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
I think the LS/S mistake is easily explained legitimately. The guy is a meticulous owner in that he takes very good care of his vehicles, but he is probably not an enthusiast who knows tons about cars, reads magazines all the time, etc.
Sounds like a vehicle that has been given a good home. I'd buy it. Whaddya got to lose-- the truck still has 25k miles of bumper-to-bumper warranty on it.
I think that almost all Troopers have a bad alignment. I know I needed to get one at about 1000 miles on mine.
It does appear to be an honest mix-up on the LS/S thing.
The TOD could be what Savvas said or it could have bad speed sensors or a vaccum hose may have popped off.
As for the Carfax, I have found that it takes too long for stuff to show up on there. I bought a "clean" car only to find out 6 months later it hadn't passed emissions, not a major issue, but something that carfax didn't show til after I had bought the car.
As for the moonroof, I'd make sure to get a top quality place to install it, especially if it's gonna be a big one like the OEM unit. In 98 and 99 you could actually get the moonroof on the base model so I doubt there is any extra cross members in there that would get cut.
-mike
Cheers,
Sean
S
-mike
All in all it sounds like a good deal. The alignment thing might not get fixed by his shop. These trucks are hard to align, and it usually takes a competent shop to eliminate a pull. A regular Firestone shop for example is probably not equipped or capable of fixing it. So if not perfect at the time of sale, keep that in mind, do a little research and you will only have to make 1 trip to have it done right.
I suspect that the Shift-on-the-Fly mechanism that engages the front axle is not functioning properly. If the previous owner did not engage the system periodically, it may be frozen.
Regards,
Tom
A 2002 S...hmmm...had been looking only at LS models...will go investigate that. Thanks.
Sean
Thanks for the idea though.
S
-mike
That's exactly right. Think about what you are getting-- a reliable, well-built, functional truck that stickers for about $30k. It's like new. For 15 grand! Think about what else you could get for 15 grand-- a 4 year-old CRV, a 2 year-old Civic, etc.-- and that makes the price of this Trooper sound even more appealing.
-mike
Isuzu considered it a new vehicle-- sent us the 'congrats on buying a new Trooper' letter and everything. I've wondered aloud on this board whether the 10/120 warranty would apply to a Trooper bought this way.
My Trooper continued to amaze me and others with its climbing ability. At Elephant Hill my Trooper (and Chuck Venable's and Eiji's Troopers also) were strolling up ascents that the Vehicrosses, Rodeos, and Amigos were having some difficulty with.
I remember one time on the Gold Bar Rim trail when a passenger in the vehicle ahead jumped out to video me climbing a very steep and tall rock ledge. Most people had a lot of commotion getting up it, with wheelspin, banging of undercarriage, etc. I approached it, the nose came up, the rear came up, and I strolled up with only one tiny chirp from a front tire. The video guy looked disappointed and said "that's it?" Guess I didn't put much of a show on... :-)
On the Fins 'n Things trail, there was a rough climb that all the guys with lockers and Tera lows etc were trying, again with lots of commotion. I looked at it and thought I saw a line where I could make it, so as everyone watching was heading back to there trucks, I drove toward the hill. I heard one guy ask another "Is he going to try it in a (mostly) stock Trooper?" with amazement (or was it horror?) in his voice. I climbed right up that hill, never spun a tire. That got alot of people's attention!
The amount of rear axle flex on the Trooper is just astounding sometimes. Anything I could get the front wheels over, the rear would handle with ease.
Bruce Anderson actually ran the Golden Crack with his 2nd gen Trooper! He crunched his left front bumper plastic, and the right rear bumper plastic came loose, but Bruce didn't care in the least. He is kind of a character.
Anyway, while he was straddling the Crack, his left rear tire was unsupported. The TOP of the tire was even with the BOTTOM of the rocker panel! Now THAT'S articulation!
My apologies for the long post, but you guys should really come to Moab next year, it is unlike anything you have experienced. What a blast!
-mike
Jim
-mike
-mike
All 2002 Trooper, Axiom, Rodeo and Rodeo Sport SUVs:
0% up to 48 months
1.9% @ 60 months
2.9% @ 72 months
PLUS: $1500 Consumer APR Cash Back with 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 month financing on 2002 Trooper models.
-mike
I'd love to meet up with the some of the Trooper gang for some off-road driving. It may be difficult now that my (motorcycle tour) season is starting up but there might be an open-schedule coincidence in there somewhere and I'd love to join in. I ride motorcycles professionally but am a 4-wheel off-road neophyte and as such should provide some humor for everyone as I learn what not to do.
By the way, the 2001s all have limited-slip rear diffs right?
Sean
Can't get much wider of a moonroof than the already quite wide on in there! but that will be cool.
offroading: Well we run trips to NJ pine barrens once a month usually, but since it's now auto-x season and I race my subaru and the off-road trails are filled with dirt-bikers in the summer, we probably won't have one until Sept. Keep an eye out here for details, also if you know of any areas up in NH we may come up and visit for an off-road trip!
