If you had it to do over again, would you buy a zuk?

Be honest. If so, why. If not, why?

What would you change on your next rig or what would you have zuki change to make it better?

Yeah I would and actually buy a Vitara not a Tracker just because they had more options and alittle better looking interior fabric. I also wish they would put atleast the 2.5v6 in the 2dr but we don't have to worry about that anymore since they don't make the 2drs anymore. :mad:

And I tell you there is not much differance in the 5spd and the Auto. I've owned both at the same time and if I took the auto out of OD and raced my 5spd it would be pretty close. %spd would win ofcourse but it would be close.

Be honest. If so, why. If not, why?

What would you change on your next rig or what would you have zuki change to make it better?


haha... reply to an olllld post.. wee

Well, beginning of the year (2004) I did do it all over again.
I used to have a 1996 Geo Tracker 2dr/base. I was pimping my white w/plastic bumpers, power-nothing, no stereo Geo. Hated it when I bought it and cried when I rolled it on the freeway doing 95mph 8 months later.
Jan first 2004 I blew the motor in my 91 Grand Am and yup, found me a 99 Tracker (would've preferred the Vitara only cuz I like the front grille and headlights better) and bought it the next day. $4,999.
When I walked away from my 96 tracker with no major injuries I knew I'd be buying another one.

-Phu

I purchasee my Vit about 4 months ago, and I love it! Everything checked out great during the inspection, and even though it is older and has more miles than my other car, we drive it more often now. (of course my other car is a Ford Focus, please keep the mocking to a minimumhttp://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/grinno.gif)

Anyway, I would do it again , in a heartbeat! Plus like Phu, I got a great deal on it.

I bought mine used, but I would love to have fog lights, as I might end up install some aftermarket stuff myself.

I purchased my 2002 Grand Vitara new. I change the oil per the Manuafacturers recommendation. At I have 107,000 miles on it. I drive 100 miles a day round trip to work. Since new it has had a rattle at certain RPMs under the hood. Took it to the dealer under warrenty and was told the they could not hear a rattle. It also has had tire bounce since new. Dealer said this was typical of the GV because of the short whell base.Nothing they could do for either problem(tried a different dealer and got the same anwer). At 15,000 miles I started hearing a Scraping noise when I took tight corners. Dealer said it was the Brake Backing plates that need adjustment, He fixed it. At 23,000 miles the keyless entrys quit working, first one then the other after 2 months. At 70,000 miles the engine started burning oil(blue smoke on accereration, more so after I have been on the interstate for a half hour our more and at startup). It now burns about a quart a week(500 miles).

I will never buy another Suzuki.

Jeff

With out a doubt!
I love my 2000 GV. I will most likely buy another GV as loong as they make em'. The 4x4 capabilities are great and I have had no problems with it at all.

I have heard that from alot of people. I probably just got a lemon.

Which is weird because I just had a pretty bad experience with my '02 Suzi at 34K.

When I bought her new (black), I absolutely loved it - so much that I actually wrote Suzuki to tell them (they wrote back and sent me a keychain and a tshirt).

I mean the truck is a little rough, not a ton of storage space or rear seat room, but I just get a kick out of riding in it, it looks really cool and up until this week it's been pretty reliable.

As I was taking it in for oil at 34K, yes I change it all the time, the service engine soon light went on. So I asked my guy to check it out and he came back and said that there was corrosion on a fuse. They also found a crankshaft leak. Made an appt at the dealer and as I was heading to the dealer, the keyless remote failed (#2 of 2).

I was pretty pissed off when I got to the dealer. They replace the keyless remote, put in a new crankshaft seal, said they had no idea why there was corrosion but it looked OK now (that windsheild recall?).

Now I am wondering if I am looking at a few more years of repair hell. But I still love my Suzi (or Zuk).

I'm sure the problems you had were frustrating. I hopre you got everything worked out.

As for mine, I wrote Suzuki about the problems I had and they did not even bother to respond.

Other than the problems mentioned mine runs good. I drive it 45 miles each way to work each day. I drove it from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Charlotte, NC 3 times last year. If it does not get any worse I guess it will be OK. Still It is embarassing to have such a new car blowing blue smoke out the back.

i would definetly do it again i beat the shit out of my 96 tracker and it runs better then it did when i bought it. to give you and idea on how much i beat on it it now has been rolled 6 times and after the third time i rolled it i stopped bothering to turn it off when i go to roll it back over. but i have now come to the conclusion that it need to be faster so i hope to be turboing it over the summer.

i would definetly do it again i beat the shit out of my 96 tracker and it runs better then it did when i bought it. to give you and idea on how much i beat on it it now has been rolled 6 times and after the third time i rolled it i stopped bothering to turn it off when i go to roll it back over. but i have now come to the conclusion that it need to be faster so i hope to be turboing it over the summer.

