5th Jan 2009, 13:08

We have a 96 Blazer that we purchased new, and it now has 211000 miles. It's been used (towing, some off road use, etc) but not abused & maintained well and I have no complaints.

The water pump failed early so I got rid of the dex-cool, which may have been a plus, but at this point I've replaced one alternator, one belt tensioner, front hubs, rear universal joints, tune up (fuel filter, cap & rotor, still has the original plugs that are at.0060), fuel pump, and usual stuff like brakes & belt.

Over 13 years & 200,000 miles, that's probably 600 - 700 worth of parts + my labor, but I'm not a professional and this thing is still a snap to work on, especially with a service manual.

Since 1983 I've been nothing but GM, and with the exception of a wrist pin knock in a 1992 Beretta, I've done great with GM products. That was 5000 miles out of warranty and dealer still replaced it with a new short block, and I had a 92 Corsica with the same engine, and that had over 200,000 when I got rid of it last year, and I think it's still being driven.

I laugh at all my neighbors with their fancy foreign vehicles that are constantly in the shop, most recently a 2001 Toyota pickup with approx 130,000 miles that had the damper come off and wipe out the crank (can you say new engine), and shortly after that expense found that it had frame rot to the extent that it could no longer be inspected (junk time), and a 2005 Audi that broke a timing belt, ouch on that $4000+ repair bill.

I'll stick with my GM products. Negative attitudes toward US auto manufacturers are mostly just perception brought on by ignorance and media.

9th Jan 2009, 20:26

I agree with the last comment the guy stated about foreign cars. People that say foreign cars are better than American car companies such as GM are wrong. GM and other American car companies the cars will last a long time if you do the proper maintenance.

People that are complaining about their Blazer having so much trouble. They're probably not doing the routine maintenance or they're just hard on their vehicle.

I'm 19 years old, and I own a 2003 Chevy Blazer. I've owned it for little over a year. Sure I had to replace the ball joints, idler arm, pitman arm and the timing chain gears because of a rattle noise it was making. After all that work was done, the engine noise stopped and the steering was much tighter.

I do a lot of preventative maintenance on my blazer. I changed the transmission fluid and filter, fuel filter, transfer case fluid, rear differential fluid, front differential, cooling system flushed, brake system bled, and I changed the oil myself every 3000 miles Mobil 1 oil with Lucas oil treatments. All of the work that I listed above I did myself besides the automatic transmission service. I added on a cold air intake system to deliver more air and a little bit more power to the engine, so the engine can breath better. Every 12K miles I take out the air filter clean it and re-oil it. It's a KN air filter.

I enjoy working on my truck because I know doing all of maintenance, my truck will last for many years to come. It just hit 100,000 miles and it runs like a brand new one. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

22nd Dec 2009, 17:55

I have a 96 Blazer with 191,000 miles on it. So sad that the transfer case went and struggling with the idea of getting a new vehicle. Can't complain much about a truck that lasted so long, with so many miles and very little rust on it in Adirondack NY weather.

14th Dec 2010, 17:12

I bought my 96 Blazer with a bit over 96K. This last weekend I was rear ended by a 70 year old lady and the truck has 144K on it now. It will likely be totalled by the insurance company because she bent the frame.

I owned it a little over 3 years and it was a wonderful vehicle. I did all the maintenance myself, which is a good way to get to know about your vehicle. I drove it all over Alaska, towed trailers, started even in -20 weather. I only had to replace the alternator in the time I owned it.

Currently searching for another one to replace it...

15th Dec 2010, 18:08

People like to put down GM and American cars just because they had one bad experience with an ill maintained one.

Any car will last forever if well maintained, so it doesn't have anything to do with the brand.

Buying a used car is like gambling, but I have always found Chevy to be the best bet.

Imports are not more reliable, I had a Nissan that died on me, a Hyundai that was just the worst car to drive, and a Honda that rusted to pieces.

If imports actually were better, they wouldn't have to spend millions on advertising like they still do.

I find GM to be the most reliable, as well they are solid and safe to drive.