Being an import car enthusiast is tough. You have to wait until your favorite ride turns 25 years old and then go through a whole importation process. But what if you don’t have to worry about any of that and could just buy forbidden fruit right now? That’s the opportunity being offered by a 2024 Suzuki Jimny for sale in Oklahoma. However, this thing is legally sketchy enough that maybe it should remain forbidden fruit.
This vehicle is being offered on consignment from Exotic Motorsports of Oklahoma. It caught the attention of David Faulkner from the Oppositelock Facebook group and now it’s on my desk. If a vehicle listing could speak this one would have a lot to say. This Suzuki Jimny is a 2024 model with all of 4,705 miles on its odometer and a clear green Oklahoma title. Yep, this is a very rare opportunity to own a brand-new car you’d otherwise have to wait over two decades to buy.
But wait, how on Earth did a brand new Jimny end up in the United States? And how does it have a title? I’ve been researching this vehicle for a few days and while I could likely explain the title, I’m not sold on how it got through the border.
Why Everyone Loves The Jimny
Our Lewin Day fell out of love with the Jimny, but it seems most other JDM vehicle fans can’t get enough of the pint-sized off-road warrior.
The Jimny’s story starts not with Suzuki but with the Hope Motor Company. This little firm was known for churning out three-wheelers during Japan’s recovery from World War II. Off-road vehicles became sizzling hot in popularity in Japan in the 1960s, with customers flocking to the Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser, Mitsubishi’s version of the Jeep, and the Nissan Patrol. Suzuki felt left out of the action, but it had nothing in the cupboards to offer to off-roading enthusiasts.
That’s where the Hope Motor Company comes in. Hope developed a sort of mini “Jeep” off-roader in 1967 and put a handful on the road in 1968. The HopeStar ON360 looked like a scaled-down Jeep and was powered by a two-stroke air-cooled 360 cc Mitsubishi ME24 engine that made 20.7 HP and 23.6 lb-ft of torque. That morsel of power reached all four wheels for tiny off-roading fun. Depending on who you ask, the Hope Motor Company made anywhere between 15 and 40 ON360s before catching the attention of Suzuki.
At the time, Suzuki had its hands on a Steyr Puch Haflinger, which proved to be a capable off-road vehicle. However, it was also complex, and Suzuki didn’t like that. But Hope Motor Company figured out this 4×4 thing and placed it into a compact package.
The folks of Suzuki liked what was happening at Hope enough to buy the company, taking the HopeStar ON360 design with it. Suzuki then took the basic idea behind the HopeStar ON360, tossed the Mitsubishi engine in the trash, put a new body on it, and then put it into production in 1970 as the LJ10.
Suzuki capitalized on the fun factor and ruggedness of the LJ10 from the start. Just look at this reel:
Sure, the first Suzuki mini off-roaders had 359cc two-stroke engines that made just 25 HP and then 27 HP, but the buying public didn’t care. The Jimny and its derivatives were a smashing success as people couldn’t get enough micro-size fun. I mean, this thing was well-equipped, too. Early Jimnys had part-time four-wheel-drive, a low range gearbox, leaf springs, live axles, and simple worm and roller steering. The icing on the cake was the fact that it slotted into Japan’s Kei category and weighed just 1,301 pounds.
Basically, those first Jimnys were what everyone loved about off-roading, just in a size that made you feel like a kid again.
As for that name, it’s reportedly the amalgamation of “Jeep” and “Mini.” The Jimny has been loved so much all over the world that Americans even got it as the Suzuki Samurai. Americans adored the Samurai so much that the little Suzuki outsold Jeep two to one. Well, that was until the infamous Consumer Reports test, scandal, and subsequent several-year legal battle.
Now, you can enjoy the little off-roader again, maybe.
The Forbidden Fruit
This 2024 Jimny comes from the off-roader’s fourth generation. The new Jimny is something marvelous. Its style is both a clear nod to the past while staying firmly planted in the present day.
Even better is the fact that Suzuki hasn’t given up on its roots. The Jimny still has live axles and good old-fashioned part-time four-wheel-drive. You get to row through your own gears with a five-speed manual transmission and crawl your way around with a low range. Yet, the Suzuki isn’t entirely stuck in the past, either. You get tech like automatic emergency braking, a lane departure warning system, and a screen to play with.
