Reply With QuoteAlthough I've not owned one, I think they are awesome. Definitely on the list to own
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I'm off to have a look at this. A 2002 4x4 Jimmy, one-owner-since-new and 80k miles on the clock.
I've written here on the forum that I'm a great fan of these small Suzukis. Especially for the use in my forest. In the past, I've owned a Samurai. But most are gone now. And the survivors are overly expensive. Especially after an article in the Dutch Financial Journal as '...one of the cars worth collecting as an investment...' Instantly, prices of all cars for sale went up with 2K or so.
The new Jimmy is -as a result of taxes because the engine isn't 'clean'- very expensive here. So, it's back to the old(er) one.
The seller is a 82 y/o man who used it for hunting. Not a good thing perhaps, but he used to own a Peugeot dealership (now his son owns it), so the car is well-maintained. And there's a ton of paperwork and pics. So that's more or less a safe buy.
I remember - I think- that Ralphy put up a pic of the ultimate Jimmy he spotted in Devon last year.. One with big wheels, covered in mud. That picture draw me over the line: I need to have one of these!
Menno
Last edited by thieuster; 31st December 2021 at 11:59.
Although I've not owned one, I think they are awesome. Definitely on the list to own
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Sorry is it not a Jimny?
Like you we've pretty much given up on the new model, and like you we're keeping our eyes peeled for a nice older version, that one sounds like a well maintained Jimny, hope it works out.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
To find a one owner from new Jimny is very rare. To find one where the one owner also had his own dealership and mechanics etc is a Jimny lottery win. I don't think you'll find better without shelling out 28k for a new model.
Stupid auto-correct (Grammarly). I’ll change it. Thanks for the heads-upOriginally Posted by lewie
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Last edited by thieuster; 31st December 2021 at 12:00.
Here, the new ones are even more expensive. Here's one to show my point: https://www.pijnappel.nl/occasions/s...tra-s/2626141/ You can imagine that 2nd had 'new' Jimny's are priced accordingly.
I didn't know that the man had a garage. He told me over the phone! That is a lucky strike, in this case. Let's see how it turns out.
Blimey that is expensive! You can't actually buy them new from a dealer here in the UK anymore because of the emissions, there is likely a grey route to getting one I would guess. But a local Suzuki dealer has a couple of used ones on their forecourt priced in the high twenties.
I would have been very tempted by one but the size just wouldn't work for me. (Actually it probably would but her indoors would have complained!).
Usual thing with Japanese older cars, mechanically strong but prone to corrosion.
Also in 4X4 mode the diff is locked so 2WD only on the road if that matters.
Looks good and the colour is great. My friend wants a narrower vehicle ( has a Skoda Yeti) to fit his garage and I suggested one of these.
Hope it's a good one!
Terios looks like a good alternative,
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Indeed, but very rare in 4x4 here. Mitsubishi's Pinin was another contender, but the GDI engine is troublesome when neglected by DPO's (Dumb Previous Owners)
Here you go, Menno.
The farmer gets his into places ever the Bobcat can't reach.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Just a quick word of warning.
Coming from someone who would love a Jimny.
When I looked for one two years ago, each had a rusty boot floor panel.
I must have looked at more than a dozen, in the end.
Even the ones that looked good would "crunch" under light pressure from above.
It's a design fault and well known amongst the Jimny communities.
You can check online to read about various fixes.
I believe that you can now buy replacement panels to weld in place.
Very good news if you can cut and weld (watch out for the fuel tank !)
It would be worth asking if this has already been done - as it's a "when" rather than an "if"
Good luck with the one you've found - if the boot floor has been done then it will be quite a find.
You can still get them new, but they are now listed as commercial.
https://www.carwow.co.uk/suzuki/jimn...ease-date#gref
That's it, I knew there was a workaround but couldn't remember what it was. Thanks.
