What color is your Kizashi, & do you have paint chips ?

[Hawkzilla]

While I agree that there is no company that wants negative comments about their product on forums or social media, my point that a owner's beef does not qualify as "bad press" in the world of marketing stands true. From a marketing standpoint, you're going to have to wait until you start seeing reports of paint issues or recalls on the news before it makes a substantial impact on the sales of the Kizashi. Personally, I research actual reviews by credible media sources when considering to purchase anything. I think most people understand that forum feedback needs to be taken with a grain of salt sometimes, as well as all cars/products are suspect to gremlins. With the massive amount of very positive reviews out there, I think it's fair to say that it's completely within reason to believe that the Kizashi has won awards already, and now that they are starting to run TV spots, I wouldn't be surprised to see more of these on the road very soon.

On a more lightened note, I thought I saw my first chip this weekend, but when I went to wash it it turned out to be some white colored dirt spec. So, so far so good. I will even go as far as saying that my paint job is impressive. I have gotten some compliments on how it looks 10x better than other new cars with the same color.

Also, I got to take it out for some fun late night driving this weekend. I put it in AWD and hit some corners hard and dropped the hammer down on some curvy on-ramps.... it made the reality of that first payment fade away.

I'm very happy with this car so far.

[lookin]

While I agree that there is no company that wants negative comments about their product on forums or social media, my point that a owner's beef does not qualify as "bad press" in the world of marketing stands true. From a marketing standpoint, you're going to have to wait until you start seeing reports of paint issues or recalls on the news before it makes a substantial impact on the sales of the Kizashi. Personally, I research actual reviews by credible media sources when considering to purchase anything. I think most people understand that forum feedback needs to be taken with a grain of salt sometimes, as well as all cars/products are suspect to gremlins. With the massive amount of very positive reviews out there, I think it's fair to say that it's completely within reason to believe that the Kizashi has won awards already, and now that they are starting to run TV spots, I wouldn't be surprised to see more of these on the road very soon.

On a more lightened note, I thought I saw my first chip this weekend, but when I went to wash it it turned out to be some white colored dirt spec. So, so far so good. I will even go as far as saying that my paint job is impressive. I have gotten some compliments on how it looks 10x better than other new cars with the same color.

Also, I got to take it out for some fun late night driving this weekend. I put it in AWD and hit some corners hard and dropped the hammer down on some curvy on-ramps.... it made the reality of that first payment fade away.

I'm very happy with this car so far.

you know what you are right ...companies know they are people who would nik pik on every little thing rightfully so sometimes as far as chips go i have none and i have been monitoring the situation its unfortunate for those who do but i dont think the product should be knocked because there is no perfect vehicle...i too have been complimented about how nice my paint looks and i also had those colored dirt specs scare..no issues at all just a great car.....

[Hawkzilla]

you know what you are right ...companies know they are people who would nik pik on every little thing rightfully so sometimes as far as chips go i have none and i have been monitoring the situation its unfortunate for those who do but i dont think the product should be knocked because there is no perfect vehicle...i too have been complimented about how nice my paint looks and i also had those colored dirt specs scare..no issues at all just a great car.....

I don't want to come off as unsympathetic to the paint chip people, because if that happened to me I would be super POed and would leave a trail of scorched earth until Suzuki did something to fix it. I was just making a point that until this problem is brought to a mainstream media level, it won't make much of an impact on overall sales.

Every day I look up new reviews on google... another one using the word "impressive" pooped up today. http://macarthur-chronicle-campbelltown ... -steps-up/

So far, from what I see online, more people than not are loving their Kizashi. I really hope Suzuki does the right thing and helps out those with paint issues, because otherwise this is a great car.

[lookin]

you know what you are right ...companies know they are people who would nik pik on every little thing rightfully so sometimes as far as chips go i have none and i have been monitoring the situation its unfortunate for those who do but i dont think the product should be knocked because there is no perfect vehicle...i too have been complimented about how nice my paint looks and i also had those colored dirt specs scare..no issues at all just a great car.....

