[ZukeDuke]

Hi,

Im planing on purchasing a Suzuki Jimny and getting some modifications done to it. I only want a 2 inch lift to run 215/75/R15s to start with, then eventually a bull bar, tow pack, driving lights, UHF, dual battery system, snorkel and roof rack. Deciding on buying new or used is difficult and for this reason I would like to gather some info and opinions.

Here are some current offers:


Current dealer offer:

Brand new 2011 Suzuki Jimny
White
Manual
Steel wheels
5 year/ 130,000 km warranty on all parts and labour
1 year Rego
+ $400 in service vouchers

Price: $19,990 Drive away


Dealer Used:

2009 Jimny (unmodified)
30,000 km
Black
Manual
Alloy Wheels
Full service history
3 Months warranty
Rego?

Price: $16,990 + Stamp Duty


Dealer Used:

2008 jimny (unmodified)
46,000 km
Black
Manual
Alloy Wheels
Full service history
3 Months warranty
Rego?

Price: $15,990 Drive away


Private Used:

2007 Jimny
111,254km
Full service history
6 months rego
tow bar, New Cooper tyres
light off-road work on farms not on the beach

Price: $11,990


Private Used:

2005 Jimny
95,000 km
Red
Manual
Steel Wheels
1 year Rego
Tinted Windows,Tow Bar, Alarm,New Battery, Roof Racks
Log Books
Limited off road, no beach work.
No accident history.

Price: $10,500 ONO


Mods:

ARB OME 2inch lift kit $1070 (fitted)
or
Ultimate Suspension New Generation Aussie Ryder (Twin Tube Gas) $980.00 (fitted)
5 x 215/75/R15 BFG All Terrains $1250


My main concerns with buying used are vehicle condition, lack of warranty and repairs. The lower purchasing price will allow me to modify the vehicle right away.

Buying new has the advantage of playing it safe. 5 year warranty, 1 year rego and $400 in service vouchers sounds great. However, mods will have to wait with the higher purchasing price.

Please let me know what you guys think.

[eldo]

ok so if you buy new and modify it you can kiss your warranty good by..... so work our what you really want, if its a stock car then buy a newbie otherwise find a good example of what you want second hand and either modify it or buy one already molested...
my pick would be either of these 2 and both are pretty much the same shit, look at them both and make your choice, if it was me the 2007 is the go, it has one less thing to buy, tyres, but hopefully they will match the type and style of lift and driving youre doing, either way them two is the pick mate. also do you intend on getting an alarm, tinted windows and roof racks? they all add up to approx the cost of a set of tyres and a compressor, these are the things you will have to weigh up

2007 Jimny
111,254km
Full service history
6 months rego
tow bar, New Cooper tyres
light off-road work on farms not on the beach

Price: $11,990


Private Used:

2005 Jimny
95,000 km
Red
Manual
Steel Wheels
1 year Rego
Tinted Windows,Tow Bar, Alarm,New Battery, Roof Racks
Log Books
Limited off road, no beach work.
No accident history.

Price: $10,500 ONO

[Mubby]

Buy a second hand one if you plan on 4x4ing it... Just my opinion. Warranty can be voided by doing modifications.

It depends on what type of 4wding you do. If your into pushing the limits of your car in the bush then second hand because you will most likely someday be faced with some damage.

If you plan on touring and beach work ect. then i would probably go new.

[christover1]

Mubby wrote:

Buy a second hand one if you plan on 4x4ing it... Just my opinion. Warranty can be voided by doing modifications.

off roading can void some warrantees,
which is sad for a 4wd.

[jimny_timmy]

eldo wrote:

ok so if you buy new and modify it you can kiss your warranty good by..... so work our what you really want, if its a stock car then buy a newbie otherwise find a good example of what you want second hand and either modify it or buy one already molested...
my pick would be either of these 2 and both are pretty much the same shit, look at them both and make your choice, if it was me the 2007 is the go, it has one less thing to buy, tyres, but hopefully they will match the type and style of lift and driving youre doing, either way them two is the pick mate. also do you intend on getting an alarm, tinted windows and roof racks? they all add up to approx the cost of a set of tyres and a compressor, these are the things you will have to weigh up

2007 Jimny
111,254km
Full service history
6 months rego
tow bar, New Cooper tyres
light off-road work on farms not on the beach

Price: $11,990


Private Used:

2005 Jimny
95,000 km
Red
Manual
Steel Wheels
1 year Rego
Tinted Windows,Tow Bar, Alarm,New Battery, Roof Racks
Log Books
Limited off road, no beach work.
No accident history.

Price: $10,500 ONO

I disagree...

I bought my Jimny new last year an have all those mods bar the 215s and have had no probs with warranty!

As for $1000ish dollars for OME lift kit...
If you're putting the bullbar on it don't bother!

