How Tough? A Tale of Abuse...

To my shame I am a completely incompetent car owner. I am rubbish at maintenance, have a memory like... something with a bad memory, and have even been known to totally forget a year's service.

I bought a 51 reg Jimny new, however many years ago that was...

It's done about 150k now. It's been over mountains and tracks on holidays in Ireland, it's got me out of snowy situations at home by cutting through fields when the roads were jammed with abandoned cars and the ploughs couldn't get through. On a daily basis it rumbles over some of the worst maintained rural roads in Hertfordshire.

A couple of years ago I had trouble with it overheating. In fact, I drove back from Cornwall to Hitchin in Herts with the temperature needle jammed against the ceiling and the radiator boiling. I had to stop every 10 minutes to put more water in. A cowboy mechanic mate did a temporary repair and I carried on driving it for another 6 months with frequent overheating.

When I eventually took it to my proper mechanic he shrugged and looked at me in disgust. "That'll be your head gasket knackered at least," he said. "And you've probably stuffed the engine generally." I left it with him and expected the worst. A day later I had a call from him with an unbelievably low bill. He was incredulous and told me that all he'd found that needed doing was a new radiator. He accused me of exaggerating the Cornwall story until my wife confirmed the truth of my stupidity.

A few months later I went back to him and asked him why the engine was making a noise. Again he phoned me the next day and asked me how long I'd heard the noise. I told him it was a couple of weeks. "Well," he sighed. "There was just about no oil in it." He went on to mention that I might have noticed the oil light if I didn't have sunglasses, pens etc stacked in front of the instruments.

I confessed that I'd had it serviced by the cut-price cowboy. The real mechanic shrugged and told me that the cowboy hadn't tightened a drain plug... or something like that.

I learned my lesson. I now take the Jimny to the proper mechanic regularly and at the first sign of any problems. I love the car and am thoroughly ashamed of my negligence. But even more than that I am amazed that, despite what I put it through, that 10 year old Jimny is still going strong. What's more, it has NEVER failed to start first time.

If I can ever afford another new car - even if I win the lottery - I'll just get another Jimny. Amazing things.

Nice I think that if I were to go round the world in any truck or car I think it will have to be the jimny
For the shear reliability and robustness

Welcome along, glad to see someone else from Hertfordshire!

Ace story, wish I was as happy with my Jimny (mutters swear words underbreath )