Hi mat, It was myself that came down to buy this car for my daughter who lives in Tiree.. What a fantastic little 4x4 this is. Drove all the way to Scotland without missing a beat. I wanted to keep it for myself lol It was good to see what you done to it in the video
I never fail to be surprised by how relatively simple cosmetic tweaks can make such a huge improvement/difference to a car! Another perfectly useable old car ‘saved’ great job Matt 👍🏻
I have a 2015 Vitara Allgrip DDIS SZ5 and love it. Yes, its got some hard plastics inside, but its got great carrying capacity, comfortable, quiet and economical. Its just all round honest car.
I’d love to see a video where you give an update on what happened to some of these cars after, whether you got the price you wanted and if there was more to the story once they’d been sold
I have the exact same vitara but with the added spoiler and alloy wheels. Corners are the vitaras kryptonite! At least they fitted 4wheel drive so you can exit the field you just crashed into. In return the vitara will reward you with years of utter reliability.
My dad bought a face-lift mk1 4u2 Vitara from the side of the road for £750 back in 2012 as a stop gap when his car was written off. It was only meant to be around for 6 months but he ended up keeping it for 4 years. When he put it up for sale I was gutted so bought it myself 😂 my girlfriend drove it more than I did but a house purchase forced me to sale it and to this day I wish I never got rid. Can't seem to find them for sale anymore which is a shame
I'm not surprised you sold that car quite easily. Suzuki's are very reliable and that would be an economical little car to run even with UK fuel prices. I'm almost at the stage now where I would only ever consider buying a Japanese car. I can honestly say 50 years ago I would not even have dreamed that this would be the case. I remember visiting a Honda car dealer around about 1977 in Preston Lancashire and thinking to myself, " Why would anyone buy a f----- Honda?" How times have changed. Kia is another manufacturer that seems to have their act together now with an excellent warranty and fixed servicing costs. I don't want unexpected repair bills, breakdowns or ridiculous servicing costs. Good video and a great result. A happy customer and some profit.
Awwww it looks brilliant. I love the fact it has had one owner and is 19 years old that's true testament to Suzuki. I have bought brand new Fiats and Fords in the past been well cared for serviced etc and yet they didn't make it past 85'000 or 8 years.
That's a great car for someone. Good point about the undersealing. My own Pug will be 26 years old this year and I've undersealed it myself every 5th year, with a bit of extra touchup whenever I notice any flaking off in the interim. Hammerite with added Waxoyl isn't expensive and the new owner of this motor would find it much easier to squeeze underneath than I do with my 40mm lowered coilover and axle setup, should they not wish to pay you to do it before purchase. Edit : I see a gent has already bought it for his daughter, but I hope he'll do the job for her. It's well worth the effort.
@@allankummanadil6298 I did notice, even when my own car was new, that the factory applied underseal was a little thin in a couple of places, where even some of the body colour could be seen. If that's true of your own car, I suggest it's definitely worth attending to it, sooner rather than later, and thereafter just check it occasionally and give it a fresh coating every five years. Be careful not to paint over any drain holes though.
Looked like a long term one owner car . kept up to it mechanically but there's a time where they fell out of love and were ready for a change . That bit of TLC to bring what is a good car back to retail looks well worth it . Nice quip on the telegraph to guardian !
Another excellent 'restoration ' on what was a vehicle in pretty decent condition despite its sge & possible rust problems..loved how it now looks after those lads at the valeting place have done their work..they do a bloody great job 👏 love these reviews 💯👌
Also repaint the base of the wiper arms since I can see all the paint has flaked off. This car has been cared for by it's previous owner, looked good when you got first saw it with a few minor things. If I saw that original MOT, I wouldn't bother but the car when you walked around it was just much better than the MOT history would allude to, not surprised it flew through it's recent MOT, must have been a very picky garage looking for work previously.
As a car journalist I'm not very used to deal with used cars myself, but a friend asked for help for buying a new used car for her. Thanks for a lot of tips that helped me to at least try to help her. She's now a pride new owner of a 2019 Suzuki Jimny brazilian made with less than 20k miles, full history and good as new. Thanks mate!
My mum had one of these a long time ago , it was brilliant as we lived in the countryside and we had a long steep single track road to negotiate & it coped with the snow & mud no problem .
GREAT VIDEO! THANK YOU FOR CONSISTENTLY PUTTING OUT TOP QUALITY CONTENT. VERY INTERESTED! KEEP IT UP! ❤️👍 What is life without money? I think that's irrelevant. When you live, always try to invest for future times like this to ensure profits and growth. So you are not dependent on the government. Investing in the financial market should now be on every savvy individual's bucket list.
@Jerv Carter Investing in the financial markets works for me even if I don't do it alone. I have an expert helping me and his strategies have helped me avoid losses and increase my income.
Hi Matt, I live in Canada, I can confirm the Vitara is very reliable, I have two buddies that have these, they both have over 500k on them, that of course is KM not miles, and still going strong, one guy does not even plug his in, so it starts regularly in minus 20, as I live in Saskatchewan, the middle and often colder province here. Love your vids, always a good go to vid for honest car facts. Thank you for sharing 😁
Great Ecology, capturing something before it gets dumped, giving it a new lease of life and turning a tidy profit, Excellent ! Also I was looking at 3 door (pretend) 4x4’s for the high seating position; I’m getting tired of contouring myself into my Ford Focus despite the great driving it does. (I’ll have to look thru your back catalogue to see if u’ve review a Rav 4, (2), ). Great video mate, thkz.
