buying used vitara

[Furlanic]

Hello, My name is Tadej and Iam from Slovenia. I'm looking at buying a used vitara from the 90's. Since I know nothing about suzuki's and have no experience in buying used cars, I would reallllllly appreciate all of yours experience and guidance. What should I look and inspect before selecting a car, what are the known issues with these cars and so on. thanks very much

[Anton]

I'm not an expert on Vitaras, but from what my Vitara owning friends have told me:

The front differential can be a problem. They can break if you drive like an idiot offroad. Check the front differential for signs of stress (oil stains, cracks etc).

They rust a lot too, like other older Suzuki's. I can't tell you where the hotspots for Vitaras are (only for SJ's) but I'm sure someone will be along soon who can tell you more.

[RickUK]

I have a 1998 LWB Vitara which is the V6 version,mechanically they are superb and have had mine 2 years and nothing major has gone with the engine/gearbox or anything transmission wise,had to have a small bit of welding done last year on the sills as they can get rusty behind the plastic sill moulding albeit it was not a major big job nor expensive,also just had to have 2 small plates welded this year behind the front bumper once again not a big job but required to get what we call a MOT which is a test that has to be done every year to make sure the cars are fit for the road,well in the UK that is.

I have another years MOT on it and cannot fault them,when mine finally does go to the great Suzuki grave yard in the sky then i will certainly get another Vitara,but the next one will just be a few years old or even possibly a new one.Have just come into substantial amount of money so a new one could be on the cards,but the one thing that hold me back with that option is the massive amount of money we hand over to the Government just to say we have a brand new one sitting on the drive,would much prefer to get a 6 months old one that someone else has taken the financiAL HIT.

Do i rate Vitara's my reply is a resounding 'YES' as they are very reliable,no car or 4x4 is perfect but mine does me fine.

[Anton]

no car or 4x4 is perfect but mine does me fine.

My 4x4 is perfect, when I ignore all the faults...

[donkeychomp]

I take it you are after the original 1.6 Vit. No major issues. They rust at the rear seat plate anchor points. Front diffs are fragile if ally but don't drive like a maniac off road and you should have no issues. Engines pretty much bullet proof. Exhaust manifolds can crack so have a look. Check the dipstick for fresh oil and under the oil cap for mayo. Service history is nice but highly unlikely so check for bills for any work taken...has the cambelt been done? etc. If it's been modded check it's been done right, then if all seems ok go and play in the mud!

[Furlanic]

Thanks for all the reply. Recently, after a bit of searching and thinking, I leaning towards the 5 door diesel vitara. I've been searching for as much info I could gather, but its hard to find much, since the diesels are not as common. There is a 1997 model with the 1.9 td engine on sale in my country. Looks quite good and would like to get it before someone else snatches it. Searching the ads, The 1.9 (from research it should be the xud9 engine) is less common than the 2.0 (mazda rf engine if I'm correct). I couldn't find any comparison between the two on various forums. Can anybody here offer some wisdom? I've read good thinks about the xud9 engine, but it seems the mazda has more power and lower consumption. Which one is the better choice?