Should I?

[Loop]

Hello everyone!

I'm new the forums but have been eyeing you guys for a few days now doing research and whatnot. Thanks for all of your time and contribution...I'm really impressed with the amount of information here. I've found the majority of technical info by searching the forums however I wanted to get some general feedback as you all are more familiar with the vehicle.

So I'm about to buy my first VX (possibly this weekend). It's a '99 Astral with 70K miles for $7500. The price seems to be an alright deal when I average the bank's loan value, NADA, KBB, etc. I do know the seller is firm on the price and will not budge as he has dropped it down from $9500.

He bought it from a one person seller in TX (possibly off eBay) and had about $2000 worth of engine work done. I asked for specifics on the work but he really didn't know except that the engine had a rattle and was making noise - possibly something with a rod. But supposedly all is good now. I haven't seen the vehicle yet as it is about three and a half hours away. I found out about it from someone who happened to stumble upon it casually. They said the only thing they remembered was that the cladding seemed to be really faded out.

Honestly, I'm kind of scared to buy a late mode Isuzu with all the horror stories I've been reading about blown engines and miscellaneous (read expensive) problems. I know the majority can be avoided with good maintenance however it does still worry me.

Anywho, what do you guys think?

I do have a couple of more questions for current owners:

1) Of course maintenance prices can vary from shop to shop, but do you see it more expensive to work on an Isuzu compared to your other imports?

2) Do you see a difference in prices for parts? i.e.; VX parts are more expensive as it is discontinued

3) Hypothetically you bought this '99 w/ 70K and do not know the maintenance history. What would be your mechanical checklist to have done first?

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate it and look forward to being a contributive member!!

-Loop

[tom4bren]

To answer the thread title first 'Should I?' Hell Yah!

It's a hell of a vehicle.

Parts are pricey & hard to find but that's why we're all here - to help each other out.

When you get her home, the first thing you'll want to do is change out all of the fluids (yes, all of them). There are threads here that describe each: pumpkins, tranny, transfer case ...

I haven't had any problems with mine but everyone else will tell you to replace the PCV. It's only 3 bucks and takes 5 minutes so why not.

If your windows are slow going up - read all of the window fix threads. You'll want to keep those tracks lubed.

Drive & enjoy. We'll be here if you run into any problems down the road.

[nfpgasmask]

The price is good. But if you ask me, I would be a little wary of the "engine work". I would certainly try to get more specifics about what the problem was, and what was done to fix it.

Since you have already familiarized yourself with all the "horror stories", then you already know about some of the blown engines. Now, I am no expert, but it is my understanding, that once you get rod knock, your engine is doomed. Now, that said, I am sure a good mechanic could go in there and do $2000 worth of work and get it fixed, but again, I don't know enough about it to give you a positive answer. So hopefully some other, more mechanically experienced folks with chime in on that.

But all that aside, I would 100% go look at it, drive it slow, drive it fast, take it on the highway for a few miles, listen to the engine, see if it sounds good. If it runs strong, check the oil and see if it is low on the dip stick. If the seller isn't paying attention to that, you could find out if this VX has the oil burning issue ahead of time. Make sure the brakes work good and stop well, check the tires, etc.

The VX is a wicked, wicked ride, and worth every penny, but do check into the history of the vehicle and make sure you are getting into a solid running machine. If everything checks out, you will be more than happy.

In my opinion, the VehiCROSS is a performance vehicle, and it MUST be cared for accordingly. Everything from the leather seats and the cladding, to all of the mechanics. Make sure you care for this stuff, be religious about regular maintenance and upkeep, and put the best products into it you can afford.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.

Bart

[rowhard]

You know, it's a crap shoot. You might get lucky and get a hell of a ride for a good price. BUT, you could get burned. So ask yourself, IF it turns sour, are you prepared both finanically and mechanically to deal with a questionable purchase? And if not, then maybe keep looking and find another one that might cost more but you will be better off in the end. Whenever you buy anything used, there is always the possibility of getting burned. See if you can get an extended warranty through the bank or credit union. The VX is a well built vehicle except for a few silly things and it is a durable engine used in alot of vehicles

[AREA 51]

Well, grandpa bob's green dragon, a 2000 with 40k miles and supercharger sold for $10.5K on ebay , minus $3k for supercharger that means you could find a 2000 with 40k miles for about $7.5 K.