When I saw this video I clicked on it immediately! I owned for a few years one in the same color. It was a 4 door 2.0 petrol with a manual gearbox, but it had alloys and pretty wide tires. When I got it it was used and in pretty bad shape. After a full engine service, new clutch, new all terrain tires and some other small things it ran pretty well. They are really reliable these. Only trouble I ever had, and I took mine on dirt tracks through the mountains quite often, was a leaky coolant pipe and some A/C leaks. I was really happy with it and only sold it when I had a kid and wanted something that was safer. Great video, I am glad you gave a new life to that one!
Respect for Suzuki engineering. Own an Alto with the 1.0 K10 engine and its a peach. Chain driven cam and with regular servicing it's on a faultless 150000 km. The engineering is simple, which is the cornerstone of robustness.
I have a grand vitara XL 2.6 automaric. Its 22 years old and just passed its mot again with not one mention of rust on the body. Last year had no advisories but this year its stated that the fuel filter needs replacing as its rusted. It hasn't done 60,000 miles yet. Its an amazing car to drive and tow with. What I love about it is that you can get to parts in the engine and its not like modern cars where everything is crammed in. Only bad thing is it does drink a fair bit of fuel but I still love it.
I really like these the petrols are brilliant reliability wise there good off road and actually well made they don't feel like there going to disintegrate inside either after a few miles just the problem of rust
Just had my E38 DONE MOT , SEATBELT ANCHORAGE points ,2X ciggerette packet size plates on rear of sills cost me £250 then it passed ,you cant see the plates realy nice .Then i drove to jet wash dog sat in front i paid my pound and started to wash the dog loves it ,then he pressed central locking ,NO NO .the cars locked and the keys are in it 20 mile from home .
Took a 2005 2.5 V6 Auto in part exchange back in 2014 with 110k miles. Metallic grey, leather, working air con and a bit of walnut on the dash. Paid £1500 for it and thought it was a perfect temporary dog car until we found something better. It started on the button this morning and ferried both dogs to their walk and will do the same tomorrow morning. Now done 127k and other than oil changes, its only ever needed an aux belt. Love it.
A simple basic car that's not a moneypit. Their engines are used in experimental aircraft and their electrics are good but the finish is often not great but a bit of paint, cleaning, rust killer and welding and they go on for a long time. I love Suzuki motorbikes. Great mechanics.
Bought a 52 plate in 2018 for £500 Drove it round Europe in a charity banger rally ending in Barcelona. Bits fell off as we drove but had so much fun in the Vitara before scrapping it and flying home.
I have had 3 -LWB Grand Vitaras, one of which did near 100K miles in 4 years ( 2.0 V6 ) my last one was a 1.9L diesel 4WD manual and I never had any problems at all ! Rust was not a problem although I agree the Jimny seems a bit prone. Now using a 1.6L S-Cross with CVT , no problems and very economical. great value for money .
Hey Mat, really big fan of your work. I just bought a 21 plate vitara (mild hybrid) last week! Being a 25 year old chap I received a lot slack from the 'boys' for being a grandad. I was undecided between a 2020 VW T-cross and 2021 Suzuki Vitara. The Vitara had all the same spec as the T-Cross but was faster with a 4 cylinder engine (compared to the overstressed 3 cylinder 115ps VW engine) and guess what - it was nearly 2 grand cheaper! Im sure the VW fan boys will come after me but hopefully I havent made a mistake - I guess only time will tell!
The mild Hybrid technology will start saving you money right off the bat. You’ll definitely like the reduced fuel bills and the reassuring reliability of Japanese automobile technology. I’ve been driving only Japanese cars since 2000. 1988 Honda Accord DOHC-16V, 1998 Mazda MX-3 1.6i DOHC and presently 2008 Toyota Prius Tspirit, the latter which I’m refusing to part with - achieved 69.4 mpg last summer on a 45 litre tank of Super Unleaded (Esso) - getting a record 653 miles from the same tank of fuel - and all during the unprecedented UK heatwave.
I had a 18 plate non turbo 1.6 vitara it was ultra reliable never even had to top up oil or coolant only got shut of it as needed something larger as have 4 dogs 🐕 and shifting bigger items.
@@datathunderstorm Yes, its doing 50 mpg near enough with a very nippy engine. Just a shame suzukis are not as fashionable as a VW (brand appeal etc). However, I would argue that suzukis are better cars with more reliability and age better than VW's
@@allankummanadil6298 it’s all down to taste at the end of the day! As many people dislike VWs as they do like them. I’m also 24 and and would take the vitara any day of the week. Would argue a T-Cross is more of a grandad car so as I say, it’s all about personal taste 😂
Cracking cars just a shame about the rust issues , I had a 1993 413 Samurai cost a fortune in sheet metal to weld it up and she's still doing the rounds .
MOT Testers seem to vary widely in their interpretation of the rule. For example, I have a car which had several MOTs with 'surface rust' advisories. They suddenly disappeared when a different MOT centre did the tests - no painting or repairs had been done in the meantime......
That’s quite right. I use an independent place so they have no favouritism and sometimes they pick up on certain things which other places miss and vice Versa. I always thought it would better if they were Goverment ran like lots of counties
@@HighPeakAutos Not sure government run stations would perform better - they are government run in Northern Ireland and there's been a long running saga of delays with test bookings to the extent that the MOT was suspended at one point. The main cause was a problem with the the workshop lifts, which were failing, with potentially dangerous consequences......
