I got the bug!

[VX KAT]

I think my biggest concern is the parts situation. Somewhere (maybe this thread), I read that Isuzu stopped selling/importing cars to the U.S. last year. Is that correct? If so, I gotta wonder where you'd go to order a part. Do you have to call overseas? Is everything salvage at this point?

For a backup "go-to" vehicle to my good-weather-only Corvette, it would need to be something that could/would be fairly reliable. And, in the case(s) where repairs were needed, having to wait for weeks/months to find a part would get OLD fast!

I actually can't recall reading or hearing that anybody had to get any parts directly from Japan, at least not so far.....chime in here anybody if I'm off.....

vt_maverick summarized the parts availability issue very well here:
http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...94&postcount=2

[Ldub]

Well,,,I did find (on this site) the gear ratios. I was surprised to see the diffs are 4.30's! Now I know how they get this thing to scoot!

MPG isn't the biggest consideration. However, when I finally broke down and bought a V8 (Jeep) last fall, I started to get annoyed by how often the darn thing needed gas. According to the display, I was getting about 12.5 mpg in moderate temps. Dead winter might have shoved it down near 10 mph. That's a little rich for me.

All the past units with 6-bangers never bothered me in that regard. But they couldn't have been much better in reality. EPA says they're only 1mpg different. If I got 14mpg or better in the city, I'd probably be "happy".

I guess my personal guage is whether my Corvette can get better mileage. With the stock motor, it could beat 15mpg around town. And, 30mpg on the hwy! Not sure what the new 383 will get though.

If I bought one and felt it didn't perform any better than my short-timer V8 Jeep performed, I might (secretly) feel I'd made a poor choice. Because a bigger, more versatile car is always better -- if MPG is the same.

I think my biggest concern is the parts situation. Somewhere (maybe this thread), I read that Isuzu stopped selling/importing cars to the U.S. last year. Is that correct? If so, I gotta wonder where you'd go to order a part. Do you have to call overseas? Is everything salvage at this point?

For a backup "go-to" vehicle to my good-weather-only Corvette, it would need to be something that could/would be fairly reliable. And, in the case(s) where repairs were needed, having to wait for weeks/months to find a part would get OLD fast!

Paying more for a respective part -- than for my vette would get annoying too. (I already consider some parts too expensive with a "Corvette tax" built-in. I'm probably not "rich" enough to own multiple money-traps.)

On the other hand, now that I've got the bug, every other SUV looks BORING. I can hardly look at a Jeep anymore. I'm definitely hooked.

...You almost have yourself talked out of VX ownership.
Maybe best for you to get something more pedestrian, & continue to hang out @ VXinfo, living vicariously through the rest of us...
Ya only go around once...always making "safe" choices is boring, but the best course of action for some...

[Cobrajet]

...You almost have yourself talked out of VX ownership.
Maybe best for you to get something more pedestrian, & continue to hang out @ VXinfo, living vicariously through the rest of us...

Agreed. My thoughts on VX ownership have always been -- If you have to think twice about it, then you may not be cut out for ownership.

In my case, it was not IF I wanted a VX, but which one. Seeing the brand new Proton in the dealer showroom sealed the deal, even without a test drive.

[89Vette]

...You almost have yourself talked out of VX ownership.
Maybe best for you to get something more pedestrian, & continue to hang out @ VXinfo, living vicariously through the rest of us...
Ya only go around once...always making "safe" choices is boring, but the best course of action for some...

Well,,,if you can't say something more reassuring about parts, repairs, reliability, projected downtime, etc.....then maybe you're right.

I don't consider my Corvette build a "safe" choice by any means. How many people completely redo a car inside & out -- plus install a new motor requiring a specialize tune that I'll be a part of. (Keep in mind that a bad tune could burn up the motor and cost several thousand dollars!)

My last post was more about (parts) availability -- no doability.

Sooo. Where do you get parts??? Does everyone hit these parts distribution warehouses? Are most engine parts available aftermarket? Like sensors, injectors, brake cylinders, etc.... What if a turn signal switch goes bad? Or speedo? Brake pedal switch? You know...the kind of thing that would be a "dealer-only" item. With any car I've owned, there's always SOME parts that are dealer-only.

OTOH, the only part I can remember needing for my complete Vette refurb was a $5 heater rod fastener. Lots of other things need to be procured thru salvage. So, it wasn't the explanation about warehouses that concerned me as much as the comment about "if I'm patient enough,,,I'll find what I need." That's what I mostly would hope to avoid.

[Ldub]

Why MERLIN of course......

St Charles Isuzu...tell him you saw it here for a disc & free shipping...



I was just givin' you a little nudge to see which side of the fence you were gonna come down on...

It's really not much worse than owning a Studebaker, Edsel or DeSoto...

[tom4bren]

The only part that I had experience with having a difficult time finding was the half shafts & that problem seems to be fixed now. Another member was able to find them available.

Prolly the saving grace for us to find parts is this here forum & the GREAT members. If you're having a difficult time finding something, someone here will bend over backwards to help locate.

[VX KAT]

Between tom4bren, vt_maverick, LDub, and myself, we've definitely exhausted the parts availability issue/question, but I can tell you still have deep reservations....and it weighs 2 tons, gets horrible MPG, & will never be considered fast by a long shot, so, is it really for you..... ?

So here in one place:

~Isuzu warehouses thru Merlin at St. Charles
~Forum members
~aftermarket sites such as vt_mav described
~ebay
~salvage yards (with Cash4Clunkers providing 15 "new" VX carcasses to pick over)

[LittleBeast]

If you are willing to put in some time you can find the parts. I have not run into any huge problems getting parts, and I have fixed pretty much everything myself. Most everything under the skin of the VX was/is shared with one of the most mass produced SUV's ever Trooper/Rodeo, body panels and cladding/trim pieces will be the hardest to find, but once again, scrap yards and this site makes even that not too difficult to find.

