"The only problem could be parts may get hard to find, because of the cars age, and low production numbers. "
…and the fact that Suzuki has now left the US marketplace.
IMHO, buying an “orphaned” make of car only makes sense if it can be purchased very far below its theoretical book value. I realize that the OP has already purchased the car, but the reality of Suzuki’s departure from the US is something to consider in terms of deciding how long to keep this vehicle.
I can recall a lot of owners of orphaned makes–like Sterling–who regretted their decision to buy one, once they faced the harsh reality of no more technical support and a greatly diminished or totally lacking supply of parts.
Today the vehicle has all of it’s fluids/filters changed and the rest of the car looked over by our garage. Hoping for good news! The car sure does feel/sound really nice.
VDCdriver - we found out after we purchased the car that Suzuki was pulling out of the US. Had we known before hand that would have factored into the decision to buy this car =(. Hopefully the car is in excellent shape and it won’t require much more than maintenance for a long while!
The car is 8 years old. If you get 4 or 5 more years out of it, I doubt that you will have to worry about parts. Don’t worry about a lack of parts until there is actually a lack of parts.
With the internet, EBay and whatever connection you can muster with Japan, there might be parts. It might be wise, however, to get a backup supply of a few air filters and a set or two of front brake pads and a set of spare radiator hoses. Oil filters should be no problem as there are many opportunities for interchanging these and there is also a less possible but similar opportunity with radiator hoses. I loved my Opel but did not at all like owning it as a long term daily driver orphan as it could have been stopped for days or longer to search and wait for a vital part.
As a fellow Mainer, wish you had written in before looking at either of these cars…sorry. Buy the way, rust doesn’t have to be a problem for you in Maine neither in your search or the time you own your car.
Well, the car received a clean bill of health from our garage. That’s an excellent suggestion Wha Who?. My husband and I will definitely be getting spares like you suggested. We do have another vehicle so we can manage for a week or two at a time, if necessary, when something breaks.
What do you mean about the rust dagosa? I’m actually from SC and moved to Maine for school. I was very surprised at the amount of rust most vehicles in our price range had. I’m very cautious about my vehicle and wash it frequently during the winter. It might just be a vanity thing, but I really find rust unattractive haha.
And Joseph, we have been getting a lot of enjoyment out of this car! It’s very zippy and has great “get up and go.” I think in the summee it will be even better because we will have room for our kayaks, camping stuff and dog =)
I just want to echo what Docnick said. Suzuki didn’t stop making autos or the parts for the cars they already made, they just aren’t selling or servicing autos in the US any more.
You should be able to find parts on-line from Canada, South America, Europe or Japan, it will just take some good googleing! My suggestion is to figure out NOW the equivalent models to your car in the rest of the world to facilitate parts finding in the future.
My wife had a Geo Metro (a Suzuki Swift) and it was a great little car. That little 3 cyl engine ran like a champ. It did develop some rust issues on the frame under the Driver Side half-shaft, but it was nothing a few pieces of sheet steel and a MIG welder couldn’t fix in an afternoon. It finally died when it got in an altercation with a Jeep Cherokee on a wet and winding road, but it gave it’s self up keeping my wife safe. It had 175K miles when it died and was still going strong and never required anything other than brakes, plugs and oil and filter changes. So Suzuki makes very good cars if they are well cared for, IMHO.
"What do you mean about the rust dagosa?"
Most people think rust prevention is either a matter of just keeping the car clean by running through a car wash and/or having someone do a one time rust spray under the body, The second couldn’t be farther from the truth. Google “rust prevention by spraying” inner body panels with motor or linseed oil (for environmentalist) and inspecting drain holes and the insides of the vehicles. The real rust, other then body damage on the outside starts where the welds are from the body panels, inside. You do treatment once every two years. On a small compact it takes ten minutes…less time then a wash job
ALL body shop personel I have talked to in Maine (really only four shops) either do it to their own cars and/or others privately or recommend it to their friends. A conversation with some one in a body shop and Googling environmentally friendly options is worthwhile. You can no longer hire professionals to do it as it is not environmentally friendly if you use motor oil. Linseed and other organic oils work as well. Just a little education…I wish I had learned about this in my twenties instead of my thirties. MY CARS, SOME TEN PLUS YEARS OLD HAVE NEVER RUSTED anywhere. I get thousands more come trade in time…over a car with any rust through. The person that showed me this, has cars 30 plus years old with no rust that he still drives in Maine winters…Frame members can be painted with grease etc. as well. You will get dirty but I figure I pay myself $300 an hour in savings. Pretty good part time job, aaya aha.
A discussion here… http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/rust-proofing-oil-72414.html
BTW, if you do use motor oil and not organic, use fresh not used as others have mentioned and take steps to contain the run off to protect the environment…it is possible to do !