by "mkbruin, Atlas VP" (mkbruin)
Published 12/18/2017 at 10:09
by "mkbruin, Atlas VP" (mkbruin)
Published 12/18/2017 at 10:09
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STARS: 1
What does Oppo think about a 97 Bravada for a $500 kids car?
"Nibby" (nibby68)
12/18/2017 at 10:14, STARS: 1
will it take 8 months to make this decision
"facw" (facw)
12/18/2017 at 10:15, STARS: 4
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
"E90M3" (e90m3)
12/18/2017 at 10:15, STARS: 1
There are worst first cars.
"Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection" (itsalwayssteve)
12/18/2017 at 10:20, STARS: 3
At that price point I’d expect leather to be torn, most of the electronics to not work, the 4.3 to be running badly but running enough to keep it at highway speeds, and various gaskets and seals to need replacement. Also, in the Midwest I’d expect a serious amount of rust. It’ll leak from nearly everywhere and there will be mysterious noises. With that said, for $500, you could do worse.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
12/18/2017 at 10:21, STARS: 3
All I can think of when I see one of those is a co-worker had one years ago, and he smoked in it, left trash everywhere, never washed it, let the tires go bald, and then his young yellow lab ate 3/4 of the rubber off the steering wheel so it was just bare metal - but not all the way around.
It always ran, though.
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
12/18/2017 at 10:24, STARS: 0
Yes
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
12/18/2017 at 10:25, STARS: 0
That should get lousy enough gas mileage to keep the amount of driving on any given Friday or Saturday night in check, and be slow and ponderous enough to discourage excessive shenanigans. Sounds like a good vehicle for a 15 year old.
"Sweet Trav" (thespunbearing)
12/18/2017 at 10:26, STARS: 5
The 4.3l will run forever. The 4L60E might puke though. It’s a proven fact that an S10 with a 4.3l and a stick will run until the body the returns to the earth and longer holds the form of the truck.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
12/18/2017 at 10:28, STARS: 1
Probably a good vehicle to learn about checking fluids regularly because it is likely to be leaking / burning most of them — but will keep running anyways.
"SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza" (saigashooter)
12/18/2017 at 10:29, STARS: 0
I owned a 2000 Blazer for years, ate ball joints like mad and had the rear u-joint on the driveshaft separate at highway speed, that was interesting and loud. Suspended it with a bungee, turned on 4 hi and went along as front wheel drive, went far enough that way to get back to town and to a mechanic. Looking back, I made a crossover. Outside of that everything worked well, no real big electronic issues, though I only had an LT and it wasn’t very feature rich. There I times I regret trading it in, it was so damn practical.
"themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles" (themanwithsauce)
12/18/2017 at 10:30, STARS: 0
The old blazers/jimmys/bravadas had a tendency to crush legs and feet in relatively minor front end collisions but other than that, pretty solid choice. And given the price, it’s hard to say no. A friend of mine had a bravada for her first car for 3 or 4 years or so. Her parents dropped off a bunch of good used tires and a couple of other spares and she kept it running for pennies over that time frame. Eventually the front radiator brace either rusted out or broke off after hitting a snowbank or something. Aaaaaaand I’d say she got her money’s worth in the end.
"BeaterGT" (beatergt)
12/18/2017 at 10:30, STARS: 0
Can confirm, my family mechanic has one with 400k+. Original motor.
"Sweet Trav" (thespunbearing)
12/18/2017 at 10:32, STARS: 1
my dad put well over 350K miles on his 1997 Jimmy, went through 3 transmissions though, like clockwork at 112k. He didn’t change the oil for the last 20k miles he had it.
"gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish)
12/18/2017 at 10:33, STARS: 0
My $600 97 Blazer was brilliant, and I miss it.
That said, general things to look out for on those:
The middle spark plug on the left bank is insanely difficult to reach, it involves unbolting the steering box and using a couple extensions and u-joints.
It has a 4L60E, which may be nearing the end of its life, depending on mileage and if it has a transmission cooler.
The spider injectors are known to fail.
The fuel pumps are known to fail.
They go through ball joints at an alarming rate, and even when they’re within spec, the amount of steering play is impressive.
The crash test that facw posted is worth noting.
I’ll see what else I can remember, but all of that said, mine started every time, and always did what I asked of it.
"ateamfan42" (ateamfan42)
12/18/2017 at 10:38, STARS: 0
All I can think of when I see those are the terrible insulting commercials GM ran when they were new. They touted their new “smart” 4WD system that was supposed to manage 4WD/2WD/Hi/Lo Range automatically so the driver didn’t have to figure it out. The drivers were depicted as drooling morons who were too dumb to know how to operate their cars, as if somehow that was a good thing.
“Buy our cars because you are too stupid to drive the competition” is a pretty shitty marketing ploy, if you ask me.
"CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever" (carsoffortlangley)
12/18/2017 at 10:38, STARS: 0
It’d be a legit first car. Builds character!
"Hammerdown" (hammerdown32)
12/18/2017 at 10:38, STARS: 1
I had a 2001 and the AWD system was borked. Left in in 4WD all the time which made it hop around low speed corners. Blazer is better for simplicity.
"punkgoose17" (punkgoose17)
12/18/2017 at 10:39, STARS: 0
You will be okay if you hit a deer at 70 mph. Is this is 40 mpg with a deformable barrier and 40 percent overlap?
"Bandit" (2bandit)
12/18/2017 at 10:41, STARS: 1
Use to have one. Electronics were junk, body was mostly rust, interior squeaked so much it sounded like a mouse colony, the plastic radiator tanks cracked, brake lines rusted through, but that 4.3 would run forever. It overheated massively due the plastic radiator tanks more times than I can count and the truck never skipped a beat.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
12/18/2017 at 10:41, STARS: 0
Ohio?
"wafflesnfalafel" (wafflesnfalafel1)
12/18/2017 at 11:00, STARS: 0
my MIL had a Jimmy like that (basically the same rig though not quite as nice) and it ran forever, until she pulled out in front of a semi truck doing 45mph. She was fine but the Jimmy went on to GMC heaven...
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
12/18/2017 at 11:27, STARS: 1
I say do it. As long as the owner doesn’t do something unthinkable like, say, forget to give it oil, it should do its job. And who would ever do that?
Oldsmobile is the official brand of “get me there safely”.
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/18/2017 at 11:56, STARS: 0
When I was a kid, my parents got a first-year GMC Jimmy. It was bought back under lemon law for ignition issues. Thinking about it, most of the ones I see have been woefully neglected and driven into the ground. If your $500 one looks decent, maybe?
"ranwhenparked" (ranwhenparked)
12/18/2017 at 21:07, STARS: 0
Amazing how little things change, 1st gen Bravadas were cheap high school cars when I was in high school, 13 years ago.
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
12/18/2017 at 22:02, STARS: 0
It is a piece of crap that can somehow run with the most basic of maintence on intervals it should have killed the engine ages ago.
with poor front impact an a high center of gravity, i wouldn’t recommend it for a new driver.