Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
This is as compared with the regular maintenance schedule which doesn't list a recommended tranny fluid swap at all...
Hope ya'll are having a good week....-Cobbo
-mike
Now about the repair. As I got the Troop back, I immediately took it for a test drive to see what the results were. I told my wife I wasn't taking it home until it was fixed, no matter how long it takes. We hopped in and started backing out of the parking spot to head for the freeway. As I was backing up, I thought I heard a noise and felt a vibration coming from the rear of the vehicle. I didn't really focus on it, thought it might be gravel under the tires on the pavement or something like that. Anyway, we headed for the freeway just a couple blocks away, and quickly found ourselves cruising along at 75 mph. I asked my wife, "do you hear that"? Hear what, she replied. That, that...quiet, silence, just the wind blowing!! Wow, what a difference! No more "whine" from the rear diffy! It was GREAT to just hear a little tire noise and the wind blowing by the windshield. I accelerated on up to about 80-85 mph and it was smooth as silk. Aaaaah that is nice. Got back to the dealership, closed the paperwork just as the service department was closing, and prepared to head home. I went out to the service writer and told him to pass along to the mechanic my appreciation for a, "job well done". "Looks like you guys did it right, I said". "Please let the mechanic know I appreciate it". He grinned from ear to ear. He may not get too many pleased customers coming back to thank him. As we exited the parking lot, I thought I heard that sound again and felt some vibration?? Maybe gravel on the pavement again. We stopped and got a bite to eat and as we prepared to leave when exiting the parking spot, there it was again...that noise and vibration. Whoa, this can't be happening! I don't think I'm imagining this. We decide to take in a movie before going home and after the movie is over and I'm backing out of the parking spot, you guessed it, there it goes again! By now the dealers closed, so we head home (75 miles away). The drive home is bittersweet. I'm loving the quiet, smooth drive, but I've got a bad feeling something just ain't right in that diffy. The next day after backing out of the garage and turning on to the main street, there's that noise again. Turns out, every time I make a change in direction of travel and especially a sharp turn at a intersection, I get the same vibration and noise. I decided to call the dealer and let him know what is happening and get his opinion on it. In the mean time, I've decided they didn't put LSD oil in the thing and the plates are sticking together or something. I stopped by my parts jobber and picked up a tube of LSD treatment that goes with rear end lube. Called the dealer service dept., they say bring it back, we'll take a look at it. "Did they put LSD oil in it"?, I asked. 5 minutes of silence. Yeah, the mechanic said he put the correct lube in there. Oh great, I can easily do without my Troop another week, sure....hmmm maybe not. I told him I would have to schedule an appointment later in the week. I pulled the Trooper in the garage at home and proceeded to pull the rear diffy level check plug. Stuck my little finger in to check the level, and lo and behold its filled right up to the plug. I opened my LSD treatment and squirted it in and re-inserted the plug. Wait a minute, look at that! Right there by the plug is a label that says "USE ONLY LSD OIL". I didn't see that before, and it's obvious now it had been covered with dirt and grime, but now it's standing out there just like new. Hmmmm. Backed out of the garage, turned to get on the street, (*&%@#$ still vibrating. Drove a few miles, took a couple changes of direction, back and forth, sharp turns, still vibrating. But, it doesn't seem to be as evident. Over the course of a couple days the vibrations completely quit. Those jerks didn't put the proper oil in or left the LSD treatment out! End of mystery. Happy Trooping again!! ;-/
-mike
-mike
As for you not being handy, you can easily do the main fluid changes (front/rear diffy, engine, TOD, ATF) with nearly zero mechanical skill. I am living proof. If you can locate the drain and fill plugs, and know how to use a wrench, you are ready to go.
Excluding the aftermarket moonroof, you're talking apx $21,700 for a 2WD Trooper. You might do a little better, but if this includes tax it doesn't sound too bad. E.g. if that price includes 6% sales tax, the vehicle price is apx $20,500. If you really want to get into the nitty gritty numbers, then go to Edmund's, Carpoint, or some other site and find the dealer invoice, holdback, etc. and figure out exactly how much profit the dealer is making.
Re: the moonroof, is the dealer charging you $1,300 for it? Have you called the moonroof shop to get a price quote from them directly? $1,300 for an aftermarket moonroof sounds awfully steep unless it's top quality and a huge size like the factory Trooper moonroof.
Even if you can't get the dealer much lower, look around and consider what other SUVs you could get for $20-21k. There's no comparison-- the Trooper is way more vehicle (quality, features, size, power, etc.) than anything else NEAR this price point. If you can work a dealer to the bone on the price, then it becomes even more of a steal than it already is.
