659 cc Hijet? Should I buy it?

Hello all,

Haven't done the intro post but I'm not really a Hijet owner yet so we will see what happens. But for a bit of insight I live in BC in Canada, where there can be days of -35C and a metre of snow in town, 600 lb + 6 ft tall elk on the highways, mountains, and a whole manner of crazy locals and tourists.

I looked yesterday at a 1996 659cc Hijet and, according to the buyers guide (thanks HighlyJetted! big time!), this thing passed with flying colors - as far as the major issues go anyways.

The GOOD:

[*]Very little visible rust on the frame, wheel wells, bed, mounts, and everything structural
[*]Cooling system functioned exactly as mentioned in the guide (with the 3/4" rise at running temperature and the fan kicking in)
[*]Everything works (except one light facing the tail end mounted at the top/rear of the cab)
[*]Extra set of winter tires on rims + tire chains
[*]The owner appears to have taken a lot of care with any and all upgrades, which are quite extensive (soundproofing of the cab, in-line rad heater, dry box, etc). It appears that this truck was his baby. Minor wear but it is over 22 years old - I sometimes felt pretty worn at that age too. It was imported from Japan where apparently had spent its life on an in-land apple orchard, and I would be the 3rd owner in Canada.
[*]New clutch plate+cable, new belts(serpentine, timing, a/c)

The ad can be seen here: (edit: can not post external links yet). He is asking $2500 CAD

$2500 = 1645 euros

The BAD:

[*]Body is fully covered with decals for the guys business. He claims to have driven it as a small work truck for about 4 years, but I cant see the panels to determine rust. My friend said he has seen him around and he definitely didnt stick these on to sell the truck as they are faded and slightly dented from highway driving, so could also be serving as rust protection for all I know
[*]Exhaust is quite rusted (muffler looks OK) - Ive seen worse, and have a bit of the skill necessary to fabricate a new one. Its a pretty straight shot
[*]One of the three cylinders apparently has low compression. It is only . 0.66 litre so one third of the cylinders seems like a lot! But it still did highway speed no problem, so long as your not going up hill. Putts along pretty good though. I was a bit shocked and giggly at it all.
[*]Struts and lower ball joints need to be replaced, and the windshield is cracked, and so wouldn't pass inspection. In BC I can insure it without an inspection, but I can also get pulled over and given an inspection notice at any time
[*]I am a long way from Japan, and so all the parts become a bit pricey. Currently I drive a 5.7L V8, and so the fuel savings will eventually make up the difference, but eventually is a long way away and a new windshield looks like $700 (460 euros) for the glass alone.
[*]Reverse is a bit tricky to find (just keep wiggling it*)
[*]Dark brown water comes from the exhaust, which some sources say is exactly normal, some say other, worse things. I tend to think it was just condensation in the rusty exhaust as the puppy warmed up

All in all, I think this is a good vehicle, and the only thing that makes me want to ask you guys is the 659 cc. A lot of what I have been reading was about the 1.0 and 1.3 L engines, and am finding it hard to find much information about them. It seems like it did him just fine, but I figure I'd better put it to the gurus. If all goes well at the bank, mechanic, and insurance place, I think I'm goin for it, unless anyone of you with the experience regarding this stuff has any nays to say.

I told him I would let him know tomorrow so I have 24 hrs max to decide. Thanks for any help and consideration.

darian

Welcome Darian, we didn't get many 660cc Hijets here in the UK, hence the limited info available. You might be lucky (in time) with a secondhand windscreen, but the killer could be the availability of the struts and ball-joints - if you can't source them, I'd guess it's game over. I doubt they're the same as the 993 / 1.3 vans but they could just be if your chassis No. starts with S85. Worth finding out before you part with any $$$. You could paste the link in plain text, we can copy-and-paste

Yeah I got talked out of it by my mechanic because of the potential difficulty of finding parts. Like you say, if you cant source it, I guess its game over.

Thanks sirs. I guess I'll get at deleting my acct now