Hi all. I'm 17 and looking for a vehicle I'll enjoy which will last and be reliable. I've been looking for inexpensive options by Ford, GM, Dodge, Toyota, etc. and I've found a 1999 Blazer on Marketplace. The seller put a picture of the engine bay and I believe it'* the 4.3 V6. It has 103,000 miles, Southern its whole life with no rust that I can see, and the interior looks clean. I've been doing research and I've found that these can be reliable when taken care of (I've also had buddies who've owned S10s, Impalas, Tahoes, Sonomas, and Silverados from around this year and they've loved them with minimal problems).
However, my stepdad (who will pay for about half of the price and I will pay him back over time). believes that all GM vehicles are unreliable. Can anyone describe their Blazers of this generation and/or give any information that may persuade him? Thanks. Pictures included

Moved from "1992-1999" in the "Pontiac Bonneville" section to "GMC/Chevrolet Truck/SUV".

These can be really reliable.

Change the air filter, I suggest Wix and warn strongly against K&N and other oiled reusable filters.

Change the thermostat out first thing as well, with a Stant or Gates or some other reputable brand.

Make sure the fan clutch is good. It should not spin freely with the engine stopped and cold from sitting overnight.

Add a big transmission cooler.

Change all of the fluids with quality lubricants. By "all" I mean:

- Engine oil + decent filter, I suggest Wix and warn against ACDelco
- Transmission fluid + decent filter, I suggest Wix
- Transfer case oil
- Front differential oil
- Rear differential oil
- Power steering fluid
- Antifreeze

Change the belt, and keep the old belt in the back somewhere as a spare.

The Chevrolet 4.3 V-6 is a very solid engine. I've known guys that worked at a company that had Express 2500 utility vans crammed full of stuff all the time with ladders on the racks on top. Several of them had over 300,000 miles on them with the original 4.3 V-6s in them, and had eaten a couple of transmissions along the way. Understandable considering the workload, and in hot weather most of the time, and mostly curvy rural two-lane roads.

After all of the above, change engine oil and filter every 3,000 miles, and I bet you'll get another 100,000 miles out of it easy.

Oh yeah, don't beat it a lot. That goes for any car that you want to last a while.

Thanks man that was actually really helpful and informative. The only things I knew I was gonna replace were the oil and belt. I knew about the others but I hadn't even thought about replacing them - thank you!

You're welcome!

Come back if you have questions etc.