Hey people FNG here I've been a reader, but I finally joined and am looking for a little help. I'm going to look at a 95 Sidekick tomorrow and was wondering if you guys thought it would be worth $4,800 if everything checks out on it? I've had a Yota crawler and a few lifted Jeeps but I've always wanted a Samurai or Sidekick that is trail capable and this one seems to fit the bill. I'm wanting to tow it behind my truck with camper, hunting, and road friendly. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks in advance for all your feedback here is a list from the add for the one I'm looking At.
1995 Suzuki Sidekick in great shape. Only 100k miles including over 30k tow miles. It will make a great off road family fun vehicle or rv tow away. Great mechanical condition. Could use a paint job.

Ice cold AC, power steering, 16v 4 cylinders and amazingly gets 25mpg. Handles great on the road and off the road. A lot better and more comfortable than the Suzuki Samurai.

It has lots of top grade off road upgrades including:

- 2" Calimini suspension lift
- Calmini protection plates
- Calmini steel rear bumper with swing, spare tire carrier, hitch and removable cooler carrier
- Full custom cage
- Fog lights and side and rear trail lights
- Performance exhaust
- 5 Aluminum wheels with 31" tires
- 4 point harness seats in front and rear
- Rock sliders
- Tow bar and front bumper tow bar hooks
- CB radio
- Upgraded bluetooth Alpine stereo and speakers
- Recently tinted front windows and front top of windshield

pictures say a lot and it also depends what you want to spent. look for rust in the usual spots hard top is  a bonus. is it a 2dr or 4dr

It's a 2 door soft top here's a couple pics

Howdie Assasin,

Truck is great looking, but first thing to do is get your head out of the clouds and come back to earth for just a second.

Based on what state you live in or register the vehicle, you have to really think hard about  making sure you get adequate replacement coverage.

These vehicles really hold their value on the retail market, but insurance is a business and they follow their rules.

Many states go by KBB or their standard rating formula's for vehicle value.

Fact is, it is a 20+ year old truck, and they cover it as such UNLESS you pay a premium for all the aftermarket goodies.

Once you use the word "performance" you just cost yourself mucho $$$.

If you ever went to trade in a vehicle, you say " got a brand new battery and tires" the salesperson normally comes back with " you gotta have battery and tires anyway".  See my point ?

Bottom line, you only live once, you work hard for your money, so treat yourself to things.

BUT, there are always hidden costs to everything, scope out all the little things and make your decision based on that.

Howdie Assasin,

Truck is great looking, but first thing to do is get your head out of the clouds and come back to earth for just a second.

I get everything thing you are saying but why are you saying this

Is that tow bar mount safe?  I didn't think that the Sidekick/Tracker stock bumper mounts were that substantial.

One thing I noticed was the lack of transfer case gearing mentioned, and the manual trans diffs really cannot be geared lower as they already have a 5.12 gear ratio.  (There are some lower diff gears from the 1300 Sidekick, but they are both rare and expensive.)  The 31" MT tires will create a lot of drag for that engine, and fifth gear likely is not useable on the highway.  Also, the off-road  performance will leave a lot to be desired, as the stock low range is only 1.8:1.  Finally, 25mpg was possible in the stock configuration, but not with those tires and additional weight.  I think 18-20mpg is likely more realistic. 

At $4,800 it is a tough call, and I personally think that is too high.
 

It's a 2 door soft top here's a couple pics

In California the price is pretty close to the average.  I don't know if any of the upgrades warrant any increase of price though.  I'd say if you are in no hurry keep looking or offer a lower price.  California is higher priced compared to other areas

Thanks guys I obviously was thinking it might be a little in the high side or wouldn't of asked he's firm on his price. I definitely would be more comfortable at $4,000

I agree with Jonny Rash.  I question the MPG claimed.  Maybe if the tires are pumped up rock hard he might get 21-22, but the lack of diff gearing makes that questionable to me.  I changed my diffs from 4.62s to 4.88s and went from an honest 25-26MPG to 24MPG on the highway.  That was with undersized 30" tires and a 2 liter engine to pull them.  31's are a heavier, that little 16V isn't making any more horse power, and if he hasn't increased the diff gears to help it out some, the loss of mechanical advantage would be significant.

