Cylinder Gasoline
Trans. Automatic
Fuel Type Gasoline
Drive Type 4 wheel drive

Or this one-
1989 Dodge Dakota 4x4-
Price $1889
Exterior Color Grey
Interior Color Burgundy
Body Style Truck
Doors Two Door
Engine 6 Cylinder Gasoline
Trans. Manual
Stereo AM/FM Stereo Tape
Fuel Type Gasoline
Drive Type 4 wheel drive

Or should I be looking for something different? Please leave your opinion.

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1 - 20 of 24 Posts

OmniFocus

· #2 · Oct 27, 2003

I'd go for the Dakota... I wouldn't touch the GM 2.8L V6 with a ten foot pole!!!

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MUTTLEE

· #3 · Oct 27, 2003

I would get the GM for the 4 wheel drive part but like what OmniFocus said beware of that time bomb

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Tailhooker

· #4 · Oct 27, 2003

The dakota, if you can afford not to have too much room in the cab.

zxspeedfreq

· #5 · Oct 27, 2003

Definitley not the Blazer. From personal experience, 2.8L = problems. I'd recommend a 91 or newer Jeep Cherokee. Even with 100,000 miles plus, the 4.0 is bulletproof if maintained. A friend has a 91 with 185,000 on it and it's only needed u-joints, a clutch, and basic maintenance items.

Ray

· #6 · Oct 27, 2003

is the Blazer a 4.3L? If so, get that one.

My friend has a 2.8L S-10, 185,000, no problems (with the engine).

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Counterfiend

· #7 · Oct 27, 2003

2002 zx3, yellow, with bald tires. Worked in texas last winter, even with 2" of ice on the ground, i was one of the only cars driving around with no problem. I even helped people get unstuck. hahaha

Brent

MASSIVE_SVT

Discussion Starter · #8 · Oct 27, 2003

Definitley not the Blazer. From personal experience, 2.8L = problems. I'd recommend a 91 or newer Jeep Cherokee. Even with 100,000 miles plus, the 4.0 is bulletproof if maintained. A friend has a 91 with 185,000 on it and it's only needed u-joints, a clutch, and basic maintenance items.

I looked, but there is none in my area that arent rolling piles of rust. We use salt around here, and these older 4x4's dont seem to like it.

So pretty much dont buy the blazer? Im a little scared about the dakota since it doesnt give mileage. I think Im going to call them in a few.

sit'n'on_chrome

· #9 · Oct 27, 2003

wtf do you need a "WINTER VEHICLE" , you a all season baller , hows your fall car ?
nad your spring ride ???

Maxximtl

· #10 · Oct 27, 2003

Your always going to get a better value by purchacing from a private party. You might take a look through the paper to see what you can find. I don't know what your budget is, but an older japanese truck may be worth considering. I would tend to think they'd be more reliable.

MASSIVE_SVT

Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 27, 2003

wtf do you need a "WINTER VEHICLE" , you a all season baller , hows your fall car ?
nad your spring ride ???

You know what I meant.

My budget is about 2k and lower.

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240ZX34V8

· #12 · Oct 27, 2003

My Focus is my winter car. It's not like it's worth that much. BTW, we have two '94 Explorers w/ 140k at work.

blackbird

· #13 · Oct 28, 2003

I'd go for the Dakota... I wouldn't touch the GM 2.8L V6 with a ten foot pole!!!

Hey, the 2.8 isn't that bad. It's just when you stuff it in a (relatively) heavy truck and push it around hard that it may not last as long. I know of plenty of cars with it that have well over 200k with no major work.

If you didn't have the towing requirement, the best vehicle (car, truck, minivan; FWD, 4x4, AWD or otherwise) that my family or me have owned has been Chevy Citation's. And I'm completely serious. They're the ultimate snow cars. I drove my X-11 around for years with all-season performance tires up in northern Idaho and never got stuck or slid out where a lot of cars with snow tires did. If you can find one in decent shape, the ones that are left on the road are usually pretty reliable, but I don't know how well FWD would be for towing.

