2003 Chevy Tracker

RichZ · Sep 10, 2014

My wife and I are looking for a couple of used 4WD vehicles for our daily drivers, we just use our pick up for hauling farm related things. We went to a local used car lot that has a really good reputation. He has a 2003 Chevy Tracker, V6 engine, 139,000 miles and he wants $4500. Money is tight since we just bought a bigger farm, but both of our daily drivers need a lot of work so we're looking to replace them.

Does anyone have any experience with this vehicle?

Thanks for any info.

3930dave · Sep 10, 2014

I never owned one, but the people I talked to about their Suzukis seemed to like them. Reasonable on fuel and maintenance, and have decent off-road clearance for a stock vehicle.

Parts seem to be a problem with many manufacturers today... with Suzuki Automotive gone from the market, I'd be taking a really close look at parts availabity on this. I'm thinking that Tracker would have been built at the CAMI plant in Ontario, but could be wrong.... If you can find a Tracker forum website, you may get some idea how well parts interchange between this Chevy, and that year's Suzuki.

My neighbour went through a nightmare when he needed a shifter cable on an 8 y/o Malibu - nothing at all was available even in the aftermarket.... a lot of vehicles are sitting idle, or getting scrapped due to parts disappearing faster than ever.

Rgds, D.

PILOON · Sep 10, 2014

The Tracker was actually a Suzuki re-badgered.
Suzuki in Canada has completely stopped selling vehicles and are sticking strictly to motorcycles.
I say this as it suggests a flag when it comes to parts availability.

NVBigBlue · Sep 11, 2014

As others have already said, parts may be an issue down the line.

The Gen 2 Tracker is basically a re-badged Grand Vitara.

I have 5 Gen 1's. Geo Trackers and Suzuki Sidekicks, both 2 door and 4 door and 8 valve and 16 valve. These are all very easy to work on, but I cannot find parts for some of the commonly broken trim pieces any more. These range from 1993 up to 1997. Mechanical parts are widely available and not very expensive.

I also have a 2000 Chevy Tracker with the 2.0 liter 4 cylinder. It had a broken timing chain and I could not get get parts for the "Tracker" when I rebuilt the engine. This was in 2010. I was able to get parts for the Vitara, but I had to do all the cross-referencing myself. The parts places were no help in this matter to me.

The 2003 V6 shares most of the parts with the Grand Vitara as well. You will probably be able to get parts for a while for it, but they may get expensive. They still make the Vitara in Ecuador.

If you are not mechanically inclined, the other issue you might have is finding someone qualified to work on it. I know my Gen 1's inside and out, but I've seen mechanics who don't know these trucks just throw parts at them until a fix sticks. It can get expensive really quickly.

Now with all of that said..... I rebuilt all the motors in my trucks, but they all had close to 200K on them when I did. If they haven't been beat to death, and have had decent maintenance done on them, chances are they'll run for a long time.

Good luck!

NV

RichZ · Sep 11, 2014

Thanks guys, great info!!!! If I get the Tracker, I'm considering getting a 4 year warranty with Penn Warranty Corporation. This dealer sells them for $1500, and he has his own repair shop that honors the warranty. The dealer and repair shop are 5 minutes from me, it includes towing, and he has a flat bed, and it also includes rental cars. The warranty has a $100 deductible, so for almost all major repairs I should only have to pay $100. So, I'm thinking for $6000, I should have 4 pretty trouble free years from the Tracker, IF he can get parts. The dealer has a good reputation in this area, it's a family operation with him his wife and son and several mechanics, and he's not pushy, like most used car dealers.

Garandman · Sep 11, 2014

For $4,500 you should be able to get an older Subaru. I'd think they are everywhere in your neck of the woods?

Diamondpilot · Sep 11, 2014

RichZ said:
Thanks guys, great info!!!! If I get the Tracker, I'm considering getting a 4 year warranty with Penn Warranty Corporation. This dealer sells them for $1500, and he has his own repair shop that honors the warranty. The dealer and repair shop are 5 minutes from me, it includes towing, and he has a flat bed, and it also includes rental cars. The warranty has a $100 deductible, so for almost all major repairs I should only have to pay $100. So, I'm thinking for $6000, I should have 4 pretty trouble free years from the Tracker, IF he can get parts. The dealer has a good reputation in this area, it's a family operation with him his wife and son and several mechanics, and he's not pushy, like most used car dealers.

Does that warranty cover "parts not avaliable" issues. Remember, a warrenty is only as good as the paper it's written on and the man standing behind it.

My guess is that if parts aren't available then the warranty company has an out.

I would pass. For $6000 you can get a Jeep Liberty or Ford Escape that has much better support.

Chris

nybirdman · Sep 11, 2014

Never cared for the Trackers.Seems like a rolling tin can.I would look for a used Subaru also.

3930dave · Sep 11, 2014

Subaru has a good AWD platform - their low end cars don't always have axle locking or LS built in though. For a car, they have decent ground clearance.

If looking at an older Suby 4 cylinder, have someone who knows those engines well check it out. Some have had lower end problems, at mileages lower than you'd expect in a modern motor.

Rgds, D.