Pm Dank and get a 40mm tough dog lift kit from him but replace the front springs with 60mm hd to even out the ride.. With a jack, two car stands, spanners and a couple of sockets, you can do this yourself in under 2hrs and I'd guess you'd save around $200.

Go new, you won't regret it!

[eldo]

may i suggest that if you do buy new that you go to jimny_timmy's dealer and buy it, if they are covering non standard vehicles stick with them, buy the way timmy what warranty issues have you had with your new vehicle?

[jimny_timmy]

Egr valve, abs sensor and there's a whine in the rear diff atm which is getting looked at

[eldo]

wow thats more than i thought you would have, any questions being asked about tyres and suspension over the diff issue?

[ZukeDuke]

Thanks for the quick replys!

According to the salesman the warranty would only be affected if the problem was directly caused by a modification. I asked to see the warranty conditions but the salesman was unable to provide this. He just said the warranty covers all parts and labor for 5 years or 130tkm, which ever comes first. I think its a bit suspicious not to be able to provide me with this in writing before the purchase.
Dont you reckon 100k kilometers are too high for a 1.3 Liter engine, I mean how long do they last? What will a used Jimny with 200tkm be worth in 5 years time?
The dealer also told me that the Jimny will no longer be sold in Australia due to new regulations and found it to be true after googling. Would this mean the last of the Jimnys are on the market and does it give them more or less value in future?
I have also heard Tough Dog Suspensions is pretty good. I would like to have it professionally installed to get warranty on it. If 60mm in the front is required for a Bull bar I may have to re-think the mod sequence and incorporate it in the initial mods.

[jimny_timmy]

eldo wrote:

wow thats more than i thought you would have, any questions being asked about tyres and suspension over the diff issue?

Not yet I forgot to mention the starter motor too as a result of me drowning it a few months back... I'd expect problems with the diff if I had a locker in it but 215s would be no different to any of the commodores etc running 18"+ rims... 31s would cause a prob I reckon , but not 215s.. And even still, kick up enough fuss and you'll get what you want

[ZukeDuke]

jimny_timmy wrote:

eldo wrote:

wow thats more than i thought you would have, any questions being asked about tyres and suspension over the diff issue?

Not yet I forgot to mention the starter motor too as a result of me drowning it a few months back... I'd expect problems with the diff if I had a locker in it but 215s would be no different to any of the commodores etc running 18"+ rims... 31s would cause a prob I reckon , but not 215s.. And even still, kick up enough fuss and you'll get what you want

Sounds re-assuring.

What mods have you done to your zuk? What are the conditions of your warranty and have they covered all your issues so far?

[jimny_timmy]

ZukeDuke wrote:

jimny_timmy wrote:

eldo wrote:

wow thats more than i thought you would have, any questions being asked about tyres and suspension over the diff issue?

Not yet I forgot to mention the starter motor too as a result of me drowning it a few months back... I'd expect problems with the diff if I had a locker in it but 215s would be no different to any of the commodores etc running 18"+ rims... 31s would cause a prob I reckon , but not 215s.. And even still, kick up enough fuss and you'll get what you want

Sounds re-assuring.

What mods have you done to your zuk? What are the conditions of your warranty and have they covered all your issues so far?

I've got the bullbar w/ winch, snorkel and 40mm lift... No questions asked and it's been to two different Suzuki dealers for warranty.

Unless the mod directly affects the part in question for warranty... Ie suspension because it's no longer there, it won't harm your warranty... I was given a $1000 ARB voucher when I purchased one so that I could mod it

[monley]

I was in the same boat as you Zukeduke about 18months ago. I was not sure weather to buy new or used (we had a hail storm at that time and jimny's were dirt cheap ) , i was looking at a 2007 model with 75,000 country km's on the clock and very good condition for $13,500....The plan at the time was just to get 2" lift and some 215's so i thought for another $1,500 i could get a brand new jimny...which was great cus i didn't plan on modding it much....but here we are 18month's later im rolling on 31's ....thing's can get out of hand very fast with the mods.... so what you do need to look at is do you plan on making is bigger and more modded in the future? Or are you planning on keeping it on 215's and 2" lift?

If i was planning on modding it to the extent i have now 18 month's ago i would of got the second hand jim and that's what you need to look at " keep it lightly modded for a while? " or " mod the f$@! out of it in 2 years time?" ....Just some thing else to think about

BTW My local zook dealer dose not like it when i pull into there car park, they won't cover any thing under warranty when i ask them to.... E.g. Death wobble...ask them to add shim's Suzuki said : " No!!! We spoke to suzuki head office and they said you need to have stock 205/75 r 15's on before we will do the work under warrenty..." Me: "ok! Not even 215's?" Suzuki: " no!! They have to be 205's"

[zuk85]

Mubby wrote:

Buy a second hand one if you plan on 4x4ing it... Just my opinion. Warranty can be voided by doing modifications.

