CD Article: Blazer / Jimmy 1995-2004

[CD_Editor]

You may discuss our cover story of the day in this thread....
Used Vehicle Review:

While the Blazer and Jimmy aren't the most reliable SUV's around, their combination of smaller size, stout body-on-frame construction and torquey V6 make
these trucks great for towing small to medium trailers while being compact enough to be well-suited to city driving. Used prices for the Blazer and Jimmy are attractive, thanks to high depreciation.    More...

[AVToller]

My unfortunate next door neighbour has one. He does extra work, such as helping me remodel my home, to help support it. It is a 6-year old money pit with no bottom. 

[ktm525]

shite!

[Shnak]

haha my dad had an '85 Jimmy a while ago. He bought it in '88 I believe, right after the original owner had to replace the engine in it. The vehicle lasted us until maybe '96, but really, in '93 or '94, it was already way past its prime... the body was completely rusted, one door had to be replaced because it was rusted so bad. In the end, the engine would choke and stall as soon as we would either pull our empty trailer (made of wood and very light) or go in reverse. What a piece of it was!! 

[Bullet Blue]

Poor resale too. Not really surprised. CP can fill us in with all his "great" experiences I'm sure 

[Snowman]

I had a ’96 then in a moment of weakness my wife wanted another in 1999. Stay away from these things; once you reach 40,000 km the auto self destruct sequence begins

[Snowman]

Consumer Reports  Bad Bets

These models have shown multiple years of much-worse-than-average Used Car Verdicts in the 1998 to 2005 models. Listed alphabetically.

BMW 7 Series
BMW X5 (V8)
Chevrolet Astro
Chevrolet Blazer
Chevrolet Express 1500
Chevrolet S-10 (4WD)
Chevrolet TrailBlazer
Chevrolet Venture
Chrysler Town & Country (AWD)
Dodge Grand Caravan (AWD)
GMC Envoy
GMC Jimmy
GMC Safari
GMC Savana 1500
GMC Sonoma (4WD)
Jaguar S-Type
Jaguar X-Type   
Kia Sedona
Land Rover Discovery
Lincoln LS
Lincoln Navaigator
Mercedes-Benz CLK
Mercedes-Benz E-Class (V8)
Oldsmobile Alero
Oldsmobile Bravada
Oldsmobile Silhouette
Pontiac Aztek
Pontiac Trans Sport/Montana
Saturn Vue (AWD)
Volkswagen Cabrio
Volkswagen Jetta
Volkswagen New Beetle
Volkswagen Passat Wagon (V6)
Volvo XC90

[sirAQUAMAN64]

The headline should read 1995-2005 years.

Thank God they didn't comply with safety standards and are gone.

[Shnak]

It's odd that the Jetta, Cabrio and New Beetle are all on Snowman's list, but not the Golf... 

[AVToller]

It's odd that the Jetta, Cabrio and New Beetle are all on Snowman's list, but not the Golf... 

It MIGHT be that since most of the data comes from the States, and the Golf doesn't sell very well there compared to the others, that either they did not have sufficient data, or did not consider it important enough to include. 

[Shnak]

I'm pretty sure the Golf outsells the Cabrio by a big margin everywhere, including the states... but yeah, there has to be an explanation like that because the Jetta and Golf and identical except in their format... unless for some reason, the Golf's assembly lines produce better quality than the Jetta's assembly lines?

[AVToller]

That certainly wasn't the case in 1994 when my Golf was built. But I've written enough about the car that convinced me to never buy another VW - well at least not this century. 

[sirAQUAMAN64]

1999.5 till 2001.5 Golf was German built. '01.5 to 2007 it's Brazilian built. In '07 it'll be German built again. Jetta Wagons, Passats are German built.

New Beetles, Jetta sedans are Mexican built.

No idea about the Cabrio. I'm thinking it's German built.

[Careener]

Those redbook values are way outta whack. The base Jimmy was selling for $18000 new last year.

[The Fuzz]

Poor resale too. Not really surprised. CP can fill us in with all his "great" experiences I'm sure 

 

Uh, yep. What a POS it turned into after 90k. Did I mention that I spent over $3000 in 3 months just prior to selling it??? Did I mention that after I sold it the motor and tranny blew and then the wheel bearing went.........again??? I did? Well, it was worth mentioning again.

Never again will I buy a similar vehicle from GM.

[mdxtasy]

Poor resale too. Not really surprised. CP can fill us in with all his "great" experiences I'm sure 

 

Uh, yep. What a POS it turned into after 90k. Did I mention that I spent over $3000 in 3 months just prior to selling it??? Did I mention that after I sold it the motor and tranny blew and then the wheel bearing went.........again??? I did? Well, it was worth mentioning again.

Never again will I buy a similar vehicle from GM.

Atleast you don't have to drive one for work.   

[AVToller]

I'm getting the impression that these vehicles are not held in high esteem around here. 

[Craig]

Great to hear.  A relative of mine bought one last year.  He likes that it will tow his boat, and set him back "less than a Corolla".

Oh well.

[chrischasescars]

Those redbook values are way outta whack. The base Jimmy was selling for $18000 new last year.

Red Book values are based on M.S.R.P. In '05, these trucks were being sold at way under M.S.R.P. to get them off dealer lots. Unfortunately, that's not reflected in Red Book's pricing.

[The Fuzz]

The sad thing is that I really liked that truck. It was a good size...big enough to have room for the dog and on one occasion 700 pounds of wooden beams going to the dump but not so big that it was a waste. It went anywhere too...Last winter I was on my way home and where the roads suddenly went from Hamilton to Haldimand there was no snowplows out! I put it in 4x4 and it kept chugging along with the snow flying up over top! It had leather, sunroof, 5000 pound towing capacity, heated seats.............oooooooooooooooh how I miss heated seats..........Shame, really.