It was summer 2001 and I was walking to the bus stop on my way home from work.
I had been getting quite fed up with using public transport twice a day and had been considering buying a car for quite some time.
I had never had a car before due to the fact that I had gone away to university and then rented a flat as soon as I got back. I never had the money.

So I asked my parents, boyfriend and friends for advice on making a purchase.
Their response wasnt great.
Your renting, you cant afford a car. Think of the insurance, the tax and the petrol.
(Parents).

Get a sporty two seater with a massive engine, all my mates will be dead jealous
(Now, Ex-boyfriend, wonder why?).

Go for it, if you really want one then shop around and look for a good deal
(Friends)

I became a little overwhelmed by all of this advice so I put car buying to the back of my mind until, I saw a Suzuki Jimny soft-top zoom past me.
I immediately wanted one but thought it was bound to be expensive.

The next day I looked on the Suzuki website which directed me to the nearest Suzuki dealership.
To my amazement a brand new Jimny would cost £8,999.
This price was originally £9,999 but the dealership has a permanent special offer of £8,999 for all new Jimnys.
I headed straight for the Suzuki dealership to have a look as I had many questions to ask.
Is it economical?
How expensive are spare parts?
How much do I pay for annual servicing?
Will the security be compromised with a soft-top version?

I also decided to shop around so I went to lots of other dealers to see if there was something else I would prefer.
My budget was £10,000 and I wanted a new car so I was quite limited in what to purchase.
After a couple of weeks of shopping around I decided to buy a Jimny.

I bought a red soft top Jimny.

****Is the Car Economical*******

The Jimny is a 16V, 1.3 size engine.
At the time a 1.3 was the biggest size available for the Jimny. Being a new model, it had recently taken over the Suzuki Vitar. The Jimny is a city 4x4, which means that it does not drink Petrol like there is no tomorrow.
It runs like a car on tarmac surfaces but can be used for 4x4 driving when needed.
The Jimny has an extra gear stick for 4x4 driving so you can use it for two different types of driving.
I personally know people who drive their vitaras and Jimnys on very tough 4x4 courses and they cope very well.
However, these people are mechanics in the day so they are good at fixing the exterior of the cars, which makes them road worthy by day.

How expensive are the parts?
I have had my car for just over 3 years and have only had one problem with the speakers.
The original speakers in the car were too delicate for the CD player so they only lasted 2 years. I was told at the time that new Jimnys have stronger speakers, which avoids this happening again.
The work was completed under the 3 year warrantee so I didnt have to pay a pency.
The spare parts are generally no dearer than any other dealer as labour tends to be the most expensive part.

**********How Expensive is Annual Servicing?***********

The servicing at Suzuki is quite expensive.
My last service with Suzuki was over £200.
Now that my car is not under warrantee, I have gone elsewhere and saved approx £60- £80. Suzuki told me that I could have one of two different services and they were both over £150.00 each. Luckily I found a dealership, which serviced my car for £110.
Isnt servicing a car really expensive?

**********Will the Security be Compromised with a Soft Top*******

My car has a soft top, which is manually zipped together.
I used to park my car overnight on a road near the town center every night and not once has my soft top been opened or vandalised.
I am very careful not to leave the sterio in the car and I also make sure nothing is left in the car overnight.
The car has an electric engine immoboliser so even if a car thief got into the car, they would not be able to drive it away without the key.
I have never really worried about my car being stolen due to the fact that it is not hugely popular with car thief.
Its not expensive enough.

Even though the soft top is a nice feature (same price as hard top) it is not so easy to put up and take down, this goes for the sunroof too.
Zipping the windows to the soft-top roof is a lot of hard effort and it takes at least 5 minutes to put up with two people.
Not great if you are caught in the rain.
However it is very quick to take down and is brilliant to drive on long summer day journeys.
There is no need for air conditioning when you have a soft top.

*******What colours can you purchase?*************
The Jimnys standard colour is red (non metallic).
I had the option to buy another colour for an extra £1000 but thought this was too expensive just for a colour (metallic).
The other colour options are:
Sky Blue
Dark Green
Silver
Gold

********How easy is it to drive?*******************

The Jimney is very easy to drive although it doesnt handle well in wet weather.
The best part about driving the Jimny is the height.
Its really great to be able to see the road in front from a higher view.
It feels a lot safer than a normal car height and I think Id struggle going back to a normal car height.
The Jimny has power steering and a geer stick for 4x4 driving.

********Whats the interior like?*****************

The interior is the worst part about the car.
Its very plastic and not very spacious. The seats are not that comfortable and the boot space is practically non-existant.
If you are a passenger in the back then its best to be short because there is not a lot of leg room therefore I would not recommend this car to a family as you will not be able to find the space for bags and pushchairs.
The car comes as standard with a tape player although this may have changed since.
I upgraded the tape player to a Clarion CD player/Radio for and extra £160.00.