@@HighPeakAutos Predictable, but accurate. Could have been worse, the Vitara could have had Daily Wail steering, directing you in the middle of the road with the resulting carnage being blamed on immigrants
Excellent! I love these type of videos. Especially as it shows what you did with it. I'd loved to have seen a follow up on the Nissan Navarra. That needed some proper attention and would have been great to see what you did with it.
Hi Matt. Nuclear submarines work because they are powered by onboard nuclear reactors. Atoms in the nuclear reactor split, which then releases energy as heat. This heat is used to create high-pressured steam. The steam turns propulsion turbines that provide the power to turn the propeller. So slightly different technology to the standard car radio.
Great find and another fabulous transformation. I had wondered about these as I am considering a 4x4 to cope with the extreme weather and extreme so called roads we have these days
These cars are sooo popular in Australia is a cheap alternative to a Landcruiser or just about any 4WD which is not far shy of $100k here. They fetch a tidy sum here second hand, even old and with plenty of miles, because people use them for trips to the beach and as an alternative little delivery van with the back seats ripped out.
See no matter what your eyes tell you Matt your mechanics and techs can give it a new lease of life. And all said and done it is a not bad wee car considering its age and mileage but as DVLA still has my license - no use to me. Plus I am thinking about converting to an EV Trike, so no need for expensive fuel but that could change with this Government think tank??
This is one of those cars that with the right next owner, it could keep going until 30 or 40 years old, just needs all those niggling problems sorting and a bit of extra rust proofing underneath
I always take our cars mine and partners to local council offices maintenance Yard , by law the have to MOT the publics vehicles , they are very fair , only time any of our cars has failed was on emissions, the MOT tester said I darent rev the hell out of it as I don't know when cambelt was done. As you have 2 weeks before repaying for the test he just advised me to put emission cleaner in the fuel tank and drive it harder than usual. 2 weeks later the car went straight through. I've even sent a workmate who Audi claimed it wanted nearly £700 spending on it to get it through an MOT . He took and by all accounts it went straight through.
Had one of these for about six months. Wife said it rocked when going round corners. Swapped it straight away. You know the difference between January and July in the uk. The rain is warmer in July. Come to think about it we had a jimney not a grand vitara. Manual. And it guzzler petrol. 👍👍
What a brilliant little reliable car. I own a new toyota hybrid and would love something like this as a second run around. I love japanese cars for their reliability and they dont use expensive dual clutch gearboxes. Great video!
You got a steal on that one. I had an XL-7...same looks just seating for 5 adults and 2 kids way, way in the back. Very neat setup and the rig had an extremely willing and ready v6. This is one of the very few cars I've owned that I really, really had a lot of fun with. The FWD was a kick in the pants too. If yours came with a V6, that thing would be pushing 6.5 secs to 60 mph.
Not driven the auto but the manual GV1600 is good on fuel but real sluggish & the GV2000 is more pokey but you sure see that fuel gauge go down quick! They drive ok thou, overall not bad & good value in the day! Wheels on them will always go like that with age. In the 90's on the old Vitaras i fitted the spare wheel & holding bracket plus the rear seats & seat belts.....PLUS remove the excessive coating of protection it had all over it 😆 The Supagard is a waste of money! I applied it to lots of vehicles in the day,the fabric spray is useful thou....but it STANK!
Always amazes me how people can sell the car on without even taking it to a car wash beforehand. Still, well done for having the vision to see that you could make some money on this one and hopefully the new owner will show it a bit more love than the previous one.
I borrowed a friend`s 2000 GV a few years back when my car was getting a clutch done. Collected the car and the following day on the motorway suddenly lost all power and coasted to the side of the hard shoulder. No warning lights, just suddenly lost all power without warning. Rang breakdown and it turns out they don't have fuel warning lights!
Anyone who buys that Vitara, and throws a couple of gallons of Waxoyl underneath it, would easily have a good car for 5 years or so.... I always saw these as being a cut above the Jimny. That said, Jimny's are bringing astronomical prices at the moment......even older ones.
I use to own the other model Suzuki Ignis 2004, great car and started great on frosty UK mornings. The only time it let me down it needed a new oil filter other than that great car. I would have bought it myself as I know how good Suzuki cars are.
Indicators on UK original and Japanese cars are on the right not left so you can indicate and do the gears at the same time. All eu and usa cars have the indocators on the left as the dont bother re designing the steering wheel just move it.
Webuymouldycars... I like, but don't love, my 21 Suzuki Vitara, which will be going now that my Defender has arrived, but here in rural south west Devon they are the AWD of choice, for very good reason. Oh, and I found the perfect vehicle for you. Single seater with not one but two cupholders, or one cupholder and one family bucket sized holder, a ride on lawnmower...
Had my 2005 diesel for 6 years passed mot every time got 130000 on the clock only paid 2 grand for it got to check the 4 wheel drive works on them and rust don't buy one from the coast
Wonder way you don't do car vehicle history check before you buy it ? , anyway I had vitara for many years this is very reliable work horse ,have very tuff time with me and managed very well.
I would have applied that Colin appleyard sticker on the spare wheel cover when this was new, I used to work for a sign company and we did all the cars for them when they used to be on the corner near IKEA Ashton.
The difference between an MOT in different countries is interesting. Here in Sweden you can get a pass, a 1 which means that something needs your attention but it's not immediate but it has to be fixed before the next inspection. Then there's a 2, where you need to come back within thirty days and the issues must be fixed. Rarely, but it happens, you can get a 3 which basically means that you get to walk from the station since the car can't of shouldn't be driven in traffic. This Suzuki passed in the UK but here every single item listed would have been a 2, some of them could even be a 3. Pretty fascinating really.
