Should I trade for a 96 Blazer?? HELP

Hello everyone, im new to this forum and im already looking for some help. haha. Well, here is the dillema. I have my snowmobile for sale which is worth about $2500. A guy has offered me a 1996 Blazer LS w/ 150k miles for the sled. The body is in great shape with no rust and the interior could just use a good cleaning. The tires look pretty good as well. On to the bad, it has a bad ball joint on the drivers side. Is this expensive and would it be a reason not to buy the vehicle?? Also, the check engine light is on but the truck is still running and shifting fine. Im hoping it is something simple and cheap. The truck is black and has the 4WD. So, should i do the trade if everything looks alright?? The miles have me a little worried ill be honest. I will be selling the truck if i do end up with it. How much do you think I could get for it with the ball joint fixed and if the check engine light turns out to be nothing?? Thanks. And if anybody is interested in the truck let me know.

Hi! Ask the guy if they are the original ball joints. The go for about $21.00+ each. It can be done yourself. Inquire about the tie rods too. Did you test drive the truck? Try out the 4wd? Good luck!

hey well a 96 blazer 4dr 4wd LS with 150k on it in excellent condition (not ok poor or good) according to kelley blue book is worth $5,500 with nothing wrong with it now considering the bad ball joint and dirty interior well say maybe 4,000-4,500 thats still above what u want for the sled id say its a good deal now im not sure if u could get more or less for it depending on where u live im in a suburb of minneapolis minnesota. as for the ball joint......well that depends on how mechanically inclined u r if u do it yourself it shouldnt be to bad on the other hand if u take it to a shop it seems like u cant get anything serious done for under 200 anymore haha im not sure though i havent had one go out on me yet, although i hear there common among blazers so im not suprised this truck has a bad one....as for the interior being dirty well thats just all how much time u want to spend not a matter of money i would say just take it to a car wash get a high powered vaccum and suck all the junk out of the carpeting and seats and then clean all of the dash and panels everything down with the cleaner of your choice. then give the outside of the truck a nice waxing makesure everything is in order and u could get more then your money out of it most likely double it. take it if your willing to take a little risk and wouldnt mind makin some money i could see getting close to 5,000 for it when your done assuming thats all that is wrong

tell him you want to have that check engine light diagnosed. like the others said, if your mechanically inclined you can do the ball joints yourself.

Thanks for all of the replies guys. I also saw this as a money making opportunity, it would just be a matter of finding a buyer. As for the ball joint, I work at a car dealership, mostly detailing and small stuff(oil changes, brake jobs, alignment) but my brother is a mechanic there part time and he knows his stuff. I can most likely get a Tech2 and diagnose the engine code. Hopefully it's not anything too big. I am just worried about the high miles. A lot of people have told me these engines become money pits after the 95k-100k range. The car would definitely clean up nice after some time with it. I am going to test drive it this weekend and diagnose the code. Im really just looking to get my money back out of it but if its a nice truck i think i could easily get $3500. Thanks alot and any other input is much appreciated.

4.3L blazer engine is really tough tho, 150k... is alot yes... but it's been known to exceed 250K ... with some tenderness and care of course...

I wouldn't say they are money pits. I have almost 300 000 kilometers on my truck and I haven't had to do any major repairs. Mostly regular maintenance. Ball joints are typical for Blazers, and when I bought mine I have to do them. It is an inexpensive fix.

I will echo the others in saying get that SES light diagnosed. If your brother is a mechanic, get him to give it a good once over on a hoist, and he should be able to see any significant issues right away. Other than that, I think that is an excellent trade. You will definitely make a profit if you turn this truck over.

Thanks for the replies guys. Keep the opinions coming.

Drive it down to AutoZone and they will pull the codes for you for free.

Do the deal. 150,000 miles isn't anything on these trucks.

Im going to look at it on saturday. We will have the instrument to pull the codes and see whats going on with it. The guy thinks it might be an 02 sensor which would be awesome. Will post my finds though. Thanks again.

Well, i went and looked at the truck today. It was in very good shape on the outside and like I said the inside just needs a good vaccuum. The problems that I found with it are 4wd does not work, it needs a heater core, the ball joint, and a tire on that same side. I dont think the parts I need are too expensive, and I can do most of the labor myself. It ran and shifted great though. Should I go ahead with it? If I were to fix it up or get it and sell it for cheaper with the problems, would anyone on here be interested or know anyone that would be?? Thanks.

i dont know what the 4 wheel drive will run the ball joint is easy the vaccum is easy wax it up nice and as for the tire well it all depends on what u want to do with that i bough michelins but if your not gunna drive it dont spend 170 per tire

The guy is now offering me $300 on top of my snomobile. It is now sounding like a really good deal. That would cover most if not all of the parts.

the 4wd doesnt work?.. is it electrical? or on the floor?

