Phill

@AshleySC where are you based?

The problem is that there is a lot of work involved and so many companies just want a quick turnaround. Consider buying yourself a welder and just going for it? Dont break it, that would be a mistake.

He will do after he’s been to all the Lidls on Sunday

How is it going? I don’t suppose the weather is tent conducive, is it still standing?

Arm rest is a good idea as can be stuck in traffic regularly in CR. Anything I buy will have to be in CR as shipping or carrying it on the plane would be a nuisance. There is effectively no eBay or Amazon in CR

That looks special Les I hope you will put some of that clear protective film on it. By the way I didn’t know you lived in the mid-west, big sky country

I’ve got my coils via relay but not the injectors.

Well well, I was doing loomage in my freezing garage today as well 3 way components are the best but I used their website. My injectors and lambda are connected directly to the ECU, I don’t think there is a way of running them through a relay?

Buy the one with the best bodywork you can afford. Rust is where the money is. Engines don’t explode or implode and even the 915 gearbox is absolutely lovely when it’s in good condition. Gearboxes are strong and can handle 3 or 400hp so no need to worry there. You will get lots of first hand experiences here but everyone will agree that bodywork is the most important thing and they hide rust very very well.

Tuned Smoother, better throttle response, better power low down the rev range and more power overall. 165hp which may not seem a lot but it’s 30 more than standard and all I have is better cams. I can thoroughly recommend the MaxxECU.

Woohoo, go Peter. So much de-ja-vu

What is the difference ?

Thanks Mark, that is reassuring. Yes, chunkier tyres are in the near future for sure as most of our driving will be unmade or off road. I already have a bonnet protector and roof rack like yours lined up and a bull bar will be in its future too 🙂

Well, we have just bought one of these………. much eye rolling will follow, by both you and I……. Why the stock pic you might ask. That’s because the car is currently in a bonded warehouse in Costa Rica and we are in the UK A little back story. The car market in Costa Rica is a little bit mental and if you have read my “DEKRA adventure” post you get a little idea of the position. We ummed and arrhed about what we wanted and the ultimate decision was to buy new due to the high chance of buying a lemon, fraud, lack of tools and lack of language. There was some man maths thrown in for good measure. A neighbour of ours in CR bought a Jimny XL when they arrived in CR and so we have had some close up time with one and we liked it. Prices of Suzukis in CR is also far more reasonable than some of the other brands such as Toyota and Honda. So, back in August we visited the Inchcape main Suzuki dealer in San Jose and did more research. Fast forward to a week ago and I contacted the salesman we dealt with in August and asked to start the ball rolling on a new Jimny XL. We wanted an auto in blue. There is always a snag or two. The dealer won’t reserve a car for more than a month and we wanted to collect the car on January 2nd. This was fine but the next delivery of cars was not until February and there are an only a small number in the country at any one time Also, you cannot always get exactly what you want, you can have what they have, there is no ordering to spec Also, the pound was starting to crash against the dollar which added a little extra urgency. Now, they had the car we wanted so we decided to pull the trigger. The car was offered in blue, automatic, tinted windows, mats, 5 year warranty and a 30k km maintenance (I think - to be confirmed). And I know you all want to know the number…… $34990. At the exchange rate we got that is £27783. This is a lot for a tiny car with a tiny engine…… but…. you will all agree, huge on character. As an aside, I checked used prices here in the UK and that actually makes the number look good value. Then there was the saga of payment We wanted to pay by VISA (ours has no charges for purchases abroad). This was fine so the dealer sent a payment link via email. Would this work? No. I tried 5 times and contacted my bank twice. They were adamant they weren’t blocking it. Much head scratching ensued until the CR end (guess where the financial arm of CR Suzuki is? Yes, you guessed it, London ) and I figured out that there is a limit you can pay in one go and that seems to be less than 10k. In the end I made six payments but got there in the end. What happens next? Well the car cannot be taken out of the warehouse until 10 days before delivery and we can’t get a final invoice until the day of delivery as that has to be in the month of delivery (January 2nd in case you forgot). I don’t have a contract and still don’t have all the official receipts of payment. Am I crazy for sending a huge amount of money over the internet to a car dealership in a foreign country all done by WhatsApp and email? I’ll let you know in January In the meantime do you have or have you had a Jimny? I know you do/did @MarkJ What do you think?

Why not just get one from Matt, he does lightweight and recon.