That is a good point, actually. When Honda/Acura came up short on their own SUV platforms, they chose to contract with ISUZU to produce SUVs for their nameplates. Not Toyota, nor Nissan.

But, at the same time, ISUZU, Honda, and Subaru entered into a joint production agreement sometime back, and this may have ultimately lead to the reliability issues being referenced.

I don't include ISUZU NA in the same breath as ISUZU JP though. I think ISUZU NA has totally dropped the ball in the US market, otherwise, as the original poster put it, ISUZU wouldn't be 41st place in the repeat buyer's market which is absolutely tied to brand name recognition and the nameplate just isn't out in front at the dealerships.

I don't have a new ISUZU - but two issues that crop up constantly are:

Valve-tick issue - 3.2

Oil consumption - 3.5

Alternator placement - 3.2

There are other aggravations, but those seem to be the big three I see threads on. Does that mean they are inferior to say, the other imports. Don't think so.

Visit the other brand related boards and I bet you'll find each make has their own set of headaches. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Buying a used auto is always 'buyer beware' irregardless of the used car dealer type. OEM or storefront or even CarMax. You NEVER can know for sure how well a vehicle was cared for in it's previous life. I bought mine with 20K miles on it and I always had a nagging doubt in the back of my mind on when the first big 'break' was gonna happen. I'm now at about 165,000 miles still waiting..... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

You may indeed need to cut your losses, but you'll not find many detractors here of the ISUZU, new, old, or otherwise - but judge wisely the other nameplates as well.

Sorry for your troubles, call St. Charles on the fuel pump, or consider a salvaged one from another source.

Cheers,