Concurrently, the larger tires would put more wear on the clutch.  Still, setting these two points aside, IF it is in as good of shape as claimed, and if the clutch is fresh, you can always throw a set of transfer case gears in it for trail riding and just limp along on the hard ball, rarely using 5th gear (unless it is really flat), until you could find some higher gears for your diff.

You could also possibly use these two valid points to barter down the price.  Some people continue to think they will get every dime they invested into their Tracker/Kick back when they put it up the market.  That is rarely the case and most guys know this when they are building their truck.  Pristine condition trucks will bring pristine prices.  Every thing else, depends on what some one is willing to pay.  I don't know where this particular truck is on that scale, but I note it has been painted... but there is a dent in the front fender.

Lot of good info gentleman I appreciate it very much thanks. His price started at $5,500 then went to $4,950 I figured I would be able to get him to the $4,800 I had mentioned but the lowest I am able to get him down to is $4,500. I think I'm going to at least make the drive to look at it but the only thing I'm figuring out is finding diff gears isn't easy. Does anyone have any suggestions if I end up going for it. I'm a little nervous about highway speeds. What speeds could one expect with a set up like this?

I didn't mention that I would like to have a rig that I could use as a daily driver on occasion also

OK, I just typed a four paragraph response and got kicked off the forum (GRRRRRR!) because suddenly I was not logged on (after logging on five minutes ago!

I can't remember my complete thoughts I had typed, BUT in a nutshell, you need gears.

On the Zuwharrie forum, NC trailseeker had a set of 5.62 diff gears for sale.  These are what you want and need for this truck (IF you bought it). 

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,131743.0.html

Both of these diffs would install into the axle housings of the '95 Sidekick.  The back would be no issue, other than the ring gear on the 5.62 has 10 bolts and your truck has 12 bolts.  No big deal.

On the front, the 5.62 diff has 22 spline side gears.  The Sidekick you are contemplating buying has 26 spline sidegears and CVs.  So you would EITHER have to remove the 5.62 ring and pinion and install it on the '95 diff OR take the 26 spline side gears from the '95 Sidekick front diff and install them into the 5.62 diff and toss (or sell) the 22 spline side gears in order to run the 5.62 gears in the front of that '95 Sidekick.  Honestly, it wouldn't hurt a damned thing if you had both the diffs rebuilt simply because the 5.62s are from 1989, so they have some miles on them.  If the teeth are good (and I do believe NCtrailseeker is an honest guy) having them rebuilt would be worth it.  I JUST rebuilt my rear diff that had at least 200K miles on it.  The gears DID show the miles on the wear of the teeth, but they are running just fine with the rebuild. Do it once and do it right. 

With 5.62 gears in that Sidekick, you would constantly catch yourself with a really stupid grin on your face while driving it and you would have a usable 5th gear too!

The ONLY other option you would have (to my knowledge) is to buy a NEW set of ring and pinion gears from a company called 4X4art which is located in Turkey.  He sells his 5.71 gear sets for right at $1,000 to your door.  One of our forum members purchased a set of his gears last December.  When he opened the package, he discovered a set of gears that APPEARED had been mounted and possibly run in a diff.  He was also having problems pressing the pinion bearings onto the pinion shaft.  I don't know if he ever got them installed or not to date.

So my point being, at $900 this set of gears NCtrailseeker had for sale may well be a great deal.  I DO know you rarely see them (5.62 Suzuki factory gears) come up for sale on the market (within our forums).  I can recall three sets within the last seven or eight years, personally.

OBTW... nice beard and mustache pics.  I've had one growing for a few months now too.  I'm going to see how long I can get it before I start stepping on it and falling down.

Thanks  nprecon wish I still had the long beard but unfortunately shaved it down for an interview. I went and looked at this Sidekick yesterday and it looked good mechanically but little to be desired visually painted over dents and what not if I wanted it pretty would take a lot of body work. I think $3,500 would be a fair price for it

Sounds paranoid, but make sure that roll cage is not made of exhaust tubing...seriously. some folks will grand stand about home much time/money and effort they put into cages when in fact they wont do didly squat.