ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Model Specific Suzuki Forum => Suzuki Grand Vitara, Vitara, Chevy Tracker (Gen. 2 Platform) 1999-2005 => Topic started by: CreemCheese on November 21, 2015, 02:00:40 PM
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The times finally came that we should get a 2nd car. I have an old van to get rid of, so looking at dealers I found a high mileage 00 ZR2 in budget. It has 230k, but is only $2000 and very clean. Everything I'm finding lower mileage is a lot more expensive.
Should the miles scare me away, or can these engines last a while.
I need 4 doors, should I avoid the ZR2 and look for different package with the 2.0
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230 miles or kms, if kms not bad just make sure that regular maintenance is done
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That is unfortunately 230,000 miles :/
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A vehicle with almost a quarter million miles on it? If they can provide you all/most of or at least the the recent year's service records of what maintenance has been performed to it and when and you have driven it and maybe even had a mechanic you know and trust look it over and deem it in decent shape, then sure, go for it.
The reality is the vehicle probably will have little to no service/maintenance records with it. So even if you have a trusted mechanic look it over (and you should if you know little about vehicles) you need to accept the fact that you will be assuming a lot of maintenance/repair and replacement costs. Nothing lasts for ever, especially vehicles.
So... how much MORE are these 4 door vehicles with lesser miles around you? $1,000? $2,000? It doesn't take long before you can easily have that much money in required maintenance and repair costs. Even more if you don't perform the lion's share of the repair and maintenance costs yourself.
Personally, I'd opt for a 2 liter engine in a 4-door truck. The maintenance concerns would still be the same, however, major repairs relating to the engine will be a few hundred dollars less expensive on the 2 liter engine versus the 2.5 liter engine. The 2 liter engine is just as reliable when properly maintained and provides far better fuel economy for the duration of time you own it. The horsepower difference between the 2.5 liter V6 and the 2 liter 4 cylinder is negligible. The V6 produces about 19 more horse power than the 2 liter.
If you go into the purchase realizing you may have to replace normal wear items sooner rather than later, such as front control arms (bushings worn?), CV axles or CV boots, spark plugs, U-joints, rear wheel cylinders, brake pads and/or shoes, axle bearings or wheel bearings, maybe a brake line then go for it. I'm not saying all these items will fail all at once. I am saying if this truck is rolling on the original suspension components, or even the second set of suspension components, they are probably due to be changed and you should expect to have to replace them sooner than later, but not all at the same time necessarily.
Once you have caught up on needed maintenance and repairs, providing the engine is sound, it should serve you well for a few thousand miles. Many of us have bought used trucks, spent thousands of dollars on replacing normal wear items over a couple years... and now have a sound record on the mechanical condition of our trucks and we now pretty well know our truck and know when to expect to have to perform future repairs or maintenance on them.
Once you own one of these, you will hear the noise that shouldn't be there and pretty much know what to do about it. The largest maintenance issue with these trucks is just like any other vehicle, change the oil and filter regularly, use the correct oil and check the fluid levels regularly to know when to top them off.
There are a lot of these little trucks rolling around with over 200K miles on them. Mine has 205K right now. I would still hop in it and drive it anywhere. In fact, I do.
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Found 2 more, both 00 with 190k and 196k miles. They have the 2.0, auto. Is power windows standard on the 4 door? The one doesn't have any interior pics. Also are arm rests an add on? The pics of the one looks like it doesn't have the center ones, where the ZR2 has them minted to the seat, flip down type.
The others I'm finding are at least 4,000 and most still have around 150k miles.
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Here's the 3 that have caught my eye
Red base http://www.autovillellc.com/mobile/mdetails.aspx?VID=254881430 (http://www.autovillellc.com/mobile/mdetails.aspx?VID=254881430)
Blue ZR2
http://www.dunnchevy.com/VehicleDetails/used-2002-Chevrolet-Tracker-4dr_Hardtop_4WD_ZR2-Oregon-OH/2536042963 (http://www.dunnchevy.com/VehicleDetails/used-2002-Chevrolet-Tracker-4dr_Hardtop_4WD_ZR2-Oregon-OH/2536042963)
Blue base (no interior pics)
http://www.thekarconnection.com/2000-Chevrolet-Tracker-Mansfield-OH/v/3667 (http://www.thekarconnection.com/2000-Chevrolet-Tracker-Mansfield-OH/v/3667)
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The fold down arm rests came in the 2002 model year and later Trackers. The good news is you can pick-up a set of newer seats from a local pick-n-pull and they bolt right into the older model Trackers as well.
Base models had the manual window cranks. They are out there, just not as many. I've replaced my driver's side manual regulator twice to date.
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The ZR2 does appear to be clean, but you can see what happens when the wheel cladding is knocked off. It is becoming more difficult to find replacement cladding in pick-n-pull yards.
The base blue model has a bit of hype in the information. It doesn't have steel wheels.
The red one's rockers are completely eaten up. I'd bet all of them have some rust going-on inside their rocker panels, but with the red one I'd checked the outside rear front seat mounts where the seat bolts to the floor. I'd wager the floor board is rusted in that area and that can make removing the bolts difficult. Especially when the nut that is welded into the floor board breaks loose from the floor board because of excessive floor board rusting in that area.
It's just a crap game on which one is the "best" deal with out closer inspection. All things being equal, I'd go for the one with the best sheet metal on it.