God look at that MOT history …. Main dealers are so fussy. You’d expect a bit of surface rust here and there - unbelievable. They should stick to new cars if they’re that easily offended. Great little car, good job it ended up in your hands otherwise it could’ve gone downhill very quickly - instead it’s now got a new lease of life! And a happy new owner by the looks of it, too. Great video!
@@jamesthomson3511 I wonder how many perfectly good cars have been condemned to scrap because one of these fussy main dealers have failed their MOTs on stupid stuff like this.
Another amazing transformation! Wondered what you were thinking dropping £2k in that, and then remembered why I wouldn’t touch a main dealer for a service/MOT after seeing those advisory lists.
Was chatting to an acquaintance at the onsen, as you do, and he told me he'd just bought a Honda CRV. There's this dealer up the road who specialises in 4WD off-roaders. OK, so the CRV is hardly an off-roaders. The deal is you specify what you want and the dealer will bid for you at auction. Has to be a hefty deposit in case the mug punter gets buyer's remorse. In sunny Japan you can bid remotely on line at auctions all over the country. Naturally you try to avoid the Japan Sea side of the country when they use salt in winter. Car is delivered to the dealer. Slight drawback is that on low-priced vehicles you have to swallow hefty auction charges. But on the plus side they do a vehicle check on condition and ownership, etc. There are people you can call up (often delivery driver) for a more individual condition check. Seems more of a trade deal that allows the dealer to hedge his bets for a faster turnover. When the car is delivered it's up to the new owner to do/have done what he want; service, new tyres, etc. The big difference between Japan and UK is the distance the car has been driven. Here we are often looking at some 5-7,000 km per year. So obviously far fewer maintenance problems. Jack, the Japan Alps Brit
Hi mat,
It was myself that came down to buy this car for my daughter who lives in Tiree..
What a fantastic little 4x4 this is.
Drove all the way to Scotland without missing a beat. I wanted to keep it for myself lol
It was good to see what you done to it in the video
Oh wow, she's got a real cracker there by the looks of it. I want an update in another 19 years.
Ah ok. Thanks for your purchase. They’re good little cars. We have just had another one in this week, older but lower miles. They’re a rare find
great feedback,quite rare in automotive industry
Cars are like human bodies. Get a decent one & look after it, & it'll last a lifetime.
@@markatchison9974 I'm reading that in the style of swiss toni
Always had a soft spot for Suzuki and Daihatsu, they feel like plucky underdogs of the Japanese automotive industry
don't get too excited about Daihatsu, just Toyota stuff rebadged for cheaper markets.
@@adimw the opposite is true nowadays
Suzuki and daihatsu are both owned by Toyota now. Yes I now Toyota doesn’t own everything of Suzuki but just saying
The Fourtrack was legendary in the 90s
Got a Suzuki Baleno 1.6 Auto 1997 hatchback myself, 26 years old and still going strong! 🙂🙂
I never fail to be surprised by how relatively simple cosmetic tweaks can make such a huge improvement/difference to a car! Another perfectly useable old car ‘saved’ great job Matt 👍🏻
I totally agree!
What a great little car. Great value too - it's lost £6k in 19 years, not many can touch that.
That’s right. Only beaten by the Jimny or the defender I guess
Matt, you and your profession keeps these vehicles out of the junk yards AND affords people with an important service. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve binged about 50 of your videos this week after finding you, absolutely class
Oh thank you. Don’t watch too many, you’ll get bored 😂
I have a 2015 Vitara Allgrip DDIS SZ5 and love it. Yes, its got some hard plastics inside, but its got great carrying capacity, comfortable, quiet and economical. Its just all round honest car.
I have an 2016 SZ4 1.6 petrol. I really love the car. Is a little underpowered at times though 😭
I had the same brilliant car until someone hit it and wrote it off . irreplaceable
I’d love to see a video where you give an update on what happened to some of these cars after, whether you got the price you wanted and if there was more to the story once they’d been sold
Yeah definitely, as Mr Chops from Chops garage always says - profit ain’t in the bank until the comeback period is over!
I have the exact same vitara but with the added spoiler and alloy wheels. Corners are the vitaras kryptonite! At least they fitted 4wheel drive so you can exit the field you just crashed into. In return the vitara will reward you with years of utter reliability.
They’re unbeatable
@@HighPeakAutos John Cleese would have a good go.
There must be something with yours then as my turns and corners excellent! Mine is an 03 1600v model
Is it easy to fit people in the back?
@@eniyeezy8417with a bit of squeezing for the 2 door models. Longer 4 door models will give you easier time if you need to fit more people
My dad bought a face-lift mk1 4u2 Vitara from the side of the road for £750 back in 2012 as a stop gap when his car was written off. It was only meant to be around for 6 months but he ended up keeping it for 4 years. When he put it up for sale I was gutted so bought it myself 😂 my girlfriend drove it more than I did but a house purchase forced me to sale it and to this day I wish I never got rid. Can't seem to find them for sale anymore which is a shame
I'm not surprised you sold that car quite easily. Suzuki's are very reliable and that would be an economical little car to run even with UK fuel prices. I'm almost at the stage now where I would only ever consider buying a Japanese car. I can honestly say 50 years ago I would not even have dreamed that this would be the case. I remember visiting a Honda car dealer around about 1977 in Preston Lancashire and thinking to myself, " Why would anyone buy a f----- Honda?" How times have changed.
