1996 Chevrolet Blazer review from North America

I purchased my Blazer from an estate sale for $500 dollars. The vehicle had no body damage, but when I got it home and started looking under the hood, the neglect was obvious.

Examples of this; brake fluid was almost like used oil, engine coolant has rust particles in it, obvious signs of leakage spray in engine compartment, transmission fluid was dark and smelled burnt, oil on AC fluid lines from ac system, over sized non factory spec tires on the vehicle (contributes to premature wear of steering components), brake calipers frozen in mount, wouldn't slide.

The list goes on.

I read this post, and realized that people expect to put their keys in vehicles and just go forever (my spouse). I can tell you that after I replaced everything that was neglected, all vital fluids, hacked battery cables, leaky AC, high quality tune up, properly repaired braking system, proper tires the same exact it came with when bought new, wire from alternator to battery properly repaired, new best battery from Johnson controls, I brought this vehicle back from the dead.

My spouse has been driving this vehicle for 47000 miles without a problem; maintenance is key.

It sounds as if a lot of people neglect their blazers for so long that by the time you get it in the shop, it costs a small fortune to fix. My cost to bring my Blazer back up to needing only preventative maintenance was 2700 dollars. This is parts only; I performed all labor myself. If I was to pay a mechanic I would have been looking at closer to 7000 dollars.

My advice to you; educate yourself on your vehicles needs, and don't depend on your shop to tell you and look to see what needs done. Most of all, get it done.