im looking at buying a rodeo. pros/cons

[xshawnxearthx]

its a 95, 67k miles. fully loaded, manual, 4wd

4k with 6 month warranty.


anyone have and pros and cons for me. its for my gf. she has short commutes. just needs reliable car, is this the car for her?

[tomlcollins]

i have an 02, and i love it. pros are that they are reliable, and the problems they do have seem to be the same across the board, which makes them easy to diagnose if something does go wrong. Good power (guessing it a V6). I personally think they are one of the best looking suv's on the road.
Cons: Gas mileage isn't great, with a manual she could be ok if she doesn't have a heavy foot. They don't hold their resale as well as a 4-runner, pathfinder, etc.
I say run a carfax, drive it and see how it feels. If you like it and it seems to run ok, buy it.

[amigo-2k]

The only thing I know of on the 93-97 is lifter tick which is caused by dirty lifters. Solution is to change the oil before you get to 3k. Other then that with the low miles, all you should need to do is swap the fluids, maybe change the plugs and wires and your good to go. Nice find for a 95.

-Ryan

[surferfletch]

I'd recommend it. I don't know much about the reliability of the 4WD as I have the 2WD, but I have 130K+ trouble free miles on the engine and tranny, and it drives as well as the day I bought it. I've found the maintenance pretty easy. The small repairs I've done, like the window regulator (nephew pushed the glass down and snapped the cable) and roof rack (85 mph and bumps at highway bridges with a load strapped too tight caused a stantion to break), were pretty simple, too. I think you have found yourself a good deal with the warranty.

[anthonyn]

Originally Posted by xshawnxearthx

anyone have and pros and cons for me. its for my gf. she has short commutes. just needs reliable car, is this the car for her?

It is not a care-free vehicle like some hondas and toyotas. Ya gotta keep an eye on the oil cuz it can go down quite a bit btw oil changes on some of these vehicles.

To keep lifter tick issue away you have to be religious with oil changes (and even then you'll probably still get it sooner or later).

There was a recall for alternator overcharging, check to see if it applies to your vehicle.

Power door locks (especially the rear ones) tend to have issues on these models. It is a do it yourself job to fix though.

I own a 95.5 with 70k and I love it. It's been very reliable. Very good handling. Fun to drive. Not even tempted to buy a new vehicle cuz I prefer mine over most of the new one's out there.

[ibew595]

I have a 94 V6 4WD with 130k.
Very reliable some problems
Lifter tick
1 window regulator failed
1 window just now doesn't open haven't had time to look at it.
O2 sensor
Tree fell on it
15 mpg
NEVER replaced brakes yet!
Door locks sometimes don't work. The problem is that the bar from the solenoid needs to be bent a tiny bit or the plastic grommet holding the bar slips out of place on the door and needs to be put back.
Rear seat latches have always been extreemely hard to unlatch.
Ride is sucky though. Fairly harsh. Handles well.
good luck.

[xshawnxearthx]

thanks alot guys.


this "lifter tick" is cause by dirty lifters. if i change the oil every 2500 it should be ok?


also, how much does it cost to repiar this said problem.


sheeit, i wish the guys on the buick forum were as good as this, i ask one simple question and no one could help me.

[mospeed1]

is this your 1st suv
i've had cars all my life so my 02 is the 1st suv i noticed on the highway if it's windy,it's kindda hard to control,i guess the truck acts like a sail
the only problems i've had is a broken rear hacth window twice other then that i love it

[xshawnxearthx]

this isnt my first suv, but it is hers.

we got the truck last night.

besides a dash light out, and not being able to figure out how to turn the interior light on. the truck is good.

it needs new speakers, cause they sound shot, but the changer works.

so im going to put new speakers in, new lights for the dash, and then bring it to the mechanic and hvae him give it a once over.


it also had a bit of play in the steering, anyone else have this?

also, how do you use the 4wd. my other suv had all wheel drive.

do you have to be stopped, neutral? clutch in?

[lovemycamaro]

I just bought a 93 Rodeo with 130K miles. It had a noisy lifter on start up, and the man who was doing the California smog suggested a can of miracle oil to the crankcase. Sounded like snake oil to me, but it really worked! After adding the oil and driving about week (30 to 50 miles) the engines sounds great!

[desmarkus]

I'd suggest to shift into 4X4 in neutral with the clutch in (preferably at rest), but the benifit to the manual tranny over an auto is that if you must you can shift on the fly with less risk to the transfer case.

I won't say what I was doing... but, I had to do this shift on the fly move once and it saved my butt.

A quick note on the 4WD, since the truck will be used for commuting I suggest once a month take it out and use the 4WD, even if it is just for a few miles on the hwy. this lubes up the transfer case preventing the seals from drying up and the oil leaking out and worst case when you really need the 4wd it is seized up.

ON a side note this is a really good forum, lots of help, everyone should give themselves a pat on the back

[xxcrowleyxx]

well for one i just bought my self a june/1995 auto v6 3.2 ls 4wd & it 's AWSOME!!! 78,000 & it had a problem with bucking.. just added some "water remover" & dam! when u hit the gas the truck moves!!!! air bag & anti-lock all are ok. aside form the crappy stereo & speakers, Yo the rodeo is worth it. Especially here in NYC with all the dam 3wx3d pot holes!! all i can said bad is that the lug Bots should be greesed when putting back on the lugs (if not they'll frezze & snap) & the starter will die @ about 80,000 miles. the brain-ni-acks mounted the starter near the dam exaust! gee would that COOK the stater? naa.. couldn't happen.. right? idiots!!! aside from that if she was kept good (mine was ok) & if u want a truck with teeth/balls!! this rodeo is it!!

[mwt]

I have a 95.5 WD and the best thing I have done to it is to rip out the original intake air box and bolt a Tube and filter kit from an Acura I think it was.

Before anyone says anthing I know it is still sucking in engine compartment air but if you will take the time to look at your factory air box it is too. The stock box had a little 2 square inch opening and was restricted to death. The power increase was pretty dramatic for what I did and Mileage also went up.

Other thing I have noticed is that Labor is pretty steep and parts are not always available off the shelf at parts stores.

It has been a good vehicle for my wife though.

Mike