Kia is another manufacturer that seems to have their act together now with an excellent warranty and fixed servicing costs. I don't want unexpected repair bills, breakdowns or ridiculous servicing costs. Good video and a great result. A happy customer and some profit.
Awwww it looks brilliant. I love the fact it has had one owner and is 19 years old that's true testament to Suzuki. I have bought brand new Fiats and Fords in the past been well cared for serviced etc and yet they didn't make it past 85'000 or 8 years.
That’s interesting
That's a great car for someone. Good point about the undersealing. My own Pug will be 26 years old this year and I've undersealed it myself every 5th year, with a bit of extra touchup whenever I notice any flaking off in the interim. Hammerite with added Waxoyl isn't expensive and the new owner of this motor would find it much easier to squeeze underneath than I do with my 40mm lowered coilover and axle setup, should they not wish to pay you to do it before purchase.
Edit : I see a gent has already bought it for his daughter, but I hope he'll do the job for her. It's well worth the effort.
That’s the best thing to do. I do the same with mine
Would you recommend undersealing for newer cars? I am just wondering if it worth it for the newer cars (I have a 2021 plate)
@@allankummanadil6298 I did notice, even when my own car was new, that the factory applied underseal was a little thin in a couple of places, where even some of the body colour could be seen. If that's true of your own car, I suggest it's definitely worth attending to it, sooner rather than later, and thereafter just check it occasionally and give it a fresh coating every five years. Be careful not to paint over any drain holes though.
Looked like a long term one owner car . kept up to it mechanically but there's a time where they fell out of love and were ready for a change . That bit of TLC to bring what is a good car back to retail looks well worth it . Nice quip on the telegraph to guardian !
I agree
Another excellent 'restoration ' on what was a vehicle in pretty decent condition despite its sge & possible rust problems..loved how it now looks after those lads at the valeting place have done their work..they do a bloody great job 👏 love these reviews 💯👌
Also repaint the base of the wiper arms since I can see all the paint has flaked off. This car has been cared for by it's previous owner, looked good when you got first saw it with a few minor things. If I saw that original MOT, I wouldn't bother but the car when you walked around it was just much better than the MOT history would allude to, not surprised it flew through it's recent MOT, must have been a very picky garage looking for work previously.
I agree. Or perhaps they wanted to steer them into a brand new model. That kind of thing happens all the time
As a car journalist I'm not very used to deal with used cars myself, but a friend asked for help for buying a new used car for her. Thanks for a lot of tips that helped me to at least try to help her. She's now a pride new owner of a 2019 Suzuki Jimny brazilian made with less than 20k miles, full history and good as new. Thanks mate!
Where do you find new used cars? 🤣
@@bazahaza LOL you understood me
My mum had one of these a long time ago , it was brilliant as we lived in the countryside and we had a long steep single track road to negotiate & it coped with the snow & mud no problem .
GREAT VIDEO! THANK YOU FOR CONSISTENTLY PUTTING OUT TOP QUALITY CONTENT. VERY INTERESTED! KEEP IT UP! ❤️👍
What is life without money? I think that's irrelevant. When you live, always try to invest for future times like this to ensure profits and growth. So you are not dependent on the government. Investing in the financial market should now be on every savvy individual's bucket list.
Investing is the key to maintaining your financial longevity. And not just an investment, but an investment with guaranteed returns.
@Jerv Carter Investing in the financial markets works for me even if I don't do it alone. I have an expert helping me and his strategies have helped me avoid losses and increase my income.
Hello@@jeanekarussell2195, that sounds interesting. What is the best way to reach your expert?
He is active on TELEGRAM 👇
CONSULTTIMTAYLOR ✅
Hi Matt, I live in Canada, I can confirm the Vitara is very reliable, I have two buddies that have these, they both have over 500k on them, that of course is KM not miles, and still going strong, one guy does not even plug his in, so it starts regularly in minus 20, as I live in Saskatchewan, the middle and often colder province here. Love your vids, always a good go to vid for honest car facts. Thank you for sharing 😁
Its doesn't cease to amaze me how Matt always says you have to do history check before buying a used car but he does it after buying the car.
I thought that, waste of time paying for the service if you do it that way round
You might assume that, but that may not be the case. He does it in the video as a soft advertisement my friend.
I bet he does it before buying it. Well you would wouldn't you.
Great Ecology, capturing something before it gets dumped, giving it a new lease of life and turning a tidy profit, Excellent ! Also I was looking at 3 door (pretend) 4x4’s for the high seating position; I’m getting tired of contouring myself into my Ford Focus despite the great driving it does. (I’ll have to look thru your back catalogue to see if u’ve review a Rav 4, (2), ). Great video mate, thkz.
When I saw this video I clicked on it immediately! I owned for a few years one in the same color. It was a 4 door 2.0 petrol with a manual gearbox, but it had alloys and pretty wide tires. When I got it it was used and in pretty bad shape. After a full engine service, new clutch, new all terrain tires and some other small things it ran pretty well. They are really reliable these. Only trouble I ever had, and I took mine on dirt tracks through the mountains quite often, was a leaky coolant pipe and some A/C leaks. I was really happy with it and only sold it when I had a kid and wanted something that was safer. Great video, I am glad you gave a new life to that one!
Just refreshed RUclips and this popped up. Love these videos.
Glad you like them!
Respect for Suzuki engineering. Own an Alto with the 1.0 K10 engine and its a peach. Chain driven cam and with regular servicing it's on a faultless 150000 km. The engineering is simple, which is the cornerstone of robustness.
Vitaras are a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Well built, very capable.
Love your work 👍
Very satisfying to see that car saved for a good few years.