I don't want to come off as unsympathetic to the paint chip people, because if that happened to me I would be super POed and would leave a trail of scorched earth until Suzuki did something to fix it. I was just making a point that until this problem is brought to a mainstream media level, it won't make much of an impact on overall sales.

Every day I look up new reviews on google... another one using the word "impressive" pooped up today. http://macarthur-chronicle-campbelltown ... -steps-up/

So far, from what I see online, more people than not are loving their Kizashi. I really hope Suzuki does the right thing and helps out those with paint issues, because otherwise this is a great car.

not unsympathetic at all i too would be pissed reason why i keep checking is because i am willing to join the fight[as a matter of fact i joined the fight before i bought the car by calling suzuki spoke to a mr. holland to find out whats going on he said to me it would have to be a case by case matter and nothing he could tell me unless i buy car and have the same problem call him back he even checked in with me one time but to date i got nothing] . but realistically speaking its going to be hard to prove as a defect it would have to be a large number of people this is going to be a very hard case....

[volunteer]

While I agree that there is no company that wants negative comments about their product on forums or social media, my point that a owner's beef does not qualify as "bad press" in the world of marketing stands true. From a marketing standpoint, you're going to have to wait until you start seeing reports of paint issues or recalls on the news before it makes a substantial impact on the sales of the Kizashi. Personally, I research actual reviews by credible media sources when considering to purchase anything. I think most people understand that forum feedback needs to be taken with a grain of salt sometimes, as well as all cars/products are suspect to gremlins. With the massive amount of very positive reviews out there, I think it's fair to say that it's completely within reason to believe that the Kizashi has won awards already, and now that they are starting to run TV spots, I wouldn't be surprised to see more of these on the road very soon.

On a more lightened note, I thought I saw my first chip this weekend, but when I went to wash it it turned out to be some white colored dirt spec. So, so far so good. I will even go as far as saying that my paint job is impressive. I have gotten some compliments on how it looks 10x better than other new cars with the same color.

Also, I got to take it out for some fun late night driving this weekend. I put it in AWD and hit some corners hard and dropped the hammer down on some curvy on-ramps.... it made the reality of that first payment fade away.

I'm very happy with this car so far.

Not really arguing your point Hawk, since I'm not a marketing person, but the world she is a changin and what may or may not be a text book example of "bad press" has been blurred significantly by the internet. This comment from Audi of America's President Johan de Nysschen in an interview about the mess Toyota has on their hands. "it is often hard to determine whether complaints in the field are legitimate or merely people having a rant. On the internet, each consumer is now a mass marketer.". While it may just be a few people having bad experiences (hopefully), there are a LOT of consumers out there that DO believe everything they read. As we've seen from the Toyota issue, people are quick to jump on the bandwagon of bad news when they don't know the facts. A company has to take that seriously.

For the record, I'm happy with this car too.

[Hawkzilla]

Not really arguing your point Hawk, since I'm not a marketing person, but the world she is a changin and what may or may not be a text book example of "bad press" has been blurred significantly by the internet. This comment from Audi of America's President Johan de Nysschen in an interview about the mess Toyota has on their hands. "it is often hard to determine whether complaints in the field are legitimate or merely people having a rant. On the internet, each consumer is now a mass marketer.". While it may just be a few people having bad experiences (hopefully), there are a LOT of consumers out there that DO believe everything they read. As we've seen from the Toyota issue, people are quick to jump on the bandwagon of bad news when they don't know the facts. A company has to take that seriously.

For the record, I'm happy with this car too.

Yes there are a lot of consumers that (unfortunately) believe everything posted on forum or social networks, but to my point, when did the mass public become aware of Toyota's problems? Answer: When it was published by the mainstream media. I can honestly say that I never heard boo about Toyota's issues until it was on CNN, and I use the internet as much as anyone. Now, considering the seriousness of Toyota's issue and how most of us never knew about it until the actual media caught on, how much of a ding do you suppose the Kizashi paint issue is going to make on overall sales... especially if Suzuki fixed it in the 2010 produced cars? Realistically, I would put my money on "not much"... and with my new car payment, that is saying a lot about my confidence! lol

[volunteer]

Not really arguing your point Hawk, since I'm not a marketing person, but the world she is a changin and what may or may not be a text book example of "bad press" has been blurred significantly by the internet. This comment from Audi of America's President Johan de Nysschen in an interview about the mess Toyota has on their hands. "it is often hard to determine whether complaints in the field are legitimate or merely people having a rant. On the internet, each consumer is now a mass marketer.". While it may just be a few people having bad experiences (hopefully), there are a LOT of consumers out there that DO believe everything they read. As we've seen from the Toyota issue, people are quick to jump on the bandwagon of bad news when they don't know the facts. A company has to take that seriously.

