Please help, we're looking for suv

Hey guys, i am new to this forum. as the subject says, we are looking for a new to us vehicle. we really like the 95 and up blazers. i am hoping you guys can help us out w/ some info, like what are some common problems w/ blazers (if any), any years better (problems wise) than others, how reliable are the trannys. an i have a curousity ? my self, some of the blazers i have looked at (4x4) have the tranny shifter on the column and some on the console, whats the difference?
we're looking to spend between $8 and $9K. we want 4x4, 4door, preferably w/ less than 100k miles.
i have several friends that have or do have a blazer (95 to 99) and they all loved them and haven't had any major problems. the two friends w/ 95's, the interior seems to rattle and sqeak like crazy but haven't noticed in any other models. i assume it's because it was the first year of that body style and chevy may have caught it and fixed it in later models. thanks for the help!

Pretty decent machines after 98. Usually see some transmission problems and the coolant needs to be changed and watched regularly. Seems like there are good ones and bad ones though. Still a pretty good used vehicle to buy though.

If you plan on buying a Chevy Blazer, don't go with a '95 model... then engines are a pain in the butt to look for and repair.....Lol!!

bump

If you plan on buying a Chevy Blazer, don't go with a '95 model... then engines are a pain in the butt to look for and repair.....Lol!!
:wtf:

Yea, what cobra said... Go for a 96 or higher and you should be good. The alternator likes to go bad on the 96. My mom went through two.

We have owned a few S-10 Blazers. ('92,'95 and now '97) I just sold my '95 Blazer to a co-worker and turned around and bought a '97 Blazer. Here are few things that we saw on the '95 with 154k on it:
2ea heater cores
1ea fuel pump
Both front upper ball joints
1ea idler arm
1ea intake manifold gasket (it was seeping coolant)
1ea radiator
1ea Fuel injector (spider) $400+ from Chevy
1ea Rebuilt Transmission @ 80K

Our '95 Blazer had the column shifter. Our '97 has the floor shifter which is way cool just because of the looks! Starting in '96 the fuel injection system was improved. The drawback is the fuel pump can cost over $400 when you have to replace it. (The '95 was under $60 from Napa Parts) Our new Blazer has 115k and the transmission just went out, but we kinda expect them to go out.

If you can afford it, go '98 and newer. The bodies look the same, but the newer years have 4 wheel disc brakes now and the dash has been updated. I would also visit www.recall-warnings.com to look up the recalls on the years you are interested in. By the way, all our Blazers were 4x4 and we never got over 18MPG (heavy truck and the gear ratio), but I understand the 2 wheel drives can get 20+ MPG. Sorry for the long post, but you asked!