I fully agree: only replace (the radio in this case) if you can’t repair. 👌
Good little cars. With some decent tyres they are very good off road. Small and light, perfect. Nice one.
I've had 3 SWB Land Cruiser's over the last 15yrs love em
All those little one-owner touches on that car are a joy. Unexpected result on the MOT aswell, great!
Yes indeed!
I have a grand vitara XL 2.6 automaric. Its 22 years old and just passed its mot again with not one mention of rust on the body. Last year had no advisories but this year its stated that the fuel filter needs replacing as its rusted.
It hasn't done 60,000 miles yet. Its an amazing car to drive and tow with.
What I love about it is that you can get to parts in the engine and its not like modern cars where everything is crammed in. Only bad thing is it does drink a fair bit of fuel but I still love it.
Out last any car on the road reliable and strong 💪
No way! Just bought one for my first car and I love it. Such a good car
That’s a great first car. When I was a kid I always wanted one of the early 90’s modes. Think they were called a Fat Boy or something
I have a lot of love for Suzuki. Totally reliable and the parts are cheap. That is the scary truth...
The *BEST* cup holder review _EVER_
Thanks!
Suzuki make some decent long lasting cars. Japanese . Always a good choice tbh.
Got a 04 vitara myself, love it :P 2.0 td
I really like these the petrols are brilliant reliability wise there good off road and actually well made they don't feel like there going to disintegrate inside either after a few miles just the problem of rust
My brother’s wedding…one of his friends rented one of these and we took it to our land and did donuts in the mud…good memories.
Just had my E38 DONE MOT , SEATBELT ANCHORAGE points ,2X ciggerette packet size plates on rear of sills cost me £250 then it passed ,you cant see the plates realy nice .Then i drove to jet wash dog sat in front i paid my pound and started to wash the dog loves it ,then he pressed central locking ,NO NO .the cars locked and the keys are in it 20 mile from home .
Oh dear. What have you done?
@@HighPeakAutos 20 miles home spair key then i got back he had pressed it again and it was open and hazzards going.
I parked it outside the midland hotel the other morning 6am people just snapped away.
Took a 2005 2.5 V6 Auto in part exchange back in 2014 with 110k miles. Metallic grey, leather, working air con and a bit of walnut on the dash.
Paid £1500 for it and thought it was a perfect temporary dog car until we found something better.
It started on the button this morning and ferried both dogs to their walk and will do the same tomorrow morning. Now done 127k and other than oil changes, its only ever needed an aux belt. Love it.
Lovely little car. It's amazing how you get them looking so good.
A simple basic car that's not a moneypit. Their engines are used in experimental aircraft and their electrics are good but the finish is often not great but a bit of paint, cleaning, rust killer and welding and they go on for a long time. I love Suzuki motorbikes. Great mechanics.
Bought a 52 plate in 2018 for £500
Drove it round Europe in a charity banger rally ending in Barcelona. Bits fell off as we drove but had so much fun in the Vitara before scrapping it and flying home.
I have had 3 -LWB Grand Vitaras, one of which did near 100K miles in 4 years ( 2.0 V6 ) my last one was a 1.9L diesel 4WD manual and I never had any problems at all ! Rust was not a problem although I agree the Jimny seems a bit prone. Now using a 1.6L S-Cross with CVT , no problems and very economical. great value for money .
Hey Mat, really big fan of your work. I just bought a 21 plate vitara (mild hybrid) last week! Being a 25 year old chap I received a lot slack from the 'boys' for being a grandad. I was undecided between a 2020 VW T-cross and 2021 Suzuki Vitara. The Vitara had all the same spec as the T-Cross but was faster with a 4 cylinder engine (compared to the overstressed 3 cylinder 115ps VW engine) and guess what - it was nearly 2 grand cheaper! Im sure the VW fan boys will come after me but hopefully I havent made a mistake - I guess only time will tell!
The VW T Cross is boring.
The mild Hybrid technology will start saving you money right off the bat. You’ll definitely like the reduced fuel bills and the reassuring reliability of Japanese automobile technology. I’ve been driving only Japanese cars since 2000. 1988 Honda Accord DOHC-16V, 1998 Mazda MX-3 1.6i DOHC and presently 2008 Toyota Prius Tspirit, the latter which I’m refusing to part with - achieved 69.4 mpg last summer on a 45 litre tank of Super Unleaded (Esso) - getting a record 653 miles from the same tank of fuel - and all during the unprecedented UK heatwave.
I had a 18 plate non turbo 1.6 vitara it was ultra reliable never even had to top up oil or coolant only got shut of it as needed something larger as have 4 dogs 🐕 and shifting bigger items.
@@datathunderstorm Yes, its doing 50 mpg near enough with a very nippy engine. Just a shame suzukis are not as fashionable as a VW (brand appeal etc). However, I would argue that suzukis are better cars with more reliability and age better than VW's
@@allankummanadil6298 it’s all down to taste at the end of the day! As many people dislike VWs as they do like them. I’m also 24 and and would take the vitara any day of the week. Would argue a T-Cross is more of a grandad car so as I say, it’s all about personal taste 😂
Cracking cars just a shame about the rust issues , I had a 1993 413 Samurai cost a fortune in sheet metal to weld it up and she's still doing the rounds .
MOT Testers seem to vary widely in their interpretation of the rule. For example, I have a car which had several MOTs with 'surface rust' advisories. They suddenly disappeared when a different MOT centre did the tests - no painting or repairs had been done in the meantime......
