Offroad-Express

Hi everyone.

I have previously owned 2 hiluxs, both lifted on 32s which were good fun but I have always loved zuks and now I'm trying to make the move. Not as easy as buying a hilux I have found!

Ideally I want a Samurai or SJ413 but keeping an eye out for a Jimny or 2 door Escudo / Vitara.

The plan after purchasing will be to slowly modify it, funds permitting.

I have minimal knowledge on these so any tips on which would be best, prices, what problems to look for etc would be much appreciated!

When buying a samurai, check for rust behind the plastic sill trims. And all sj's/samurais check the bottom corners of the windscreen. Other than that its pretty basic, check underneath for signs of offroad abuse, what does the oil and coolant look like, I think about 5k is reasonable for a tidy standard one, the softops are worth a little bit more though I think. And if you find one with the transfer lever stuck in neutral, convince the seller the transfer case is stuffed and it needs another one, you might get it cheap and it's just a $10 bush to fix it.

If you can't see the rust it probably just means it hasn't popped through the paint yet
Rear quarters, drivers side firewall, roof seams, door front hinge mounts, rear seatbelt mounts, under the rear door seal are all prime places for rust. Check the rear pillars for bog as if they have been offroaded they pick up damage there pretty fast.

They all rust bad but the sj's tend to be worse from experience.

O and I wouldn't pay anywhere near 5k unless it was a real minter. I've bought 2 legal ones now for under a grand each (drove both home) and a real tidy soft top for a bit over 3k I think.

Sweet cheers guys, will keep all those things in mind when I finally find one.

Swamped, where did you find yours so cheap???

I save cash and bide my time.

I've got a couple off trademe, 1 off ore and one I saw from the road parked in a shed so i stopped in and made an offer.