Automatic transmission. The moonroof is a good size......completely guaranteed for as long as own car. Not a necessity...but nice to have.
I agree with you about the value for $20K - $21K. I've looked at Jetta Wagon, Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute, everything else under the sun. Need something dependable that I can put sample chairs in the back and drive all over the state.
-mike
After much research, test driving, and deliberation, I decided to pick up a 2001 Trooper S 4WD this past weekend.
I've never owned an SUV before, which makes me the exception in Colorado, it seems. Up until September 1st of this year, I was the happy owner of a 1993 Honda Civic. Say what you will about their size and power, Honda certainly makes a reliable, economic car, which is exactly what I needed at the time as a recent college grad.
But tragedy struck in the wee hours of September 1st. I had my car (and a 2000 Kawasaki motorcycle) parked beneath a carport at my apartment complex. Some drunkard came home at about 3AM and parked his car under the same carport, leaving a lit cigar inside. The cigar ignited his car, which ignited the carport roof, which in turn burned the 36 vehicles parked beneath the carport to the bare metal. Including my vehicles.
The curious may view the wreckage at the following website run by a friend of mine: http://www.woodrum.org/fire_at_jb's.htm
The motorcycle was fully insured, but the car, being 8 years old, had liability only. I had thought that, since I had a very safe driving record, I wouldn't need full coverage in case of an accident. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this would happen.
After a period of mourning, I set about trying to find a new vehicle. I used Edmunds.com as my primary resource, as well as the numerous other car websites and Consumer Reports.
My main criteria was space and power. I'm 6'6" tall, and as such was interested in a vehicle with better-than-average interior space. (Yes, a Honda Civic is a small car, but it's amazing how you can make yourself fit when you have no car payments.) Originally, I was quite enamored with the VW Passat. Seems everyone thinks this car is just the bees knees: roomy, zippy, ad nauseam.
So I test drove a 2001 Passat that the local dealership was trying to move at invoice. While I must admit that the dashboard lighting scheme is quite impressive - the purple and red colors resembling something out of "Tron" - I was terribly cramped and uncomfortable in this car, and the performance didn't really float my boat, either. The clincher was when I tried to hit the brakes and discovered that my left foot was resting underneath the brake pedal. That's better than coffee at giving you a thrill, not being able to put your brakes on fully.
I tried every large vehicle I could get my hands on. I fit quite well in the Ford Crown Victoria and Lincoln Towncar, but I feared that owning one of these might, how shall we say, "hinder" my ability to get a date. I tried a white 1996 Ford Bronco I, but was scared away by the reliability issue and the inevitable OJ Simpson cracks that were sure to come my way.
Sure, there were the Chevy Suburbans and Ford Expeditions. But talk about expensive!
Finally, at the suggestion of a frazzled saleswoman who'd had me try every car on the lot for size, I tried the 2001 Trooper. And was impressed. Great interior space, punchy engine (with semi-decent gas mileage), and I even liked the stock radio. I was even more intrigued when I discovered that Joe Isuzu was trying to kick the '01s off the lot by offering the $6,000 incentive.
So I called every Isuzu dealer in the Denver metro area, checking on prices and selection. (Side point - there's a dealer in town who's literally offering a FREE 2001 KIA with the purchase of any new car. Huh.) Finally, I got ahold of a dealer who had just received a 2001 program Trooper that day.
I swung by and checked it out. Trooper S, 4WD, 5,000 miles, still well within the factory warranty, ski rack, tinted windows, cargo mat. Test drove just fine. They wanted $21,000 for it. I gave them $19,500. Personally, I think they would've gone lower, but I was still very happy with the price I ended up with.
To forestall any comments from those out there who could've gotten a better price: please, give me some credit. This is Colorado. Anything with 4WD usually commands a premium. I'm sure that, had I been car shopping in Miami, I could've talked them down to $12,995 and had them throw in a free box of Krispy Kremes, but this is a decent deal for snow country.
Planned upgrades: bug shield (I'll be trying the reasonably-priced Lund, based on the comments I've read in this forum), CD player, and that's about it.
One question for the group here: does anyone have any suggestions as to creative ways of locking the spare tire cover? Unfortunately, I live in a neighborhood that has quite a few "problem children" who enjoy stealing anything that isn't bolted down and protected by a pit bull.
Thanks for listening to my tale of woe-then-happiness. See you on the trails!
As for locking down the cover, I'm not sure. I park mine in NYC and never had it walk
-mike
paisan: Thanks for the website reference. I had no idea there was so much you could do to these vehicles.
