Kizashi Club

Well, I of course was disappointed with the news. I called my dealership and they didn't know anymore than the rest of us. I'm hoping that because they are an Auto and Motorcycle dealer for Suzuki that the likelihood of them maintaining an acceptable parts/service/warranty department for folks like us is better than average. No way to know for certain.

The information I got from ASMC is just what we've all read with some additional tid bits. I asked what incentives will be given for Suzuki dealers to maintain their parts and service support and was told that the exact compensation for this has not been formally settled as part of the bankruptcy process but that there would be a formal incentive program for them.

I also asked what plans were in place for folks that have local Suzuki dealers decline to be part of the parts and service network. They had no answer for this, so no guidelines as far as how many miles away would be considered reasonable and/or if qualified independent shops could be authorized to perform warranty work under such circumstances. My information was taken and I was promised a call back once the Suzuki Corporate Offices were open for business today. I'll let everyone know if I hear more.

I've had the same thought about waiting three weeks and getting one heck of deal on this car but deep down I know I'm too sensible to have pulled the trigger if I had known this. I love the car and got the last 2012 SLS Sport in the state and if I had reliability concerns I never would have bought it. Hopefully warranty work and recalls are few and far between as basic maintenance on this car is pretty simple.

My friend is the Service Manager for the dealership where I bought mine. He said the warranty and parts will be available to repair the car should anything come up during my ownership. I bought my 2012 GTS back in June and would not have bought it had I suspected a Chapter 11 was imminent. However, I love the car, got a terrific deal and enjoy driving it everyday. My son is 12 and this will likely be his first car now. I doubt I'll drive for four more years but I may...I'm mostly disappointed in that there won't be future Kizashi's to purchase as they bring out new models. This is their own fault IMHO.

I somewhat agree that "this is their own fault". However, one must look at the types of cars Suzuki has engineered and built in it's long history. (short U.S. history) Americans want/expect too much in a car that is not really needed (and they pay the price that most truly can't afford to have these things). The Kizashi is a vehicle that's way outside of the normal mode for Suzuki, and, it is the result of superb effort. It just didn't fly here and that is because of a serious lack of advertising and which I agreed that it's their own fault. Suzuki customers are cheap by nature, yet want reliability and that is what the brand has been all about from day one. Our regulations make it impossible to maintain low cost reliability when the gov requires a dozen airbags in the car which does nothing for the basic purpose of reliable transportaion. It does however give people a false sense of security to drive even more carelessly. Samurais have crank windows, manual steering, manual transmission, manual hubs, zero air bags and manual transfer case. They're light and small, so you don't drive like an idiot in one lest you're looking to die. I've owned two since 86 and I'm still here w/o it having airbags. The driver drives and operates the vehicle, but it is one helluva tough, go-anywhere and reliable unit.

Ask yourself why you can't get a manual transmission in a full size 1/2 ton truck any longer? Even the 3/4 and 1-ton trucks are getting hard to come by w/ a manual. And the costs go way up as a result. It is ridiculous that a strippo reg cab 8' bed 2WD 3/4 ton GMC pickup w/ zero bells and whistles (other than A/C) is going for $30k+. But hey, it's got tons of airbags and On-Star! Contractors buy these mega-dollar blinged out trucks 'for business'. They roll up to your house to provide you a service...who you thinks really ends up paying the mortgage on that nifty truck they're rolling around in?

More regulations = higher cost and less (make that zero) choices for reliable low cost basic transportation. So Suzuki said screw the U.S. too much aggravation and I don't blame them. Funny how they sell millions of units everywhere else in the world. One has to seriously ask why that is. And forgive me for saying, our economic climate is one that requires that type of transport for most folks here in the U.S. despite the fact they haven't realized it yet. I don't want to pay what I used to pay for a mortgage on a lousy car, how about you?

I agree with you Ron. Have you ever read Eric Peter's blog? He covers this topic a lot about how regulation and the automakers being complicit with it rather than fighting it as they once did has destroyed the availability of good old basic, reliable transportation. A stripped down Versa was about the last best bet and even that model has now become bloated with options pushing the sticker up past cheap, basic transportation.

It really is silly the TPMS systems, back up cameras, blind spot warnings, Onstar, push button ebrake, push button start, LCD touchscreens, etc. that more and more become standard equipment that pushes up vehicle prices yet don't add anything to the utility of the vehicle itself as far as it's most basic function, reliably getting you from point a to point b.

I used to sell used rental cars for enterprise in my younger years and was always a fan of Suzukis. People looking for an SUV with real off road capabilities had generally never even heard of a GV or XL-7 but I sold plenty. There was no brand cache or pretension just good, solid reliable vehicles that performed well at their intended purpose.

