Jimny and the cheap stuff..

Hmm, Ive posted my rant in the drop links thread before i had seen this one!

Totally agree about quality rather than quantity being the best way

Well... I have TrailMaster lift, AVM reinforced hubs, and few other "expensive" bits (and a winch coming my way) but I also have DIY parts for three reasons:

1. I have the "know how" and equipmemt
2. I enjoy fabricating stuff
3. I truly believe that when it comes to my car and my safety no one will put as much effort into making something (or just general service) than I will. And so I do it and it's CHEAP and I love it.

My rear plywood deck is diy and as cheap and nasty as possible because of the abuse it gets as is my stereo install, however neither are a safety critical system nor do they affect the dynamics of the car. (Well the stereo might if it's playing something loud and aggressive )

But I stand by my original post, that for a retailer to only offer high end products in a budget conscious market sector is not an easy way to make money.

You were trying not to provoke anyone with your post Tom and I will try not to offend anyone with my response.

I think you actually somewhat touch on the reason for people focusing on price when they modify their Jimny. When you don’t really know what you want to accomplish (aside from lift), people generally will focus on price. I think that it may simply be a part of a learning curve. As an example, I have seen many here in the Philippines put really cheap Chinese suspension components on their Jimny. Most here don’t have a lot of money to spend and they often think first of cost. However, it also doesn’t take them long to switch over to one of the brands you mention. The best anyone on this forum can do is keep giving experienced advise.

As far as the retailer perspective, I agree completely with 11/60. Retailers are always going to push volume and see the Jimny as an economy 4X4. It is much easier to find high-end accessories for things like Toyota, Jeep and Land Rover but even with that, retailers will still promote price points.

Like most on this forum, I don’t want to speak badly about the modifications a person wants to do to their vehicle. It’s up to them. The last thing I hope to see is people posting what they want to do their Jimny and taking a beating for it. I’ve see that on too many forums. I just also hope that people do enough evaluation of their mods so that they don’t end up severely regretting what they have done.

Thank you for your comments guys. Great to see I'm not alone on this

I can see the point with this whole budget thing regarding the Jimny.
The UK is probably the only country to my knowledge where the Jimny is considered a budget vehicle. In Denmark, Germany and other parts of europe It's much more expensive. Especially here in DK it's priced about the same as a nissan Patrol, if not even a bit more expensive. Sounds a bit stupid really, but that's how it is, though helped a bit with danish taxation laws.

A first I also just wanted a cheap Jimny built for offroading. But the more I experience I got, the more I found out that this is actually a very capable offroad vehicle. So they way I see it, it's just another way of doing it, compared to a Cruiser or Patrol running 37-40" tyres.
So Busta has a point. If you want a proper offroading Jimny, spend the money on decent tyres, a locker and rocklobster box instead of some massive lift.

I guess it all comes down to what you want with you Jimny. But since driving is what it's meant for I generally want it to drive as good as possible, for my intended purpose. No matter how it looks. Up until recently I've always felt that anything bigger than 31" tyres were just excessive weight. I still do on most occasions. But learned a bit from a trip to rocky Croatia

Just aiming for massive tyres and as tall as possible on lowest possible budget is just silly if you ask me. And may even add to make the Jimny unsafe on the road.

On the retailer perspective. Makes good sense. Even if some retailer has a batch of, let's say Fox shocks tailormade to Jimny spec, it'd still take a long time to sell them I guess. Making them very expensive.

I really struggled with justifying big expenditures on my Jimny initially, because they were so expensive compared to the price of the truck itself. But I'm so glad that I decided to get higher quality parts in the end, mostly for the peace of mind and also because I think it would feel wrong to do otherwise to my pride and joy. I'm definitely one of the people mentioned above, who bought a Jimny because they couldn't afford a Defender, but I'm so glad I did. Honestly if I won the lottery now I'm certain I'd just buy a newer Jimny!