Found a sweet score on a 01 Rodeo luxury model (leather ,sunroof and the 9-yards).

Super clean and it only has 111K on the ODO. Body is like MINT. Engine, wow... really clean.
Owned by a lady that really took care of it. I looked through the whole vehicle and could not find anything wrong. They also have all maint records on the rig.

My only concern is Isuzu as a "WHOLE".

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=124580

Even though this Rodeo is super clean and like new, this will be a $4000.00 cash car, but I need it to last and when I need parts or service it will be here in the States.

Should I grab or pass?

Thanks

 

I'm not sure about an 01 but I know the 90s rodeos were notorious for having low oil pressure and not making it past 150k usually. That being said, my gf drives a 96 with 160k on it and still running pretty good, however it's had perfect maintenance and the oil pressure is getting pretty low, it also burns through a couple quarts per 3k miles.

My advice, if your looking for a dependable late 90s early 00s suv go for a Jeep Cherokee with a 4.0 straight six. I had a 98 and it was rock solid and did awesome off-road. Those 4.0s are known to reach 300k and have gobs of torque too.

 

my mom now drives a rodeo. Goodish car, stalls randomly. Scans show nothing wrong with the car. Its a mystery. It was cheap as hell. The V6 has a surprising amount of pep to it...

 

also, dont forget that this car either shares all or most of its parts with the same MY honda pilot. wikipedia it, should say there.

 

i recall seeing an article headline years back about the Rodeo being one of the top 10 worst cars...cant remember on what level - safety, reliability, SUV in general...

consumer report research will give you an idea.

 

no tranny issues??

my fam has been through 6 of these 4.0s (all leases - grand cherokee though). two of the 6 didnt even have trannys that lasted until the end of the lease.

 

I think you mean honda passport, which is just an isuzu rodeo with honda badges basically.

Yeah I'm not sure if the grand cherokee uses a different trans than the cherokee, but mine had 170k when I sold it on the original tranny still going strong. You can also get one with a 5 speed although it's fairly hard to come by.

 

Hey all,

Thanks for the feedback, I really do appreciate it!

As for other recommendations, I been a huge fan on the JEEP (WJ’s).

I owned two of them. Both were 4x4s / Laredo’s. I never wanted the top of the line b/c of their blend-door issues.

As to speak about the wj’s I owned; both 2003 and 2002. I had good bit of problems.
(these were both the 4.0)

2003 only had 36K. I had a very bad transfer case smell and noise coming from it once I got up to 65-75mph. Annoying as heck, I did have a bumper to bumper xtended warrenty and they said it was normal. My BUTT! I traded it in.

Then about two years later I wanted a WJ again. This one had issues w/ power window motor mount (2 went out , but easy to fix / replace). Then the NSS (neutral safety switch) was bad. Had replaced it, then started not wanting to start again when it was in park. Dealership replaced the ECM, still had issues after couple of weeks of not starting. I gave up on it and never again looked back @ the WJs. I am sure the 2wds are less of any issue, which I should be driving around here anyways. (no snow is Central TX).

~ But again….. thank you for all the input / feedback on these Rodeo’s. As much as I want to buy this one, it does scare me that these rigs are not being sold in the USA anymore. I think and if I remember correct, auto-parts should be sold for about 15 yrs before it goes obsolete, right? Or if I could get any parts when needed is my major concern. =(

Thanks

 

Let's see...firing employees, closing plants, firing dealerships, filing bk.
I'm sure we can count on the industry to keep supplying parts for 15 years!

It's all going to be a crap shoot for a while. The rules have changed. Isuzu is no longer here for a reason. The only reason Honda partnered with them is because they didn't have an SUV ready. The Passport (Rodeo) is one of the very few Hondas not recommended.

 

Yea your right. I feel I should pass on the deal. Thanks all