They are great cars! If it runs right it will start and stop like any other modern car. But, making it run right is the key. The best way to learn about car repair is dive in and don’t be afraid. Nowadays with this forum and YouTube you can learn anything you need to know. But, if there’s is any way you can talk yourself into a sidekick instead of the Sammie you might be better off in the maintenance dept and daily duty dept with EFI, OBD2, a big power boost and IFS which all help to keep the car on the road and running well. They are also half the age and cost less.
Rust can be a big deal or totally cosmetic. In the pnw we mainly have the cosmetic type but if you look under it and bolt heads are unrecognizable then run. In fact for people who buy old cars the pnw is known as the holy land for car preservation. The rain doesn’t do much harm and we didn’t use salt for years, although we now do so don’t kid yourself that chemical is worse than salt. But any 30 yr old car is going to have issues. The main ones will be rubber seals, hoses, gaskets, fabrics, plastics, paint etc. they can need quite a bit. But you didn’t mention your budget. If you spent 6k$ on an old Sammie you might have a lot of new parts including a more modern low maintenance engine.
Bottom line, if you want to tinker and don’t mind not having some comforts a Sammie is a fun economical way to roll and also learn about fixing up cars. If you want a more turn key basic transportation I’d suggest a sidekick or vitara.
Did any samurai come with power steering? That would be a big negative for DD use for me.