Looking to buy an S10

I have an 02 S-10 with almost a thousand pounds of tools and tool boxes in the back.

It is a fuel injected 4.3 L V-6. With all that I still get around 15MPG around town, and it will run 75 down the highway with no problem. I did add some extra leaf springs at American Spring to handle the weight.

It does have limits though. I down shifts way to far if I try to run faster tan 50-53 mph when pulling my 20 ft bass baot. On the other hand if I run it at 50 mph and set the cruise control it hauls it just fine in high gear except on the grades. There it down shifts and continues up the grade without slowing down.

In my opinion it is every bit as tough and powerful as anybody could hope for from a truck that size.

I have less than 25K miles on it and have had no major problems. I did have a few minor ones all covered by warranty with no hassle. The door handle for the third door in the extended cab broke when trying to get it open with a seat belt jammed under the door. One battery post broke completely out of the battery. I had the brakes squeaking while not braking.

Over all I think its a good truck for the money. Since it is a work truck for me I'll probably just replace it with a new one when it gets about 65K miles on it so I doubt I'll ever be able to tell you what falls off at 100K miles.

-- Bob La Londe Yuma, Az

YOUR WEB LINK TO THE LINK INDEX ON MY SITE

I have a 97 S-10 extended cab, v6 with 5 speed. I get about 20mph. The accelration on the truck is just fine but it seemed a little bit better when I bought it with 45k miles. Could be I'm just use to the truck by now. I have very few complaints. About the only thing I don't like about the truck is the lack of options I have (no power lock, windows) and some of the controls. The A/C controls are just plain cheap. So are the controlers for the head lights (no illumination like all the other controls on the vehicle).

I had to have replaced the manual tranny slave clutch replaced and I also had the u-joints replaced (I HIGHLY recommend the owner remove the shaft and let a drivetrain shop put new ones in. I think they charged me about $40, which included the u-joints. Took me about an hour to remove and reinstall the driveshaft).

I just checked Kelly Blue Book and my truck is worth about $6k right now.

The engine has been around for a _long_ time and people tell me it's a good engine. Overall I think the truck gets a bad name due to it's looks, inside and out. I like the looks of the GMC and Dodge trucks much better.

Well, with my budget, I am looking at the trucks that have 50k-70k+ miles on them.

What made you go with Chevy over Ford, Toyota or Dodge? was it just brand preference, or reviews, etc... I rally hate the "Chevy is the best because it is!" kind of people. Its nice when people explain why they think what ever brand they choose is the best... How hard is it to work on the s10? (Or do you ever need to work on it?)

Have you heard anything about the 4x4 s10? is the front axle solid? or is just the 2wd model good?

I like the thought that the engine has been around for a long time, that is a sign that all the bugs are out, and its been refined nicely... there are so many new engines out there, who knows how long they will last... Its nice when something has been proven to last.

Would you mind Expanding on that just a little bit? Maybe explain WHY? and if Chevy is that bad, then what do you recommend in its place, and why do you recommend the mentioned alternative? And "Chevy sux, and Ford/Toyota/Dodge/isuzu/jeep/etc is better" is not what I am looking for.

1988 2.5L 5 speed manual 146K 2x4 I suggest getting a real truck. Personally, nothing "big" has broken on my 88 S10 and I beat the hell out of it but something brakes every 2-3 days. Something little - like a dead short in a light or a dead alternator or having no dials just idiot lights or the dials are retarded if it has them. No features - annoying interior. If your over 4'11" than it's too small for you as well. Luv chev don't get me wrong - luv my beeter because it keeps me spinnin iron and I love that too. I even like the lines on my S10 and if I had the money I'd pimp it out. But if you want an A2B and back to A vehicle with a bed get a 1500. If you want 'economy' buy a car. The S10 is just an even worse cross between a truck and a car than the El Camino ever was. If you want a small Toy truck I know where there is a nice _looking_ Toyota in NH for $2500 with all the bells and whistles. I can only imagine what's wrong with it to be selling at that price - but it looks like whoever owned it before had half a clue. But then again your probably in Siberia. Hope this helps, sorry I couldn't be more abusive.