For the record, I'm happy with this car too.

Yes there are a lot of consumers that (unfortunately) believe everything posted on forum or social networks, but to my point, when did the mass public become aware of Toyota's problems? Answer: When it was published by the mainstream media. I can honestly say that I never heard boo about Toyota's issues until it was on CNN, and I use the internet as much as anyone. Now, considering the seriousness of Toyota's issue and how most of us never knew about it until the actual media caught on, how much of a ding do you suppose the Kizashi paint issue is going to make on overall sales... especially if Suzuki fixed it in the 2010 produced cars? Realistically, I would put my money on "not much"... and with my new car payment, that is saying a lot about my confidence! lol

If you are Suzuki and you are trying to rebuild your reputation, sold just a tick over 400 Kizashis (Kizashii??) last month and less than that the month before, you can't afford to lose a single customer!! In the end, yeah, I don't think this issue will have a serious impact on sales or the company, but they need to pay attention. Regarding the Toyota mess, their collection of issues have been known and documented very well over the years in the automotive media, it just took until this year for the "mainstream" media to pick it up.

[KCKizashi]

Platinum Silver....made in December 2009....have a few small chips

platinum silver here, made in 3/2010 - no chips as of yet (knock on wood) but I only have about 500 miles so far.
EDIT:Hand washed the car last night and found a small chip on the hood. GRRRRRR!!!!!!!

[aragon20]

Just a quick update, I went to my Suzuki dealer yesterday and met with a rep from Suzuki. I had a couple problems going on...of course my paint chipping, my stereo ramdomly getting loud for like 2 seconds and then going back to normal, and then my blinkers were acting weird. The suzuki rep took photos of my paint chips and did paint depth measurements and said he would call me within one week. They switched out my amp, no problem, and the issue seems to have gone away. My turn signals were acting weird but it turns out the car has a feature that I didn't know about. Aparently if you don't push down the lever all the way, your blinker will blink from 1-4 times (depending on how you set it) and then stop. He said it is used for like interstate driving and whatnot. (I live in a hick-town so no real reason why I would need it) Anyways...I thought the blinkers were freaking out when I was the one doing it all along. I also asked about this weird air-compressor-like noise I hear at night sometimes and he said it was the car checking....something (I forgot) and that it was normal. He said there was a TSB out about that so the service department's could tell customers it was normal. I asked the serivce manager about the availability of TSB to owners and he said he didn't think they were available to us but I will check with the rep when he calls me back. I was really impressed with the service tech from Suzuki. He took care of the issues I was having (besides my paint) with no problem and he even pointed out I didn't have floor matt hooks and ordered some for me. Hopefully Suzuki will take care of the paint as well and I will once again become a fan of the car and the company. I'll let you all know what they decide.

[Senegal]

thanks for the update.

It is a great car indeed. The rep will be checking my paint this week. In all likelihood, if they deny the paint problem, I will take the car to a body shop to see what can be done. Maybe an additional layer of clear coat or something in that effect would help. I just have a hard time to trust a non-Suzuki affiliate with the car.

I have to say that the responsiveness of the their customer service in US is excellent. We just have to wait and see if the company would stand behind the paint issues in the early production cars (Oct-Dec 09)

I was thinking about 3M clear panels as well but realistically I can't put them all over the car.

Oh...and the first dent in the car was born today by a lovely home depot shopper who chose to park far away from the store and right next to my poor Kizashi, it's right next to driver's door handle , less than an inch in diameter, and probably less than a quarter of an inch in depth. I'm just glad that this spot didn't chip as well.