While our general impression of automotive dealerships is not all that positive in society, I do love finding interesting vehicles for sale at mainstream vendors. This 1988 Suzuki Samurai, for some reason, has appeared on the lot of an outfit that sells RVs and GM products made in the last 10-15 years. However, it’s that motorhome connection that makes me wonder if this Sami was traded in after years of being towed behind a camper that the previous owners swapped for a newer model. It’s listed for sale here on the Avalanche Automotive website and looks to be in original, almost-survivor condition.
The fact that the original spare tire cover, although highly-weathered, is still present tells me this Samurai hasn’t been messed with much since it was purchased new. Since it’s at a small dealer in Colorado, I’m guessing it’s a lifelong resident of the mountainous region, which explains its clean, rust-free sheet metal. A stock Samurai is easy to spot, with its original white soft top, white-painted steel wheels, and the aforementioned spare tire cover which only fits over the tiny stock wheels. Unlike so many other Suzukis modified for off-road use, this one appears to have been left solidly in commuter car condition.
Ah, how wonderful is this interior? Showing only the most gentle signs of use, the Samurai retains its stock cloth bucket seats and gigantic steering wheel with a horn pad big enough to double as a safety feature when your forehead smacks it. The dashboard instrumentation is similar to so many other Japanese 4x4s from the era, with the simple 2 gauge cluster setup sitting right in front of your face. You sit mere inches from the windshield, which is one of my favorites features of riding in the 1989 Isuzu Trooper I’ve restored over the years. Terrifying in a head-on collision but lots of fun up until that moment.
The Suzuki is clean inside and out and the backseat is still in place. Another tell-tale of a life off-road or otherwise being messed with is the back seat getting tossed and forgotten. Some owners remove them for more space while others delete it to haul gear when they go off the beaten path. Regardless, seeing this one with all of its original equipment intact and no signs of heavy modifications makes me believe all the more this was pulled behind an RV for years. I wonder if you got underneath the front bumper if you’d still see the hardware for a tow bar attached. Regardless, these don’t come along all that often in condition like this, so it could be worth a call to the dealer to see what the asking price is.
Ah so, and I realize the line I crossed saying that phrase,,Colorado, eh? Nice place, too bad I’m leaving,,,maybe, this vehicle? Perhaps the all-time worst SUV to come struggling down the pike. Most all are low mileage, because unless they were schlepped behind a motorhme, the motors never lasted long on their own. I had a friend once, bought one new. Oh, it was a cute thing, she was so happy,,,then reality sank in. The motor puked at about 20K, Suzuki replaced it, the 2nd motor didn’t even last that long, and Suzuki refused to replace it. It was about 3 years old, and had already begun to rust profusely, and I bet it’s still sitting behind her barn. They were the poster child for rollovers, and quickly gained a reputation to stay away. Now, my nephew had a Vitara(?) and was a great vehicle, ( except he had to dismantle the entire front end to change a headlight bulb), but like all these humble beginnings, had nothing in common with this. Low mileage Samaris were common.
That is so far away from the usual Sami experience. Most seen today are on at least their first rollover of the odometer and the rollover was proven to be a falsity perpetuated under the influence of AMC to bolster flagging CJ sales.
Those are pretty cool little vehicles. My brother in law had one in the early 2000s and it always reminded me of riding in a Scout. Kind of? I never noticed how close you sit to the windshield until you mentioned that. Yes cool little Zook and it’s like new! I think your into something that it was probably towed behind a motor home by full timers
Had my 1948 Standard Eight for sale in London in 1994 and a guy had a LHD Samurai for sale- we made a deal and he took the Standard and I took the Samurai. Drove it from London to Athens. Day 1 London-Paris on the 4th or 5th train through the newly opened tunnel. Day 2 Paris-Nice. Day 3 Nice-Rome. Day 4 Rome-Bari. Day 5 overnight ferry Bari to Patra and on to Athens. Ran flat out all 5 days at 80 mph and never missed a beat. Used it in Greece for a year. Probably the most reliable and fun car I’ve ever had. And it was this same color with the white wheels and all. The only time I ever engaged 4WD was on the beach at Marathon.
Great story! 👍🏻
Took one for a test drive when they first came out. Yikes! What a tin can. But, they were super cheap and I’m sure, like the Kia’s and Hyundai’s of that era, folks bought them, thinking they got “such a deal.” Oofta May!
