I found a 2000 ZR2 that I am looking at trading in on. It has 34000 miles and is in great shape. They are asking $13,500 for it USD. Is this a good deal on it? Also, how does the pickup hold up? Is it reliable? What kind of gas mileage does it get?

Any and all questions can be answered at www.zr2.com
I'll give you my opinion.... again: MY OPINION so you other brand loyal guys lay off. :p
I own a 2001 ZR2.
First off, I LOVE my truck. I have owned an 84 s-10, 94 s-10 ext cab 4x4, and now this 01 ZR2. I have wanted a Z since they were introduced in 94.
On road: the truck handles very well on road. Now it is by no means a sports car but it corners better than my 94 s-10 4x4. I'd assume this has to do with the 3.9" wider frame and much wider tires (31x10.5x15) It is a very comfortable ride for a pickup truck. Inside the cab is MUCH quieter than my wife's 98 Civic. Open the windows and there is a lot of road noise from the tires but the cab is sealed very well. Oh, it's governed at about 95 mph cause the front end supposedly starts to lift around 100mph- so no super high speed highway driving. (It IS a truck)

Off road: This truck was made to play with. The independant front suspension limits front travel but the rear flexes quite nicely. It handles fire roads at speed well due to the Blistein shocks. The G-80 Eaton Gov-loc in the rear axle works pretty well too. The hard core wheeling guys don't like itbut for moderate wheeling it WILL engage with one tire off the ground. I've put this truck through mud that swallowed a 98 Wrangler with 30x9.5 all terrains- both trucks stock. There is a ton of ground clearance underneath. Look under the Z then go look at a 1/2 ton fullsize.

You asked about gas milage. All I can say is it depends on your driving. It is possible to get about 20mpg on a highway-only trip if you're light on the gas. It is also very easy to get 12-15 in the city depending on driving. (15 if you're licky) Remember- this ain't no Honda Civic. It's a toy with some practical use. Most of this is due to the 31" BFG ATs.

This truck is very reliable. The 4.3 motor is essentially the same as the chevy 350 block with the front two cylinders lopped off. (Same bore, stroke, etc.) It puts out a lot of power for a 6banger with 190 hp and 250 ft lb of torque to back it up. It has a lot of low end grunt.

There are a few areas of concern on this truck. Ball joints are bigger than a standard s-10 but still tend to wear out especially if not greased religiously; the front end in general is not the strongest design out there; The seat recliner handles break- does the one you're looking at have them on both seats? I'd bet not. Before you buy this vehicle, look underneath the front end. Open the little door in the front skid plate. Are the remote oil filter lines leaking? Look at the front axel seals (just inboard of the upper CV joint); is there diff fluid leaking out of these?

You can find a wealth of info on zr2.com in the message boards. This is a great truck if you want a small truck with excellent off-road capability and killer looks. If you have ANY questions at all, just ask me. I've been an s-10 nut for 8 years and have replaced about everything on them wether mine or someone elses. Before you buy this truck, go drive a Ranger FX4 level II and a Taco..er...sorry, Tacoma TRD. They are the only comparable small trucks out there- no I didn't forget the Frontier, doesn't compare.

edit-- almost forgot, a sled will fit in the bed but it has to go in backwards. Towing: This truck is rated to tow 5,000 lbs. I wouldnot tow that weight on any kind of distance though! It has plenty of power and the brakes (all post 98 4x4 s-10s) rock. The dual piston calipers and rear disks will haul this truck (and a trailer) down in a hurry. (FYI: 83- 97 the braking systems were barely adaquate to stop an s-10 and when you put the 31's from a Z on it it was downright frieghtening! They were a direct decendant of the 70s monte carlo brakes)

Joe

Why do you say that a sled has to go in Backwards? I've heard other people say that about small pick-up to, but with the exception of that little Ford Splash I can't think of why you can't just ride a ski up on one of the wheel wells.
I put my sled in the back of my Isuzu, with no tail gate on it, and I really wouldn't want to put it in backwards. How the hell do you load it for one thing?

I'm speaking from my experience with a 96 ZR 580. I tried to go in foreward once. The skis sit on top of the wheelwells and hit the front wall but do not angle down. This leaves less than a foot of track actually on the truck and the rest of the track hangs off. I would not trust this with all the strap in the word. If it goes in backwards there is only about a foot or so of ski extending past the tailgate. The spindles aree actually on the tailgate so all of the weight is on the truck instead of hanging way off the back. {pull sled next to truck facing backwards w/ rear bar not past end of tailgate; two people lift back up and over onto tailgate. Move to front and lift and shove it in}

Is your Isuzu a long-bed? Without a tailgate? My buddy broke both tailgate cables on his 99 s-10 and we had to take the gate off and still get his 02 XCSP in there. We tried foreward and backward and settled on backward with 5 straps. The spindles are even with the bumper (past the edge of the bed) so the skis were actually pointing down toward the ground. It was a 15mph ride home with me following.... not fun.

No, my Isuzu is a short box.
I always pull the tailgate off at the beginning of every winter for two reasons.
One, it's hard on teh tail gate to have the weight of a ski-doo on it all the time.
Two, it's alot easier to get teh machine out if the skags don't have anything to hook on.
I've had that happen too often; you're dragging the machine back, one skag hooks on the tailgate protector, and it turns on it's side.
In the Isuzu, alot of the sled was hanging out. I thought that was great actually, it made it really easy to unload. Push down on the a$$ end and it would slide back. Lift the rear and the skis drop out. Done.
Most of the time (in my long-box and short box fords) I use one tie strap. From the spindle to the front of the box, and that's it.
In the Isuzu I think I used three. One for each spindle and one on the back.
The only way that thing is coming out is if I get in a serious accident, and in that case the ski-doo is going to be the least of my worries.

My cousin had a ZR2, excellent truck! Great looks and good power for a six banger. The price doesn't sound bad either.