If you are in love with the VX like many here you will find a way to make it work, if you are looking for a "smart" choice don't even bother, for us here this is the "only" choice, because this is one of the most unique choices one has to make.

As my dad put it so well one day, "a car to a car lover is not just a car but is actually an extension of who they are, an expression of themselves to the world they drive through." My dad was and is a car lover through and through, and now that the VX and I have shared so many days/nights of blood, sweat, and tears it is going no where no matter what it takes.

[89Vette]

If you are looking for a "smart" choice don't even bother...

Wow! That pretty much sums it up! I'm a smart guy, so I guess that means I have to pass.......

Oh sorry. I was daydreaming. I don't have a lick of sense actually, so I'm not looking for the smart choice -- just not a really really dumb one (that makes my true character so obvious!

If you are in love with the VX like many here you will find a way to make it work.... for us here this is the "only" choice, because this is one of the most unique choices one has to make.

That's closer to what I'm thinkin'

[PK]

It's time to actually sit in one and drive it around the block.
You will either love it or hate it.

I bought mine second hand interstate without ever seeing one in the flesh - one of the most potentially dangerous and stupid decisions I have made in my life.

Turns out to be one of the best decisions.
Apart from the missus and family, the VX is the most valuable thing in my life.
I will never sell it. (Not sure about the missus.)

You will feel this way and buy it, or you won't.
Talking about it won't make the decision for you.

Good luck

PK

[SlowPro48]

I don't want to put words in anybody's mouth but I think by "smart" LittleBeast meant "practical". Despite the conclusions you're bound to have drawn based on the shenanigans you see around here, intelligence and VX ownership are not mutually exclusive.

So don't worry - you can still drive a VX if you're a wise guy - and I truly believe you are.

Ha! Sorry - couldn't resist. Here's a dancing banana for ya!

I bought my VX off eBay having never even sat in one. I didn't know a thing about them - just saw one in a parking lot, walked around it a few times and knew I HAD to have one. Luckily, I love my VX. I suspect a lot of people on this site are in the same boat. You, however don't seem like the type to just jump into an unknown situation with both feet. You're on here looking up gear ratios checking out parts availability, 0-60 times, vehicle weight, yada yada yada - doing all sorts of research. And that's a good thing. But VX ownership is not a cerebral, practical experience. I agree with PK - you really just need to drive one. Only then will you know if it's right for you.

When I first got mine, one of my office mates went apeshyte over it. Couldn't stop talking about it. Wanted me to help him find one despite my telling him numerous times that it was not the car for him. Hey -it was an easy call - he drove a Buick, wore Mr. Rogers sweaters, sang in a barbershop quartet and listened to ABBA. (I'm not making this up) Finally he got on my last nerve so I handed him the key to my VX and told him to take it for a spin. He never mentioned it again. The point being - a VX is not for everyone.

I personally think you would love a VX. If you're into Vettes then you're obviously no slave to practicality and you also don't mind a suspension that allows you to drive over a dime and call it heads or tails.

Many members have already pointed out that mechanical parts are shared with other models. Engine, transmission, transfer case, etc are not rare. The unique parts are glass, sheet metal and cladding - in general, the things you only have to worry about if you crash.

So why not look at it this way: Drive a VX - if you like it, buy it without regard to your parts availability fears - and make sure you have comprehensive insurance.

If you don't crash, you won't need any hard to find parts.

If you do crash, make sure it's a total (not hard to do these days) and you'll get your money back and either get another one or move on to your next adventure. Then we will circle around your dead VX like a bunch of vultures and pick it to the bone to keep ours going.

Sound reasonable?

P.S. Here's another banana. I bet a wise guy like you already knows that staring at a dancing banana increases one's IQ. That's why Ldub is such a smarty-pants. You could be a smarty-pants too if you buy a VX and hang out on this site. It's chock full of dancing bananas...

[VX KAT]

Put me in the "never sat in one prior to purchase" category. I knew all about them, had researched a ton and had seen 2 or 3 in parking lots over the years...but I found mine in VA thru Autotrader.com, bought it sight unseen except pics, paid $1,000 to ship it across country to AZ...blind faith I guess. Mine's been a gem.

[tom4bren]

Put me in the "never sat in one prior to purchase" category. I knew all about them, had researched a ton and had seen 2 or 3 in parking lots over the years...but I found mine in VA thru Autotrader.com, bought it sight unseen except pics, paid $1,000 to ship it across country to AZ...blind faith I guess. Mine's been a gem.

I had the same experience as KAT 'cept I had test driven one before.

One of the things that hasn't been mentioned here is that with the VX tight turning radius, you can throw a U-Turn on a 2 lane road without backing up. That makes it even more funner.

[samneil2000]

I found this site and started reading about them, remembered seeing them years before, but never saw them around Memphis really. I decided I wanted one. I found mine in Indianapolis and had it shipped down site unseen, save for some pictures. I was thrilled when I backed it off the car hauler, and it's been a thrill ride ever since.
Since then I've seen 2 or 3 around here. I musta started something.
If something breaks, it can be fixed, that's not a big deal. Like the others have said, you just have to drive one and its either for you or its not.
Good luck!

[Mile High VX]

Gotta go with the rest of the gang here as well.

Wanted one when they came out, but couldn't make it work. Saw a Proton in my area about 2 years ago and it felt like the old high school crush came rushing back in...

Found a Ebony last year on this forum close by, drove it, hated it, but it was not well cared for. Saw that it actually came in GREEN (i love GREEN on anything sporty looking) and waited for the right one which I found two months ago. I'll never regret waiting for the right one and I don't imagine I'll ever quit smiling when I look at it.