1997 Suzuki Swift DLX review from North America

I've replace the front brake pads at 154,000Km.

Replaced all the exterior lights, only one headlight bulb was not factory, the other had "Nov 97" stamped on the plastic.

Replaced clutch, and rebuilt the transmission, due to a bad 2nd gear syncro.

Front suspension issues caused by a shop that did very very poor work, as in I had the passenger front left strut come undone from the upper strut mount while driving. I have since repaired and replaced all the damaged components.

Dealer parts are highly overpriced, even after managing to wring a 10% discount out of them.

I've had to replace the entire front suspension; this is due to poor previous ownership, as 10 years later they were all factory parts.

Had to replace the rear washer fluid line due to the previous owner using electrical tape to seal (didn't work) the cracks in the line.

There is rust over the rear drivers side wheel well, also both rocker panels have rust issues. Both of these are issues with proper maintenance or the lack there of.

The exhaust system is currently giving me problems, but that is probably due to the absolute hack job quality of repairs done to it prior. It is leaking and is rattling away.

There is a hole in the carpet where the drivers feet rest, this was caused bye dirt and gravel build up not being cleaned out.

Also as the previous owner was a rather heavy set gentleman, I have to replace the front drivers seat as the foam is crushed.

So far every issue I've corrected with this car is the result of a lack of care from the previous owner. Who ironically is or was a Dodge truck mechanic.

Due to the dealer costs for repairing this car, I'm happy that I've done most of the work, and sourced jobber parts for the repairs.

The car gets excellent fuel mileage of 40-45mpg in mixed driving, and is quite peppy (breaks traction shifting into 2nd at 40+kph). I knew it was a work of TLC when I bought this car, but it has never left me stranded on the roadside yet, and responds very nicely to just being cared for properly (runs better after a wash, wierd eh?).