New bug out vehicle. 2025 Suzuki Jimny 4x4.

[Moab]

And will seriously consider removing the interior and applying sound deadening to much of the body.

I saw some videos about this as I was considering it for my car, but the labor/cost to dbl reduction ratio didn't seem worth it. See if you can youtube it. It's was something like 8hrs labor, 400 dollars materials, to get 5 dbl reduction.

Or why they made the buying process so brutally lengthy and ridiculously difficult.

Didn't you say something about the dealers having sort of a monopoly?

Sound deadener works. For sure. But I never considered paying to have it down. I posted a thread in here about sound deadening my Jeep. It was long with pics and tons of info. 

It was worth it for my Jeep. Or any car without good sound deadening from the factory. But especially my Jeep because it has a soft top. And no sound deadening at all. Just thin carpet in a bare tub. This car is similar. Alot of bare metal on the sides around the windows. And in the back. 

I didn't do any db tests. (Although 5db sounds like a lot.) I went from not being to here or understand lyrics on the freeway. To being able to hear a lyrics and a speakerphone call just fine. It made a big difference. 

There are cheaper products available now too. Noico in Amazon was quite good shortly after I need mine maybe 6 or 7 years ago. But alot if overseas products I would look into today.

It does add weight. And I used an additional heat shield. Which you might consider in FL. www.carinsulation.com it's very lightweight and blocks 97% of radient heat. It's popular in hot rod circles for firewalls.

What kind of car do you have?

Actually dealerships here will compete with other dealers. They are franchises. But some auto groups own more than one dealership. But that wasn't the issue. I wasn't negotiating for anything. I got the same offer from 5 different dealerships. And took the price, discount, and inclusions everyone else was offering. Well aware of the cultural differences I went way out of my way to be nice, respectful and chose my language carefully. It was also almost intirely by email. 

This dealership made getting the very simple one page dealership sales documents incredibly difficult. At no seemingly advantage to thém. Only two or three documents matter by Phillipine law. A sales order and a sales invoice. And both are one page. Include hardly any legal notices. And mostly just show vin, price, discount, inclusions and delivery date. 

But this dealer spent 7 days giving the same sales order as I had gotten in 45 minutes from another dealer. It started out as an estimate. Sent from a sales consultants Gmail account. And was missing half if the key info. Like delivery date. Or vin. Every couple days it would improve in tiny increments. But the title would change. Or the date would be removed. Or language would be added like "price subject to change". That completely negated the document. 

It was a f ing nightmare. Thank God for AI. It understand Filapino, Phillipines consumer law, and can read and analyze any document you screenshot and upload. 

But it was brutal. It went on everyday for two weeks. I still don't understand why. They ended up giving me the clear documents I had been asking for. But I never do business with that dealer again. They were the only one with the color I wanted. And other dealers had waiting lists from 2 weeks to 5 months.

[Uomo Senza Nome]

I like it but there are no micro SUVs in the US. The Amigo, Tracker, etc are all gone. You can get a baby Bronco or a Jeep, neither are that small. The Jeep rollbar is set right behind my head so that is a no go. I looked at the baby Broncos and they aren't bad. 

This is why the ATV market is so huge in the US. It is your only option for a good off road vehicle.

[Moab]

I like it but there are no micro SUVs in the US. The Amigo, Tracker, etc are all gone. You can get a baby Bronco or a Jeep, neither are that small. The Jeep rollbar is set right behind my head so that is a no go. I looked at the baby Broncos and they aren't bad.

This is why the ATV market is so huge in the US. It is your only option for a good off road vehicle.

Ya. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to have an economy car with 4x4. Especially when a lighter weight vehicle does so much better off-road than anything heavier. It's a scam. And I'm sure a well calculated move by the US auto industry to force you into more and more expensive vehicles if you want 4x4.

They do a similar thing here in the Phillipines. There are a ton of small vehicles and trucks sold but few with 4x4 and only this one with an AT. I think I've mentioned in this thread that the only other 4x4 AT vehicles here start at twice the price. Not to mention the sheer number of parts and complicated systems is staggering on themlarger 4 wheel drives. And further contributes to the high cost of ownership. 

I've had it for about a week now. And I honestly love it. Aired down the tires yesterday. They were all between 35 and 40psi. I kept my Jeep TJ at 28psi. And it drastically improved the ride. As it did with the Jimny. I'm definitely going to invest in the Old Man Emu 40mm (1.5") lift kit. Not for clearance but for handling. You can feel that it will be improved with better springs and shocks. It's a bit bouncy. And body roll will be improved. It will just drive way better. Which is widely reported by anyone who's had it done. 

I thought I'd found my favorite Falken Wildpeak AT tires. But could only find them in light truck. Which made them almost twice as heavy as P metric all terrain tires. And would have caused a host of issues with the lightweight Jimmy. Same $150 sale price as in the US too. But then I found an equally or maybe even better set of Toyo's for $150. And ordered those.

Rather than wait I chose to upgrade the tires now. So that I can sell the Dunlop take offs as new. As I can offset the price of the new ones by the price of two of the new tires. So it was worth doing now.