You lucky bum. Here's what my 96 looks like after I rolled it:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/8/web/512000-512999/512086_4_full.jpg

Granted, that was also done doing ~95 mph on the freeway, and I fell asleep, and hit the center divider 3 times before rolling...

Another reply to an old thread...

Since I got my 2000 GV, I've had lots of trouble.

During the test drive, I noticed a small wheel wobble in the front, felt like a wheel balance issue. I told the dealership I'd buy it if they'd IOU a fix on the wobble. Took it back to them 3 times, the third time of them telling me I had mud built up in the wheels finally pissed me off, so I took it to the Suzuki dealership. They found the front passenger CV shaft had pulled out of the front diff. I paid for the fix, but when it fell out AGAIN, they paid for it and replace the whole front diff, axles and all.

I recently noticed the boot on one of my lower ball joints had torn, the grease was gone and the ball joint was shot. In order to replace the ball joint, you have to order the ENTIRE lower control arm, which by the way does NOT include the bushings (make sure you have the shop order them or you'll be waiting an extra week for parts, I did).

Numerous wheel balances, new tires, and all the repairs I've listed...I still have the front end wobble.

It now has a 'FOR SALE' sign in the window. Take over the payments and it's yours.

Just bought a 06 GV and love it. Seems like they made lots of big changes to them. Replaced an Olds Bravada with it, and am more impressed with the GV than the "luxury" Bravada. It's quick, great traction (2WD with ESP), and so far is getting 20mpg around town. Was planning on buying a Kia Sorento, but the GV was $3,000. less and has many more options, including climate control. Seems like a great little SUV.

Nope, Not a GV.

I loved my '97 Sidekick that I just traded for a sportscar but that Sidekick was hyper-reliable, never seen the dealer after I bought it, only changed the brakes, oil (full synthetic since birth), the catalytic converter and the timing belt. Traded it at 120.000km for a Tiburon one month ago!

My wifey has a 2000GV w/85.000km on it, and it does have ongoing problems.

-It will make an intermittent hum that seems to come from the rear transaxle but all the garages can't find anything wrong with it. It seems to happen more at cruising highway speeds after a few minutes at the same speed.

-More rattles and squeaks than a houseful of squirrels.

-AC radiator fan fails regularly every spring since new, it's been out of our pockets for the last three years (after the 3 year/60.000km warranty ran out) costs us 500CDN$ each time. They always keep those in stock...but no recall!

-Wiper motor failed twice, first time under warranty, last time: 300CDN$. I can tell it will fail again this winter because they run slower now.

-Rear wiper motor once, under warranty but we barely ever use that so if it fails again it will remain failed...

-Rear windshield spray tube leaks windshield wiper fluid on driver's left foot when activated.

-Hood is warping upwards slightly on front driver's side. Truck has never been accidented and only was taken off-road onto light terrain. It looks like the driver's side hinge is bending out of shape or is about to fail. It is getting worse all the time. We now can start seeing into the engine compartment.

-Several different parts of the exhaust needed to be fixed from the manifold down. Small annoying noisy parts which only cost like 45$ to fix but you still lose the truck for a day because none of us have time to wait at the garage with it. Parts like 'donut joints' and 'seals' and 'rubber bolts'...

-Car was broken into from rear latch because unbeknownst to us, it did not lock along with the door remote, this was also fixed under warranty. (Kids stole my wife's prescription sunglasses, the Sony MP3 radio remote control *not the radio*, a 350W Kenwood subwoofer and amplifier that was in the rear boot, spare money/change and they took my 6 year old's gameboy which was left in the pocket behind the passenger seat along with some cartridges.)

-Windnoise is unbearable at 80km/h, we have to raise our voices with the windows up.

However in winter, traction is fantastic and the truck, even with Wal-Mart crappy aftermarket winter tyres on is almost unstoppable. The 5sp manual tranny actually feels pretty good and the clutch is still far from even showing signs of aging. Engine makes a nice sound when pushed.

Cost of vehicle: 19.995CDN+tx (came up to 23.000CDN) in 2000. It is now worth about half of that, in mint condition, which it is not. We'd be lucky to get 9000CDN$ which would only cover about 80% of the loan left on it...(we refinanced at a better rate in January 2004)