Hey all. Thinking about coming back to the club.

[Ehibb034]

Yes I've said it once before, but I am thinking about coming back to the club. I used to be active on this site for the week and a half that I owned the Kizashi. It was inadvertantly backed into a wall by the detailer at the dealership and consequently repurchased from me by them...shi#ty I know, but that's just how it went.
I loved the car, AWD, CVT, but the only downside for me was the MPG. I have now found an 11 sport GTS with manual trans in very good shape with 33k miles for 14,230 USD. I test drove the car and I could instantly tell that the MPG was going to be way above that of the CVT just within the 30 minutes I drove it. The instant guage was reading in the high 40's regularly during the drive. The car has a sunroof but no NAV/Backup camera package which was on the first one I had and will be missed. the other major downfall is that the car smells soooo bad! The salesman didn't even want to go on the drive with me and I cut my drive short die to the smell. It wasn't smoke and it wasn't water damage smell either....car has clean carfax and was a one owner lease.
I walked out of the dealership saying I wasn't interested unless they can take the smell out of the car. they assured me they could, but I will keep that bargaining chip in my pocket for now. Based on what people have been paying, If I can get this down to 13.5, how does that stack up?

[KuroNekko]

What does the car smell like and where are you/the car located?

You need to be very careful with cars that smell bad/odd. It may indicate mold from flood damage. If you are up in the NY/NJ area, it could have been damaged by Hurricane Sandy. If you are serious about the car, then look under the carpeting and look for water/mold/mud residue. Check the trunk and lower parts of the cabin.

Also definitely work the price down. Use me as an example. I bought my 2011 Sport GTS with 6 speed manual in August of 2012 for 14,988. Only had 7500 miles. Absolutely nothing wrong with the car and it was in mint condition. This was pre-Suzuki exodus too.

Realistically, the dealer will have a very hard time selling this car for a few reasons:
1) It smells horrible to the point it makes even their sales people nauseous.
2) It's an unpopular car from a brand that left the US market. Warranty, service, and parts are all compromised because of this.
3) It's a manual. Some people like us really want them, but we are a small minority. Over 90% of the cars in America are autos. Most people simply don't want them.

If I were you, I'd not pay more than 13,000 for it now, especially compared to the deal I got.

I also want to point out another thing since you brought it up:
The manual models don't get great mileage. In fact, it's not very different from the CVT models with AWD based on observations here by members. EPA estimates for the manual are really not any better than CVT models with AWD either.
Keep in mind that the GTS has larger wheels which contribute to greater fuel consumption.
Unless you do the large majority of your driving on only highways or freeways, you will not see mileage over 30 mpg. That instant MPG gauge is nonsense.
Trust me, I have the very car you are interested in and I drive more on the freeway than the city. Despite that, I have yet to break over 30 mpg in the time I've owned it. I am sure it could if I drive most of the tank only on highway/freeway and keep it under 75 mph. However, throw in city driving (like my commute) and you can kiss 30+ mpg goodbye.

[Ehibb034]

Thanks for the insight on the MPG. I will be driving close to 75-80% highway miles on the car.

As for the smell. I definitely can say that the smell inside the car was not smoke. I used to smoke for close to seven years and quit almost three years ago. I am so sensitive to that smell as a retired smoker that I can 100% rule smoke out.

As for water damage....clean carfax. I know that that is no indication of anything, but a good place to start. It certainly does not smell like mold to me, but I could be wrong. The car was purchased and owned in the Langhorne/warminster areas of PA. I live about 20 miles east of this town. Where I live we lost power due to Sandy for over 7 days and I know there was some localized flooding in the area.

[Ronzuki]

Carfax is an indicator of nothing reliable other than where the car has been titled and registered, or, damage loss by an insurance company (doesn't it mean it wasn't wrecked and fixed). So, where has this car been titled and registered during its life according to the carfax? Anywhere near Sandy's path of destruction and damage zone, run away. The car fax the dealer posted on my Jeep I traded made it appear as if it was a stellar, one owner, vehicle. When in fact it had a hole, of missing time and mileage w/o anything entered, the size of a battleship. I was the original and only owner, and I can tell you that car fax reported absolutely NONE of my many, many trips back to the dealer for warranty claims and the crappy engine noises the thing made from 15,000 miles on up until I traded it on the Kiz at 71k-ish miles.

dead rodent remains in there somewhere?

[bootymac]

The car stinks for a reason. I would be extremely weary until I find out why. It could indicate a deeper problem

[murcod]

Keep looking.

[LPSISRL]

Mold and dead animals don't smell alike. It's quite possible that you've got a dead animal in there and it will stink! Hope they can find it.
FYI - last June I paid 14,995 out the door for my 2011 SLS w/o navigation in Washington DC. It had about 34K miles on it. So being a trim level down, a MT and a few months down the road, I think that 13K out the door should be doable. If they won't, then you have to decide how bad you want it. It may sit on the lot for awhile so even if they don't take what you offer, have them call you if they change their minds. There's a dealer here in SE Va that has had a 2010 the 5,500 miles on it for ages. It was at 17,995 last June and it's down to 14,995 right now.

[Ehibb034]

It could be a dead animal smell now that you mention it. That would be the closest thing I could compare it too.

also, the going rate for a kizashi in gts or sls in my parts with comparable mileage is anywhere between 14,999 and 17,500. the closest manual trans is about 150 miles away and it is about a grand more, but has less miles. I agree that its 13k or the highway.

[WESHOOT2]

Buy the one with the least miles.
Or new (they still exist).

[KuroNekko]

It could be a dead animal smell now that you mention it. That would be the closest thing I could compare it too.

also, the going rate for a kizashi in gts or sls in my parts with comparable mileage is anywhere between 14,999 and 17,500. the closest manual trans is about 150 miles away and it is about a grand more, but has less miles. I agree that its 13k or the highway.

Given how rare these cars are, you have to be willing to travel to get yourself a good car for a good deal spec'd the way you want. I drove from Washington, DC to Jersey City, NJ to get my Kizashi. That's over 200 miles, but it was totally worth it.

I know that North Carolina is quite far for someone living in Pennsylvania, but this is what I am talking about:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale ... 9838&Log=0