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Rented one of these for ten (10) days in St. Maarten in 1990. It made a CJ-5 feel like a Ferrari. You certainly didn’t make abrupt moves at speed. On a long downgrade, when I braked and downshifted, the rearend chirped and it started to swap ends. Gotta love it !
Suzuki samurai’s were Kei car vehicles. Technology has vastly improved since 1988, and the Japanese love these vehicles. These vehicles truly are environmentally friendly. They are inexpensive to buy and maintain. They cost tens of thousands of dollars less than a Chevrolet Silverado or a jeep wrangler or anything else. The rollover stories were fictitious. Consumer reports I believe push this. It was proven false. I have no idea where that woman had to replace her engine twice, did she ever change the oil? Japanese technology has always been good. Trump has given the approval to bring these in to the United States again. The Suzuki samurai is/was called a Jimney now. Production cannot keep up with demand. They are sold in Mexico. I wish they were sold here. I want a ‘26 Nissan Roox Highway Star, ever so cool. Our government needs to start making regulations against oversized, overpriced, gas hogs, which every truck and SUV in this country qualifies for. In the last 20 years trucks have grown 4 feet in length and game 2000 pounds. Why?
Ya gotta love The Donald.
I believe the Jimnys were the Kei cars. Samurais are bigger. Also, Consumer Reports was not lying, they really did/do roll over if pushed really hard. Most people would never drive like that on the road, but in an emergency evasive maneuver, it would not be too hard to land on your side. I would still like to own one.
A lot harder to roll the samurai in ANY maneuvers than say a bronco 2 or first gen explorer, cj5. My granny had the last year they were sold state side, bigger engine(2 liter i believe) port fuel injection even. My uncle and i could not roll it under normal off roading, in fact in never rolled once, ever. It would float though. For about 20 yards down the river( more than a few times). She had that damn thing aost 20 years. Lots of us redneck grandsons rodded the @i$$ out of it(3 or 4 engines) left brodies on a few gilf courses way after hours in medford oregon. Good times 🤣
Why? Because they can. You can drive whatever teeny, tiny thing you want. But when you start wanting ME to be “regulated” out of what I want to drive? That’s a red line in the proverbial sand.
In northern Minnesota, people buy these and add tracks instead of tires. Cut a hole in the passenger floorpan and you have an ice fishing machine. A poor man’s Snow bear.
We rented a 1988 Suzuki Samurai in Hawaii and it was a blast. A fun ride that got us from point A to point B. It’s a shame they are no longer manufactured.
I guess swapping a tracker or metro motor in these is popular.
Nope its the areo engine into sidekicks thats the big deal. It really aint easy to find a sammy when a person want to find one
Being someone that owned an 87 Samurai I would like to make a few comments
1. I am not aware of any ‘factory’ spare tire cover. It may be the original one purchased as an add on, but it isn’t a factory original.
2. I appreciate Howard’s comments and feel badly for the person who had to replace the engine but I know of no one that ever had engine problems with their Samurai. I had mine for 26 years and never once had any engine problems other than the one tune up I did and the points, etc I replaced. Granted I never got it over 100,000 miles and mostly drove it locally but always started easily, never had water pump problems, never leaked oil, not a drop.
3. The soft top Samurai was not the model discussed as a potential rollover problem, it was the hard top. And there was a lawsuit, etc over those comments. I drove mine all over mountain roads and at odd angles, never felt it would roll over. Granted I never drove 55 and then tried to turn it over as they did in the Consumer Reports deal.
4. I would be a little worried that it sat a lot. The interior appears faded and the front hood looks faded and I watched many a Samurai go by and never was their hoods fade like that. The door panels and the back seat look odd also, guessing that is just poor pictures but I would want to see it in person
5. It is certainly a tin can. Not the safest vehicle. No air bags. But they will crawl up hills other 4WD cannot, and everyone that I know that had/has one will say, a simple engine that will run forever. What does look odd to me is the locking hubs do not look original. Don’t know that I have ever seen blue ones like in the picture. That hub looks rebuilt to me.
6. Lastly, what the heck is that wire/hose thing hanging out the front of the grill? Never seen that.
Being that this vehicle is in Colorado, likely an aftermarket plug in oil heater like was prevalent in those days.
I bought a new 88 hardtop, and I loved that little thing. Drove through three foot deep snow drifts one winter with my girlfriend, passed a road grader that had gone off the road, he waved me on. Wish I still had it,they sell for twice what I paid for it.