Here’s something a bit out of the ordinary for your collection. These Rodeos were common enough a few years back, but they seem to mostly have departed. Perhaps its rarity explains the lofty price its owner is trying to get.
$5,200 seems a bit ambitious to me.
But it’s had “Lots Of Great Engine Repairs”. Better that than lots of mediocre engine repairs. And “Paper Trail Available”. That’s worth a couple of grand, eh?
Were those great engine repairs as per the Chilton guide there? The interior looks to be quite nicely kept.
Looks in pretty good shape all-round. You know you want it.
You don’t? What’s wrong with you?
My Mom used to own a Trooper when she was my age. I can’t see an Isuzu without picturing that tall white boxy truck.
That poor manual looks like the second hand copy I picked up for Helen, that got even more beat up I had to work on her more and more.
Funny, I think the same thing whenever I see one. I briefly owned a Trooper back in the early 2000’s, a ’96 model with 5-speed. I loved it, but it was very much a tall boxy thing. Mine was coincidentally also white, with the obligatory silver cladding. I wouldn’t toss this Rodeo out of my driveway, but $5200?!? I’ve seen them in nearly as good condition with similar mileage for $2k. Those must have been some REALLY great engine repairs. I sure hope that paper trail is a long trail of Benjamins that he hands back to you along with the title.
That should come with every dodgy car purchase! If I ever sell my car, I’ll tuck a couple hundred dollar bills into the Owners manual!
Someone I know decided to go ahead and spring for the Acura SLX version of the Trooper.
Side-note: Honda had a similar relationship with Rover overseas. This led to some Discovery Series I units being badged and sold as the Honda Crossroad.
The Trooper also got Honda badges overseas, becoming the Horizon in Japan.
The funny thing about the Horizon is the badging extolling Honda V6 engine technology I dont think they rebadged the diesel at least I havent seen one,
Clearly, he “knows what he’s got.” That interior does look better than any other Rodeo I have ever seen outside of an original Isuzu showroom.
What’s with the parking spot markings on the residential street? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before in any of your Eugene shots.
That’s strictly a home-brew job on the street markings. I suspect it’s a way to suggest to others that this is my spot in front of my house.
That’s a bit presumptuous of them to do. But then so is asking $5200 for a Rodeo…
They wouldn’t be the first…
Those white painted “Park Here” brackets remind me of several GM facilities that I’ve visited. The cubical desks, the conference rooms, the plant floor – have the same style bracketry to show you where your coffee cup, stapler, laptop, remote for drop down screen, can for soiled rags, etc. should be placed. I believe that it’s some sort of “system”. Perhaps someone here can bring me up to speed.
Very clean interior on the Rodeo. I’ve found that a tidy interior is generally a sign of a well-maintained vehicle.
Out of their mind, comes to my mind.
Next time we look it’ll be advertised as “Featured on Curbside Classic! $10,400!”
My wife has a 2000 Rodeo, the V6 threw a rod at 94,000 miles and 9 years. Isuzu replaced the engine with a new one, complete with all the fittings for free under the 10/100,000 warranty. She still has it and it still looks and runs well, so I sure can’t knock it.
The seller’s message can be interpreted one of two ways-
They could be saying the repairs are great, OR they could be saying normal repairs were done to a great engine.
Isuzu did use a bank angle of 75 degrees on their V-6, which made it unique, but I’m not sure that made it great.
Maybe the ‘engine repairs’ refers to an SBC swap? That’d be great!
I’m always surprised by how much the cachet of these diverges from the 4Runner. On paper, they’re not really that much different…but I still see ten 4Runners of the same vintage for every one of these. I’ve certainly never seen one that somebody kitted out for overland travel.
I would still drive an Amigo, had any of them survived.
I see as the Rodeos/Troopers and Mitsubishi Montero Sports, Pathfinders/Xterras, etc as perfectly capable substitutes in most offroad use cases as the 4Runner, they generally just have one or two Achilles heels more than the standard bearer (auto transmissions in the Isuzus, well and their oil burning engines on later ones). Older 4Runner prices are in the stratosphere IMO, I say that contently as the owner of one. But if I wanted to scoop up a cheaper old SUV to do some back country wheeling in, I’d definitely preferentially shop NON Toyota options, especially the domestics actually. More availability of parts in junkyards.
Maybe he could get even a little more by going to the local Pick-‘N-Pull and getting the badges to rebrand it into a Honda Passport…like Honda really did.
I learned from friends that worked in the car industry selling and buying cars, that the Honda ‘H’ did not help them at all. These actually had horrible resale value and Honda dealers tried not to take the thing in trade.
The Isuzu Trooper SUV also led a second life over at Honda, as the Acura SLX.
As I recall these were built in Lafayette, Indiana back when SIA stood for Subaru-Isuzu Automotive instead of Subaru Indiana Automotive. I recall that their reputation was decent but far from what folks expected from a top-tier Japanese manufacturer then.
The folks I always felt kind of sorry for were the unwary who bought one of these with a Honda badge on it, thinking that they were buying a real Honda. These tended to not age as well as real Hondas. They are infrequently seen these days even though they were quite popular around here when new.
