I have bought one! Following a brief search I have located the perfect Jimny.......
I have been off-roading for a number of years in my little SJ410. However the ride in it can hardly be described as comfortable. Therefore I have been considering for a while what its replacement should be. One of my key criteria is that it should fit inside my standard domestic garage which rules out all the LandRover range. I therefore decided that Jimny was the way to go.
Being on a limited budget and as I already had an functioning vehicle (the SJ410), I initially looked into buying an Insurance write-off to rebuild. A Cat. D write-off should cost around £1000 (depending on year/condition) and should be straight forward to rebuild.
I spent some time looking for a suitable vehicle. During my search it was pointed out to me that whilst it was initially cheaper to buy a Jimny and build it, it would be cheaper in the long term to buy one already built as the builder will have taken the depreciation on the kit bolted onto the vehicle. I was offered an 03 Reg (2003) fully built rig for only £3k - it was an offer I could not refuse. The full specification is elsewhere on this site, but I can assure you it is probably one of the top spec. vehicles in the UK.
There are only a couple of downsides:
1. It has been an off-roader since new - therefore the paintwork and bodywork has been adjusted in places by contact with trees etc.
2. The wiriing. Previous owners have wired in a number of accessories in a fairly temporary fashion. Wires and loose ends are everywhere and a number of electrical accessories do not work.
Still it would not be fun if there was nothing left for me to do!