-mike
Check it out - http://www.itog.com/xr-001.shtml
And yes, G80 is LSD.
Does anyone know if ITOG is still active? I remember looking around their website when I was researching 4WDs prior to buying my Monterey. However, not much has happened to the website since then.
Whats considered an "average" for the amount of miles done in a year in the US?
I've noticed some interesting stuff when we talk about miles. Not just a perception thing going from miles to kms. Down here, we consider 20,000km or 12,000miles as an annual average. 25,000miles per year is considered high mileage.
I acknowledge that my truck does fewer miles than average, only about 9,000 per year (and still gets 4 oil changes per year! - next one this weekend).
Anyway, that's my two cents...hope ya'll are doing well...
I do 40K min. and usually closer to 50K/yr total on both my cars. I think it's cause my place upstate NY is about 225miles away so if I shoot up for a weekend that is about 600 miles on the odo.
-mike
I have been running an external engine oil cooler, mobil one synthetic 10W-30, and Puralator PL14619 filter. This combination has resulted in 8,000 mile oil changes, loosing only 3/4~1 quart in 8,000 miles and clean looking oil at 8,000 miles. The PL14619 oil filter is the largest Puralator oil filter that I could find that would fit the oil filter mount flange, but maintain the OEM pressure relief settings.
In my research, oil vaporization is the primary reason for oil loss in a relatively new/maintained engine. Keep the oil cool and run synthetic oils. Synthetic oils have vaporization temperatures between 35~80 degrees F higher than conventional dino oil.
Before making these changes, My Trooper was burning one quart every 2,000~2,5000 miles. My Trooper, a 1999 Auto-TOD, now has nearly 65,000 miles and I have been happy with the results.
Chad
I'd be happy to help put together an off-road weekend here in VT (or NH) next fall but first I need to learn where the trails are. There's a VT 4WD club I'll hook up with when I get a chance.
Mileage per year: I agree that 12-15K/yr is supposedly average the USA. I often spend more time riding/driving than I do sleeping. Our chase van gathers about 22,000 miles a year, my personal vehicle (soon to be a Trooper) does about 18,000 per year and my primary bike does about 25,000/year.
Have most of you found that the LSD is enough off-road or do many go to a rear locker?
Sean
Shocks and Springs
Tires
Boulder Bars
Bigger lift and/or body lift
Bigger tires
Rear Locker
Front Locker
I'm going to go a little light on the LSD additive when I drain and fill my rear diffy on the Trooper. I've been pretty good with the LSD.
-mike
Also, maybe I missed it, but does the seller have the maintenance records for your review? 25,000 miles in a year sounds a bit high for a third car...
But if it checks out, the Trooper is an awesome truck
Good luck.
Who's the dealer in Chicago offering that deal? Any other similar deals out there? Selling our car is turning out to be a real PITA and my time is pretty tight so trading a car in is really tempting.
Thanks,
Sean
-mike
S
The important thing is that the vehicle has any ability to isolate the problem and remain mobile until it is diagnosed and fixed.
I've been playing with a demo from Auttera, of a palm os based OBDII scanner. While one of these things won't fix the problem, it will point you in the direction of it. They have a list of generic fault codes, and you can also download manufacturer specific codes as well. The Isuzu database contains a stack of codes for the 4WD system and probably would have pointed this out.
Mike ... I recall some discussion maybe a few weeks ago about TOD being able to detect downhill grades and do a 50/50 split. DTCs P1390 through to P1395 are for various g-sensors and rough road sensors. So my guess is that indeed TOD is designed to do this.
Then again, I maybe wrong and those sensors belong to the ABS or Active Suspension areas.
I've been watching used Trooper prices in my area (AZ) for a few months now. Both of the ones that you have found are priced well, especially the LS! I have not seen anything near that, or I probably wouldn't be looking anymore. The fact that the first one started life as a rental does make it less appealing. Many people drive rentals hard, and it probably wasn't broken in gently. My oder of preference would be: privately owned vehicle, lease return, rental.
Regarding the sunroof, the factory sunroof is very cool (it's huge). It does however noticiby reduce headroom and cargo volume. I was surprised how much difference it makes. I think cargo volume is reduce by roughly 5 cubic feet, which is quite a bit. I personally am not putting too much significance on the sunroof since it is a tradeoff.
My local dealer is advertising $6k off sticker on all new Troopers, so the $10k off in Chicago sounds pretty good too.
Good luck!
The dealer in the Chicago area that is offering 10,000 off any Trooper on the lot is M'lady in Crystal Lake.
They advertise this in the paper and have over 100 on the lot. They also have a bunch of new Vehicrosses. I went in there once to deal with them and my salesman was a major jerk, so I left.
Could be for the IIS in the Rodeo/Frontera, but I know there are weight/load sensors for the TOD system.
-mike
John