Paint.

cocos3 · Sun May 04, 2014 5:35 am

NEW KIZASHI OWNERS>>>
I'm bringing this post up again because so many people are still worried about paint chips, particularly front bumpers and bonnet...Truly...the best thing you can invest in is good quality clear wrap! I left mine a couple of weeks before I had it done and paid the price by getting a couple of chips on the bonnet but since it was done...not a mark!Got the mirrors done too.

Man! So comforting to not see a new chip every day and you really don't know the wrap is there. If I decide to keep the car til it's nearly dead...I'll happily pay to have it re-done.

Hasn't stopped small chips appearing in odd places and d.ckheads opening doors onto it though!!

So, factor a wrap into purchase price and breathe a bit more easily...

Sun May 04, 2014 9:22 am

So what kind of wrap did you get and how much did it cost?

glorybound4 · Mon May 05, 2014 10:18 am

I found this on eBay and thought you might like it! Pro PreCut Paint Protection Film Bumper Kit Suzuki Kizashi 2010-2012 http://r.ebay.com/Ui1PMw.
I suggest using these rapidtac products to mount it, because it makes a better and easier to apply. http://www.rapidtac.com/
This is thinner than the 3m stuff. But that makes it easier to mount.

paininthenuts · Mon May 05, 2014 12:36 pm

I may be telling what you already know, but many countries have been attacked by the save the world campaign. In turn, car paint now has to be water based, which unfortunately means it is far more susceptible to chips than it used to be. I was chatting to my neighbour, who has a very expensive BMW, and he has the same problem.

On a slightly different note, my kizi is pearlescent white, and when I bought it it had quite a bad stone chip. I wasn't going to bother doing anything, but whilst at my local supermarket I noticed the chipsaway tent was there. For those of you who don't know, chipsaway in the UK is a company that will visit your house and carry out minor bodywork repairs. I have used them before and they are very good. I was told that they wouldn't go near my paintwork, as it is a new 3 layer system, and unless carried out in a workshop by a properly trained technician, it would look horrible.

Why is nothing ever simple in life ?

~tc~ · Mon May 05, 2014 12:51 pm

Certainly the switch to newer paints is a factor, but the Kizashi paint is significantly worse than others, even within the Suzuki stable.

paininthenuts · Mon May 05, 2014 5:44 pm

Is it possible that this changes from country to country, or are all Kizis made in Japan ?

honsonwong · Tue May 06, 2014 12:45 am

paininthenuts wrote:Is it possible that this changes from country to country, or are all Kizis made in Japan ?

I believe all the Kizashi are made in Japan. If you find the VIN# of your kizis starting by "J", then it is made in Japan.

Tue May 06, 2014 1:11 am

honsonwong wrote:
paininthenuts wrote:Is it possible that this changes from country to country, or are all Kizis made in Japan ?
I believe all the Kizashi are made in Japan. If you find the VIN# of your kizis starting by "J", then it is made in Japan.

Yup. All Kizashis are made in Japan. Not only that, all are from the same plant in Sagara, Japan. Sagara is rather close to Hamamatsu where Suzuki is headquartered (along with Yamaha and is also where Honda was founded. You think these guys like motorcycles in Hamamatsu?

)
Here's a satellite view of the Sagara plant. Suzuki even has a course around the plant. Pretty cool.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/%E3%8 ... 96a455b928