A used Suzuki Jimny from 1998 to 2018 is bought on its metal, not its mileage: the rear floor, body mounts and axle arm brackets rot, so pick the one with the soundest underside you can find.
3 known faults, 2 rated high severity in our database; owners report 34.2 mpg, 97% of the official figure. Everything below is built from that data and the archived owner history, not from a press car.
Found a Suzuki Jimny for sale? Check the advert before you go and see it
Paste the Suzuki Jimny advert and we read it against its known faults, the MOT history and the DVLA record, then tell you what to ask the seller and what to look at on the day. Free, about a minute, no card.
Check a Suzuki Jimny advert (free) →The best 1998 to 2018 Jimny is simply the one with the least rust, because every known serious fault on that car is corrosion rather than anything mechanical. The rear floor, the boot floor and the jack tray rot, and so do the body-to-chassis mounts and the axle arm brackets. Both are rated High, and they apply whatever the year or engine, so a later car isn't a safe bet on age alone.
There's no known fault on record against the newer Jimny sold from 2019, but that's an empty record rather than a clean one, so don't buy it as the safe option on that basis and give its underside the same look as an older car's. It only earned three stars from Euro NCAP, and one report from 2019 said its keyless entry was rated unacceptable for security, so ask how the key works.
Don't buy the older car expecting it to be quiet or settled on the road. It's noisy and unrefined, and it's at its worst on the road when it's been fitted with big wheels and tyres. If you'll mostly drive on tarmac, a Jimny on standard-sized rubber is the better pick.
No engine on the 1998 to 2018 Jimny has a known fault against it, so the engine choice matters far less than the body. The 1.3 petrol is the one there's anything on record about, and that's very little. That isn't proof it's faultless, so judge it on how it starts, idles and pulls on the day rather than assuming it's a safe bet.
A recall on 1998 and 1999 Jimnys dealt with a bolt in the gear selector that could work loose and drop out, fitting a stronger one done up tighter. On a car from those years, ask for proof that the recall was carried out, and check the gearchange feels positive with no sloppiness when you select each gear.
The automatic has one owner report against it: a 2016 1.3 auto that hung on to second at 3000 revs and wouldn't shift up to third or fourth in cold weather, though it was fine in summer. The owner suspected moisture in the transmission fluid. That's one car, not a pattern, but test an auto from cold. The 2019 car uses a 1.5 petrol without a turbo, and nothing on record against it isn't the same as a clean bill.
Lift the boot carpet first and look at the jack and tool tray: rust or holes there are the clearest sign the rear floor has gone. Then check the floor under the rear seats for flaking or holed metal, and look closely around the rear seatbelt mounts, since corrosion there is a safety issue and not just cosmetic.
Get underneath with a torch. The front body mounts sit behind the headlamps and splash guard, and the pair in front of the back wheels often have wet mud packed around them, which hides the damage. Check the axle arm brackets at both ends too, where they meet the axle and where they meet the chassis.
Look where the plastic sill trim meets the bodywork for bubbling or brown stains, and for rust flakes and packed mud behind it, because the sills rot from the inside out where you can't see them. The rear arch lips go the same way. On a 1998 or 1999 car, ask for paperwork showing the gear selector recall was done.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
It's worth buying only when the body's sound, because this Jimny's two High-rated faults are both rust and they're what decides whether one's worth having. The rear floor and boot floor rot, spreading to the rear seatbelt mounts, and the body mounts and axle arm brackets corrode. Neither shows up at a set mileage, so don't assume a low-mileage car is a solid one.
The sills are the next worry, rated Medium. They rot from the inside behind the plastic cladding, which traps dirt and damp against the panel and hides the damage until it's well along. The rear arches suffer the same way where mud collects. Budget time for a proper look underneath rather than judging the paint.
Mechanically there's less to go on. A recall on 1998 and 1999 cars fitted a stronger gear selector bolt, and one owner of a 2016 automatic had it refuse to change up in cold weather. It's noisy and crude on the road, and it gets worse on oversized wheels and tyres, so drive one on the kind of roads you'll use.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Suzuki Jimny advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 34.2 mpg across the Suzuki Jimny engines with data, about 97% of the official figure, from 91 submissions.
Suzuki Jimny Real MPG by engine →Getting off the tarmac is what the 2019-on Jimny does best. Its four-wheel drive is selectable, so you drive in two-wheel drive on normal roads and engage the front axle when the ground turns muddy, wet or loose, and that off-road ability is the whole reason to pick one.
The low-ratio gearbox backs that up. It lets the Jimny creep slowly and under control over steep, rough or loose ground where an ordinary car would struggle, so it's a proper working tool for anyone who needs to leave the road and get back again.
A used Suzuki Jimny from 1998 to 2018 is bought on its metal, not its mileage: the rear floor, body mounts and axle arm brackets rot, so pick the one with the soundest underside you can find. Our database holds 3 known Suzuki Jimny faults, 2 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
Lift the boot carpet first and look at the jack and tool tray: rust or holes there are the clearest sign the rear floor has gone. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories and ask for invoices for any work the seller mentions. Then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against every known Suzuki Jimny fault before you travel.
Owners report 34.2 mpg on average, about 97% of the official figure, from 91 submissions. The known faults page lists a rough repair cost against each fault. Suzuki Jimny Real MPG by engine.
If you used the Honest John car-by-car reviews before the site closed in 2026, this is where the Suzuki Jimny buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 16 items read for this model), our own known-faults database, the confirmed service intervals and the Real MPG figures. Every number on the page comes from that data, not from the text. The same data feeds our free advert check.
CarAdCheck is not affiliated with Honest John or Volkswagen Financial Services. What happened to Honest John, and where each feature lives now.
The Suzuki Jimny is one decision. Reading the advert, the history and the seller are the rest, and these cover them.
Looking at a Suzuki Jimny right now? Check the advert before you go and see it.