(Actually I do and it isn't too bad. Just in the snow might be a little, um, different...)

Of the two choices shown, I'd lean towards the Dakota unless the Blazer had a newer powertrain (since it looks to be recently painted) or you need the extra interior space.

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MASSIVE_SVT

Discussion Starter · #14 · Oct 28, 2003

Well, the extra interior space is nice, especially for towing all the snowmobile gear, and the fact that its an auto is a plus because I would personally prefer it for long distances, going up north for me is a 6-7 hour drive. And yes, the paint does look nice, thats one thing that attracted it to me, cause normally those year blazers turn out to be rust piles.

I am still undecided, but even though you guys are saying no to the blazer, it still has more of the things I want. And I am leaning more towards it. We'll see. I dont have a day off from work until next monday or later so I hope I can go take a peak at both of these.

Thanks for all the comments.

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ax0n

· #15 · Oct 28, 2003

Just a thought, if you're looking at something with room and some light towing capacity, have you looked at early/mid 90's Aerostars w/ electronic all wheel drive? I've got one of the 1st gen aerostars (1989) and it's not a terrible van... It's got some gremlins, but all beaters do. you can find them fairly cheap... most older Aerostars have a problem with A/C but if it's a winter vehicle...???

Tons of cargo room, you can yank out ALL the backseats. Rear wheel drive primarily, with electronic all wheel drive optional on some of the newer ones. RWD Van + No back seats + snow == fun. AWD van + back seats for weight balance = not a bad wintertime beater, and you can use it year round for helping move friends, tow the jetski, camping, whatever. We've had many a road trip in ours.

I can also tell you how to fix damn near anything on it.

Main things to look out for:

1) A/C - I think it uses R12 Freon, can be upgraded to R134 at any automotive HVAC shop. Compressor seals go bad on most of them because they're so old. It's a few hundred bucks to fix. We just don't use our A/C anymore.

2) Rear Driveshaft U-Joint. Typical of any RWD vehicle, the U-joint will eventually make some noise. It's easy to replace yourself, all you really need are some 1/2" box-end wrenches and hand tools

3) Electrical System, namely the integrity of the electric window motors, and power locks.

4) Transmission - The automatic transmissions on older Aerostars are kinda iffy. Kinda along the lines of the Taurus AXOD-E.

Other than that, and having trouble finding one for cheap that isn't a rustbucket... It's not bad. My RWD aerostar is my winter beater.

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MASSIVE_SVT

Discussion Starter · #16 · Oct 28, 2003

I never even thought about those. Ill look tommorrow, Im tired now.

ax0n

· #17 · Oct 28, 2003

Not bad: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6223&item=2438995939

Skimps on the details, but is probably not a bad van: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6223&item=2439511090

Not bad, list he includes of parts replaces is pretty typical: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6223&item=2439357483

Don't even think of buying this one, but it's had pretty much all the problems you can have on an Aerostar, some of them he fixed, some need fixing still! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6783&item=2438747604

If I were you, I'd check local private listings Vs. eBay.

MASSIVE_SVT

Discussion Starter · #18 · Oct 29, 2003

All the aerostars in my area seem to be both junk, and 2 wheel drive.

And the blazer is not on autotrader anymore, so I think its sold.

Ill have to call and check out the mileage tommorow on the dakota.

focalBlur

· #19 · Oct 29, 2003

What about a Nissan PICKUP, most were 4cylinders in either 2 or 4wd but there are some SE-V6 models out there
they hold their value a 1994 SE kingcab 4x4 would run about $8500

but if you can find a really old one with high miles(they run forever if taken care, oil change every 3000miles)
my cousin had a base model, all it had was a speedo and fuel gauge. it had 280,000miles and still ran like new

good luck

MASSIVE_SVT

Discussion Starter · #20 · Oct 30, 2003

2

Well, I called the guy up and he said that it either had 73k or 173k. He said hes not sure cause after 10 years, you dont need to record the odometer. Sounds a little

to me. He said it had one rust spot on the fender, stock paint, newer tires. From the outside, it looks like 73k, but you never know. I might go test drive it tommorow.

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