I'll comment on the contrary to the "DON'T" comment. I have a 94 Jimmy with 114,000 miles on it. 4.3L auto, 4x4, 4-door, old style truck. I have replaced, rear axle bearings, fuel tank, fuel pump, master cylinder, intake gaskets and CPI unit. That's the stuff that I haven't broken.

This truck has been in 2 accidents and hit a turkey. The rad. has been replaced 2x, the condensor once, water pump once, engine fan once, all due to accidents.

The ONLY times it's stranded me was when the fuel pump died and in the

2 accidents. One accident was my fault, the other was a brake failure due to a torn CV boot getting grease on the brakes.

Overall, this truck has been GREAT. I've had it for 5+ years now, put almost 60,000 miles on it and it still runs NICE. It cruises great at

75, gets decent mileage for a truck, and even handles well (cloverleaf interchanges at 55 MPH), for a 4x4. The repairs mentioned above don't include little things like light bulbs, or any normal maintenence items, like oil changes, brakes, fluid changes, etc. The only steering part that's been changed is the idler arm, tie rods and tie rod ends are original, as are the ball joints. Aside from the intake gaskets, the engine has never been opened, same goes for the tranny (with the exception of changing fluid/filter). The engine idles relatively smooth, burns and leaks no oil (Mobil 1 in the crankcase) and still accelerates nicely. Tranny shifts smooth, no slipping.

Overall, these are decent trucks, but there WILL be a lemon or 2 out there, just as with ANY other vehicle. If you feel comfortable doing little repairs it's also easy to work on. I had done ZERO repairs to vehicles before buying this truck, it's my first vehicle. I've done the brakes myself, do tuneups, replaced the alternator myself (forgot that one, sorry), even replaced the injector myself.

---------------------------------------------- I own a 94 Sonoma extra-cab(GMC S-10), bought it with 60K on it. Now it has

110K. 4.3L auto. I love it. It is quiet going down the road, runs good. I like the looks. The parts are cheap and very available. The only problems I have had besides the normal high mileage stuff (alt, water pump, fuel pump, ect) is the torque converter bushing went out at about 90K and had to replace it and the converter. I would never buy the 4 cyl because they dont have any power( at least the few I have driven didnt). Just FYI, I would buy a V6 Ranger if the price was right also. My experiance with them is they are pretty tough. Ive seen them abused and keep going. The bottom line is all vehicles have problems and you just buy what you like. If I was the "buy a new car every 3 years" kind of guy I would buy strickly buy because of looks, features, and ride. Unlike motorcycles, I personally like to stick with American cars just because I keep them a while, the parts are cheaper and more available (generally) and I know more about them and can fix them more easily. I think it would be easier to find a Chevy or Ford expert than a Mitsubishi expert for example. As for prices check your local paper and KBB.com

Hi!

Depends on...the 0% is a pretty good deal if you have to borrow money to get your truck. Someone I know bought a minorly used truck and will end up paying just as much as I did to get my new truck.

In the end, it was the dealership. There is a VERY good one

around these parts. Honest, good deals,really stands behind what they sell... Second to that...my first vehicle was (still have it, still use it on the farm) an '84 GMC Sierra. Not pretty, but easy to fix when stuff broke and it got me where I needed to be in one piece. That spoke volumes about what the next vehicle would be.

Not really a brand preference, and though I read reviews it wasn't those either.

Why didn't I buy a Ford, Toyota or Dodge?

Ford -- no real reason why or why not...I've got an '89 Taurus wagon that just won't quit, not that I want it to. It has been very near out of oil and frozen up twice...and the motor (3.0V6) just won't quit. If anything, I don't know of a good Ford dealer in the area.

Dodge -- The design was unappealing and I've been around and around with my mom's Chrysler minivan. Dealership that sold it didn't have bad service, but it wasn't five star or particularly effective.

Why not Toyota? I dunno...not familiar with good Toyota dealerships, nobody who is somewhat local sells them, and the price is higher than the others. The design didn't appeal to me either... Not that I think theirs is a bad product, I just don't think it is the one for me.

