Kizashi Club

Hey all,

If you're like me, you're a bit stuck with this car. Not a bad car to be stuck with, mind you! But, the resale value has certainly tanked since the Suzuki exit from the US, and (if we're being honest) it's only going downhill from here. In 5 years or so I doubt high mileage Kizashi's will be worth more than scrap price.

So, what do you guys plan to do with your Kizashi's once the time comes to replace it?

Personally, once mine's time has come I'm gonna keep it and make it my project car. I'm gonna use it to practice my body work and DIY performance modding! Many performance minded people get turned away from modding the Kizashi due to its non-existent aftermarket and its loss of reliability from large-scale modifications, but if its just a secondary project car, you can DIY it all day without worrying about it breaking down on your way to work. I'd like to completely swap in new mechanics, new engine, tranny, drivetrain, etc. Make it a new car entirely, finding a cheap donor car to basically swap everything from. Now this won't be an easy project, but I think it will be a fun one! As long as you don't worry too much about reliability or aesthetic, I think it could be done sort of on the cheap, but I'm only beginning to think about it haha.

Many people may say, "why do that when you can just buy a better car," my thinking is why let a good car like the Kizashi go to waste! You won't be able to make any real money off selling it or trading it in, so why not make something beautiful out of it?

I agree with you that given the dismal resale value of the Kizashi, the best thing to do is hold on to it if you own it. While the parts supply will become harder, the good thing is that the Kizashi is a relatively reliable vehicle without many issues. If anything, the rear shocks and the faulty bump stoppers are about the only real mechanical problem that seems to be common. The paint quality sucks, but that's also not going to stop you from staying on the road.

I plan to keep my Kizashi for the long haul simply because it's a great car that I truly like and fully own. Getting rid of it anytime soon would result in both a monetary and intrinsic loss that wouldn't make sense. I currently have just under 60K and will probably keep this car to at least 150,000 miles but will be tempted to go to 200,000 as I know the mechanical components can do it. In terms of offloading it when the day comes, I'll probably end up giving it or selling it really cheap to a family member or friend as I've done with two previous cars. Maybe Craigslist if no one I know wants a manual transmission vehicle anymore by then.

In terms of a replacement car, it's hard to be certain, but the Kizashi will probably be my last manual trans vehicle because it will likely be my last conventional internal combustion vehicle. If I keep the Kizashi to 200,000 miles, I'll be certainly replacing it with a PHEV, Hybrid, or maybe an EV. I'm someone who believes electrified powertrains are the future and can already realize their benefits as they would apply to me. Something like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV with its twin motor AWD appeals to me greatly. However, with its great characteristics and my high satisfaction with the car, I'm in no hurry to get rid of my Kizashi. The cheap gas prices also help in justifying its relatively low fuel economy. I'm averaging 22 MPG these days thanks to increased traffic congestion in my region.

I'm the same. I put fairly low miles on mine so I don't expect any major problems or expenses for quite some time. Plus I really enjoy driving it. I plan to keep mine as a dependable DD so that I can afford to tinker with less-reliable project cars and bikes on the side. The most I may do is swap out the wheels/tires in a few years to freshen up the look.

Keep it, drive it, enjoy it. Pretty much been the long-term plan all along. Unless something majorly expensive to fix happens to it, of course, then, I'd have to evaluate the situation at that time. Can't see me paying the ridiculous money for a 'comparable' vehicle to replace it either. Probably just end up DD'ing the Jeep then.

I'm planning on keeping mine as long as it's financially smart to do so. It's a great car that I still love to drive. All the comfort and performance that's built into it I could not afford to replace. I had my CVT replaced this year so that's one cost-prohibitive repair that I'm hopefully past. I live in SE Virginia so there's no rust issues at all especially since just about everything has been zinc coated anyway. The rear shocks still seem fine although I'm planning on purchasing a set with the modified bump stops soon. I may even keep a watch for a great deal on a used one for my wife. We let one with about 80K miles on it slip away a few months ago when I could have gotten it for $8500. It was a very pretty white 2013 SLS that drove perfectly and started out at the dealer at 12K. I low balled them and they said "No." They ended up dropping the listing for what I had offered by the time it sold. At least for my wife it was a lesson learned since I was ready to go buy it when the price was dropped to what I had offered. I was about a day too late.

LPSISRL wrote: I may even keep a watch for a great deal on a used one for my wife. We let one with about 80K miles on it slip away a few months ago when I could have gotten it for $8500. It was a very pretty white 2013 SLS that drove perfectly and started out at the dealer at 12K. I low balled them and they said "No." They ended up dropping the listing for what I had offered by the time it sold. At least for my wife it was a lesson learned since I was ready to go buy it when the price was dropped to what I had offered. I was about a day too late.

Maybe this one is your second chance?
I was looking up Kizashis on Craigslist the other day and found something quite interesting:
Kizashi Sport SLS. CVT AWD. 64,000 miles. Asking $9989. Located in Chantilly, VA.
It doesn't have a nav, but I think that's a good thing. You get a better stereo with Bluetooth Audio (works very well with my iPhone) and the phone apps are better navigators anyway due to their constant updates and live traffic info, IMO.
Looks real clean.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/ ... 49660.html

I'm of the same opinion as a lot of us in this thread--keep it forever. Which this isn't just a decision on the Kizashi, but all the cars I own since I put so much love into them. It has been a very good car to us and my wife even realizes what a gem we have when she drives brand new 2016 rentals and misses the Kizashi. I've actually toyed with the idea of getting a second one (and that one in the link above is very tempting), but I don't think the wife will approve. The wife wants a Tesla, and I didn't care much for the idea until I drove one--but that's a topic for another time when I can post about it...

...and I still search for my third....

SamirD wrote:I'm of the same opinion as a lot of us in this thread--keep it forever. Which this isn't just a decision on the Kizashi, but all the cars I own since I put so much love into them. It has been a very good car to us and my wife even realizes what a gem we have when she drives brand new 2016 rentals and misses the Kizashi. I've actually toyed with the idea of getting a second one (and that one in the link above is very tempting), but I don't think the wife will approve. The wife wants a Tesla, and I didn't care much for the idea until I drove one--but that's a topic for another time when I can post about it...

Which one does she want? The Model S, Model X, or upcoming Model 3?
I created a thread about Tesla a while back over here if you want to discuss it:
http://www.kizashiclub.com/forum/viewto ... f=8&t=2457

KuroNekko wrote:

LPSISRL wrote: I may even keep a watch for a great deal on a used one for my wife. We let one with about 80K miles on it slip away a few months ago when I could have gotten it for $8500. It was a very pretty white 2013 SLS that drove perfectly and started out at the dealer at 12K. I low balled them and they said "No." They ended up dropping the listing for what I had offered by the time it sold. At least for my wife it was a lesson learned since I was ready to go buy it when the price was dropped to what I had offered. I was about a day too late.

Maybe this one is your second chance?
I was looking up Kizashis on Craigslist the other day and found something quite interesting:
Kizashi Sport SLS. CVT AWD. 64,000 miles. Asking $9989. Located in Chantilly, VA.
It doesn't have a nav, but I think that's a good thing. You get a better stereo with Bluetooth Audio (works very well with my iPhone) and the phone apps are better navigators anyway due to their constant updates and live traffic info, IMO.
Looks real clean.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/ ... 49660.html

I actually saw this one while browsing last week. I bought mine from a dealer in Tyson's Corner. After just putting in a new HVAC last week to the tune of about 8 grand, getting another car will be a hard sell unless it's a necessity.