Electrical. I really want to do it because i think i can get $3000 at least if i fix the ball joint, 4wd, and heater core. The only thing I am really worried about is finding a buyer. Im not sure how the market is for these things. If anybody knows someone who is looking for one PLEASE let me know. Im in NY. Thanks.

I would ask the guy if he has any detailed service records or logs for the Blazer. 150K is a lot, but the 4.3 is a great engine, and if the seller has kept up on oil changes, etc. I wouldn't worry about the miles too much. Ball Joints are relatively inexpensive if you have the ability to change them yourself. You may want to ask the seller to have the vehicle hooked up to a machine to diagnose the check engine light situation. You'll then know if it is going to be expensive or not to get the problem fixed. Something else to think about. He's trading a blazer to you for $2500. A 96 in good condition is probably worth around $5000. You're already ahead $2500. You'll most likely get a lot more use out of a Blazer than a snowmobile. But even beyond that, take him up on his offer, do the minor repairs, and turn and sell it within a month or two. You'll now be sitting on about $5000 to go out and buy something a little newer with less miles on it.

Thanks for the reply Brian. I diagnosed the check engine light with a Tech 2 when I was there and it was a cylinder misfire. Im not sure what that would signify if anybody has an opinion on that. I agree with you about being up a good amount of money if I can sell it. Even in its condition right now im sure i could get at least $2500 for it. As far as service records, they had none! They have owned it for 2 years and not one paper which I didnt like because I save everything service wise about my car. Oh well, im still contemplating it. Looks like I might have to do it and take a risk! haha. Thanks.

I fixed my random misfire P0300,by cleaning the MAF sensor and cleaning the O2 sensors near the precat.

The only thing that really worries me is the heater core. When we were test driving it, it got real close to 260 but when we turned the heat on it dropped down to normal. So, Im not sure if it is a bad thermostat, the heater core itself or something else. If anybody has a thought on that I would really appreciate it. I think I may end up doing the trade this weekend. It seems like it's worth the gamble.

could be an air pocket in the core. I haven't dealt with one but maybe a flushing willl help.

I can't get my heater hoses of the firewall to flush mine.

Ya thats definitely a possibility. A bad thermostat would be awesome though. $20 and I'm on my way. haha.

Well, I decided I'm going to go through with the trade. Im picking it up tommorow afternoon. Wish me luck and I'll let you guys know what I find out.

I still vote to do the deal.
Do a full cooling system flush, no need to pull the heater core hoses off, just pull the radiator hoses off the water pump and thermostat. Then pull th thermostat, stuff a garden hose in the thermostat opening, then stuff it in the water pump opening, then into each of the radiator hoses. This will flush the entire system. Let it run for a couple minutes in each opening.

Mis fire could be crappy gas, air filter, etc. Mine knocked like crazy when I bought it. Filled it up with 89 octane with 10%ethanol and the knocking went away. Then again clear the code and see if it comes back, it could have been a fluke.

If you didn't smell anti-freeze when you kicked on the heater then I doubt its leaking. Like someone else posted, it could be as simple as a stuck thermostat. If the truck ever overheated, you need to rplace the thermostat. Ask them if it overheated. There ignorance could be worth big bucks to you.

Well, I now have the Blazer!! It ran great all the way home(65 miles) with no problems. I found out just yesterday that the 4WD malfunction was only a bad vacuum line which is awesome news, so that is fixed. All I have left to do is figure out the heating issue and replace the ball joints/tire. I will have that done by the end of the weekend as well as a detail of the inside and outside. She will then go in the paper next week. So my next question is, how much should i ask?? The book is higher than i thought it would be even with 150k on it. I believe its around $5500. I was thinking of $4,000. Does this sound too high? Keep in mind, all problems mentioned before will be fixed prior to the sale. Thanks!

well it does have highmileage but like i said b4 its worth 5,500 so ask somewhat near that # if its in nice shape when u sell it and put the # there and maybe best offer next to it i think u should try to get 5,000 y not go for it dant take less then 4,000...someone will bite