[hei223]

Found a 2013 SLS 17 miles on odo as/per dealer, but I'm concerned about it. It could be more that 1 year old, and may not have been started or moved etc during that time. Last week there were 4 other SLS's available from the same dealer, who claims they purchased them from a Suzuki dealer. I do have a test drive scheduled but have to fly almost 1000 miles to do so. $20K plus tax, tags and documntation fees
My question for you guys are...should I be concerned ? For example the fuel could and probably is stale, are there flat spots on the tires, seals dried out ??
I have read a stored vehicle should not be started without removing the spark plugs, then insert a small amount of motor oil into each cylinder, then turn the motor over by hand. That is suposed to not only lube the cylinder walls, and the crankshaft, but also break free any rust that may have formed from condensation. Am I being paranoid ? .
I do want this vehicle, if anyone has some advice please chime in. Thanks.

 

[murcod]

I personally don't think you'll have too many worries with the vehicle itself, from sitting long term. The battery is probably the only item you'll find that has suffered any permanent damage.

If it was me, I'd be more concerned about the long term warranty and parts support- given Suzuki USA have closed. I know there are other USA based owners who have been having issues with lack lustre warranty support and long delays with some parts (eg. someone was told shock absorbers have to ordered from Japan!) It would also pay to research thoroughly the price you are looking at paying.

They're a very good vehicle, but be careful you're not paying top $$$ for a vehicle you'll most likely have major problems selling secondhand.

PS: Is it a manual transmission or CVT equipped model you're looking at? A few serious CVT problems have been reported.

 

[hei223]

Thanks for the advice, most of which i have been contemplating. Warranty and parts are important issuses.
It's a CVT. I believe those that had CVT problems were with 2010 and some 2011 model years.
I searched for dealers in my area and although some are listed.....when going to their site they no longer are showing servive for Suzuki.
Someone mentioned Nissan will honor the warrany, but I doubt that.

 

[murcod]

Yes, I read about the Nissan thing too. If it isn't mentioned on the Suzuki USA website then I doubt that's the case. (Perhaps the local Nissan dealer near that person happens to have the contract?)

The biggest thing with the CVT failures is nobody ever seems to find out why it happened to their vehicle (ie. what actually caused the failure.) To me, that seems to be the biggest issue - no explanation on why it has happened or what caused it.

 

[hei223]

David,
I think there was a bad batch of CVT trannys in either 2010 or 2011. Prior to finding the 2013 SLS a friend allowed me to drive his 2012 SLS /CVT.
He has constantly told me how he enjoys and likes his car. Except for routine maintainence he has had no problems at all. It has slightly more than 70K on the odo. While testing it with all I heard of how the engine roars and also how slow it is off the line......proved to be not so while driving his SLS. I was really surprized. No lag with the CVT and not absolutely silent but not at all roaring engine as others have stated. Accelleration was actually swift.
That being said I was able to speak to the Service manager of what once was a Subaru/Suzuki dealer not far from my home in a neighboring state. He said he would honor the warranty, but warned me that if a major failure occured my vehicle could be tied up along time waiting for parts. Further he also told me since the vehicle I intended to buy had 35 months left on the warranty......that he could not promise that would happen. Because Suzuki has plans to end dealer warranty repairs possibly in 2015 !
As beautiful as the SLS I had on order is.........I called and cancelled. The SLS was $20K..........I did not want to roll the dice for that amount of money.

 

[murcod]

It's hard to say if there was a "bad batch" for certain. I've been a member on another Kizashi forum for a long time and there never seems to be any solid explanation for any of the failures that have been posted. If it was a bad batch then I would expect a lot more failures than have been reported on the various forums.

I think you've made a wise decision. There are a lot of other more up to date vehicle models out there- the Kizashi has stagnated since it was first released years ago. I like that in some ways (it has a relatively simple engine and electronics) for ease of maintenance. I don't have the CVT in mine either.

 

[hmkizashi]

Found a 2013 SLS 17 miles on odo as/per dealer, but I'm concerned about it. It could be more that 1 year old, and may not have been started or moved etc during that time. Last week there were 4 other SLS's available from the same dealer, who claims they purchased them from a Suzuki dealer. I do have a test drive scheduled but have to fly almost 1000 miles to do so. $20K plus tax, tags and documntation fees
My question for you guys are...should I be concerned ? For example the fuel could and probably is stale, are there flat spots on the tires, seals dried out ??
I have read a stored vehicle should not be started without removing the spark plugs, then insert a small amount of motor oil into each cylinder, then turn the motor over by hand. That is suposed to not only lube the cylinder walls, and the crankshaft, but also break free any rust that may have formed from condensation. Am I being paranoid ? .
I do want this vehicle, if anyone has some advice please chime in. Thanks.

I just bought (online) a 2013 Kizashi sls with 79 miles on it. The car was delivered by a carrier , the paperwork/documentation was ups to me on the same day the car arrived. Everything was checked out and legit. Go ahead and get it. The car will not be around for long

 

[XL7Limited]

The fuel would be a concern to me. Generally in 3 months todays gas is changing. Who knows how old the fuel actually is in it.. I would surly be concerned .

 

[murcod]

Mine was a 2011 build, bought new in the 2nd half of 2012. No problems at all with fuel; dealers here only put the minimum in each vehicle to get wherever they're going. So there's never much fuel in there to go off.

Warranty and servicing (in the USA) are going to be the biggest concerns.

 

[SamirD]

If that SLS was around $30k new like our 2011 was and is similarly equipped (minus the Rockford Fosgate which was removed for the 2013), I wouldn't hesitate to get it. There's not much else out there that will touch this car for that price.

You may be able to get a base line Corolla or Civic, but that's about it. And these cars in recent years are no longer the reliability stalwarts of yesteryear. As an example, my 94 Accord has less problems than the current Accord.

I had to get the rear shocks and the SLS wheel paint flake issue fixed by the end of our warranty. Even with the deadline right upon us, I found a dealership that was able to take care of the whole thing within warranty. It's actually better service than any other dealership I've been to since dealership servicing the cars love them. Can't say that about other brands...

 

[RobertStreet]

Seems to have to do with heat.