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[Chance_P]

Well folks I just turned 16 yesterday, get my license tomorrow. I already have an 83 camaro but it isnt driveable in the winter here (in iowa) so I need to get myself a winter vehicle. A guy is selling a Suzuki Samurai close to here. It looks like it has a slight life and for sure has 32-36 inch tires. It is blue-green in color. I was wondering if anyone can give me any information on this vehicle. I havent been able to speak with the owner yet, I will tomorrow. I found out tonight that my friends "uncle in-law" is the one selling it. He is going to find out the price for me tomorrow, I was wondering if anyone could give me a good guestimate of how much I will probably have to fork out. I have to come up with the money on my own because my step dad won't co-sign a loan for me (he will, but not for such a
"dangerous" vehicle....he says that while we are in the process or rebuilding a 350 for my camaro? Anywho, any idea how much much i will probably be spending? I know I didnt give much information on the vehicle, but maybe someone here knows alot and call tell me a couple prices for a couple different situations. Any other information about it would also be awesome, thanks.

[leijae]

hehe... guestimate....

[elborak]

QUOTE(Chance_P @ Oct 25 2005, 11:33 PM)

A guy is selling a Suzuki Samurai close to here.
...
my step dad won't co-sign a loan for me (he will, but not for such a "dangerous" vehicle

He may well be right.  The Samurai used to have a serious rollover problem.  Consumer Reports rated it "unacceptable" for this reason and Suzuki's response was to sue CR.  CR won  (after 8 years in court!).

[hoobatech]

For pricing, some good sites are
http://www.nadaguides.com <nada
http://www.kbb.com/ <kelly blue book

[ubernewb]

samurai's got a lot of crap in their time (late 80's) .. most of it was bullshit though. the biggest complaint was risk of rollover.. but then again they performed the test by attempting a sharp u-turn at like 45mph. a lot of cars would tuck tire and roll just like the 'zuki did. i personally owned one for a few years and it was one of the funnest cars i ever owned. not fast, not by a long shot, but very agile when i wanted to have some fun in the mud.

the transmission (assuming you have the 5sp manual) is geared very low in first and second gears, and when you combine that with the extremely low weight of the thing you get a car that can easily climb a 60 degree incline without breaking a sweat.. the only thing you need to worry about there is the traction from a smaller tire. but since your's have already been swapped out that is most likely a non-issue. another nice thing about them is teh fact that because of their low weight they tend to ride over most mud holes that bigger trucks quickly sink themselves into.

if you want more power out of her, there are a few kits out there for decent engine swaps.. there's even one that extends the nose and allows for a chevy 350 smallblock to be stuffed in. that one costs a bit though.

if you want some good info on them, go check out some 4 wheelin mags and/or websites.. they are still pretty popular with off-roaders to this day.





the only bad thing i can say about it would be that the tops suck. the soft tops usually don't hold up too well to bad weather and you'll most likely be replacing it every couple years. one suggestion would be to look into one of the two-piece fiberglass replacement tops. they will last forever and the two piece design makes it really easy to remove when you want to go have some fun in the sun. the two-piece is also nice because you can remove either piece seperately, so it becomes a sunshade for the front seaters while leaving the back open or a targa top while the back seat is still covered. even if you do swap to a hard top, i suggest getting a cheap sling-top to haul around just in case you get stuck in the rain somewhere away from home. (but the thing is waterproof on the inside so it's not like the rain will hurt anything)