This 2024 Suzuki Jimny is a bit of a mystery. The selling dealership, Exotic Motorsports of Oklahoma, says the vehicle is legal to drive, but that seems to come with an asterisk. The dealership says the vehicle is on consignment and while it has a green Oklahoma title, the dealer says it doesn’t know how the vehicle got into the United States or how it got the title. When other enthusiasts asked the dealership about the vehicle’s legal status, it responded with the Rowan Atkinson “Magic” gif.
What is known is that the owner of the vehicle is an enthusiast with a love for off-roaders, usually of the right-hand-drive variety.
I can also tell you a bit about this SUV. This Jimny is an international model powered by a 1.5-liter K15B four-cylinder making 102 HP and 96 lb-ft of torque. That reaches all four wheels through a four-speed automatic. This Jimny is also a five-door and based on its MA code in its VIN, it was constructed in the India Maruti Suzuki plant.
While I could not pinpoint exactly where this Jimny came from, its instrument cluster is currently set to Spanish and reads in metric. Suzuki sold 1,000 examples of the Jimny 5-door in Mexico back in February of this year for 509,990 pesos or $27,753. The 5-door is about to go on sale again in the country. It’s possible that this Jimny was driven up from Mexico.
The U.S. does allow non-compliant vehicles to be in the country on a temporary basis, and that’s one way around trying to explain why you’re importing a brand-new non-compliant car. However, this is a risky move. In 2022, U.S. Customs And Border Patrol seized a new Jimny that was bought in Mexico, brought into United States territory with Mexican plates, and then resold.
As for titling, we don’t know for sure about this one, either. However, Oklahoma does offer a way to get a title for a vehicle that doesn’t have one. The document “Title 42 Possessory Lien Procedures on Vehicles, Manufactured Homes, Commercial Trailers, Boats, and Outboard Motors“ details the process of obtaining ownership of a vehicle for a vehicle that doesn’t have a title. Enthusiasts just call this “Title 42” and while it’s generally for tow yards and mechanics trying to take ownership of abandoned vehicles, enthusiasts also use Title 42 to get ownership paperwork for vehicles that have strange title situations.
Before you get too excited, this isn’t like how Vermont used to be. Yes, it appears Oklahoma is pretty lax when it comes to what vehicles it’ll title, but you still have to be a resident of Oklahoma to take advantage of Title 42. So it’s a bit more like how Vermont is today.
Sadly, we don’t know for sure how this Jimny got a title, but that doesn’t really matter. Importation is a two-pronged process involving both the federal government and the state government. As many enthusiasts have learned the hard way, it doesn’t matter if you have a squeaky clean state title if the feds didn’t give you the all-clear first.
There are relatively few ways to get a vehicle like this into the country legally. I’ve seen one person claim that the seller of this vehicle could have just converted the vehicle to U.S. standards. That’s not as easy as it sounds. You first have to petition the government and tell it what needs to be done to conform to U.S. standards. You then need to prove that the modifications you’ll add are adequate. That means crash testing or some other evidence to present to authorities. If you’re lucky, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will give you the all-clear to import. And that’s just the safety part, we aren’t even talking about the EPA.
Don’t take it from me, here’s the word directly from the government’s mouth:
A vehicle that was not originally manufactured to conform to all applicable FMVSS cannot be lawfully imported into the U.S. unless it is first determined by NHTSA to be eligible for importation. The agency makes these decisions on the basis of petitions from [Registered Importers]. These are business entities that are specifically approved by NHTSA to import nonconforming vehicles and to perform the necessary modifications on those vehicles so that they conform to all applicable FMVSS. The petitions must specify that the vehicle is substantially similar to a U.S.-certified vehicle, or that the vehicle has safety features that comply with, or are capable of being altered to comply with, the FMVSS based on destructive test information or other evidence the agency deems adequate.
If you please the feds enough, your vehicle will be added to the exclusive list of non-conforming vehicles that the United States says are exempt from the 25-year rule after proper modification. Take note that no Suzuki Jimny is on this list, but the first-generation Smart Fortwo is.
What about the Show or Display exemption? Well, that’s for super rare and historically important vehicles. The Suzuki Jimny is a common vehicle sold everywhere in the world, well, everywhere but the United States and Canada. You won’t be surprised to find zero Jimny variants on the Show or Display list. Besides, a vehicle imported under that has extremely limited mileage restrictions, anyway.
