Is an SJ my best choice?

[JIM600]

Hi All - need some 4x4 advice.

Looking to buy a small 4x4 for greenlaning, odd 4x4 playday and towing a small trailer.

I am 21 so insurance is a killer on most 4x4s - I've managed to get it down to 500 or so quid on a sj413/sj410 and a couple of older land rovers (1988 swb 90 2.2 diesels for some reason are very cheap for me to insure?)

Similarly it needs to be more or less unmodified - tow bar and some AT tyres is probably all I could do to it - lift kits etc would be a no-no with most insurers (over 25s only).

Only planning to use it for a few thousand miles per year - under 5k so 20-30mpg is fine. Needs to pull a quad bike on a trailer - total weigh approx 350kg (unbraked). I assume it should handle that fine. (Towing weights I've found say 1200kg braked or 600kg unbraked so 350kg unbraked should be ok over shortish distances (car would have 1 or no passengers when towing).

Budget up to 1k I guess, seems that would buy an absolute shed of a landrover but quite a clean suzuki.

Am I missing anything - is the sj the best bet? - (I don't like vitaras but if they are much better for x reason - then maybe...)

If so - anything to look out for apart from the usual - looks like most in my budget are around the 60-70k mile mark.

Thanks

[Caulkhead]

Well, if the only options you can insure is a 90 or a 410, you'll have to get the 410 as your £1000 budget won't buy a 90. Problem solved.

[mcjimny]

I'd say no. Why would you spend £1000 on an old SJ - no power steering, leaf springs, high possibility of rot rot and more rot. As you've already indentified an old landy could potentially be a headache for your budget.

Don't get me wrong though i love sj's and sammi's and wish i'd never shifted my old 410 but they don't represent good value for money. 1k will get you a late one but you'll be looking long and hard for a good one, they are out there but you'll be looking hard for them.

Not just because i have one but the Jimny just ticks the boxes for you, an early one can be had for your budget and in comparison to the sj you'll get coils all round, power steering, more comfortable. It'll tow your trailer a treat as the limit for unbraked on them is 350kg, i tow a small trailer with mine and its spot on.
Early jimny's are the same engine as the late 413's so will be a timing belt not a chain as in the newer ones so you'd need to make sure its been replaced and they can be prone to the "boot" floor rotting through.

[durbster]

Jimny's a good shout.

Fourtraks are great Defender alternatives too; excellent offroad, 30mpg and could tow the moon if you could find a rope long enough. Just watch out for rust (as with the SJ).

[Sarge 4x4]

Jimny. Great little 4x4's.

[JIM600]

Thanks for the replies - jimny was actually my first choice but couldnt see many for my budget (fourtraks/pajeros/pinins/land cruisers etc all seem to be double to insure over the smaller jap 4x4s and landrovers).

I just didnt think I'd get a jimny for my budget. But there do appear to be a few around the 1k mark.

[s_zigmond]

Have you considered a Niva?

[mcjimny]

Keep an eye out, Jimny's regularly come up around the £800 - £1000 mark now. Typically they are quite well looked after. I've seen some very tidy trucks for next to nothing. Stick on some all terrains and it'll look the part.

[JIM600]

s_zigmond said:

Have you considered a Niva?

I had/have - they are like hens teeth in good condition though - they either seem to be needing alot of work or already overly modified.

I think I'll hold out for a jimny, although there's a very clean vitara just down the road. The car is just for weekends/fun use and pulling a trailer so I didn't really want to go into the thousands for one. But I am tempted to up the budget by 500 quid and get a reasonable jimny. Will have to see what turns up in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for the advice

[JVaughan]

Sarge 4x4 said:

Jimny. Great little 4x4's.

Get yourself over to www.bigjimny.com .. plenty of info on the pint sized offroader there.

[Rum Runner]

MK 1 Vitara still plenty of late mint ones about...I have had one for 7 years.
Standard mode of transport in the Caribbean which more often than note rutted tracks which are bell in rainy season.

[mcjimny]

JIM600 said:

I had/have - they are like hens teeth in good condition though - they either seem to be needing alot of work or already overly modified.

I think I'll hold out for a jimny, although there's a very clean vitara just down the road. The car is just for weekends/fun use and pulling a trailer so I didn't really want to go into the thousands for one. But I am tempted to up the budget by 500 quid and get a reasonable jimny. Will have to see what turns up in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for the advice

A budget of £1500 could get you into a dohc chain cam engine if you shop about. Its only £500 but may mean the difference of 2-3years newer.
Fourtraks(independent) will just fall into your budget-again you'll need to put some leg work in but they seem to hold reasonable money as they are good tow barges for the horsey types. These won't be as new as the jimny but it will be more than up to the job for some laning.
Factor in that not many jimny's are used for towing so you could end up having to use some of the budget fitting a towbar.
As linked above bigjimny is the single best resource for them, a very active site considering it only covers 1 model.

[mrdelmonti]

Bit of a left field choice but have you considered a Frontera, you could easily get a tidy one in your budget.

[R12HCO]

Vitara.

Excellent off road (coming from discovery and defender), for the money and will do all of the above. Also cheap to insure. The sj's are so uncomfortable its untrue. The vitara's are better but even so they are not brilliant. The best for comfort and off-road ability are the disco's but the tdi's are expensive to insurance (we are the same age).

[JIM600]

Right, thanks for all the suggestions. I went to look at a few 4x4s this week - all the sjs were looking very ropey, the jimnys I could find in my budget were all cambelt models and most were either very high mileage or just coming up for tax/mot/service/known faults and even then they were towards the top end of the budget, so I've decided the 1.6 vitara offers a good inbetween - I do like the jimnys but a good one + a towbar + a set of AT tyres is getting on for 1500+ which is more than I was looking to spend.

Edited by JIM600 on Sunday 28th August 11:34