Parts Availability

[vertible]

Hi all!
Looking for a replacement car for my daughters totaled vehicle (she is fine) and a local Kizashi caught my eye. Great crash test ratings and alot of car for the money, BUT it seems that parts are going to be scarce?
I looked on several parts websites, Rock Auto, SuzukiAutomotiveParts, Auto Zone and while there are a number of parts available, there are many that are discontinued.

I am located in the USA for reference.

What has been peoples experience tracking down hard to find parts? Are there some good sources of used parts if needed?

Thanks,

John

[bdleonard]

My general take is that service / maintenance parts (brakes pads, rotors, belts, fluids, bearings, filters, O2 sensors, etc) are likely to be readily available from many sources for a long time. Mechanical parts are likely to be harder to find and some will only be OEM (but are only generally needed if something breaks), and body / fixtures / trim are likely to be OEM only (so used / salvaged is probably your best bet if needed).

[KuroNekko]

I agree with bdleonard. Maintenance parts are very easy to find for the Kizashi. I do all my own maintenance and never had an issue sourcing a part. I even often find what I need in B&M stores as most maintenance parts are not vehicle-specific. Rockauto.com is my online go-to for most other maintenance and replacement parts. You can also find OE Suzuki or Kizashi-only parts online but it's harder to source. However, it's not like many have had to do this because the Kizashi has a generally good technical record for reliability. If anything, it's the JATCO CVT that some experience issues with and that's not something most people can service or replace themselves.

Body parts are the main difficulty. If you get into an accident and need to replace a panel, bumper, fender, etc. this is where it gets tricky. Insurance companies are also known to total Kizashis due to the difficulty and extra cost of sourcing Kizashi body parts.

All in all, I think the Kizashi makes for an excellent used car. They are often going for way less than they are worth in an intrinsic sense. It's a nice family sedan/wannabe sports sedan going for economy car prices on the used market. It's also very safe and reliable. I expect mine to run into high mileage on mostly just normal maintenance.

[Speed_Racer]

Depending on the trim level, values are probably getting close to bottoming out. I've seen a few S trims in good shape for around $5k in my region. It'd be a good safe car to "drive into the ground" without losing much more to depreciation. AKA keep it until the first big accident or major reliability issue (CVT most likely) cost more to repair than it's worth.

Another model worth considering is the SX4. Also good crash ratings but they made more of those than the Kizashi so spare parts should in theory be a bit easier to come by.

[Ronzuki]

Insurance rates for both vehicles suck...so you might want to get your quotes on that first before you buy. My newer, more expensive, Jeep is cheaper to insure than either the SX4 or the Kizaashi which are both several years older than the Jeep.

[vertible]

Thanks for all the input, all good points.
We ended up buying the car last night. 2010 SLS with 74k miles & chrome wheels in great condition. Paid a bit more than I wanted to ($6000), but car drove great and is alot of car for the $$

Full coverage insurance was quoted about $230 more per year for this 2010 Kizashi SLS than her previous 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT. Since it was going to be around$2300 a year for full coverage we are going with only liability for around $1000 per year.

Hopefully it is a dependable car and she doesn't crash it

[Speed_Racer]

Yikes, where do you guys live? My Kiz insurance is way cheap

[vertible]

Yikes, where do you guys live? My Kiz insurance is way cheap

Lol, she is 17 so insurance is high.

[Ronzuki]

Good compromise on the insurance. It is a very safe car. Down-side is that it is a very 'sporty' car for such a young driver to have. The comparison ins rates to the Elantra sounds about right.

I live where there are far too many people, cars, trucks and crashes. East coast megalopolis.

[DiggerDerrik]

Good buy. Welcome to the club. I have a 2010 GTS with 125K miles. The only part it’s ever needed outside of filters and headlights (get ready to change those twice a year) is a rear bumper when mine was rear ended. I gave up looking for one after all I could find was one for $700 which was the wrong color.

My point being is you’ve just purchased an extremely reliable car. Do your maintenance and enjoy.