I do know of a couple of ways this vehicle could have been imported. A couple of years ago, I wrote a history on the 25-year rule, and one of my sources, one of the importers who fought the law back in the 1980s, explained one way to beat import laws. He explained how ultra-wealthy customers would import vehicles under a one-year tourist visa and then intentionally let them expire. They’d then have a lawyer work out a deal where they’d pay an outrageously expensive fine in exchange for the car not getting crushed. However, he warned that the money involved is so insane that we’re talking about vehicles worth several hundred thousand dollars here, not a lowly Suzuki Jimny.
A famous museum that I will not name informed me of another way to get a non-conforming vehicle through, and that’s by being a real museum. So there are ways around the rules, but none of them are easy or cheap.
Rolling The Dice?
Now, we like to be fair to people here, so it’s entirely possible the seller of this vehicle took advantage of one of the holes in import law and somehow it’s all kosher. With that said, the seller wants $54,995 for this Suzuki Jimny, which is nearly twice what a standard 5-door Jimny is worth and still at least $10,000 more than a fully loaded Jimny in some markets.
Keep in mind that you’ll be getting a vehicle that, while “new,” will have no warranty and no parts available in the United States. You will have a hard time finding a shop to work on it and your experience with your insurance company may vary. You’ll be buying an orphan.
But for some people, that may be worth it. Other 2024 Suzuki Jimnys aren’t going to be legal to import for another 25 years, and that’s a long wait. So, I would understand. Apparently, this dealership has also sold other “new” Jimny consignments too, so this isn’t even the first time. Still, before you depart with a huge pile of cash you should ask for some sort of proof that the vehicle is here legally. The feds do not care how much you pay for a car when they come to take it from you, and you won’t get a refund. So, be careful out there!
(Images: Exotic Motorsports of Oklahoma, unless otherwise noted.)
Around 2016 I saw a Euro market B8 VW Passat in Washington state with Michigan plates. It was so chic and elegant! The car must have been connected with either a US automaker or dieselgate EPA testing but it really made me wonder if the 25 year rule was implemented so we can’t have nice things.
Interesting, the first gen Jimnies (Jimnys?) look like they use the spare tire as the passenger seat headrest. Never seen that configuration anywhere else
i own one of these, a 3-door manual. for 20k USD, it’s a really cool, capable vehicle for what it is. for 50k+ and questionable legality, it’s absolutely not worth it at all
Right, when it debuted in Mexico 3 years ago it was a great deal at $20K.
Moreover the 3dr is a more compelling product than the 5 door unless you want to carry passengers. J-VIN, lighter, better fit and finish, lower price, better fuel economy and better offroad breakover angles are hard to overcome by a 5dr with 4 spd autotragic/100hp carrying 2800 lbs + passengers
***VERMONT REGISTRATION PROCESS UPDATE!!!***
The previous all-by-mail, from-anywhere process as we knew and loved died last year. The standard was changed for “resident only” (i.e. you must have a VT DL) as of 7/1/23.
Then the standard changed AGAIN, this year. They decided they’re printing titles for EVERYTHING. (Which subsequently means they’re requiring them.) So, they’d gone from one of the most lax, to one of the most strict.
TEMPORARILY, this “new process” was rescinded for purposes of internal reorganization but will be ending (presumably for good) 6/28/24.
It’s not too hard to get a new DL in another state, but in light of the fact that this program is changing so radically I decided against it. RIP VTDMV.
What a great-looking little design. Time for Adrian or the Bishop to do a breakdown of this. Well proportioned.
Yeah, Florida is pretty loosey goosey with their laws but I’m not risking it, especially the price. I remember seeing a fifth gen Patrol over a decade ago with Florida plates driving through the mountains. I have no idea how it got here. It’s like like the Chevy Orlando that wasn’t sold here but it was manufactured to meet American safety and emissions standards. I’m not gonna lie, I’m still a bit interested in that.
Aside from the fact that I think the 25-year import ban is of questionable logic, I also wonder if, with the proliferation of EVs in the marketplace, this ban will eventually be lifted, since there will be no emissions about which to worry (as long as the manufacturer can prove sufficient safety via crash testing).
When I was a kid, I wanted a Samurai. Thankfully, I’m no longer young and stupid.
Well, young.
Protectionism is likely the primary justification of the 25y rule, with the EPA/NHTSA/IIHS being secondary.
It actually came from the European automakers, primarily Mercedes-Benz, if I recall.
For a while in the 80s, you could buy some European cars more cheaply by buying it in Europe and having it shipped over. There were a bunch of importers who specialized in changing out the things needed for the US (speedometer/odometer in miles, US-spec headlights, things like that), and even with all that, the cost was lower than buying from a US dealer. Mercedes-Benz (and some other companies, I’m sure) lobbied the feds to put a stop to this, and that’s where the 25-year rule came from.
