Shopping for a car from a defunct producer is usually a crapshoot, as components availability could also be sketchy. That makes right now’s Good Value or No Cube Trooper a little bit of a big gamble since Isuzu is lengthy gone from the U.S. scene. We’ll should resolve if its value is a guess we’d gladly take.
“You gotta give ‘em that ‘hawk tuah’ and spit on that thang,” You realize, perhaps if VW had named its 181 the “Thang” right here within the U.S. as a substitute of the “Factor,” it will have been extra well-liked. We’ll by no means know. What we do know is that, at $12,000, the 1974 VW Factor we checked out yesterday wasn’t too well-liked round right here. That was evident within the 57 % No Cube loss it acquired.
Have you learnt what’s well-liked? That’s proper, SUVs and crossovers. Automobile patrons seemingly can’t get sufficient of them. That’s been the case for the previous 30 years or so, ever since Ford launched the wildly well-liked Explorer.
It’s unusual, then, that Isuzu, an organization with a mannequin line steeped in SUVs and a protracted historical past of truck constructing behind them, couldn’t make a go of it in such a market. Perhaps it was unhealthy luck or a voodoo curse, however Isuzu’s speedy decline from a car-maker to a vendor of badge-engineered vehicles made by others to finally pulling up stakes is a tragic and sorry story.
On the brilliant aspect, the corporate constructed some strong vehicles alongside the best way, and now we have a kind of to debate right now. This 2000 Isuzu Trooper rocks 152,500 miles on the clock, and whereas it exhibits some dents and scrapes for these miles, it appears to be like to be in fairly good situation total.
Based on the outline within the advert, this Trooper:
has had no accidents, runs and drives very properly. It’s been cared for in and out. Clear California title, simply smog licensed and not too long ago serviced. The tires are practically new, there aren’t any warning or service lights on. It’s very good and able to go anyplace!
Mechanically, this is without doubt one of the finest Trooper fashions to purchase because it has the later 3.5-liter DOHC V6 making 215 horsepower. That’s paired with a company components bin 4L30E four-speed automated, Borg-Warner “Torque On Demand” 4WD system, and a tow package deal.
Every little thing appears authentic right here, proper right down to the two-tier manufacturing facility stereo unit and funky ’90s sample on the mouse fur-upholstered seating. For these demanding a minimal of ostentation, there are energy home windows and locks, cruise management, and dealing A/C.
There’s nothing too fancy right here, though the truck does give off Vary Rover vibes with out that marque’s inherent repute for poor reliability. There aren’t all that many different choices for somebody searching for a fairly roomy two-row SUV with a little bit of a unusual nature and a tragic historical past of company failure. The query for us is whether or not this distinctive beast becoming that invoice may be price its $4,650 asking.
What do you say? Is that this clear, if not pristine, Trooper a go at that $4,650 price ticket? Or does that value make this simply one other Isuzu failure?
You resolve!
Humbolt, California, Craigslist, or go right here if the advert disappears.
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