About to buy a kizashi...advice needed

Ehibb034 · Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:45 pm

One thing added. The Kiz also has the navigation/dvd player package

chazyouwin · Tue Jun 12, 2012 3:12 pm

The trade deal sounds good given the $11000 price you paid, but if they are paying more than blue book I suspect they may be using it to discount the Kizashi somewhat.

Depreciation is not straight line for Toyotas as well as Suzukis. I bought a 2002 Suzuki XL-7 on EBay in 2006. Judging by the clearance prices on EBay which I followed I could have sold it for within $1000 of what I paid for four years thereafter. I'll bet I could still sell it for $2000 less than what I paid.

If I were the dealer, I'd be looking at a possibility of selling the Scion quickly. Depends upon the supply of Scions in the area, perhaps.

Furthermore, if you as a dealer get just one Scion on your used lot, it may add something to the lot. It may also suggest that people are trading in Toyotas for Suzukis, which is an interesting sales point. There's a bit of associated youth, etc. Who knows.

Ehibb034 · Tue Jun 12, 2012 3:31 pm

Interesting insight chaz. I think the scion is just way more in demand especially because of the fuel economy.

Another word on the depreciation. In 2011 this car cost new, 28,700. Thats the sticker and from reading posts here, there are some people who paid close to or right at sticker for their kiz. I previously did state that the depreciation was 33% in one year. It is actually 32.05 percent if I buy this at 19,500. Thats 32.05 percent depreciation in 365 days! Can anyone take an educated guess as to what their kiz will be worth in four years? Why would anyone urge this to be purchased new when it will drop so significantly in just one year? I can't think of a poorer choice on top of an already bad investment of buying a car (but I really want one!

)

I don't want anyone to be offended by these remarks, this is just me thinking out my process and hoping that owner's can chime in. I love the car. I just want to make an informed decision.

NiteRider · Tue Jun 12, 2012 4:40 pm

One piece of advice: I wouldn't buy this car if you are looking to trade it in later. This is not really the car to do that with. Sounds weird; but when you buy this car, you're buying the car, not how much it will be worth a few yrs from now.

Besides, the depression is anyone's guess really. Since there are not too many kizzy's around, there is no base line for dealers to go off of. Some get terrible trade in value and some get really good money for it. It depends on the location, the dealership, and what mood the owner is in.

I myself have 0 buyer's remorse. In the past 10 yrs, I've owned cars like the Porsche 944 turbo, RX-7 (2nd Gen), and a Jetta. The handling and comfort in this car beats those. MPG is also better and I would imagine that your kind of driving style should see 30+ MPG.

DelliReeus · Tue Jun 12, 2012 5:11 pm

Well it all depends on what you're looking for, the Kizashi, I get 23-27 city since I filled up with the 93 octane, but that is when I don't floor it all the time lol, but I do get 28-34 mpg on highway, I do like my cvt transmission, the ONLY thing I dislike is the speed :/

NiteRider · Tue Jun 12, 2012 6:31 pm

Speed is not a problem in this car, it's just initial acceleration. But that is to the OP's benefit anyway since he's a hyper-miler and won't need to gun it on every green light.

Ehibb034 · Tue Jun 12, 2012 7:13 pm

I am the OP to those who are following the convo...

I am a slight hypermiler so any reports of a 30 mpg combined with normal people driving is great reporting to me.

I will drive this car hard when I get in the twisties from time to time.

I read something on another forum that mentioned that the GTS does not have auto headlights or auto wipers...is that true?

Also, I heard that there is no auxilary jack on this cars head unit...ridiculous. I do have an ipod but I also have a droid phone that I use for streaming pandora and youtube music. Can I USB out of that to the head unit?

NiteRider · Tue Jun 12, 2012 9:48 pm

Ehibb034 wrote: I read something on another forum that mentioned that the GTS does not have auto headlights or auto wipers...is that true?

Also, I heard that there is no auxilary jack on this cars head unit...ridiculous. I do have an ipod but I also have a droid phone that I use for streaming pandora and youtube music. Can I USB out of that to the head unit?

It has Bluetooth. I stream pandora through my droid and it works flawlessly with the steering wheel controls.

Firefly · Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:35 pm

You need the SLS to get the auto wipers and lights.

chazyouwin · Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:53 am

I can believe many people paid close to sticker for their 2011s. Supply I understand was cut short, somewhat by the 2011 earthquake. The prices for the 2011s were definitely higher and stickier in the high range.
But know that Suzuki gives a loyalty rebate ($500) and other types of rebates are possible (e.g. military) so that the vehicle may have come more cheaply than sticker even in the tightest of market. We got that $500 loyalty rebate and it came straight through from Suzuki right off the price negotiated.
But that's all an aside. The advice is to look to the new 2012 on the dealers' lots that's available now for your comparisons. I've been looking at some of the inventory available on-line and I've been salivating at the negotiation possibilities.