I’m currently looking at buying a used 2008 Suzuki SX4 with 16,000 miles for around $10,000. With a 4 year / 100,000 platinum warranty basically covering everything the total comes to about $13000. I feel great about the car for what it is. My only concern is that Suzuki has left the US market. How hard will parts to repair be to find when this car needs them? On my calculations, Ill be putting 8,000-10,000 a year one this car. When I hit the 100,000 mile mark the law of continuing parts for 5 years will be long gone. The SX4 is a true orphan when it comes to parts because it doesn’t share any parts with a isny other car. So my question is… Do you think it will be hard to find parts in 5-8 years?
Suzuki made pretty good cars as I recall. and $10K for a car w/only 16K miles on it seems like a good deal. But yes, it will at least be “harder” to find parts. Here’s an idea, get some objective data: Go to your local retail parts store and ask them for the price and availability of some common items, like a water pump, an alternator, an egr, pcv, spark plugs, starter motor, spark plug wires, brake master cylinder, clutch master cylinder, clutch repair kit, see how much these things cost and if they have them in stock. Or how long you’d have to wait if they ordered them for you. For comparison, you could ask for the same info, but for a 2008 Corolla, see how much difference in price and availability there is.
A 6 y.o. compact 4-banger from a defunct company for thirteen grand?!?
That car had an MSRP starting in the mid-teens, new. With the “closeout pricing” several months ago, you probably could’ve gotten a NEW one for what they want for a 6 y.o.
There’s a lot better cars to be had for that $$$ amount.
Stay away from that car
It seems a little overpriced
Stay away from orphaned cars, unless they’re collectible and/or classic
You might have to order certain parts but tune-up and other routine service items should be available within a day or two from most major parts store chains. You could get a new basic Hyundai or Nissan or a Ford Fiesta for around $13,000 but if this really appeals to you start finding a suzuki owners club or online forum if you can’t find certain parts. A factory service manual would be a good idea as well.
Just my 2 cents, but I think the car is way overpriced at 10 grand. NADA shows it at about 8 grand for the top of the line model in excellent condition with an average trade value of somewhat over 5. Even 8 grand is going to be very, very debateable and that’s assuming the vehicle really does have a verifiable 16k miles on it.
There also seems to be a number of Recalls involving accidental airbag deployment, manual transmission, and automatic transmission hiccups; with several of those being issued very recently.
If those Recalls have not been done then who is going to do them? A franchised Suzuki dealer is the only one legally obligated to perform them.
The operative word to me is “run” and not towards the car.
The vehicle is overpriced at $10K. The $3K warranty is absurd. You would be better off finding a vehicle that’s not an orphan as @db4690 suggests.
I agree with others that this may not be the best option for you.
Having said that, my mom has one of these and it’s a great little car. She has the SX4 Crossover model,
I think, which is the smallest AWD vehicle you can get in this country. Plus they seem to be quite reliable. So if you really MUST have this car for some reason, I advise:
- Don’t do it unless you have a dealer near you.
- Don’t waste $3k on the 4year warranty. The car will be fine for 4 years and you won’t put anywhere near 100k miles on it.
- Don’t pay the overpriced $10k sticker.
- If it has the CVT transmission, make sure some fool doesn’t put regular transmission fluid in and ruin it. That happens often.
At 6yrs old and only 16K miles, first I’d do what I could to check the engine for sludge. Then I’d think about going as high as $5K for it.
Go to eBay Motors, do a search with the “Completed Listings” option and not only will you get a more real world look at what the cars actually bring but you will probably find that the particular car you’re looking at is seriously overpriced.
Take those claims about a warranty that basically covers everything with a grain or two of salt.
I agree. I had a Suzuki car, and parts were an issue. I had a Suzuki outboard ( best OB I ever owned) but sadly, parts were an issue.
Stay away from a Suzuki car; parts as well as competent service will be a problem.
NO.
I think Suzuki made very good cars, and bikes too. We’re still getting the bikes. Unfortunately the car sales just weren’t there. I read where they only sold 4500 or so the last month before they pulled the plug on America.
According to NADA.COM $10K for a top of the line SX4 is a bit high. I don’t know which version you’re looking at. If it’s not the top dog, this doesn’t apply. http://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/2008/Suzuki/SX4-4-Cyl/Sedan-4D-Sport-Touring/Values
I like @GeorgeSanJose’s idea of checking on parts availability, however it only shows what’s available today. If the car flunks that test now, just think how bad it will be in 5-8 years. I’ve owned several orphaned cars. While they may be nice when they are nearly new, they can be a pain in the posterior as they age. Salvage yards and and ebay will one day be your only source.
In recent years, also remember the Daewoo, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Hummer, Mercury, & Saturn?
Daewoo . . .
They were considered crap even when they were brand new
You’d have to give one to me for free
I’d never consider buying one
LOL
“Daewoo . . .They were considered crap even when they were brand new”
…and one of their models, the Daewoo Lanos, “evolved” (after very few mechanical upgrades) into the Chevy Aveo, which was only slightly less crappy, but was still a “disposable” car. Perhaps the biggest tragedy in this re-branding of a crappy Daewoo was when GM re-re-branded the Daewoo Lanos as the Pontiac G3.
The only good thing about the G3 was that it was introduced only a short time before GM pulled the plug on the Pontiac brand, so very few of these disposable models were sold in the US.
They should have called it the Ponticrap G3
No offense to Pontiac fans, but GM certainly made some questionable marketing decisions
There was also the Daewoo abomination referred to as a Pontiac LeMans. I got involved in a few of those in the early 90s when the cars were not very old and parts sourcing regarding dashboard control parts was near impossible.
When they could be had they were obscenely overpriced and my fuzzy memory seems to recall a climate control mode control going for something like 400 dollars. The car wasn’t even worth that…
The Pontiac LeMans was also known as the Opel Kadett E in Germany, and was considered an acceptable car, for its time
But what works in some other country often doesn’t work in the US
Remember the Cadillac Catera?
A rebadged Opel Omega, actually. It was also considered a pretty decent car in Europe, but bellyflopped in the US
LOL
The Catera got good reviews from the auto magazines, but suffered from being distantly related to the Cimmaron. It has been long enough that the ATS is not compared to the Cimarron, and has no problem selling.
I had trouble finding parts for my Suzuki Vehicle, and a local shop had to improvise a brake job. Oh great!
On my Suzuki autoboard motor, an authorized Suzuki mechanic, unknowingly broke the adjustment screw ends in all three carbs while removing them for cleaning.
I told them " Some one else should be held responsible for OJT training on my motor and this $2100 dollar bill for a carb cleaning because what I have to pay is for your mistake is unacceptable"
I called the manufacturer thinking that authorized ment they might help me at least, put some pressure on the dealer. See ya, you are on your own was in essence their response. Well, after badgering them for a resolution everytime they had other customers came in, they agreed to my sinereo; one was bad, you broke the other two…$500 is all I’ll pay and the labor is free for my inconvenience. Or we go to court.
After that fiasco, when it was finally fixed, I drove the boat and motor accross the street and traded it in. No more Suzuki anything for me !