It has plenty of acceleration at island speeds. 35 to 45 mph. But I honestly don't have an freeways to drive it on. I would imagine as most have reported. Its fine in the freeway. But your not passing anybody at 65. Lol. My Samurai was the same way. But honestly it made me a better driver. And taught me to be more patient. And nit be in such a hurry all the time. Which is a major benefit of living here. Traffic may be chaotic and without rules. But nobody is going over 45 on 95% of the roads. But because of the lack of rules. I find everyone paying way more attention than US drivers. And whenever I was in a wreck it was due to lack of attention. More than anyone violating a rule.

It's super comfortable and I'm 6'4". Way better seats. And it zips around like a go cart. The stereo isn't nearly as bad as some complaints. Bluetooth a working fine. Sound is good enough for me. But I will most likely at least upgrade and add two additional speakers. It's already wired for two extra speakers in the back.

I may add an android head unit. Simply for the fact I can monitor coolant and trans fluid temp live. The only temp guage is coolant. And it's an idiot light that either comes on or it doesn't. So if it stops working you really won't know. Maybe it will throw a code and engine light? Who knows. 

There are a ton of extremely useful accessories made in China. And sold the world over. This car has been being manufactured since 1968. I ordered a plethora of shit. From the best existing bolt mount ball aluminum phone holder. To cupholders, storage containers for various open spaces throughout the car, to deep mats, all for dirt cheap. All the same stuff as on Amazon or elsewhere for about a tenth of the price. I can order from AliExpress, Alibaba or two different Amazon like stores here in the PH. Shit is so cheap here. 

Anyway. Great car thus far. Made an expat friend on a neighboring island who just bought a Jimny this week too. The 5 door version. We're going to try to meet up and do some offroading and camping.

[The Lowly Engineer]

Nice.  I've wanted a Samurai forever.  Things never have lined up.  Now most (in the mid west) are either a pile of rust or something grandpa towed behind the RV and is worth its weight in gold.

I wish Suzuki would partner with another brand so they would be available in the US.  A few years back I think they teamed up with Nissan for a Frontier with Zuk badging.  

My dream is to buy/build one and take it on Black Bear pass near Telluride.  First I need to get my Tacoma drivable again.

[Moab]

Nice.  I've wanted a Samurai forever.  Things never have lined up.  Now most (in the mid west) are either a pile of rust or something grandpa towed behind the RV and is worth its weight in gold.

I wish Suzuki would partner with another brand so they would be available in the US.  A few years back I think they teamed up with Nissan for a Frontier with Zuk badging. 

My dream is to buy/build one and take it on Black Bear pass near Telluride.  First I need to get my Tacoma drivable again.

I appreciated it as much as a 25 yr old could back then. But I appreciate the Jimny even more. It's about the same with just a little more comfort. That really adds to the platform. While still leaving out a ton of shit I don't want at all.

That's what sets the Samurai and the Jimny apart - what it's not.

It's more worthy for what it is not - than what it is. I love the electric windows ( although I would prefer good old fashioned wind ups) only have control in the center of the dash (like Jeeps). Because routing wiring and switches to the doors is just another wiring run. And more shit to go wrong. The dash barely lights up. Lol. The gauges handle all of that. But the gear shift and the HVAC have no lights at night. Which cracks me up. But I bought a $5 led strip made to rest under the existing shifter letters and numbers. That lights it up. I'm going to put glow in the dark stickers in the HVAC controls. There is a lot dial for most of the settings. 

The entire vehicle is made to run for as long as possible, in the most remote locations, with nothing unnecessary to break or make anything else more complicated to fix. What a fucking concept?! Huh?! A vehicle that is meant to not break and easy to fix if it does. It's so sad that that's an old time, long forgotten concept in our disposable world. 

All these complaints about pollution. And what pollutes our world as much as anything if not more? All the shit we make to be disposable. Which ends up in landfills or worse. Because corporations want us buying more as often as possible. While at the same time talking out their ass about the anti pollution initiatives they are pushing. 

Anyway. Back to practicality. Can the Samurai/Jimny be improved? Yes. But the cool thing is it comes basic and stock. In a format that works just fine. For a long time. And honestly better than most offroad 4x4s. Because it is lightweight and has a narrow track. Ever wonder why we have side by sides or quads or other super capable off-road vehicles? But it's also easily upgraded in any area you wish. Want a better suspension? A ton of aftermarket choices. Want better interior or storage improvements? Tons and tons available aftermarket. 

You can choose exactly how you'd like to improve it in any meaningful way you choose.

I got new Toyo AT tires put on yesterday. Selling the stock Dunlops as new take offs. For the price of two of the Toyos. Upgraded the entire interior with really well thought out, high quality, plastic storage accessories for all the open gaps, and nooks and crannys. Supurb phone mount and cupholders that bolt directly into the dash grab handles with existing common size bolt holes. That are covered with easily removable rubber bolts. Deep dish mats throughout for less than 50 bucks. 

It drives really well. But I will eventually put an OMU 40mm lift kit on in it. For ride not lift. 1.5" doesn't do much. But the sturdier springs and better shocks improve things even more from stock. 

AU has always had the Samurai and Jimny. And their community is akin to the US Jeep community. Except it's also been available in India, Asia and Africa. So the build community and aftermarket parts are astounding. And affordable.