Same here I visited a Suzuki dealership recently they had two pre reg virtually zero miles £29K
Not quite as rare, but great little 4x4's, how about a 3 door grand vitara. More stable on the open road, and just as capable off road, plus a little bit more space inside.
Here's my 2010 2.4, quite thirsty but lovely to drive old girl Emily....
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I’m looking for a Jimny too, in fact looked at a couple this morning.
Read this:
https://www.bigjimny.com/mediawiki/i...ptible_to_rust
Pete
@ Ralphy: thanks for the pics. Exactly what I remembered.
I went to have a look this afternoon to the green Jimny.
The pre-mentioned fact that it was from a car dealer (Renault) helped a lot when it comes to welding. He took care of that every time he'd spotted something. And yes, the car has its fair share of welded spots. But it has been done quite reasonable. (Not the level you might expect on a properly welded classic car. But then, this is a workhorse).
All sounded good and it runs great. All parts function. No mess under the dash and the engine bay looks presentable.
One of the reasons I noticed this car (and didn't mention before) is the absence of a tow bar! So there's little chance that someone molested the clutch or the complete drive train. A new tow bar is about 180 euros.
I'm going to think it over this weekend and I will decide on Monday.
M.
On a side note, my parents neighbour has a new model with the reg J18NMY. I'm not a fan of vanity plates usually but that's not too shabby.
Bought it and brought it home. Of course, on the way home a small stone hit the front windshield, leaving a small crack - that can be filled.
I took the car straight to the workshop. The guys there gave it 'thumbs up'. And they will do a full service on Thursday: replacing all oils, brake fluid and coolant flush and replacement. New 'multi belt' and a new distributor belt. I could not find a sign of a previous belt replacement. Just to be sure... And then the usual stuff. The car comes with a fresh (Dutch) MoT, but we are aware of the 'quality' difference' between one MoT station and another... There are a lot of 'cowboys' in MoT land, despite the strict checks by the Dutch version of the DVLA.
Best news though is that my wife is smitten by the car. Like me, it reminds her of our Samurai back in '97 or so. And this one has power steering (the Sammy didn't). So it's thumbs up.
Last edited by thieuster; 4th January 2022 at 16:35.
Bought it and brought it home. Of course, on the way home a small stone hit the front windshield, leaving a small crack - that can be filled.
I took the car straight to the workshop. The guys there gave it 'thumbs up'. And they will do a full service on Thursday: replacing all oils, brake fluid and coolant flush and replacement. New 'multi belt' and a new distributor belt. I could not find a sign of a previous belt replacement. Just to be sure... And then the usual stuff. The car comes with a fresh (Dutch) MoT, but we are aware of the 'quality' difference' between one MoT station and another... There are a lot of 'cowboys' in MoT land, despite the strict checks by the Dutch version of the DVLA.
Best news though is that my wife is smitten by the car. Like me, it reminds her of our Samurai back in '97 or so. And this one has power steering (the Sammy didn't). So it's thumbs up at home as well.
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That looks excellent, great colour also.
I'm envious - I've always liked the idea of getting one.
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Just do it. You can't have more 'grin per GBP'. But be sure that you get one without holes and rust.
The colour... For me, green is a difficult colour and I'm very picky when it comes to the right colour green. (And certainly not in combination with yellow). Another 'yes' for this car is a absence of flashy wheels. The original steel rims are the best-looking, imho. The current tyres (Bridgestone Duelers) are fine for 'on' road. But I think I'm going to get something with more grip. I tested the 4x4 on a meadow behind my own workshop and the grip of these Duelers on wet grass was 'iffy'. I need to find something that's suited for the road and the field. Knowing that will be a compromise one way or the other.
Great cars these! I bought one recently for our daily trip to the beach and dog walk etc.
I took out the rear seats (too small to be of much use) and made a surprisingly useful load area for tip runs or the dog etc. Pics below.