It depends on what type of 4wding you do. If your into pushing the limits of your car in the bush then second hand because you will most likely someday be faced with some damage.

If you plan on touring and beach work ect. then i would probably go new.

this is what we did brought a new jimny "06 model" used for touring/ beach work got a few new things under warrenty

"rear gear box seal leaked"- they replaced seal and whole jackshaft

"door got an annoying wobble and shuttered over every bump"- they replaced hindges and locking mechanism.

WARNING- If u do by new make sure you ask them about the auto pro or something or rather yearly checks for rust and paint. if u get the lifetime paint and stuff protection lol,

they decided not to tell us about this card, that you have to bring the car in for yearly checks on the paint and panels for rust and get it check off much like your servicing warrenty.

so when we found rust in our little well for the jack to be held in. we took it too them and they pulled out the old ohh well u didnt do the checks,

so we busted out well where's the FU#KIN card that where suppose to have checked off. blah blah blah and bussniess owner change over and they dont give a f*ck lol. damn caloundra such and such auto's on the sunshine coast lol

now its 5 years old 109,000 k's on the clock still running like a dream and and show rooms looks still and no rust "thank god for rust repair people :D lol

And yea also agree with if u want to go straight to the MUD. Go 2nd hand low k's around the 40-50k mark all service history if u can and go vvt, so the motor will be still in fine shape for fun but not so much u care about a scratch and bump here and there from those over grown branches u just got to get through to get to the new climb or hole


good luck with ya buy

also yea with the warrenty its wierd hey, cause we brought ours as a demo model or something, had 80ks on the clock, 235/75/r15 federal couragia M/T with 25m TJM lift nudge bar and spotties "2 weeks till arb bar lol ohh yea cant wait"

no drama's at at all claming our warrenty issues " bar the rust one completey different"

[ZukeDuke]

I dont want to go a crazy lift. Ive been there and done that, my last car was a 2000 Hilux dual cab with 120mm lift. I dont need a big lift for the type of 4 wheel driving I do and a small economical city car is just what I need. I mostly use 4wd for beach driving and fire trails, no rock crawling or extreme stuff.

Sounds to me that the dealers all have a different approach to warranty. The one I went to at least says that a lift would not affect it unless its the direct cause. More clarity on the issue would be nice.

[monley]

ZukeDuke wrote:

I dont want to go a crazy lift. Ive been there and done that, my last car was a 2000 Hilux dual cab with 120mm lift. I dont need a big lift for the type of 4 wheel driving I do and a small economical city car is just what I need. I mostly use 4wd for beach driving and fire trails, no rock crawling or extreme stuff.

Sounds to me that the dealers all have a different approach to warranty. The one I went to at least says that a lift would not affect it unless its the direct cause. More clarity on the issue would be nice.

A new car is for you then

[monley]

Better make up your mind fast http://news.drive.com.au/drive/melbourn ... 1gu3x.html other wise you won't have a choice soon...

[Ben_Sierra]

Does the dealer have the car in stock? Otherwise, your question may be moot, as there are unlikely to be any more deliveries of new Jimnys to Australia...

[brindog]

We where in the same boat as you 4 years back. Looked locally for a second hand jimny that hadn't been used hard or been used for beach runs, and had low k's. This was hard and we looked at quite a few, even one that had been rolled and fixed and the shifty dealer tried to cover it up. Told fair trading about the bastard.

In the end we ended up buying new, we got the colour we wanted and know the history of the car, which is great when you rely on it in the bush. Warranty hasn't been a problem, even though its obvious we use it off road and its been slightly modded. Gear box seals and drive shaft replaced, swivel hub seals replaced, so they don't care about mods.

[masterA]

Dealer Used:

2008 jimny (unmodified)
46,000 km
Black
Manual
Alloy Wheels
Full service history
3 Months warranty
Rego?

Price: $15,990 Drive away


Get it to $15K drive away and that's a decent deal....saves you a few thousand which you can use on your mods
50,000km is nothing....barelly run in and if anything were to go 'wrong' with it...it would have shown by now.

With reagular oil changes and maintenance these engines will go forever (depending on your driving and how much you like to redline it)

I've got a 93 Sierra with the origianl engine (one owner) and it's done 330,000km without a rebuild.....doesn't drink oil and the compression is all equal accross the cylinders.

My mum just brought a 2007 automatic Sport with 55,000km for $13,500 from a lady owner that's never been offroad

As for new warranty....each to their own but in my opinion i wouldn't worry too much as that second hand one will have that 3 month warranty and they should still be able to offer you "extended new car warranty" so if anything is wrong with it...you can get it fixed before you do any mods.

[ZukeDuke]

Buying new!

Deposit taken, car is coming in 3 weeks!