Soon to be VX owner, looking for troubles?

[Grif]

First time post here, so forgive if its in the wrong forum.

I took a 1999 VX for a test drive yesterday. The typical things were wrong, passenger side window wont open,, interrior trim loose etc. What concerns me most was a severe pull to the right while driving. Carfax has told me that this vehicle has been in two front end collisions, though you cant really tell from the exterior. What is the chance that the frame/body is irreversibly bent?

Also, at very low speed turns, there is a very pronounced vibration, seems to come from the tires or suspension somehow. I wonder about the state of the tires as they appear to have a significant amount of "cupping". Its almost as if the left front tire is spinning too fast for the low speed turn. At least the ones up front.

Thirdly, when bringing up the RPMs to get up to speed, there is a pronounced rattle from the engine. I cant quite place it, but it gets louder as I increase the load. I barely wanted to get it up to 70mph quick enough for my satisfation as the rattle was disconcerting, and got louder as I increased RPmS.


Any ideas? I really love the vehicle, and doubt I'll ever get an opportunity to buy one again. The price is very reasonable, but I dont want to have to sink 100% more money into it to get it up to my expectations.

Also, whom do you trust to propery inspect/ fix a VX? Local garages? Import specialty shops? Isuzu truck authorized centers? IFAIK there are no authorized consumer vehicle centers left in the USA, just the commercial truck centers.

Please help, and be gentle, the search functions of the forums are far from ideal.

[Gussie2000]

Hi GRIF !

The pulling can be caused by lack of alignment/balancing.
Also the steering can be bent due the accidents,CV joints,axles all plays a a role in the tilt/pull the VX is suffering.

The engine vibration you are relating off can be the engine's foot mounts where the engine sits on the frame.

You must take that VX to a well reputated shop let them havea full inspection,i'll suggest you to have inspected at more then one shop.

My final suggestion : Steer clear from this VX.

Finding the right VX can take a while,but if you patiently keep looking you'll find it.

[Grif]

Hi GRIF !

The pulling can be caused by lack of alignment/balancing.
Also the steering can be bent due the accidents,CV joints,axles all plays a a role in the tilt/pull the VX is suffering.

The engine vibration you are relating off can be the engine's foot mounts where the engine sits on the frame.

You must take that VX to a well reputated shop let them havea full inspection,i'll suggest you to have inspected at more then one shop.

My final suggestion : Steer clear from this VX.

Finding the right VX can take a while,but if you patiently keep looking you'll find it.

I agree about the bent steering, but that had all been cleared OK by a GM dealer down here in Alabama.

A well reputed shop?? I have no idea where to go for one that deals with a VX or Isuzus at all.

As far as steering clear of this one, its the only one I can find in my area that I can afford cash in hand. I'd rather pay 5g on a mildly ****ty one and fix it to my specs htan pay 10-15 grand on "somebody elses" that may look perfect and be modded to hell, but it would never seem like "mine". I'm sure you get the drift of that.

[Gussie2000]

I agree about the bent steering, but that had all been cleared OK by a GM dealer down here in Alabama.

A well reputed shop?? I have no idea where to go for one that deals with a VX or Isuzus at all.

As far as steering clear of this one, its the only one I can find in my area that I can afford cash in hand. I'd rather pay 5g on a mildly ****ty one and fix it to my specs htan pay 10-15 grand on "somebody elses" that may look perfect and be modded to hell, but it would never seem like "mine". I'm sure you get the drift of that.

Hi grif !
I can't change your point of view,but i can assure you can find good running VX's in florida or closed states for bit more than $5000,but here's is where your determination plays a huge role in your judgment & final decision.
If you contact few dealers offering VX's for sale for more then $ 5000 & you offers a deal in cash many of them will go down with you.
Right now dealers are struggling to stay in business & they'll rather lose $1000 then lose &5000.
This community is so great that if you request any VX'er to inspect & test drive a potential VX's for you near alabama,such as florida'georgia,tennessee etc they will without any hesitation.
If you need to fly & pick up a VX i'm sure an local member will pick you up at the airport.
Many members fleu to distance locations to purchase their VX
The last one was a canadian member who flue to nevada & drove back to canada few weeks ago if i'm not mistaken.
There's many non-moded VX's you can get your hands on.
Many of us already shared their opinions you asked for & all of us came to the same conclusion.
Trust me,it's easier to deal with a little moded VX than fixing all those issues that VX is having.