“They are infrequently seen these days even though they were quite popular around here when new.”
There was a big issue with the rear trailing arm seperating on trucks in the Rust belt, I believe there was a recall, although it may have happened after Isuzu had left the market. But Isuzu is not alone in this, R50 Nissan Pathfinders (unibody) had issues with strut mounts rotting through, 3rd gen 4Runners like mine are starting to get taken off the road for rusty frames. At some point age and road salt takes its toll.
Those Haynes manuals are great for the casual shadetree mechanic, such as myself.
But I have found that for my recently purchased 1996 Ranger, that the factory shop manuals are wonderful. And inexpensive if you’re willing to buy the .pdf.
I learned that with my Fury too. The Haynes manual gives a great overview, but it can’t cover everything!
Never liked those Haynes manuals, they always seemed to skirt around the particular repair I was working on at the time, leaving me going back to Chiltons or the local library which had the Alldata database available to the general public, which is a great resource if you can access it.
I seem to recall these – and the related Opel/Vauxhall/Holden Frontera – didn’t have the best reputation for quality and reliability. Seems Isuzu wasn’t quite on the same level as other Japanese automakers.
I will say this, though: these are damn good-looking SUVs. The first-gen Rodeo/Amigo/Frontera, I could leave. But these are clean, handsome, elegant and have aged well. I walk by a 2G Frontera almost every day (noteworthy because they weren’t popular here) and I find it quite lovely to behold.
That Chilton (or Haynes?) manual looks ominously well used.
It’s a attractive truck. For $2000. Keep the book.
What decade are you guys trapped in? Here in Michigan, this would be a easily sell-able $5,000 vehicle.
KBB gives this a private party value of $2356 in Eugene and $2127 in Dearborn Heights MI- if this qualifies as “Very Good Condition” I imagine the lower price in your area reflects the likelihood that the scrap value is lower with all the rust holes in it 😉
BTW these things leaked like sieves and the front axle had to be removed to replace the oil pan gasket on the 4×4 models. I bought a really nice condition one a few years ago for $2,000 here in Seattle and it leaked a quart a day. Sold it for $2500 a month later. Run don’t walk away from this one!!!
This goes to show how KBB’s projected values are completely misaligned with the actual market. SUV’s are hot right now. I could see a buy here-pay here dealer charging $7,500, plus 20% interest on the note, for this vehicle.
I agree that KBB has consistently underpriced older used cars for some time now, but there’s no way this Rodeo is worth $7k, or even $5k. SUVs are popular sure, and many were taken off the road by C4C, but without a Toyota badge, this thing with 177k miles is a $3500 truck at best during tax time or pre-winter 4×4 madness. It could maybe get $4000 if you brought it to the salt belt based on the fact that it is rust free.
Had a 94 model. The engine was very fragile. Curbside rear cylinder would starve for oil if it was not completely full. Found out the hard way when daughter killed it on her way to school. Looked for a replacement for a year. Over 100 rodeos being parted out in northeast georgia and all with sound bodies and bad engines. Couldnt fit a sbc in the engine bay so we scrapped it. Was a handy and pleasant vehicle til it died. Body on frame and useful bed
Isuzu Wizard I think here prices range from free to a good home up to about 3k usually depending on which engine petrol or diesel and whether it runs or not.
I owned two Isuzu pickup trucks, a loaded ‘83 LS model, and a stripper ‘95. Both were four banger/five speed, Japanese built units. Underpowered and wheezy, but solid. While I always felt Isuzu produced an excellent product, their marketing positioned them as a price leader, aimed at cheapskates like me, and commercial users. The Japanese had at least six major manufacturers, as opposed to our domestic three. Isuzu simply couldn’t provide the image the American consumer desired, witness their exit from the American car and light truck market; but if you’ll notice they dominate the light-medium duty truck market with their cabovers, none of the other players in that segment even come close. Those trucks are virtually bulletproof. Isuzu makes a great product.
All that said, I always really liked the Rodeo; although I would demand a four cylinder and stick shift. And I like the skinflint image of Isuzu, unlike the typical American buyer. It’s hard to go wrong with a Japanese engineered four cylinder vehicle.
Hmm……”Lots of Great Engine Repairs”. Not sure how to interpret that. If owner-repaired, hope he did it “great”, with meticulous attention to detail and care than the run-of-the-mill repair shop? Or perhaps more like owner’s self-inflated opinion of his repair?
“Interior and exterior nicely kept”. Perhaps an indication that it spent more repair time in the garage than on the road?
I had a friend who owned a Isuzu “Pooper”…..er “Trooper”. He too did a lot of “great repairs” with the help of Chilton and Haynes manuals. Great when it was running right.
When I was in Japan, saw many Isuzu medium/heavy-duty trucks and buses. That seems to be their niche.
That’s actually a Haynes Repair Manual in the front passenger seat. I had one for my Aerostar (got rid of it along with the van) & also got one for my Ranger as well as for the vehicle that the Nissan trailer would have been built from (a 1985-86 720 pickup; also covers the D21 “Hardbody” pickups as well as the 1st-generation Pathfinder). That made it a LOT easier to find all of the wiring functions for the tail lights & unscrew the lenses to replace the bulbs.