That’s quite right. I use an independent place so they have no favouritism and sometimes they pick up on certain things which other places miss and vice Versa. I always thought it would better if they were Goverment ran like lots of counties
@@HighPeakAutos Not sure government run stations would perform better - they are government run in Northern Ireland and there's been a long running saga of delays with test bookings to the extent that the MOT was suspended at one point. The main cause was a problem with the the workshop lifts, which were failing, with potentially dangerous consequences......
Nice result, that. Looks smart for a 19 y.o. Vitara (genuine chortle at the "Telegraph / Guardian" steering alignment)
I’m glad my predictable jokes work 😂
@@HighPeakAutos Predictable, but accurate. Could have been worse, the Vitara could have had Daily Wail steering, directing you in the middle of the road with the resulting carnage being blamed on immigrants
Silver is a great colour. Hides all sorts of marks and scratches. Much better than a boring white.
Excellent! I love these type of videos. Especially as it shows what you did with it. I'd loved to have seen a follow up on the Nissan Navarra. That needed some proper attention and would have been great to see what you did with it.
I should’ve done really. That one is currently in Ukraine helping the war effort
@@HighPeakAutos That’s brilliant, nice to see so many of your cars making their way there with supplies 👍
@@Halfpint71 it’s a small thing but it makes me feel like im doing something to help
Hi Matt.
Nuclear submarines work because they are powered by onboard nuclear reactors. Atoms in the nuclear reactor split, which then releases energy as heat. This heat is used to create high-pressured steam. The steam turns propulsion turbines that provide the power to turn the propeller. So slightly different technology to the standard car radio.
Great find and another fabulous transformation. I had wondered about these as I am considering a 4x4 to cope with the extreme weather and extreme so called roads we have these days
These cars are sooo popular in Australia is a cheap alternative to a Landcruiser or just about any 4WD which is not far shy of $100k here. They fetch a tidy sum here second hand, even old and with plenty of miles, because people use them for trips to the beach and as an alternative little delivery van with the back seats ripped out.
See no matter what your eyes tell you Matt your mechanics and techs can give it a new lease of life. And all said and done it is a not bad wee car considering its age and mileage but as DVLA still has my license - no use to me. Plus I am thinking about converting to an EV Trike, so no need for expensive fuel but that could change with this Government think tank??
Thanks to High Peak I now have an obsession with all tyres matching! 😂🤦
This is one of those cars that with the right next owner, it could keep going until 30 or 40 years old, just needs all those niggling problems sorting and a bit of extra rust proofing underneath
I agree. If it were mine to keep it would last
People talk about German build quality, but for an 18 year old car , that is terrific. A useful proper 4x4 , I like it.
German build quality?...That Phaeton from last week sums up the reality of the German build quality myth.
All I keep seeing is hammonds barbie one from top gear. Those were the days!
😂 yes! They were the days
got a 2006 xl7 love it but replacing the corroded valves on top of the fuel tank is proving to be a real challenge here in the US
My father in law has a diesel one that I borrow for towing my boat. Its an amazing work horse. Not what you might call a babe magnet, but very capable
I always take our cars mine and partners to local council offices maintenance Yard , by law the have to MOT the publics vehicles , they are very fair , only time any of our cars has failed was on emissions, the MOT tester said I darent rev the hell out of it as I don't know when cambelt was done. As you have 2 weeks before repaying for the test he just advised me to put emission cleaner in the fuel tank and drive it harder than usual. 2 weeks later the car went straight through. I've even sent a workmate who Audi claimed it wanted nearly £700 spending on it to get it through an MOT . He took and by all accounts it went straight through.
Lovely Jubbly, you've got a cracking Suzuki even after all your pesamism upon seeing it at the beginning.
Had one of these for about six months. Wife said it rocked when going round corners. Swapped it straight away. You know the difference between January and July in the uk. The rain is warmer in July. Come to think about it we had a jimney not a grand vitara. Manual. And it guzzler petrol. 👍👍
I do have a soft spot for the vitaras hopefully soon i shall be looking for a 2019/2020 one
It looks brilliant Matt what a transformation 👍
Thanks 👍
Here in the US, the Vitaras/Trackers with the manuals are the more expensive ones! We also didnt get the two door tin top, quite an interesting look!
Nice one Cyril (Matt) good cars these Suzuki
Good you made a grand on this car .
Proud of ya they make a good run around car
Kevin
Had 2 Suzukis in the last 6 years,great little cars and extremely reliable.
I agree. The Swift is a great car
@@HighPeakAutos especially the sport model
brilliant to see such a turn around on an 18 year old vehicle great video
What a brilliant little reliable car. I own a new toyota hybrid and would love something like this as a second run around. I love japanese cars for their reliability and they dont use expensive dual clutch gearboxes. Great video!
You got a steal on that one. I had an XL-7...same looks just seating for 5 adults and 2 kids way, way in the back. Very neat setup and the rig had an extremely willing and ready v6. This is one of the very few cars I've owned that I really, really had a lot of fun with. The FWD was a kick in the pants too. If yours came with a V6, that thing would be pushing 6.5 secs to 60 mph.
Not driven the auto but the manual GV1600 is good on fuel but real sluggish & the GV2000 is more pokey but you sure see that fuel gauge go down quick! They drive ok thou, overall not bad & good value in the day! Wheels on them will always go like that with age. In the 90's on the old Vitaras i fitted the spare wheel & holding bracket plus the rear seats & seat belts.....PLUS remove the excessive coating of protection it had all over it 😆 The Supagard is a waste of money! I applied it to lots of vehicles in the day,the fabric spray is useful thou....but it STANK!
