Looked at the deals of the week on HJ's home page and spotted this one. 1.0 3 door, 3 year warranty, etc for just £4,995 - brand new!
Might be just what we need to replace SWMBO's ageing Merc (second car). Called in my local Suzuki dealer this afternonn for a quick look at one. Whilst it's not going to win any style awards, it looks ok. Checked HJ's car-by-car section, again seems alright.
The car would be used for a 30 mile round trip to work each day, mainly on country roads, and local running around during the weekend.
Does anyone have any opinions on this car, preferably from ownership/ friends' experience etc. All info gratefully received.
Regards
Pat
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suzuki swift gti was a great car, but actually quite different to the other models in the range- made in japan for a start, and i thought massively under-rated - absolutely stunning junior performance car with a slightly naff image
the 1.0 litre jobs are only 3 cylinders are they not ? i remember having a hire one for a few days somewhere abroad (carnt remember) and one cylinder went (dodgy HT lead probably) and a car on two cylinders is useless, at least with 4 cylinders if one HT lead goes you will usually get home
but then arnt the new 1.0 corsa's 3 cylinders also?
apart from that they seem ok for when I've looked, but beware, you can almost certainly get them cheaper than that in real-life if you know what youre doing
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Thanks crazed.
Reliability is important due to our location, though this is partly dealt with by 3 yr warranty.
How do I get it cheaper? (don't really want used at these prices).
Pat
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a car on two cylinders is useless
2CV?
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Parp, Parp!
Note: All Toad posts come with an implied smiley.
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yea but designed for it, and balanced etc
feel free to test drive a swift and pull one of the HT leads out and try driving it - let me know how it drives...
ha ha
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Well, my brother is awaiting delivery of a new one, having had one before his Kia. He does far more miles than me - like the length of the country and back recently, and buys for go, not "street cred". He gets upset if things go wrong. They must be OK!
Tomo
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I'd love another swift gti if you could get them new, I suppose I'd want air con these days, and ABS, but boy what cars
Surprized many a mate...
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Thanks guys
I suppose it's decison time! Can we squeeze another few thousand miles out of the Merc without major expenditure? Or should we go for the new car with good warranty (pretty low spec, but this doesn't seem to worry my wife)?
Regards
Pat
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They're old therefore cheap.
I drove a 1.0 version, actually quite fun working some performance out of a 3 cylinder engine! It was pretty nippy and supposed to do 50mpg. Nearly new they're very cheap, why not get one with 2.5yrs warranty left?
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Pat,
I borrowed a one litre Swift as a courtesy car and went from London to Devon on holiday in it. (Agreed with the Garage beforehand, before anyone starts complaining about abuse of privilege).
I was suitably pleased with the general performance and economy and given the price, don't really think you can go wrong. Suzuki is generally well regarded re. reliability even if the build quality is perhaps not up with the best of the Japanese competition. Re. the question of one cylinder giving up the ghost and only leaving two - I don't personally think this would cause me sleepless nights - even VW now use 3 cylinder engines and if an engine does lose the use of a cylinder, you'd want it fixed pretty quick regardless of how many there are, and anyway I havent had that happen for years and years - and never on a new car - of which I've had enough.
The depreciation factor is worthy of consideration, even if only to consider that if you're only paying £4500 - £5000 in the first place, then you're not going to lose a fortune even if it only lasted 6 years and you threw it away (which is not a very likely scenario). Buy a new Mondeo/Astra etc. at list price for £12/£15,000 and see how much you drop after 6 years. Not a perfect comparison, but you see what I mean.
Try Colin Appleyard in Yorkshire or Pebley Beach in Swindon or Cirencester (just type the names into Google for contact details). I bet you can do a deal on the phone and either buy it from them or use their prices as a local lever. I bet a personal visit would see you saving a few bob.
There's a Sky model, the list price of which is, I believe, £4999, or you see GL models for the same money. Do your homework and haggle - don't take any nonsense from anyone, check the spec's etc. and I bet you'd be pleased with one. Try to get a couple hundred off list and come back with your results for the rest of us to see.
KB.
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Pat,
Our local paper is offering the same deal, £4995 for a brand new Swift 3 or 5 door, 3 year warranty etc, and a colleague of mine is colecting hers on September 7th.
Indeed the Swift is a cheap car, and build quality is not up to German standards, but it really is quite acceptable and will not fall to pieces. Mechanically, Suzukis are excellent. Extremely durable, reliable and unlikely to give any trouble as long as they're serviced when needed.
There is absolutely NO need to worry about it only being a 3 cylinder engine. These are becoming increasingly common (which says something about them in itself) and statistically cylinder failure on a brand new car for the first five years really isn't an issue to even think about. As has been hinted at in previous posts, the 3 cylinder engine makes things a bit more fun and zippy, and I remember an Auto Express tester (quite a few years ago) revelling in the distinctive engine note of a '3-pot'.
Depending on your priorities, the Swift can offer you supreme reliabiliy and dependability, but not first class quality and safety features or residual values. At this price, though, I think it's definitely worth a shot!
Regards
Regards,
Rob E
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Thanks KB and Rob.
Useful feedback. The lack of airbags is a bit of a worry, especially the way some of the nutters drive round here!
Depreciation is not a big issue. We would probabably keep it if for 3-4 years and then use it as a trade in for a replacement for the A4 which is currently our main car and would then be relegated to 2nd. That's the plan, anyway!
If I do take the plunge I'll let you know.
Many thanks again for the valuable advice/comments. HJ's site comes to the rescue yet again. I just wish (and my wife would agree) it wasn't so addictive!
Regards
Pat
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