"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
04/25/2014 at 18:53 • Filed to: None
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"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
04/25/2014 at 18:53 • Filed to: None | 0
| 14 |
For those of you "following" my search for a first car (read: for those of you who are wondering when I'm gonna stop looking and buy something), I am now one step closer, possibly. I just spent the afternoon looking at and driving one of the vehicles on my short list, a 2002 Isuzu Trooper Limited. This truck has 130,000 miles on it, but it has just had a new transmission put in and new tires. It has a leather interior that is in fairly good shape, and a plethora of electronic toys, which, amazingly, all work perfectly. There was no major exterior damage, but the odd paint scuff or small dent was inevitable. It seemed to run and drive very well, and we are planning to take it to a mechanic to get it inspected sometime within the next week. If it all checks out (which I hope it does because I loved it), the price I would guess we could get the truck for is between $4200-$5000. Other than that, the only issue is fuel economy, because the damn thing only gets about 13 mpg. Does anyone have any knowledge of what problems these trucks are known to have (don't say tipping over) or if a car with such high mileage is, at any price or in any condition, a good idea? Any other thoughts are welcome.
Baskingshark
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/25/2014 at 18:58 |
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I have nothing to add but my first car was a 1988 Trooper and I loved it.
HammerheadFistpunch
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/25/2014 at 18:58 |
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My uncle and his family had one for well into the 100's and it was heavily abused:
towed a 4000 lbs boat at high elevation
snow covered pretty much all winter
Fitting with an extra seat for 7 person seating (it routinely hauled 7)
bike transport
college car for 2 kids
It died of a broken heart and rusticles, but was ever reliable.
m-b-w loves his SUBAROO
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/25/2014 at 19:00 |
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It has a Marginal rating for the frontal crash test from the IIHS. http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/v…
Also MSN says that there are significant engine problems http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/R…
Just keep these two things in mind before purchasing.
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HammerheadFistpunch
> m-b-w loves his SUBAROO
04/25/2014 at 19:02 |
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the intake is interesting, but the other thing is basically: people seem to have problems with this engine when they forget to keep oil in it.
M54B30
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/25/2014 at 19:04 |
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I have a Mitsubishi Montero which is somewhat similar. My $0.02 is that the side opening rear doors are a huge PITA. I like to pull into spots backwards but it renders the trunk inaccessible. Mine has side mounted rear seats (not sure what the trooper has) which seems cool, but kinda meh when loading stuff since they cut 3' into the rear area.
scoob
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/25/2014 at 19:05 |
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My dad has the '98 model, which looks and probably is the same.
As far as I know, the only major problem he's had is with the air fuel ratio sensor or something, which wouldn't work and the engine would either stall or would idle at 2,000 - 3,000 RPM.
Apart from that, and this may be biased as 1) this is the only car we've had as a family and 2) I'm learning to drive in it, it's a good car.
jkm7680
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/25/2014 at 19:05 |
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Had a neighbor with one. It ran loud as hell. No idea why.
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sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> m-b-w loves his SUBAROO
04/25/2014 at 19:08 |
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Thanks. I will ask the mechanic to check on the intake manifold gasket specifically.
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sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> M54B30
04/25/2014 at 19:10 |
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No side-mounted third row, just an open, cavernous cargo area. And the Trooper has a split rear side opener, but yeah, I could still see that being a pain sometimes. Makes it easier to load in my garage, though!
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sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> scoob
04/25/2014 at 19:12 |
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Yeah, the dealer said the air sensor you mentioned needed to be replaced on this now, too. I'm not sure how much that costs, but I'm gonna find out soon enough.
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sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> jkm7680
04/25/2014 at 19:15 |
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This one idled and drove very quietly. Although, when you floored it (slow AF, by the way), the engine, more specifically, what I'm assuming is the radiator or air intake, sounded like a massive turbine engine. Just a sort of loud woosh.
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jkm7680
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/25/2014 at 19:16 |
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That's good in that case. I'd probably still have to live with it for a while to be able to determine what's lurking.
sony1492
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/25/2014 at 19:40 |
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They center of gravity is rather high.A car with under steer would be Far safer.
shop-teacher
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/25/2014 at 22:41 |
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Check the undercarriage for rust. An old coworker of mine had one that looked really clean up top, but the bodymounts were almost gone. He was the rare non-car guy who actually listened when told to get rid of it immediately.