[etlsport]

i dont know about that... grandpa bob's vx was very well used and even mentioned a few dings in it in the auction... it also had some very personalized modifications done to it like the cage around the front bumper and the hood scoop.. usually modifications like that lower the resale value....

.. that said dino found a very nice vx with minimal problems for under 6k... but i wouldnt sell my vx for less than 14k... just make sure that when you buy your VX you get the one you want.. dont settle for one... many members here have had to fly to get their VX then drive it back hundreds or thousands of miles

from everything i have read, most mechanics say that when the rod goes, the engine can't be rebuilt.. but to calm your fears a little, every blown engine i can recall reported that their dipstick was absolutely dry when the engine blew... i dont think anyone would drive their vx long enough to burn all that oil after the horrible sounds of blowing the engine, so chances are they were really low on oil when the engine went... aka keep an eye on it and all should be fine

[circmand]

For that kind of money an inspection is called for. In adition if you get an extended warranty offer read it thoroughly. I had one offered to me at $1500 had deductables for everything had maximum payouts per occurance and a top payout of $3000 over the life of the warranty.

[mdwyer]

Hello everyone!
1) Of course maintenance prices can vary from shop to shop, but do you see it more expensive to work on an Isuzu compared to your other imports?

2) Do you see a difference in prices for parts? i.e.; VX parts are more expensive as it is discontinued

3) Hypothetically you bought this '99 w/ 70K and do not know the maintenance history. What would be your mechanical checklist to have done first?

1) VX-specific parts are hard to find. Eg, people will kill for a roof rack or a hood insert. But many of the mechanical parts are common with the Trooper and Rodeo, so there's a big pool of those parts in dealers and in salvage. Replacing the door handle clip is cheap and easy. EGR? Not exactly cheap, but still easy to find. The ABS system? Time to take out a loan, but you'll be able to find plenty of them.

2) I haven't seen them as more expensive so much as just some are hard to find. As I said above, most of the parts you care about are standard across a pretty wide selection of GM and Isuzu vehicles. Aftermarket parts are suprisingly well represented. Getting a sun roof or a supercharger is easy. New springs can be slightly tricky, but the intelligence on this group helps a LOT. Body parts, though... ugh. Body parts are rare, and you'll probably have to ship them.

3) I'd like to give you a giant list of things to check for, but considering I bought mine without even driving it, I have little room to speak. In retrospect, I wish I would have tested the ABS, and knocked $3k of the price for its repair. I wish I had driven a couple other VXs, so I'd know what noises were normal and which weren't. Oh, and I would have checked to see if the windows rolled down and back up.

[Lizardmen3477]

Look around dont settle for one that could be uncertain and for that much you could get one with less miles and newer. Look around every now and then a good one pops up.

[Loop]

Thanks for everyone's response! Your info is invaluable!! A pre-thanks for anyone else who responds!

I tried to call him back today but he is out of town until next Monday...so the purchase is on hold for another week and a half. However, I did talk to someone else and they were pretty sure it was an eBay purchase. All he could verify or remember is that the current owner put new tires on it. He mentioned that the owner likes to buy cars, fiddle around with them for a while and them sell them.

If I decide not to buy it, I'll definitely post it in here incase anyone else is interested.

-Loop

[IndianaVX]

hey loop,
others have eluded to the same thing im tellin you. and that is.....dont fall in love with the first vx you see, shop around, do autotrader, etc, and find some around you. i am one of those that drove over 500 miles to find the "right" one, only after calling on 6 others, and test driving 3 others. i paid more, but i got a much better vehicle than any of the others. like i said, look around, look at this one your looking at, maybe it will work out, maybe not, but there seem to be a steady flow of vx's for sale for a wide range of prices.
good luck with everything.......
david