As far as locking the hard spare tire cover to the vehicle, ah well. Perhaps I'm stressing too much over something that may not even be an issue. But, when you've had a $1,000 stereo and 48 CDs stolen from your car while it sat in the parking lot directly beneath your window, then lose another $1,000 system two years later in a fire (and another 24 CDs), you tend to get a little gun-shy.
(In case anyone is wondering at the wisdom of having that expensive of a system in one's car, all I can say is, it helps you take your mind off the fact that it takes 10 minutes to get from 0 to 60 in an older Civic.)
JB
Chris L.
-mike
I have the solution as how to secure the hard cover to the truck.
1st go buy 2 brass master locks - the mid size ones.
2nd get a drill that is just a bit larger Ø than the shank of the lock.
3rd go to the bottom of the wheel cover while it is mounted on the truck (Spare tire also installed) and have a 2nd person squeeze close the gap as much as possible while you drill a hole about 3/8 of a inch from where the gap in the hard cover is, and about 3/8 from the rear of the hard cover. Do this on each side of the cover (total of two times). You will be drilling through the outer shell and through the black plastic on the back. The 3/8 inch from the edge is a estimate, you will need to adjust this based on the size of the locks that you purchase.
The time to complete this job should be 5 - 10 min. It works very well. I cannot see the locks unless I crouch down and specifically look for them. Keep the key in your glove box.
Remember, locks are for honest people, but for about $5.00 this will be a big deterrent.
Late,
David
Makes me wonder about my brush pile being close to my workshop building - which is covered in vinyl siding :-(
low is $9300, high is $11500
according to the http://www.kbb.com/
low is $8700, high is $10800
Instead I just zipped on a thick nylon cable tie through the existing lock mechanism. While this won't phase a real thief it should deter an opportunistic vandal who doesn't have a knife or wire cutter to get the tie off.
The "opportunistic vandal" is the prime type of miscreant we have in my neighborhood. Case in point - when my motorcycle was new and still had the paper tag, someone walked by one evening and just ripped it off, which cost me an extra trip to the DMV.
Re: hot fire. It was amazingly hot. When the sound of car alarms and minor explosions (like a bowling ball being dropped into an empty dumpster - came from breaking windows, bursting tires, and rupturing gas tanks) woke me up at 3:45 AM that morning, the fire had just barely started and hadn't spread to my vehicle quite yet. I thought I could run out quick and at least move my car, but when I got within about 50 feet, the heat drove me back. Took the firefighters a good hour+ to put it out, and they told us the nearby apartments came dangerously close to combusting.
I have a whole new respect for fire these days. And full-coverage insurance.
JB
All Troopers from '98->'02 have the hard covers std. Your dealer just took that and sold it in his parts bin, and put on a cheap vinyl cover!
-mike
Also, does anyone have suggestions for financing with ok credit. I got a approved for $15,000 with E-Loan pretty high interest 16.9 but this is my first car and still continuing to fix my credit and I don't want a co-signer.
Also I found 2000 ISUZU TROOPER S 4WD
WHITE and BEIGE w/ GRAY int. 6 CYLINDER 15,200mi. AUTODual Air Bags, Power Windows, Power Locks, Cruise, A/C, Cassette, Tilt, Alloy Wheels, ABS listed @$16,495. My concern with buying a pre-owned TROOPER is will the 10/120,000 be voided since it the truck is used.
-mike
Seems to me that 9K would be more in line. In fact, for an excellent example KBB's price was 9K and change, so I think 11k is high.
In any event I appreciate the info. I'll keep you all posted if I decide to buy, and give details.
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
I received my financing through E-loan, with a rate of 6.89%, and this was almost a month ago, before the most recent interest rate cuts. Good luck!
Yes, the 10yr/120k mile warranty is not valid for the second owner (unless family), but you still have the 3yr/50k bumper-to-bumper protection and 5yr/60k mile powertrain.
I do have a question about the 2 Troopers you mentioned. From what you described, it sounds to me like both of them are pre-owned vehicles, and as such would be warrantied the same. They are practically new, with low miles and a low probability of serious problems. One thing of note, the 2000 has had a recall on programming of the ECU, due to "check engine" light coming on. All else being equal, its just a matter of which year model your prefer and what you can swing financially. 16.9% is ridiculous in todays market. 6%-8% would be more realistic. Happy Trooping!! ;->
-mike
-mike
I bought a '98 Trooper a couple years ago in this fashion. I received the new-owner survey from Isuzu, along with a letter-- 'congratulations on the purchase of a NEW Isuzu Trooper...'
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadtests/roadtest/44302/article.html
And another one http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caranddriver/roadtests/1998/April/199804_roadtest_isuzu_trooper.xml?&Manufacturer=Isuzu&Name=Trooper&class=18&page=1