Brilliant video. We own a 2012 Suzuki Swift done over 100k, still going strong.
These older cars have so much character
Always amazes me how people can sell the car on without even taking it to a car wash beforehand. Still, well done for having the vision to see that you could make some money on this one and hopefully the new owner will show it a bit more love than the previous one.
A new David Attenborough arises in Manchester, " it's covered in moss and green stuff" sheer poetry, made me chuckle, cheers Matt
I borrowed a friend`s 2000 GV a few years back when my car was getting a clutch done. Collected the car and the following day on the motorway suddenly lost all power and coasted to the side of the hard shoulder. No warning lights, just suddenly lost all power without warning. Rang breakdown and it turns out they don't have fuel warning lights!
Fallen in love with your no nonsense raw take on these everyday cars, love the takes
What a great little car so genuine & straight, thanks for sharing
Anyone who buys that Vitara, and throws a couple of gallons of Waxoyl underneath it, would easily have a good car for 5 years or so.... I always saw these as being a cut above the Jimny. That said, Jimny's are bringing astronomical prices at the moment......even older ones.
I use to own the other model Suzuki Ignis 2004, great car and started great on frosty UK mornings. The only time it let me down it needed a new oil filter other than that great car. I would have bought it myself as I know how good Suzuki cars are.
My grandfather had one of these. Manual though. Lovely thing to drive.
Cheshire polo club sticker adds another 500👍
Yes it does!
Looks a nice car . Nice wheels and tyres can make a huge difference to looks
Indicators on UK original and Japanese cars are on the right not left so you can indicate and do the gears at the same time. All eu and usa cars have the indocators on the left as the dont bother re designing the steering wheel just move it.
Great video again. Very nice condition. But 20% of £2,000 is £400.
The 20% VAT component of £2000 is £333.
The calculation is 2000-((2000/120)*100) = £333.33
Wibblemint is correct. It's the gross margin divided by 6, which I agree doesn't really make sense if it's described as 20% of margin
Webuymouldycars... I like, but don't love, my 21 Suzuki Vitara, which will be going now that my Defender has arrived, but here in rural south west Devon they are the AWD of choice, for very good reason. Oh, and I found the perfect vehicle for you. Single seater with not one but two cupholders, or one cupholder and one family bucket sized holder, a ride on lawnmower...
They put steel wheels on 4x4's because of the stress you can put them through off road. Where as Alloys off road is never a good combination
Had my 2005 diesel for 6 years passed mot every time got 130000 on the clock only paid 2 grand for it got to check the 4 wheel drive works on them and rust don't buy one from the coast
Wonder way you don't do car vehicle history check before you buy it ? , anyway I had vitara for many years this is very reliable work horse ,have very tuff time with me and managed very well.
I would have applied that Colin appleyard sticker on the spare wheel cover when this was new, I used to work for a sign company and we did all the cars for them when they used to be on the corner near IKEA Ashton.
The difference between an MOT in different countries is interesting. Here in Sweden you can get a pass, a 1 which means that something needs your attention but it's not immediate but it has to be fixed before the next inspection. Then there's a 2, where you need to come back within thirty days and the issues must be fixed. Rarely, but it happens, you can get a 3 which basically means that you get to walk from the station since the car can't of shouldn't be driven in traffic. This Suzuki passed in the UK but here every single item listed would have been a 2, some of them could even be a 3. Pretty fascinating really.
One Owner and all those receipts for maintenance? You got a great deal!
God look at that MOT history …. Main dealers are so fussy. You’d expect a bit of surface rust here and there - unbelievable. They should stick to new cars if they’re that easily offended. Great little car, good job it ended up in your hands otherwise it could’ve gone downhill very quickly - instead it’s now got a new lease of life! And a happy new owner by the looks of it, too.
Great video!
Couldn’t have said it better myself - typical main dealer!
@@jamesthomson3511 I wonder how many perfectly good cars have been condemned to scrap because one of these fussy main dealers have failed their MOTs on stupid stuff like this.
Another amazing transformation! Wondered what you were thinking dropping £2k in that, and then remembered why I wouldn’t touch a main dealer for a service/MOT after seeing those advisory lists.
Hearing aid beige. Mine are black. Priceless.
Was chatting to an acquaintance at the onsen, as you do, and he told me he'd just bought a Honda CRV. There's this dealer up the road who specialises in 4WD off-roaders. OK, so the CRV is hardly an off-roaders. The deal is you specify what you want and the dealer will bid for you at auction. Has to be a hefty deposit in case the mug punter gets buyer's remorse. In sunny Japan you can bid remotely on line at auctions all over the country. Naturally you try to avoid the Japan Sea side of the country when they use salt in winter. Car is delivered to the dealer. Slight drawback is that on low-priced vehicles you have to swallow hefty auction charges. But on the plus side they do a vehicle check on condition and ownership, etc. There are people you can call up (often delivery driver) for a more individual condition check. Seems more of a trade deal that allows the dealer to hedge his bets for a faster turnover. When the car is delivered it's up to the new owner to do/have done what he want; service, new tyres, etc.
The big difference between Japan and UK is the distance the car has been driven. Here we are often looking at some 5-7,000 km per year. So obviously far fewer maintenance problems.
Jack, the Japan Alps Brit
Reminds me of the top gear police car challenge, even though that was an earlier one.
I really enjoy your content Matt, particularly the mickey-taking of uk stereotypical car owners which is always spot on 😂
Thanks!
“From Telegraph to Guardian” proper made me chuckle! 😂