Opinions about Chevy Trailblazers & Jeep Grand Cherokees

[WarPony]

My GF Anna has just graduated from nursing school and needs a new vehicle. We went to a couple of dealers this morning and test drove an '06 Jeep and '06 Chevy. I liked the Chevy a little better but want to know from any of you that actually own any of these if you've had BAD problems with them. I mean, do they have chronic drivetrain troubles or the front ends are junk............... that kind of stuff. I'm a mechanic (diesel) and am not afraid of water pumps and things like that but I don't want her to be stuck paying for a POS that needs constant attention.

Jeff

[brettweir]

I am a jeep guy all the way. however I know nothing about the independent front ends in the new jeeps. sorry good luck

[emiller]

I don't know her needs but if she's attending school there are better fuel milage vehicles out there. kids in school don't have much money and need to keep things as simple as posible. I'm not a fan of either but that's my preference I believe both are pretty equal with the chevy being more comfortable. As a mechanic I've worked on the cherokee's but haven't worked on any trailblazers yet. One thing as a mechanic I'd rather deal with Chevy parts than with Chrysler parts departments.

[WarPony]

Thanks, guys. Emiller, she's out of school now and wants a vehicle that will tow our TD's/TTT's. I tried to talk her into a truck but that didn't work. We have two dogs (both about 40 lbs.) to boot so she's opted for a small SUV to haul them and the camping gear in.

Jeff

[halfdome, Danny]

I prefer Chevy but which one has the best warranty? Mike (our host) has an equinox which is a nice Chevy SUV ask him. Danny

[jeep_bluetj]

I've owned 3 Jeep GC's, one aged and beatup Jeep cherokee, and 2 TJ's. I like jeeps The jeep will have the better warranty.

I've never had a single serious drivetrain problem on any of the jeeps. (Lots of self-inflected suspension/axle/etc issues on the TJ's though- -- but driving over huge rocks isn't what most folks lump into "reliability") The grands were bought new for the wife, had each 2-3 years. All were perfect. One warranty repair on a power seat is it.

The chevy's have a decent rep too, but I've never owned one. They likey get better milage.

On both, I'd bet the body and interior fall apart well before the drivetrain.

[jplock]

Jeff,
I have a 2004 GMC Envoy it is a Straight 6 aluminum block engine. This engine has roots back to the old Chevy 250 6 cylinder, and down under all the stuff on top it looks like it down low. It is double overhead cam and fuel injected. It was purchased used and had 18,000 miles on it and now has 43,000 miles. The car is two wheel drive it gets about 23 miles per gallon on the hiway when you are gentle on the gas pedal it gets about 14 to 17 miles per gallon towing the teardrop. Acceleration is fabulous feels like a V8. The engine has cast iron sleeves it does not use any oil. ( I had a bad experience with the Chevrolet Vega which was aluminum block and no cast iron sleeves.) It could do better on gas mileage and could have used a little bigger alternator on it also. I believe the tow package is standard on all of them also. All in all I have been satisfied with it.
jplock

[Kankujoe]

I've had 5 Jeeps (4 of them new) all but one was a GC. My first Jeep was a 1993 Cherokee Sport. I have enjoyed them all. Still have 3 of them (the other two were totalled in bad accidents but walked away unscathed).

I drive a 2007 GC 5.7L hemi (just drove to the east coast & back, 21 MPG! on the 2500 mile trip) usually get 17-18 mpg around town.

My wife drives a 2005 GC 5.7L hemi and my son drive a 1999 GC. No major problems with any of them. We put lots of miles on them. The 2001 GC & the 1993 Cherokee were totalled in accidents or I'd still have them.

[mikeschn]

Michelle drives the Equinox on a daily basis. She loves it. I did notice however, that it's rated really low on either cars.com or edmunds.com

We've not had any problems with the reliability, but we've only got 60K miles on it.

I would not buy another one though. I would do some more research, and definitely investigate the Toyota RAV and the Hundi Santa Fe.

I don't know anything about the jeep though...

Mike...

I prefer Chevy but which one has the best warranty? Mike (our host) has an equinox which is a nice Chevy SUV ask him. Danny

[fornesto]

We owned a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee for a while. It drove great, but the electrical systems started to act up so we traded it in. The headlights, stereo, door locks, etc. would act completely out of control. At one point, I was driving and the stereo got louder and louder and louder (the knob wasn't moving). I had to pull over, shut the car off, then restart it to reset the stereo. When it drove, (V8) it was a beast, but it's the other stuff that really drove me crazy and would have cost big bucks to fix. My sister's Jeep Cherokee used to leak water into the quarter panels and cargo area. That sort of turned me off to Jeep. I'd buy the Chevy. My dad's driven Chevys for years with nothing major.

Personally, I'd buy a Toyota with 75K before I'd buy a new Jeep (price not considered).

[halfdome, Danny]

At one point, I was driving and the stereo got louder and louder.

I have that feature on my Chevy Blazer, it's controlled by a small lever on the radio. When I dive off the freeway for a rest stop the radio gets real quiet & gets louder when I return to freeway speeds. Danny

[fornesto]

At one point, I was driving and the stereo got louder and louder.

I have that feature on my Chevy Blazer, it's controlled by a small lever on the radio. When I dive off the freeway for a rest stop the radio gets real quiet & gets louder when I return to freeway speeds. Danny

This got to the point where it was at full volume regardless of speed - probably that feature gone haywire.

[jplock]

My envoy has that feature on the radio also, and the feature can be disabled.
jplock

[PresTx82]

I gave up on Chevys when I was a kid. They all were junk. Perhaps they're better these days, but I'll never buy one again!

Go JEEP!

[Steve F]

Jeep, but I am biased being the president of the Sydney Jeep Club

Oh, and we don't get chevys here so I guess you can ignore my advise all together

Cheers
Steve