1988.5 Suzuki Samurai - $3500 (Verde Valley)
1988 Suzuki Samuraiodometer: 112000
All aspects of this Zuk work great. The only thing not functioning right now is the left turn signal and that's because of two bad contacts in the assembly. It has no rust and does not leak or use oil.
It's speed is typical of stock Zuks of this age. We drive it on I-17 occasionally between the McGuideville and the Camp Verde casino exits. Top speed is about 60 on the interstate, 65 downhill with a tail wind.
We have been very faithful with oil changes every 3,000 miles in the 3 years we've owned it. Likewise, it has received lots of routine maintenance "just because." This summer we replaced the timing belt, radiator hoses, coolant, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, rear brake shoes, etc. We put new rotors and pads on it awhile ago and we have the brakes inspected each year. Front and back brakes are in excellent condition. The drivelines are tight and all fluids in all four boxes were drained and replaced last year. The exhaust is in great shape. Doors close nice and tight.
We paid $500 for a used aftermarket hardtop but kept the original soft top stuff. It has a nice backseat that we keep in storage because we use that area to carry our second spare tire.
There are three things that are not stock on this Zuk:
1) We had Myron at ZOR put a crab on the front differential.
2) The towing baseplate is welded to the vehivle
3) It has 215-75R/15 General Grabbers on it.
The tires have 40-45% tread left on them. We ourselves wouldn't hesitate to keep these tires in service at least two more years.
We pulled out the carpet when we bought it but we saved the carpet. Frankly, we think Samurai carpet is worthless and a pain in the anatomy but you could put it back in if you wanted to use it.
About the only other thing we did was have the hood painted. The paint was all faded and that's common on Zuks. It looks a lot better with the new paint. Oh, we have ZOR put in the shifter fix so it shifts nice and tight.
What have we used this Zuk for? Well, for starters, we live in Idaho six month so we tow it back and forth each year behind a pickup with a popup camper. We use the Zuk as a run about after we've made camp. The past 3 summers, the Zuk has been driven only around Idaho Falls in town during the summer. We didn't bother to take it out in the country off pavement.
Down here the past three winters we occasionally take it out off pavement such as between Jerome and Williams, up on The Rim or around the officially numbered off pavement roads in the Verde Valley.
My wife and I are both in our mid-60's and we want a softer ride. Anybody who knows Zuks knows they have a stiff ride and that's a good thing. We bought our first Zuk in 1999 and we've owned 7 of them. We love Zuks! But the bottom line is that the older we get the stiffer the ride seems to become, especially on Good Ol' Arizona Washboards!
We could drive this vehicle forever otherwise. We carry a lot of spare parts with us and they may or may not be part of the sale, depending on how good a haggler you are. We also have the matching tow hitch and it may or may not be for sale, also depending on how good a talker you are.
As you know, it's getting tougher to find stock Zuks in this kind of condition. Most of them are beat up, molested, modified, worn out or otherwise limping along. What's not worn out is usually very high priced of, as we've found in "too good" condition. We bought a pristine Garage Queen 1986 Zuk up in Idaho a couple of years ago. The Zuk is so beautiful, so perfect in every way, we don't have the heart to take it out off pavement. What good is that? It's a good investment but other than being a Town Car, it's pretty worthless.
Anyway, this is a good, solid all around Zuk that we are very proud of. We may or may not be negotiable in price. If you're nice, you have better odds of negotiating a price. If you're trying to lowball us or hustle us, it's Game Over for you so beware. We weren't born yesterday. We are in no particular hurry to sell this Zuk. We're perfectly happy to keep it. "It works for us!"
Oh, one other thing--the 112K miles is total original miles and not turned over twice.
Here's some photos. We will send you more stuff if you so some medium-serious interest.
Have a Super Great Day, Happy Trails, Fun Wheelin' and Many Holiday Cheers! John P.
