Re:Buying Guide

Thanks for the advice guys, picked her up a few days ago!

The wobble wasn't anything as bad as I suspected, and what's more after I put the correct tire pressures in (you'd think if you were selling a car you'd maybe not have the front wheels off by 6psi!) it's barely noticeable. I did get money off though since the timing belt hasn't been changed, so currently have her booked in to get that swapped out and have any other potential pieces fixed. I'd try it myself but I already have my '89 Super Carry up on bricks with her engine out so I don't need another! Thanks again for the advice though guys, she looks great!

Great news Calum.

When I first got my Jimny the first thing I did was book it on for a full service that included all gearboxes and axles to be drained and filled, brake fluid and coolant changes, and a thorough inspection of all suspension bushes and bearings.

I'm sure you will have miles of fun

Nice looking little truck
Does it not have M series engine in that year ?

Hi,

I'm new here and I'm tentatively looking at getting a used Jimny sometime next year.

I've developed an interest into off-road, and Jimny seems like a great first option, budget-wise at least. Where I live (Romania) Samurai is somewhat cheaper but I understood the road comfort is abysmal due to leaf springs, and any off-road I would be doing would involve at least 100 km of on-road round trip from where I live, so Jimny seems way more appealing.

I've been reading up online and checking the market, and I've basicly got 2 options (I kinda want a hardtop as I fear about how feasible it would be to use/leave outside a soft top in winter; I also read on some local forums that hardtops have somewhat better quality, being made in Japan instead of Spain): either a 1999-2001 car, or a 2001-2005 one. Anything past 2005 is excluded as they tend to go over budget, and I also read the 4WD buttons are more trouble than they're worth.

Now, as far as I understand, the main differences between a pre-2002 Jimny and a post 2002 one are the AC and the engine (older ones have a timing belt instead of chain and I now read in the OP of this thread they're also a bit more prone to head gasket issues). For all that, 2002-2005 models tend to cost about 5-600 Euro more locally (roughly same number of km and general state, at least based on pictures).

I'm a bit at a loss if it's worth paying the extra money.

Is the manual AC a big improvement comfort-wise? It might sound silly but I've never driven a car without AC before My parents used to have a very old Dacia (Romanian copy of Renault 12) but the ventilation never worked at all, so I really have no clue how regular ventilation compares to manual AC.

Same thing for the timing belt VS. chain: My previous car (a Skoda Fabia Diesel) had a timing belt, and in 5 years and 100.000 km it never gave me any headaches as long as I had it checked regularly (every 15.000 km) and changed it as recommended by the producer. Apart from the convenience of never changing it, are there any other advantages to the chain?

Hello Radupuh and welcome to the forums.

I think you really needed to start a new thread but never mind, you are here now.

I can't answer all of your questions but can share some experience about the soft-top option. As an ex-motorcyclist and owner of several classic sports cars I like open air motoring, so having an open-top Jimny is a 'must have'.
The real problem is that the soft-top on the convertible Jimny is badly thought-out and the materials and fasteners are not great quality, Even the 'new' roof that came with mine is already showing signs of age after two years.
A soft-top will always be more prone to allowing water ingress and will need a lot of care to keep it in good condition. Mine lives outside all the time and so far I have not had any problem with water ingress but I am lucky in that I have access to large bags of silica gel to dry out the interior if I think it is getting too damp.
Secondly, the practicality of the convertible isn't good - to open the tail door involves undoing a lot of fasteners for the soft-top which becomes a real pain.
Thirdly there is the security issue - anyone can get into it.
If you are a hardened open-air motorist like myself then you can probably put up with all these problems.

I have the electronic 4WD selection buttons and they have given me no trouble. I admit however that I would prefer the old surefire method of lever selection as there is obviously less to go wrong.

I have a chain driven cam M13A engine and cannot comment on the cam belt engines as I have no experience there, but Im sure someone will be along to offer an opinion. I think chains can sometimes be noisier than cambelt but I've never driven a cambelt Jimny to offer any comment.

I don't have AC but I have a convertible - so I dont miss it. .As far as Im concerned - AC is just something else to go wrong.

Dacia have broken into the UK market and are well liked and fairly successful here now and are not of the same quality as the dreadful Dacia 1300.(I remember getting into a Dacia 1300 taxi in Bucharest years ago and the door fell apart!)

I have connections with Romania - whereabouts are you?

I'm from Bucharest.

It's interesting to hear Dacia is successful in the UK, I had no idea:)

Also, thanks for your advice regarding the soft top, it really makes my hardtop decision appear to be the correct one for me.

My wife is from Constanța (Mangalia).
I'm pretty amazed you don't know of the success of Dacia here. To be honest they are VERY cheap to buy and to some extent that does reflect on the quality , but they are very functional and regarded as very reliable.
I have tried to persuade my wife to choose a Dacia but she wont! I wonder why? :evil: Says she is glad to get away from them - but she was referring to the old 1300 - it was bad.

I completely agree with your choice of a hard top over the soft-top - the convertible looks very cool but it isn't a practical beast. I really like mine regardless of the problems with owning a convertible.

Hey all,

Firstly, thanks very much to kirkynut for the thread.

I'm considering importing a Jimny from Japan to Canada, and have been trying to do some research into which would be best.I've been seeing conflicting information regarding the reliability of the transmissions. My first thought is to import something as new as possible given the import regulations (~2007), likely a JB43W 1300cc. I'm trying to figure out if the auto transmission or manual transmission is more reliable. I'm not looking to open a Pandora's Box on manual vs auto as a general discussion, but trying to sort out which would give me the least amount of problems, especially given I'd more-than-likely have to import parts, and am trying to save money with a Jimny vs my current gas-guzzling Tacoma.

Or, perhaps it'd be best to go for something pre-2005 all together (2003/4?), as from what I can understand, this is when the unreliable transmissions were first introduced.

My use case for the Jimny would be as a daily driver, that runs around town, does the occasional road trip, goes on dirt roads (nothing super gnarly), all while hopefully getting at least 25mpg, and being able to maintain the speed limit (~90-110km/h) up the occasional mountain hwy. If I'm totally off the mark here, please let me know.Thanks very much, appreciate it!

Post 2005 the automatic transmission is the more reliable. The only thing on your list of requirements is holding 110km up hill. Î live close enough to the highest motorway in England and the climb up onto the top iss enough to slow every 1.3 Jimny regardless of the transmission. My current automatic makes less fuss about doing it but the motor is giving you all it's got and you will be working your way down through the gears. Other than that it's quite a happy experience so long as you remember what you are driving and don't expect miracles.

2005 to late 2008 manuals have the issues.

However they are a simple gearbox with standard bearings so any one familiar with general gearbox work would be able to change everything for the better bearings for between £600-£900 . However they must be changed before they fail otherwise more expensive damage occurs



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Hi I am another newcomer to the world of Jimney’s and echo Jaylighty’s comments on this website.

I have just purchased a 2006 jlx Convertible and wondered if I could enlist/ persuade an expert to take a look at it for me before I start off down a rabbit warren of jobs on it.
Any advice/ help would be appreciated from anyone in the Skipton/Clitheroe area.

I'm over the hill in Harrogate if you want a chat in person?