Oh, yeah, that dealership routinely has those for sale. That said, I’ve never seen a Jimny out and about, so I’m not sure who is buying them or where they’re going. Possibly out-of-state, or maybe they’re being (legally) used as farm vehicles.
Is the restriction on OWNING <25yr imports or REGISTERING them for use on public roads?
There are enough ranches and estates in this country that a wealthy owner could fully enjoy it on their private property and never once need to title it. Or trailer it to a friend’s ranch like a SxS. It would just disappear from view, IOW.
Not my choice of vehicle if I had this option, but hey, if you’ve got that kind of cheddar, maybe you like to slum it now and again.
Exactly this. I have 80ac and bought a basic kawasaki mule SX XC, but those fancier SxS routinely get up into the $30ks and $40ks. A kawasaki ridge with AC is like $35k out the door. Even my mule, at the low dollar end, gave me the conundrum of “this new mule, or a 1994 wrangler or 1998 ranger that I could also drive down the road for building materials and DQ chicken strip country basket?” The prices bleed into the normal car and truck market pretty quickly. When available, a toyota IMV 0s would be awesome as an OHV. It wouldn’t matter to me I couldn’t legally drive it on the highway, I’d just putter around my property. Now $55k for a jiminy seems steep to me, but some folks have tens of millions and hundreds or thousands of acres.
Suzuki has to be looking into selling these for that reason like the Mahindra Roxor right? The motorcycle dealerships could handle the handful of these they would sell.
The restriction largely focuses on how the vehicle is imported. If the Jimny was illegally imported (just driven across the border as a personal vehicle) then the feds don’t really care how the vehicle is used afterward, they’ll consider it to be illegal. Of course, hiding it away on a ranch should take you under the radar, but you never know.
With that said, you can import vehicles to be used in the manner you’re describing. You can buy a brand new 2024 Kei truck in America, but it’ll have a 25 mph speed limiter and an off-road-only restriction.
I would hope the Feds can find more productive things to do with their time than hunting down the occasional gray import vehicle, but they are well within their authority to take your beloved Jimny and go full Negan on it while you watch and cry. That’s the risk you have to accept as part of the purchase.
No matter how rare or illegal it is, a Jimny is not worth that money.
When I lived in AZ, I had a neighbor with MX plates on his cars. They had family in MX, and they drove back and forth across the border all the time. A lot of the time bringing back MX goods to sell in AZ. Just every day cars and a huge van though. Nothing special. I guess it was just cheaper to do it that way
Ugh, I want a Jimny sooooo bad.
How about ditching the useless FMVSS and adopting the de facto international standards, ECE WP29? Even Australia has harmonised its most restrictive ADR, making it easier to sell the vehicles there. Despite smaller population and market, Australia has one of the widest range of vehicles for sale. Same with Japan that used to come up with silly rules such as no “raised letters or symbols” on the lighting system that must be filed away with emery board or produced, specifically for the Japanese market, without them.
United States promised in the early 1990s that it would work toward harmonisation of its FMVSS with ECE WP29, yet the only thing US harmonised was the headlamps that allowed H4 and sharp horizontal cut-off with right part rising up to illuminate the road signage.
Canada was this close in changing its CMVSS to mirror the ECE WP29 in the early 2000s, and the Big Three cried foul and threatened to shut down the Canadian manufacturing. So, Canada backed off.
ADRs need to go completely. It is madness running a separate certification programme for a country with the population of Shanghai. The real reason there are so many brands here is that they all know Australians have been conditioned into being gouged for new cars.
The import ban rule has little to do with actual safety (modern European brands are not compliant??) and 100% with protectionism. So the route is through deep pocketed lobbying against car manufacturers, meaning never happening.
Do you have any literature on hand about this? Would like to learn more.
It would be cheaper to take a long vacation to India and drive one there. You could drive other Maruti Suzukis and have a ball. Then you would know more about its ergonomics and capabilities, and create memories and take pictures to your heart’s content. Then you come home and don’t have to worry about the Federal Marshals showing up to your driveway with an indictment for you and a tow truck for your grey-market Jimny.
Or you could move to Oklahoma, buy a half-acre of suburban ticky-tacky out on the prairie, pick this one up at the price of one new Miata and a half another, and happily drive the only brand-new Jimny in the country, with one eye constantly on your rear view mirror.
