I'm looking to purchase a Samurai. I like the look of the car, its functionality and its gas mileage. I've looked a quite a few Samurai in recent months and it would be really helpful to me if anyone could suggest some general things to be on the look out for or issues to consider.

Right now, I'm looking very closely at these two Samurai:

1986 Suzuki Samurai Clean, Low Original Miles - $3250
This is a very nice Samurai. It has a little over 61,000 original miles. (I know the owners who had it parked since 1996).
It is an original California car with NO RUST!
1.3 liter gas engine, five speed transmission, 4x4, soft top New paint
New Tires
New Battery
New Stereo and speakers New fuel pump. Starts right up, drives straight and tight
Body is a 9
Interior is a 6

This sounds on the surface like a decent ride... 1- Why was it painted? Wrecked? faded? 2- what, if any body work was done on the vehicle 3- What, of any frame damage was done if it was wrecked 4- how much has this been driven since saved form the 16 years of being parked? A car sitting this long will have seals dried out, rust on the portion of the gears that were not submerged in oil, dried out bearing etc... The rest of the 'new' stuff sounds legit for a car that was parked that long. As long as this has been properly gone through, new fluids, seals checked and driven a bit, it could be a good ride
or

1991 Suzuki Samurai - $4500
Great 1991 Suzuki Samurai with many updates Many updates? Roll cage and leather was all I noticed: rear roll cage for extra
safety, new carpet, new soft top, new paint inside and out, custom leather
seats and leather door panels, new window seals, new rear bumper with
receiving hitch, new electrical (distributor, wires, plugs, computer and
sensors), new head and oil pan gaskets, new water pump, new timing belt,
custom bar pads, new CD stereo, new drive shaft.
With all that 'NEW' stuff added, it sounds like to me that someone is trying to revive a beat down ride, make sure to check trans, t-case, 4x4 engine compression.... Take a magnet and check for body filler... Either this guy is really picky about his ride and restoring it, or he bought a beater and fixed it up to turn some cash
A blast to drive; have
taken it up the coast on the Pacific Coast Highway in California, to skiing
in Grand Targhee, Idaho, to off-roading in Moab, Utah. A lot of fun.
I like the fact that he is using it, adventuring in it. This greatly turs me to thinking that he his more the 'picky about my ride' type instead of the 'fix it to sell it' type

If the 86 has not been driven much since the owner saved it from 16 years of sitting, I would second guess that without going over it thoroughly. If it has been used for a while since it's revival, it would be a toss up between the two for me if I could talk the 91 down a little bit

Obviously, only so much can be learned from the descriptions provided. But generally: are there any safety issues that might make a later model (such as the '91 described above) preferable to an earlier model?  Are there any mechanical issues that might be of concern with either of these model years?

Any insight would be most appreciated!

I contacted the owner of the first car for the vin #, so that I could run a carfax. The owner has listed the car as "low original mileage" but according to carfax, the car should have over 220k original miles -- not the 68k mentioned in the ad.
What could possibly explain a flip in odometer reading? And is best to stay away from this vehicle?