Chevrolet was giving off 0% financing offers at the time...which pretty well sealed the deal...I don't like interest.

I went with the V6 motor, because I knew it was good, reliable stuff. For any serious use, I'd recommend you do the same. There were other reasons--I test drove a four cylinder with automatic tranny--that was just pathetic. It also seemed like the A/C compressor was really close to the spark plugs on the 4. There's also the decreased quietness and smoothness of the four compared to the six.

Oh, and then there is that cool stylized "V6 VORTEC" air cleaner outlet tube for the six! The four just has a boring plain one!

Man hasn't yet invented the vehicle that doesn't require work at some point. It's too soon to see what will grenade and probably be expensive to fix on my S-10. If my old Sierra could be seen as any guide, the little S-10 should be awfully reliable.

William

We could have vehicles that were very close to needing no repair - but then people couldn't stick you with repair costs and parts costs.

Hello, after reading a few of these post i thought i would just give my personal opinion. I am a chevy man. but when it comes to the small pickups I would take a Toyota over a chevy,ford, or dodge. i have owned them and know people that still do. unless you get a lemon these trucks seem to be indestructable when it comes to mechanical stuff. my last Toyota Sr-5 2 wheel drive had about 200,000 miles on it and i was in high school. i slammmed it to the ground painted it and had a very nice show truck. in the 2 years i had it I can't remember 1 time of changing the oil. i was at the age that stuff didn't matter. lol. i never had any problems what so ever with it. it had a strong 4 cylinder engine that just wouldn't quit. the tranny was always smooth.and i literally beat the crap out of this truck. and I have a buddy in DSM that has a Toyota that has to be at least 15-20 years old that gets used every day and he has never had a problem with it other than a flat tire that i know of. nothing against american mini trucks. but i don't believe any of them can compete with a toyota. I have owned a 4 dr 4x4 S-10 blazer 4.3 Vortec i was not impressed sold it in less than 5 months It had the get up and go of a blade of grass in a spring shower.. I had a ford bronco kept it about 3 weeks it had the get up and go of a turtle down hill on roller blades with a tail wind. won't even try a dodge !!! but My Uncle has a Durango and loves it. it has a v-8 and he occasionally pulls an

8000 lbs tractor on a trailer with it. i was impressed but that is a different class of vehicle and a $40,000 mid size makes absolutely no sense to me. when you can spend another $5,000 and have a crew cab 1 ton 4x4 dually with all the options. As for full size trucks. I will stick with chevy ! Just My Opinion Have a Great One ! Bob

I have a couple reasons for buying Chevy. First off was the local dealerhsips. I can play the GM dealer off against the Chevy dealer for price. Otherwise I would have to go out of town to get a decent deal. I have bought trucks at both the local Chevy and GM dealer at fair prices.

Second, since I was buying new trucks I wanted to have a shop I could trust to take care of things.

The local Ford shop screwed my dad over on an engine rebuild. It was not done properly, and when we tore it down almost nothing was torque properly. We found things as bad as head bolts that were not even 20 lbs, and the "new" crank was scored. Definitely not a quality job. In addition one of the shop mechanics there screwed me on a personal sale of a used vehicle. He made a big deal of how he was a proffessional mechanic, and he maintained it just like if it came in the shop. As a vehicle it made a great toaster. Basically Ford here in Yuma was out.

Mazda is out for the same reason as Ford. Same dealership. Same shop. Screw that.

The Nissan dealer basically told me that I would have to leave town to get a decent price. They were 20-40% over the advertised prices as near as Phoenix. When I pointed this out they told me to go to Phoenix.

I seriously looked at Toyota, but I got turned off by them when I first thought about buying new trucks instead of fixing old ones. Back in the 90s they had major recalls two years in a row. I didn't even look at them the last few years.

I have own lots of used vehicles over the years, and I have had the most problems with Dodges. I also had issues with the local dealership. I did some contracting for one of the bean counters there. I gave him some big discounts and did a little extra work. He was supposed to get me a price below invoice without having to fight with the front sales guys. Bullshit. It didn't happen. I refuse to get screwed twice. He cost that dealership my business for life.

