New Here - Just Bought a Jimny!

wrote:

Looks nice and tight. Was it well looked after ?

So it’s 2 lady owners before me, and doesn’t seem to have been used off road…

Service history is pretty non existent apart from the early days, but upon checking the coolant and oil, it is clear that it’s been serviced regularly, oil is fresh with no bits, coolant is actually coolant, and no signs of sludge or rust.

The original battery was on its last legs, so I have replaced with a new Yuasa YBX5057 (thanks to the recommendations on here), and had to fix the heater flap mechanism.

There is also some corrosion under the wheel jack which needs sorting, but was only an advisory on the last MOT, so I am hoping my local wizard can sort it, he will cut it out, replace, weld and seal.

Also 5 new tyres on it, albeit road tyres 

All in all it was a risky buy from
a main dealer PX to clear, but I picked it up for £2,500 so it was a bargain (as long as the corrosion can be sorted!)
 

wrote:

wrote:

Looks nice and tight. Was it well looked after ?

So it’s 2 lady owners before me, and doesn’t seem to have been used off road…

Service history is pretty non existent apart from the early days, but upon checking the coolant and oil, it is clear that it’s been serviced regularly, oil is fresh with no bits, coolant is actually coolant, and no signs of sludge or rust.

The original battery was on its last legs, so I have replaced with a new Yuasa YBX5057 (thanks to the recommendations on here), and had to fix the heater flap mechanism.

There is also some corrosion under the wheel jack which needs sorting, but was only an advisory on the last MOT, so I am hoping my local wizard can sort it, he will cut it out, replace, weld and seal.

Also 5 new tyres on it, albeit road tyres 

All in all it was a risky buy from
a main dealer PX to clear, but I picked it up for £2,500 so it was a bargain (as long as the corrosion can be sorted!)



Forgot to mention it has 55K miles!!

 

I think you are on a winner . 50k miles Is nothing on these engines if your doing scheduled services and not driving them badly .
You'll have this 4x4 for a long time if you look after it well ware and enjoy doing the mods and getting into mechanic's.
Keep us posted louche.

Looks great! I like the colour - we don't get those in Australia, but I remember seeing a few when I lived in England.

Definitely try and get all terrain tyres. I remember mine being a bit into the slips and slides before I got some. It gives it a lot more traction on road I found, and better control on river crossings and mud.

Great mileage. Lady owners are the best because they don't tend to think they're engineers and put in botchy lifts.

£2500 seems really cheap even with some corrosion?! In Australia gen 3 Jimnys haven't lost much value since new, even old ones. It's crazy at the moment, with the hype around the new one.

It sounds like a very fair price and the top side looks really good. There appears to be several places Jimnys rust underneath, the boot floor seems quite common, but new boot floors are readily available and several on here have put a new one in.

I think you will have a lot of fun with your Jimny, especially on the lanes on a weekend.

Robin

Hi All,

A quick update, my trusted mechanic has had the Jimny on the ramps today and given everything a very thorough looking at.

It appears the car is all good, no severe rot and all mechanically sound! So the process of mods has started!...

First stage (will be completed 2nd week of Feb):

- Full service
- New pads and shoes
- New clutch
- Raptor4x4 steel rims
- BF Goodrich KM3's (215/75/15)
- Snorkel
- Extended breathers for gearbox, diffs & transfer box
- Front & rear recovery points

Next stage (later in Feb):

- 2" suspension lift kit
- Castor correction
- Rear shock reposition brackets
- All sorts of underbody armour
- 42" Light bar

Thanks to all for the ideas and recommendations on here, I am stupidly exited for the journey ahead! I will keep everyone posted with pics during the process...

Cheers,
Chris.

Be wary of water crossings. Best to wait until someone else has crossed. This way you can judge the depth. There are a number of points on the Jimny where water could possibly enter and cause problems for you. Keep below 8" until you have developed the skills and know what to protect. Don't be pushed into doing things that could be beyond your existing abilities. The idea is to have fun without gaining to many grey hairs.

Roger

wrote:

Be wary of water crossings. Best to wait until someone else has crossed. This way you can judge the depth. There are a number of points on the Jimny where water could possibly enter and cause problems for you. Keep below 8" until you have developed the skills and know what to protect. Don't be pushed into doing things that could be beyond your existing abilities. The idea is to have fun without gaining to many grey hairs.

Roger

Thanks for the advice Roger,

I intend to be very careful with my adventures! I will probably have my daughter with me a lot of the time so will be extra careful!

Although very much looking forward to getting to know the Jimmy’s capabilities, I have done a few of the green lanes around here already with HT’s and stock everything else, and I can already tell it’s a very capable machine! I just didn’t want to make any mods until my trusted mechanic had given it a full once over. 

Best add some of these to the list, especially for the gate opener/daughter.

 

Have fun, post pictures.....

Robin

A good idea is to join The Green Lane Association, GLASS for short. They have a map system that allows you to zoom in to the area of your choice to find the LEGAL rights of way.

Roger

wrote:

Best add some of these to the list, especially for the gate opener/daughter.

 

Have fun, post pictures.....

Robin

Haha, thanks Robin….

Good idea 

wrote:

A good idea is to join The Green Lane Association, GLASS for short. They have a map system that allows you to zoom in to the area of your choice to find the LEGAL rights of way.

Roger

Thanks again Roger,

I will check out GLASS, sounds like it’s worth a look!

I have also found a local club: www.surrey4x4tours.co.uk

They do some very cool training sessions, and tours of the local green lanes, so as soon as my tyres are on I will be booking on some events with them! 

Tyres and wheels arrived at home today, and will be fitted when my brakes / clutch are upgraded on the 8th of Feb. Too excited!!