Been gone for a while. May be coming back to the club!
Hello all. After a 10 month hiatus I am contemplating buying another kizashi. I always liked the car, but left bc I couldnt stand driiving auto, and missed the stick. I always liked my 2011 gts, but the cvt took most of the fun out of it for me. Since Suzuki has pulled out of the us for cars, it's no surprise that the prices on these have tanked. I have finally found a manual gts. it's a 2011 gts in vivid red...not ny favorite color, but the car only has 16000 miles on it, and I have negotiated he price to 12500. car is immaculate, no flood or salvage, that is just what they are selling for. I also have a volvo dealer close who just stopped selling suzuki, so service can be had. first and foremost, is the price good? I see on kbb that its trade value is about 11k. second, how hard if it all has it been to get warranty work done from ex-dealers?
2011 6spd. Kizashi Sport SLS. Azure Gray Metallic.
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kizashigal
- Posts: 116
- Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:48 am
- Location: Colorado
Suzuki will continue to sell out the 2013 models, and then change over to service, I don't think you should have any issues with service at this time. Sounds like a good deal, guess I should have waited one more year to save a few thousand dollars!
2011 Kizzy SE AWD Deep Sea Blue
*drive it like you stole it*
*drive it like you stole it*
Ehibb034, where are you located? By any chance, are you talking about the red GTS 6 speed at Hudson Hyundai/Subaru in Jersey City, NJ?
I bought my black '11 GTS manual from the exact same dealership last year.
I bought my black '11 GTS manual from the exact same dealership last year.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
Well, I paid the price they asked because I really couldn't negotiate too much. They knew what the car was worth (4 grand more than asking price), knew I drove from DC for it, and knew that with all the contact/effort I made about the car, they had me hooked. I could have negotiated it perhaps a few hundred dollars less, but 14,988 for a pristine 2011 GTS with 7500 miles was a good deal for pre-Suzuki bankruptcy times.
What I did not give them was my trade-in. They gave me a ridiculous offer for my 2005 Mazda3 5 spd with 108,000 miles. I flat out refused. They made a final offer for less than half of what I would get selling privately. I refused again and months later, I sold my old car privately for about twice as much as their final trade-in offer. I would say never trade-in, especially an out-of-warranty car.
But overall, the buying experience from them was good. The salesman I had was a friendly Filipino guy named Chito. Their prices were very good (as you know) and the buying experience was overall good. I would recommend them.
Regarding the Genesis Coupe:
Here is where the Genesis Coupe wins:
1) The Hyundai will definitely be a higher-performance car. Either engine (2.0 liter turbo or the 3.8 liter V6) will offer way more performance than the Kizashi's 2.4 liter N/A engine.
2) The Genesis Coupe is RWD so you have that sports car aspect as well. Most true sports cars are RWD. The Kizashi you are looking at is FWD. Classic oversteer vs. understeer issues may apply.
3) Hyundai is still in the US and doing rather well. You should have no issues with warranty, service, or parts. Suzuki, on the other hand, packed up and went back to Japan.
4) Resale value. Suzuki is a goner and nothing could hurt resale value more.
Where I imagine the Kizashi is better is in the following:
1) Reliability. The Kizashi is a Japanese-made Japanese car. These are the most reliable types of cars on Earth. Hyundai on the other hand is a Korean brand that is doing better than ever, but still not up to Japanese quality or reliability. Hyundai's have an average reliability rating while most Japanese cars (and nearly all Made in Japan models) are above average. The Kizashi has relatively minor issues. It may not matter now, but in 10 years from now, I have no doubt the Kizashi will be the better car to own.
2) Safety. The Kizashi is among the top 10 safest cars on the road. Period. It's among the coveted IIHS Top Safety Plus. It aced a crash were the Camry flat out got a "Poor" rating. Watching the Kizashi's structural rigidity in crash tests online is impressive. I don't think a single Hyundai product offers this level of safety in different crash tests.
3) Comfort. The Kizashi is probably a much more refined car in ride comfort, road noise suppression, and suspension tuning. I imagine that for the commute or the long trip, the Kizashi is better. For weekend fun, definitely the Genesis Coupe.