Believe it or not the least important to me was the fact that my father-in-law is a retired principal executive from General Motors (I can't stand the guy) and my wife has a ton of GM stock.

I suppose to stack one thing on top of another is the overall service I received from the local dealers. The shop at the GM dealer does most of my work. They almost always take care of my service trucks on the same day. If its minor, usually within an hour or two. The Chevy dealer is a little larger, and are not as quick, but I can still pick up a truck for any service within a day.

I suppose the last and probably one of the major things is that the local Chevy dealer has a guy that just works with commercial customers like me. He cuts through all the bullshit and gives me his bottom line when I walk in the door. I don't have to deal with the sales crap from the front line sales people. If I want a truck he tells me what is available and will get it for me on my say so. They do not waste my time. I say get, "me this truck," and they do. No paper hassles either. Everything is ready when the truck is.

Its about service, quality, and price. In that order.

-- Bob La Londe Yuma, Az

YOUR WEB LINK TO THE LINK INDEX ON MY SITE

One nice thing about Southern California, is the fact that there are dealerships all over the place! I would say there are at least two, and up to four dealerships for each brand, within a 40 minute stretch. I know of six Chevy dealers, five Ford dealer, and three dealers just to name a few... so the idea of going with one brand over another because of the deal service is kind of hard. I guess I could go to all of them and do an informal interview and see who is the best.

I am looking at getting the truck used though. so the dealerships don't make much of a difference there.

I know people that swear by Ford, and people that swear by Chevy. After my Uncle going 270k miles in his Chevy on the original engine and trans with not leaking a drop. But then, At work, we have a whole fleet of Fords, and even with all the abuse they get from the officers, they still run like a top! I have noticed though, Quality often falls off the table when it comes to the smaller (non-flagships) vehicles.

Ok, now for a different question, I will be buying a used truck, what model year should I go for? what years are better then others? how much $$$ are they going for?

Go for the lowest mileage, biggest engine, newest model year you can afford. Then, only if you can take it to an independent shop to be evaluated. Be prepared to pay that expense yourself.

Want a GMC Sonoma? I have a 2001 4 banger I don't use much. The 4 banger is seriously under powered, and because it has some dents and scrapes I'ld let it go below retail.

I have an '02 S-10 with a 4.3L that I have replaced the Sonoma with for daily work, and I just recently purchased a 6.0L 2500HD for my heavy work. The Sonoma doesn't get much use these days. I think it has around 24K miles on it.

Everything on it works fine. I don't know if the extended warranty is transferable or not.

I won't give it away. I don't need to sell it, but I would give somebody a good deal. Mechanically it is excellent. So I check the private party sales value at kbb.com based on good even though it has some dents and scrapes. It came up at:

Private Party Value $7,845 Private Party value represents what you might expect to pay for a used car when purchasing from a private party. It may also represent the value you might expect to receive when selling your own used car to another private party.

I would let it go for $6500.

Even if I plug in "FAIR" in the conditions it came up at $7075.

-- Bob La Londe Yuma, Az

YOUR WEB LINK TO THE LINK INDEX ON MY SITE

Yuma Bass Man... sounds like you are in Yuma, AZ. I am in Orange, CA. (just south of LA) that is a bit of a drive for your truck. I have been looking in the local truck traders, and shopping around... I am not in a hurry to buy a smaller truck. It would just be nice to get rid of the gas hawg in favor of something smaller. Thanks for the offer though... But a little too far away

No big deal. I imagine you can find one cheaper too if you look around. Personally I would never by another 4 banger, and I will be honest. You would be better off to take the compromise in milage vs performance and get a decent powered V-6.

That's the plan. I have driven some 4-bangers before. and they are dog slow. I spend a lot of time driving in hilly areas. Paved and non-paved. I also spend a very large amount of driving on the freeway. so having the v6 in OD will get pretty good fuel economy. My current truck is averaging 11 MPG, so a v6 will still be a nice improvement in MPG.