I realize our Kizashi's have many of these options I'm speaking about but frankly one of the reasons I bought the car was it had some useful tech but not too much and I can see the writing on the wall that if I had waited a couple years I'm going to have a blind spot sensor and who knows what else whether I want it or not. So few people care about driving anymore it's more about loading the vehicle up with distractions to amuse them until they reach their destination and dummy proofing it to the point that it's nearly impossible for them to kill themselves while talking, texting, etc.

I think Suzuki outdid themselves with this car and each day I like it more and more. It is about the driving experience first from the handling, steering, braking to the great seats and well thought out cockpit. Even the button and control placement and texture/feedback is so well engineered. I'm looking forward to having mine a long time and see no reason abandon ship.

I went to my dealership to get oil change and spoke to the service manager there yesterday. He said one of the reason is they couldn't pass the 2015 emission.

Well I am a little pissed but what can you do. As long as they leave a dealership open within a reasonable distance from me I'm good with it and if they close near me I will just trade my Kizashi and move on.( I really liked this car too)

Ronzuki wrote:
More regulations = higher cost and less (make that zero) choices for reliable low cost basic transportation. So Suzuki said screw the U.S. too much aggravation and I don't blame them. Funny how they sell millions of units everywhere else in the world. One has to seriously ask why that is. And forgive me for saying, our economic climate is one that requires that type of transport for most folks here in the U.S. despite the fact they haven't realized it yet. I don't want to pay what I used to pay for a mortgage on a lousy car, how about you?

Exactly. Not the first time this has happened. See: Daihatsu in1993

Speaking of Daihatsu, I still see them from time to time. Makes you wonder for a Korean car from that time period, it must have been built somewhat well.

nytq wrote:Speaking of Daihatsu, I still see them from time to time. Makes you wonder for a Korean car from that time period, it must have been built somewhat well.

Actually Daihatsu is Japanese. Korean cars have made a major step up in quality but only since the late 90's. They were junk then.

Daihatsu is a good example of what we can expect. My dad owns a 1991 Rocky and it is still going strong. After 10 years following their pulling out Daihatsu left the US completely but retained a representative in California to answer questions and provide assistance to owners. He has worked five days a week for 10 years and is now slowly phasing out. Each year he drops a day a week. Soon Daihatsu owners will be on their own.

Think about that... 20+ years of post-departure support for a little niche brand in the US but HUGE in the rest of the world, just like Suzuki. Some people may be concerned about what happened following Saab's liquidation but the entire company was sold off. Suzuki is still an industrial giant that wants to maintain a good brand image here for their bikes and equipment. We will continue to get support for quite awhile as well as parts. Parts have never been an issue for my dad.

A big part of why parts have never been an issue is because he's hardly ever needed anything outside of normal maintenance items. Japanese cars built in Japan are GOOD solid cars! I hate to say it but companies that have opened North American plants to reduce costs and currency imbalance issues have experienced declines in quality. I have no doubts the Kizashi will stand the test of time and is capable of 200,000+ miles. If I didn't I wouldn't have bought it. XL7's? Eh, not so much.

Bottom line is we all made a good choice. Sure we want to be able to go down to the local parts store and get whatever. Sure we want to be able to take it to a dealer 10 miles down the road for service. Will we really need it though? Time will tell but I'm not worried about it. Enjoy the car and drive it into the ground.

Daihatsu is indeed Japanese and they are pretty prevalent in Japan. In fact, they are one of Suzuki's main rivals there in the Kei-car segment. Daihatsu is also owned by Toyota and it's the reason why Toyota does not have any Toyota-branded kei's. Daihatsu is their Kei-car brand. The Daihatsu Move is the main rival of the Suzuki Wagon-R.

Despite Suzuki's departure from the US, Suzuki is a huge corporation that sells all over the world. The Kizashi was designed as a global car and is sold all over with main production in Japan. They won't be sold here in the US any longer, but parts are still going to be produced and so will the cars. I imagine that parts can't be that hard to obtain in the future given A) they are still produced and will be in the future and B) the glorious invention called the internet. Put these two together and you get parts availability.
In addition, Suzuki will remain operating in Canada and Mexico.

I fully own my Kizashi so it makes no economic sense to do anything other than to keep it and drive it as long as I can. If I sell it now, I will probably take a loss, not only in $ sense, but the intrinsic value of the car. The Kizashi is a lot of car for the money. Also, given the reliability and the quality of the car, I am not too worried about the long term. I am pretty meticulous on maintenance and DIY car-loving so I think my Kizashi will be fine. I have bought all my previous cars out of warranty (including my past Suzuki Sidekick) and they have been just fine. Dealerships are stealerships once you are out of warranty, folks. Buying parts on the internet and getting a trusted mechanic to install it will save you beaucoup dollar.