I wouldn’t call driving in India a ball. Its a stretch to call it “driving” period. Its more like playing tetris on a road, staying glued to the bumper of the guy ahead of you so nobody can jump in.
You could also take a vacation to MX and rent one or ask for legal residency using a friend or family address and then financing one of these through the dealer at MSRP. Drive back home and program your yearly vacations to MX, just make sure to take the Jimny with you as MX plated cars are allowed up to 1 year being driven in the US
Lots of Quebec plated cars in New York City.
Would it be possible to do like Caterham and Superformance do and import a rolling chassis and an engine separately and sell it as a “kit” ?
I really wish these were imported in the US legally through someone like Toyota. I would buy one in a heart beat in 2dr with a stick shift. As they get up to like 35mpg that is a hell of a lot better then my FJ’s 17mpg and it could off road as well or not better then the FJ since it is much smaller and solid axles all around.
Toytota would rather sell you a RAV4 than a Jimny.
Hah I know they are lame
I had one of these for a long term test, an swb one. Not a thing I would spend my own money on. Off road it was quite to very good. On Tarmac not so much, my very old Land rover ( Mk11a with gawd knows what modifications) was more comfortable. If you have ever driven an 1960’s Land rover you will know this us not a glowing endorsement! Just because it is cute and odd does mean it is a good car.
They are indeed crude little cars. Think 90’s Geo Tracker and you sort of get the idea. They are geared low due to the weak engine, suspension is hard, NVH isolation is minimal. I still love them but they are definitely off-road toys, not daily drivers, especially not on the highway.
I got to drive a new Defender recently, it was like driving a spaceship. I live in one of the most , (wonderful, extraordinary, really stupid, who the fuck could live here, I love it when you die will you leave it to me) awkward houses in England, that thing would be perfect. But it is not cheap, if I did not have my silly toys and my silly house I could maybe afford a new Defender. And have no use for the thing. Sorry, I have been up all night, took a bunch of folk to Long Meg (an aligned stone circle) to celebrate the sunrise. The vehicle of choice was, of course a 12hp Fowler road engine. Been a good day so far, I am now full of beer, bacon butties and coated with oil and coal dust. It is not yet 9 o’clock in the morn.
And yet people still buy Jeep Wranglers, make them substantially worse in pursuit of off-road performance, and then daily drive them.
Masochism
JL Jeep Wranglers and Broncos feel like a Cadillac next to a 12′ long Jimny with 15″ wheels
The Geo Tracker was a rebadged Suzuki Sidekick. The Sidekick was the successor to the 2nd generation Jimny, so you are more right than you know.
A man of culture! It was a bit more complicated, though. The Samurai was the name given to the Jimny when it entered the US market and the Sidekick was indeed its replacement, but only in the US. In most other places, the Jimny remained in production and the Sidekick sometimes was also sold in parallel as a slightly more upmarket option.
Down here were I live, in the 90’s it was very common to go to the Suzuki dealer and see Jimnys (Samurais) sold new alongside Sidekicks.
But yeah, a new Jimny is a close relative to the Sidekick/Tracker and almost as crude.
Yeah, I was simplifying. I really wanted one of the coily Jimnys that the rest of the world got when we got the Sidekick.
I owned an 88.5 Sammy and loved that car. The crudeness was the point and what made it so fun.
Yeah, from what I’ve seen of a good number of museums around the country the “Show and Display” exemption is indeed a Federal-level exemption for museums but it does involve a lot of paperwork and adhering to some pretty stringent restrictions including a maximum number of miles driven per year but it’s usually not a problem for museums given the nature of how they display their cars. The museums just have to be bona fide museums with accreditation and certification and not merely some rich person’s personal collection.
I would buy it. Florida lets you title and register anything. The state doesn’t care as long as you pay, But no way am I paying $50k for it. A small premium over sticker sure, but not double. Oh and this was just driven over the border on Mexican plates, no doubt about it.
Just mentioned this in your previous post. Seems some states simply don’t care and will give you a title for anything, which is very much the opposite of the other post. But like you said, it’s a huge risk and the feds could confiscate it at any time.
I’m sure this just drove across the border. My mom lives about 5 minutes from the border in South San Diego and I usually see at least one Mexican plated Jimny every time I visit her. Hell, I see a Mexican plated Dacia Duster every single day and I live about 30 miles from the border. This is extremely common, but most cars do return back to Mexico.