1991 Suzuki Samurai

Sport Utility

1.3L 1298CC 79Cu. In. l4 GAS SOHC Naturally Aspira

Manual

JS4JC31C7M4100498

Clear

GAS

Selling my 1991 Samurai JL 5-speed with 44K original miles. This is a hard-to-find vehicle because of the combination of its low miles, factory fuel-injected engine, and clean, relatively unmodified condition. I bought this car in 2010 because I was impressed with those selling points, and it hasn't disappointed. I haven't used it very often though, because I just have too many vehicles. I'm a car nut and have gotten carried away with collecting. I've taken the Samurai out for off-road excursions two or three times. Other than that, I just take it out periodically for "maintenance" drives of about 10 miles. After I bought it, I replaced all the engine's belts and hoses (including the timing belt) with new OEM parts from Suzuki. I did this just to establish a baseline for all the rubber parts under the hood. There were also some homemade-looking extended spring shackles on it that I replaced with quality aftermarket parts. Finally, the front turn signals had been lost when a previous owner replaced the original front bumper with the current one. So I picked up a set of replacement turn signals on ebay and have installed them behind the grill, just inboard of the headlights. That's about it. The vehicle runs and drives very well and really didn't need much. The top is a BesTop unit in very good condition. One thing that doesn't work is the air conditioning. It does have what appears to be the factory A/C, but it's not cold, and I have never looked into getting it fixed. The thing that has impressed me most about the Samurai is how well it works off-road, for a vehicle with a modest leaf-spring suspension, relatively small tires, and open differentials. It really climbs hills and goes over obstacles better than I would have thought. I think the key factor is its light weight. Also, the electronic fuel injection means the engine is self-adjusting for elevation, unlike the earlier carbureted engines. I believe Suzuki changed the Samurai over to EFI in 1990. In 2010 we took the Sammy over Imogene Pass in Colorado (13,114 ft) and it performed flawlessly. The only mechanical fault I'm aware of besides the A/C also pertains to the EFI. It's really an electrical fault. There seems to be a slight glitch in the warm-up mode of the ECU. The engine always starts quickly and easily and the fast idle kicks right in as it should. But after the engine has been running for a couple of minutes and is partially warmed up, if you're just sitting there in neutral, the engine speed will stumble a couple of times quickly and will nearly stall, but it never does. It just bounces right back in a couple of seconds. This is a straight auction without a buy-it-now and I'd prefer not to disclose the reserve, but I will say it is less than I originally paid for the car, and I have also made some improvements. Also, on a personal note, I recently had a very disappointing experience selling another car, which nearly soured me on ebay. I have been an ebay member for over ten years and have always had fairly positive experiences (and 100% positive feedback) both as a buyer and a seller, so this really set me back. Because of that, I would like to say that if anyone has to bid on the vehicle sight-unseen, I don't have a problem with it, but you are encouraged to come and check it out prior to bidding. And if that isn't possible, I want the winning bidder to make sure they at least test-drive the vehicle and discuss any concerns they have, prior to us finalizing the transaction. If you aren't satisfied, you have no commitment as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately I didn't follow that sequence of events with the last car I sold, and I received an undeserved negative feedback from a very unscrupulous, dishonest person who hit me with a whole slew of ridiculous complaints only after he had gotten back home with the car. He is a used car dealer and was hoping to improve his profit margin on the car by extracting some kind of concession from me. I offered more than once to take the car back and provide a full refund, but he had no comment on that. I have sold several cars and motorcycles on ebay over the years. If you want to see feedback from honest people, I have plenty of that too, so please review all of my 'feedback as a seller'. One last thing - I just ran a Carfax and it shows a 'vehicle purchase' reported 2/27/12. That is incorrect. I have owned the Samurai since April 2010. Thanks for looking.