Lastly, I have heard that the Genesis Coupe's manual shifter is very bad. I have read reviews where it was lambasted and called so imprecise that it caused mis-shifts if one was not careful. While the Kizashi's shifter is not awesome, it's not horrible either. I can't imagine owning a RWD manual sports car and then having a horrible shifter. That would suck real bad.
You'd have to drive both and see which is better for you. If you want a faster car, the Genesis Coupe is the clear winner. If you want refinement and safety, the Kizashi is the winner.
What I did not give them was my trade-in. They gave me a ridiculous offer for my 2005 Mazda3 5 spd with 108,000 miles. I flat out refused. They made a final offer for less than half of what I would get selling privately. I refused again and months later, I sold my old car privately for about twice as much as their final trade-in offer. I would say never trade-in, especially an out-of-warranty car.
But overall, the buying experience from them was good. The salesman I had was a friendly Filipino guy named Chito. Their prices were very good (as you know) and the buying experience was overall good. I would recommend them.
Regarding the Genesis Coupe:
Here is where the Genesis Coupe wins:
1) The Hyundai will definitely be a higher-performance car. Either engine (2.0 liter turbo or the 3.8 liter V6) will offer way more performance than the Kizashi's 2.4 liter N/A engine.
2) The Genesis Coupe is RWD so you have that sports car aspect as well. Most true sports cars are RWD. The Kizashi you are looking at is FWD. Classic oversteer vs. understeer issues may apply.
3) Hyundai is still in the US and doing rather well. You should have no issues with warranty, service, or parts. Suzuki, on the other hand, packed up and went back to Japan.
4) Resale value. Suzuki is a goner and nothing could hurt resale value more.
Where I imagine the Kizashi is better is in the following:
1) Reliability. The Kizashi is a Japanese-made Japanese car. These are the most reliable types of cars on Earth. Hyundai on the other hand is a Korean brand that is doing better than ever, but still not up to Japanese quality or reliability. Hyundai's have an average reliability rating while most Japanese cars (and nearly all Made in Japan models) are above average. The Kizashi has relatively minor issues. It may not matter now, but in 10 years from now, I have no doubt the Kizashi will be the better car to own.
2) Safety. The Kizashi is among the top 10 safest cars on the road. Period. It's among the coveted IIHS Top Safety Plus. It aced a crash were the Camry flat out got a "Poor" rating. Watching the Kizashi's structural rigidity in crash tests online is impressive. I don't think a single Hyundai product offers this level of safety in different crash tests.
3) Comfort. The Kizashi is probably a much more refined car in ride comfort, road noise suppression, and suspension tuning. I imagine that for the commute or the long trip, the Kizashi is better. For weekend fun, definitely the Genesis Coupe.
Lastly, I have heard that the Genesis Coupe's manual shifter is very bad. I have read reviews where it was lambasted and called so imprecise that it caused mis-shifts if one was not careful. While the Kizashi's shifter is not awesome, it's not horrible either. I can't imagine owning a RWD manual sports car and then having a horrible shifter. That would suck real bad.
You'd have to drive both and see which is better for you. If you want a faster car, the Genesis Coupe is the clear winner. If you want refinement and safety, the Kizashi is the winner.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
I was afraid at their trade in values. They asked me what autotrader said my car was worth over the phone. I said 13,750 on autotrader, but dealers here are going to give me 17,500 for the car. I even emailed my written offers to them to see. They said that 14,250 would be the max. I am currently driving a VW CC 2.0T Manual. I like the car, but I just got promoted at work which is where the Gen Coupe is coming into play. I am a banker, and the banker side of me is telling me to downgrade my car and pay less per month than I am now because a car is a depreciating assest, which is where the Kiz comes into play. The 26 year old in me who just got promoted wants to splurge on the sports car. I have owned the Kiz for a week, so I have plenty of wheel time to make the informed decision on that car. I have also driven the Gen coupe. The two cars aren't comparable, and the Kiz isn't really comparable to my current car, but it's dirt cheap now and my payment would be lowered by about 150 a month if I went with it. It really is just a choice between spending money or not spending money at this point.
2011 6spd. Kizashi Sport SLS. Azure Gray Metallic.
