Old Suzuki models: Repair, care, and parts purchasing

You do not need to own a brand new one to love your Suzuki! Pre-owned vehicles are sold by each of the Suzuki dealers around the country, making it easy to source and drive away in the pre-loved car you want.

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Perhaps you did buy your Suzuki brand new and are concerned about the service and parts for an older model. Worry no more, as Suzuki is committed to servicing all models launched in South Africa as well as keeping a stock of parts for this purpose.

In these times of economic constraint, looking to the pre-owned market is a good way of making your money go further. It is an opportunity to take your budget and look around for a pre-owned vehicle that comes from a higher price category – effectively, ‘buying up’.

There is also the confidence factor when buying a pre-owned car from a dealer knowing it has been thoroughly inspected and checked out with any faulty parts replaced with original equipment parts and that it has undergone a service inspection.

Spare parts are always a major consideration in the decision to opt for a pre-owned car and Suzuki South Africa has a parts stockholding worth around R70-million that can supply available stock to any dealer in the country within twenty-four hours.

When a part is needed for your vehicle, the dealer identifies it from the Suzuki EPC (Electronic Parts Catalogue) in conjunction with the VIN (vehicle identification number, also known as chassis number) of the actual car. When car models undergo changes during their lifecycle, some parts may change and the VIN is needed to establish exactly when it was manufactured so the right part can be sourced.

Dealers then process the order through the Suzuki DCS order portal, identifying it as a ‘Daily’ order or a ‘VOR’ (very urgent) order. This is accepted on the Suzuki order system in real-time and the required parts are automatically allocated, picked, and shipped on the same day.

When the parts arrive at the dealership they are accepted on the Dealers DMS system and then invoiced and allocated to the specific job card. When the work is complete, the dealer closes the job card and the client collects their vehicle.

All Suzuki technicians around the country are fully trained and for older model cars there are training manuals and service information available for any reference or research required.

One issue that concerns prospective buyers of pre-owned vehicles, or owners of ageing vehicles, is whether these cost more to own and run because they require more frequent servicing.

With Suzuki, the service intervals are the same irrespective of the age of the vehicle. However, all vehicles have wear and tear friction parts that generally need replacing after the third service. So, the service cost is not likely to change, what will increase the price is the additional cost of the replacement parts.

Suzuki does not have its own dedicated used car outlets, but the dealers do sell used cars.  

Keeping your car well maintained and in good condition may save you money and it will definitely keep you safer. Download this guide to extending the lifespan of your car, and get some advice on looking after your car and keeping it longer.

There are so many questions to ask your dealer that you may not know where to start or might forget some really vital ones. Not to worry, our handy guide has all the questions you need to ask your dealer from servicing, finance, specs to know and more.