The good:
- they go anywhere. I once watched one romp up a snowy/icy Dartmoor lane past a stranded Range Rover
- mechanically pretty bulletproof
- people smile at you because they're small and friendly
- the heater is great, it's warm within a mile or so
The not so good:
- they are all rusty, pretty much everywhere. Lord knows what metal Suzuki used for them.
- you won't be able to carry much in or on or behind one (see third point above)
I love mine to bits. I would have saved myself a tidy sum if I had asked my mechanic to inspect it before I bought it because he spent a week or so cutting out rust and replacing with new metal. It's all good now.
Best wishes,
Martyn.
Mine has the seats removed as well. The previous owner did more or less the same as you did. The seller put the seats in the back when I collected the car. And they’re now up in the attic of my workshop.
Like you, I’m going to cover the floor with a rubber mat.
I’m not sure how to cover the threaded ends you see sticking out. I’m afraid the dog will hurt itself.
Pic form the sales ad:
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Which threaded ends are you referring to, Menno?
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
I have a soft spot for Jimny’s, shame they rust but once sorted they look a lot of fun.
Seen this one in Salcombe a few years back and it looked perfect for dirty Devon lanes -
Martyn's picture shows it better than mine: on the inner wings, (L and R) there's a prong pointing inwards. These are threaded ends welded to the body for the safety belt attachment (I think). With my dog in the back the chance that he will hurt himself is rather big.
Martyn and I had a PM conversation last night and he pointed me towards Sinclair & Rush https://www.sinclair-rush.co.uk/categories/caps/ Now I know what to look for. I hope there's a Dutch equivalent with the same stock. And if not, I can always turn to S&R.
Menno
I was going to say I’m sure if you check eBay there will lots of plastic caps - I found some to cover the bolts on my bike quite easly
I wouldn't use a plastic cap, it still sticks out a long way and is still a hazard. I would bet a longer piece of wood, say 50mm x 200mm x length of bolt mm, chamfer the long ends off (90mm chamfer each end, all the way to a near sero end) and drill the centre for the bolt, with a recess for the nut to nestle into. Then locate it over the bolt, and screw in place with a nut and washer.
That way, aything hitting it will slide along the chamfer. A plastic covered bolt will still hurt like heck if you hit it end on.
You have a workshop Menno, get to it.......
D
Not a bad plan! I like it. I can also see the 'why' of this solution. Thanks.
Menno
I remember seeing this too, same location. I’d love that as a hack about car.I have a soft spot for Jimny’s, shame they rust but once sorted they look a lot of fun.
Seen this one in Salcombe a few years back and it looked perfect for dirty Devon lanes -
We put the car on the ramps in the garage for a proper (more that MOT... check). Hammering away, poking away. More than is allowed for the Dutch MoT. We found a few small holes in the wheel arch of the rear wheel, left side. Luckily not the side where the fuel filler pipe is. A little welding will do the trick. Not too bad.
On the technical side: the tensioner roll was nearly seized up. I guess that a new one (tomorrow) will add 10 hp! The rear drum brakes bind a little. Not too bad. We'll see what that is. One of the mechanic's wife has a Swift and he knows that binding rear drums is a common Suzuki problem - and easy to correct: take them apart, clean them (dust) and put them together again.
12 hrs shop-attention later, the car is acceptable to our standards. We replaced the timing belt, the PAS pump belt + all tensioners. New fluids, new oils, freeing up the rear brakes. The car is not 100% yet; I noticed that there's a lid on top of the fuse box is missing and the wheel nuts are rusty. After a good polish, we noticed a little dent above the left rear wheel. A friend (retired car painter) is looking into that next week or so. For now, I'm enjoying the car. Today it was playtime in the garden! I've made two wooden 'cones' to protect the dog from the M8 threaded 'prongs' and I'm going to line the boot floor with rubber and install a rack between the back and the front seats. Perfect spot for the dog.
Of course with my best mate Elvis.
Superb little 4by, nice work and enjoy the great outdoors bud
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