'99-2004 Vitaras/Trackers are of lower quality than '89-'98 ones?

[garcia]

My mechanic said so.

Of course '89-'98 are older, so they likely have more wear in them.

[sol_tegra]

your title and answer makes no sense.....your title says that '99 and newer has lower quality than '89-'98 but your answer says the opposite!!!

[Bear95]

Originally Posted by garcia

My mechanic said so.

Of course '89-'98 are older, so they likely have more wear in them.

Do you think that he is referring to the fact that 99 +up are unibody and 98-under are body on frame?
Bear95

[sol_tegra]

Originally Posted by Bear95

Do you think that he is referring to the fact that 99 +up are unibody and 98-under are body on frame?
Bear95

no...he's referring to wear and tear

[lord_galathon]

In terms of reliability it's normal for newer vehicles to be more prone to low level anti-pollution tree hugging device failure.

I've had 1991, 1997, 1998 Sidekicks. 1999 Vitara and 2000 Grand Vitara.

The newer models, in exact order, are giving me more trouble than the older ones. Possibly because the older mechanicals are simpler.

1991 has been 100% reliable (!) with the only failures having been predicted and never once was I left stranded with it, even though the body and frame are now too destroyed by rust for me to even resell it, mechanically it still runs like new!

The 1997/98s have been similar, nothing major but I did get stranded with no Prestone left in the system on my 1998. The 1997's brakes failed but it was because they were old. The brake rotors cracked from being used too thin...Also the 1997 had the infamous silicone plug go missing from the engine block and spraying engine oil all over the belts.

The 1997 would sometimes stall itself when coming to a stop sign, it's manual transmission and was in neutral, it seemed simply to "die", it was never resolved 100% until I sold it. It would start up again immediately. It was more of an annoyance.

The 1999 will mysteriously stall itself with too much gasoline and needs to be started by keeping the throttle all the way until it starts cranking up, then easing up. I does this once in a while for no apparent reason. Also it's giving issues with the tensioner pulley which needs to be replaced but there are like...NONE on the market...

The 2000 had several failures some more annoying than others:

-The windshield washer fluid dripped on the left foot of the driver when actuated.
-It had an annoying squeak/rattle from under the driver's seat which was never resolved.
-The AC radiator blew off in the middle of summer to the cost of 700$...
-Both the '99 and the 2000 pop out of 4WD sporadically for no reason. They both have the automatic hubs.
-The newer soft top system is simpler to retract and redeploy but it's also much more delicate.

[jtgh]

more parts, the more problems.

however the 1.8L sport is a nice power plant.

you mech, fixes more older cars, what is the surprise there?

simple and low miles are king.

imho, ymmv

[sol_tegra]

Originally Posted by jtgh

more parts, the more problems.

however the 1.8L sport is a nice power plant.

you mech, fixes more older cars, what is the surprise there?

simple and low miles are king.

imho, ymmv

i would say the same thing....more parts more problem!!! the more your vehicle is hi tek (power seats,heated seats, navigation..etc) more problem.

[garcia]

Originally Posted by sol_tegra

your title and answer makes no sense.....your title says that '99 and newer has lower quality than '89-'98 but your answer says the opposite!!!

A car with more miles in her, has more wear, and is more prone to have problems than one that just rolled out off the assembly line.

So, let's suppose you buy both an '91 and a '2001, both with, say 30k miles on them, both being similarly driven and well kept.

Which ones gives more problems?
My mechanic said the '99+, both because of more complicated mechanicals, and lower quality.

Of course if you drive a 2001 with 30k smooth-roads miles, and a '91 with 250k miles (mostly off-road miles, to make it worst), the '91 may well give more problems.

[rudar]

Another factor is that there's probably some variance in cars coming off the lot. If you have a new car, you might have bad luck and get a bum one. If it's already been on the road for 17 years, chances are it's not a bum one, because the small percentage of bum ones from that year have already failed and been scrapped/parted out/fixed.

[JJJoseph]

Originally Posted by garcia

So, let's suppose you buy both an '91 and a '2001, both with, say 30k miles on them . . . Which ones gives more problems?

The 2001 is more delicate in some respects. The pre '99s are actually a 3rd world truck, and the later models are a city SUV. For example, the 2000-up has rack and pinion steering which is MUCH weaker than the pre '99 truck steering box. The '01 has the "interference" engine that ends up with broken valves & pistons if the timing belt breaks; the pre '99 8 or 16v engines have no problem if the belt breaks. The 2001 has automatic 4WD hubs which are easy to use, but a pain to maintain; most pre-'99s have manual hubs which are almost a no-brainer.