Used Car of the Day: 1998 Isuzu Trooper
Today we have a 1998 Isuzu Trooper that needs some work.
Our seller says that despite assurances that this vehicle had major work done, it hadn't. It seems that this one needs a head gasket, timing belt, water pump, and thermostat. It also seems that the seller can't afford to do this work, nor has the knowledge to do it themselves.
The exterior appears, at least based on the pictures, to need some work, too.
This one has the 3.5-liter DOHC V6 and is four-wheel drive. There is no mileage listed.
This one is for sale in Washington state for $2,800. Click here for the listing.
[Images: Seller]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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I had a 2001 LS that I took to 263k miles. I loved that lumbering beast despite its no-matter-what 16 mpg. The transmission (a GM-sourced French-built 4 speed auto shared with BMW) was its glass jaw, requiring 2rebuilds. Other than that, it was a great vehicle that could mountain goat anywhere. A poor man's Land Cruiser, if you will. If it hadn't developed a roof leak (and sat in a shaded area for a few months), I'd still have it. The body, engine and undercarriage were pristine. The interior, not so much. It was exceedingly comfortable, huge windows, and could haul a ton of stuff.
I'd avoid this one. The earlier two-door, first-generation Trooper was lighter, had an interior that could be cleaned out with a hose, and despite the low stress (and power) I-4, white steelies, it was an awesome woods rig as long as you respected the open diffs and transfer case. If you kept the drivetrain serviced, it was a willing recipient of (ab-)use because it didn't try to be a car line waiting lounge or mall crawler.