Possible Purchase??? Help me out, I'm a noob..

[Triathlete]

Matt...I'm going out on a limb and going to guess that the person that made the tampon comment drives a jeep!?!? Make sure to keep a tampon in your glove box to hand him when you out wheel him...and then demand that he hands over his "trail rated" badge

[Triathlete]

Wow, I'm glad I had mine done professionally then! It cost me $700 for an OEM belt and water pump installed!

I had a few other things in there also while I had it apart...tensioner, ser belt, hoses...

[pdlock]

I just bought a Proton and paid a lot....but it's worth it. 53K miles, so calif original, never off road, good city driver. People flag me down everywhere I take it. I looked for 2 years....and $7K is the lowest I ever saw an undamaged Proton....most are $8-10K...I still paid more. Will keep it forever!

[mattferguson14]

Matt...I'm going out on a limb and going to guess that the person that made the tampon comment drives a jeep!?!? Make sure to keep a tampon in your glove box to hand him when you out wheel him...and then demand that he hands over his "trail rated" badge

He drives a Chevy actually. And I'm sure I'd out wheel him because it's 2 wheel drive! He was just trying to poke some fun. After he heard the exhaust and sat inside it, he was a believer. I have another buddy who is a big time jeep guy and he loves the Vehicross. Said he and his Jeep buddies talk about em' all the time. I took the VX up to Payson over the weekend. It's a big time up-hill grade most of the way. She didn't want to accelerate at all going up those hills. It was all I could do just to keep her up to the speed limit. I'm sure it has a bit to do with the over sized tires. Anyone else have that problem with the VX?

[mattferguson14]

Another question... I spoke with the dealer I bought the VX from and asked them about the timing belt. He said they'd give me a special on the labor, $36 an hour. I know that is less than half what most shops charge. What do you guys think? Would you do the work yourself, or have the shop do it for that rate?

[MSHardeman]

Depends on if you like to get your hands dirty or not. $36/hour is a screaming deal to me. Most shops around her charge $90-$100 an hour for labor. I did my timing belt a couple of years ago, and even though it was totally stressful (did I get the timing right?, did I forget to tighten that bolt?) I absolutely loved it. I learned a whole lot about how things where put together and where they went in the engine bay. The replacement took me the better part of two days, but I'm sure a shop could do it in a few hours. $36/hour is very tempting to have someone do it for me.

[mattferguson14]

I know what you mean. Working on your vehicle strengthens the bond and familiarizes you with what's under the hood. It makes you appreciate it more and there is a certain amount of pride you get when you complete a task like that on your own. I've done a ton of wrenching on my previous vehicles. Everything from small upgrades to big time repair jobs and projects. But when I pay $7000 for a vehicle, I'm not sure how I feel about diving into it the next week to do this much work. I feel like $36 an hour is worth it to have the dealer do it. Not to mention I live in an apartment and I don't think management wants my truck torn apart in their parking lot I have a buddy's house I could work on it at, but still debating.. I'm also still trying to figure out if it's been done already by a previous owner. Does anyone know a way to tell if it's been replaced other than hearing it from the horse's mouth?

[MSHardeman]

I think $36/hour for labor is a screaming deal and I would jump on it, especially since you don't really have a space to work on it.

I can't remember, but have you checked the last four digits of your VIN against the owner database here on the site? You might find the previous owner here on the board and then you could ask them. Barring that I don't know if it's possible to tell if the belt has been changed or not. You could always remove the timing belt covers and take a look at the belt, but I don't know if that would be definitive either.

[VX KAT]

I took the VX up to Payson over the weekend. It's a big time up-hill grade most of the way. She didn't want to accelerate at all going up those hills. It was all I could do just to keep her up to the speed limit. I'm sure it has a bit to do with the over sized tires. Anyone else have that problem with the VX?

Um, yeah....remember I said I live up near Prescott? I've been up and around the steep hills all over the area, inlcuding 87 to Payson, and coming North on 17 from PHX, and also coming South on 17 from Camp Verde on that really big hill. Yeah, with 285s, roof basket, full size spare.....pretty much just barely able to get it to speed limit, just no more juice left on those steep grades.

[mattferguson14]

Um, yeah....remember I said I live up near Prescott? I've been up and around the steep hills all over the area, inlcuding 87 to Payson, and coming North on 17 from PHX, and also coming South on 17 from Camp Verde on that really big hill. Yeah, with 285s, roof basket, full size spare.....pretty much just barely able to get it to speed limit, just no more juice left on those steep grades.

I hear ya. Not to mention I had it loaded down with fishing gear, an ice chest, and my gf and dog.. lol plenty of weight. I had to throw it in D2 once or twice on the way up. You ever host an AZ meet for us VX owners? I think that would be fun.

[VX KAT]

Sure did:
http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...perbowl+sunday

[mattferguson14]

Be nice to do it again. I'd like to meet some fellow VXers and see what they've done to their rides.

[mhuyge]

Hi Matt. I test drove that same one in Mesa. Rough shape - drives horribly. I would pass. In fact, the nearby Chevy Dealer does Isuzu service. Some prospective buyer had it in there and gave it a once-over. You might be able to speak with the service manager and get his opinion.

[mattferguson14]

I already bought it. It runs fine. I took it for a trip up to Payson this past weekend and it ran great, other than struggling a bit going up hill (big tires and excess weight will do that). Other than the dent in the rear door, it's in pretty good shape. The front prop shaft was bad, but I worked a replacement into the deal. I also got a huge discount off of the list price because I work in the automotive industry and did a favor for the owner of the dealership (transported a truck for him from Vegas to Mesa). It was listed at $10990 and I bought it for $6990, not including the $1000 worth of work they agreed to do to it for me. I also contacted the repair shop who had been doing the most recent service, per the carfax report. They told me of a couple known issues with the truck; leaky valve covers, bad prop shaft, and an electrical issue (lights on the climate control unit flash when you put on the blinkers). The dealer did the valve cover gaskets before I bought it (doesn't leak a drop) and are fixing the prop shaft as part of the deal. All I have left is the pesky electrical issue, which isn't a big deal, just a little annoying. Maybe it still had the old busted prop shaft on it when you drove it?? Although I've never owned a Vehicross, I do know a bit about mechanics (every car I've ever owned was used and old) and I've had to do a ton of wrenching. All in all, this truck is pretty sound mechanically. Just needs a little TLC. Which is fine with me, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have a project to work on Thanks for your input though.

[Raque Thomas]

Hello Raque. Yeah, i was looking at the pics of the mods you did and it has definitely been "refined".. It still looks cool and seems to run well. I actually tried to send you a message but it said your inbox was full or something. I was wondering if you happened to do a timing belt on it when you owned it. I emailed the previous owner but no response yet. So far, I love this thing. I get mixed feedback from my buddies. One asked if it came with a box of tampons.. lmao but none can deny that it looks tough and there is nothing else like it.

I didn't replace the timing belt. I think it had just under 100k on it when I sold it, and the guy I sold it to said he was going to put a new engine in it because he wanted to keep it a long time. Nothing was wrong with the engine, so I don't know if he ever replaced it or not.