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2002 Suzuki Esteem

A girl I know saw a car she likes, a 2002 Suzuki Esteem wagon. It has a 1.8L engine, automatic trans, 133K miles.

According to Consumer Reports they are said to get about 36 mpg highway and 26 city, (with the automatic trans) -- which of course is a huge plus.

Is there anything really exotic about these cars which would cause a concern over her finding someone adept at working on it?

Anyone out there have much experience with these and is there any problems which these are notorious for, that you know of?

Being a 2002 and having 133K on the clock suggests it's mostly highway miles. I am guessing something with that small of a motor doesn't have an overdrive trans, although the high mpg it gets makes me think it might (?)

With that amount of miles on it I might be a little leery of the trans going out after awhile, although I think that is more likely if it's an overdrive versus a regular automatic.

Reply to
James Goforth
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On Sun, 1 Feb 2009 14:53:55 -0800, James Goforth cast forth these pearls of wisdom...:

Probably not, but she probably wants to make the process of finding a reliable mechanic a high priority. Nothing against that car, but at 133K, it's a sure fire guarantee the car will see the inside of a garage soon, probably on a fairly regular basis.

I don't know if it has an overdrive or not, but there is nothing about the engine size that would make me think it didn't.

I don't think that at all.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

You are right, Mike, apparently they put AOD transmissions behind a

1.8. I guess I wouldn't be surprised at all by an OD manual trans, so it shouldn't be a big surprise to see an automatic OD. i looked at customer reviews of this car and it was surprisingly high. One of the few downfalls mentioned was that, although they weren't that prone to requiring service or parts very often, parts often had to be ordered when needed as there apparently isn't a high demand for them. I also remember reading something about valve lash needing adjusting periodically,which I was surprised to see. I think it is a DOHC. Also, resale value of the car wasn't very high. I noticed this car on a car lot and KBB says he should be asking around $5000, and he is asking $3200. The car looks like new, and the dealer says his daughter has been driving it. But the 130K isn't exactly 'just broken in.'
Reply to
James Goforth

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