[VX KAT]

I've found that VXs for sale via Autotrader.com etc are almost always bone stock, none, or very little mods, mostly audio stuff. I think the modded ones are mostly kept by their owners...most of whom seem to be on this site!

[Fe]

Be patient. I searched for 90-120 days seriously (stalked for 180-240 days). There are several in Florida...that's driving distance from Alabama. You can get one in $6-$6.5k range with a clean carfax and limited or no mods. Transport is < $1 per mile. I just did 1,300 miles $900 with insurance. Your "cash in hand" will work in your favor in this economy..so will patience. AOL.com (auto), Vast.com, eBay.... Start a dialogue with potential buyer and spend the $150 for Carchex to do a full inspection with pictures in advance. It'll let the seller know you are serious & give you leverage to negotiate if you find serious flaws - LIKE TWO MAJOR ACCIDENTS. I'd steer clear of this one.

[Fe]

I obviously can't read order of posts. Welcome Grif. Now you get the joy of putting money & time into re-conditioning one of our children. Thanks for adopting. Welcome to the family!

[Grif]

I obviously can't read order of posts. Welcome Grif. Now you get the joy of putting money & time into re-conditioning one of our children. Thanks for adopting. Welcome to the family!

Thanks folx. I can already tell this will be one hell of a project. I mean on the outside she is a beauty, but the various shops Ive taken it to provide me with the same litany of needs. Some fairly basic, some serious. But I knew what I was getting into with this (or I think I did) lol. Got the oil changed today because I had no idea when it was changed last. They told me they had no way to tell if the prvious owner was using synthetic or what, so they sold me on Valvoline Maxlife which has both conventional and synth components. I hope that was the correct choice!!

They also said the fuel filter was original from the factory!! Never changed in 105K!! They replaced it and showed me the "gas" they poured out of the old one... it looked like three week old black coffee!! Yuck! I cant imagine what damage burning that crap in the engine has done. I cleaned my K&N filter yesterday, it was nasty too, but looks fine now. Just trying to take care of the simple stuff first while getting a feel for what is in dire need.

Two places told me to get smaller tires, an idea I dont particularly like, because I love the stance of the vehicle as it is. I think it has 33's on it now, but they tell me the mass of the tires is stressing the power steering (i have PS leaks) and may be contributing to my ball joint wear and rear axle leak.

I dunno, what do you think?

[99VC]

How would you need to pay for a VX with so many problems??

[Grif]

How would you need to pay for a VX with so many problems??

5 grand or so for the VX, and if I have to throw a few more grand at it to make it "right" then I dont have a prob with that.

[navistar]

For seven grand, OR SO, you could find a VX with none of those problems, just the usual problems like the windows. Keep looking.

[Moncha]

... IFAIK there are no authorized consumer vehicle centers left in the USA, just the commercial truck centers.

There are a few dealers/service around few and far between

... Please help, and be gentle, the search functions of the forums are far from ideal.

Ouch! Hence, the importance of proper thread/post titles and staying within topic but, I digress.

[etlsport]

yea along with what gussie said.. have the alignment checked out.. should prob run you about 70 bucks.. if you are told its been done before.. chances are you have bent suspension components.. low speed vibrating could be a few things.. possibly out of balance or bent wheels.. but that would probably get worse at higher speeds.. a bad wheel bearing would cause a tapping at speed, possibly vibration too.. or a bad cv.. but that is usually more pronounced during turns.. id get it looked over very closely by a good suspension place before going any further.. even so id probably pass on that vx and find another.. they arent THAT hard to find.. especially if you use this forum, we can help you find a good one at a fair price

[Grif]

There are a few dealers/service around few and far between

Where? All i see on the iszu page are truck centers.

[Anita]

i think you would be better off searching for a vx elsewhere. This truck sounds like it has too many problems that were not addressed by the last owner. Who knows what else would await you. The VX is not a cheap truck to fix by any means.