Suzuki Cutus 1996

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peternz, Jan 2, 7:16am
hi, has this car a cam belt or a chain drive !listing No: 545782177 and what do you think of them . Thanks

thejazzpianoma, Jan 2, 7:25am
Not for that money. They were about the cheapest car you could buy when new. They were not a terrible car but you could get somethingbetter/safer/newer for that sort of money.
2K and its starting to look more viable if its in good nick and well serviced.

thejazzpianoma, Jan 2, 7:28am
Oh and I think these run a J18A so chain, but remember waterpumps and other items are still old so its not necessarily a great thing to have chain driven at that age.
If it was a cambelt driven car at least those other items would tend to be replaced by now and/or you would do them when you did the cambelt.

thejazzpianoma, Jan 2, 7:28am
Oh and I think these run a J18A so chain, but remember waterpumps and other items are still old so its not necessarily a great thing to have chain driven at that age.
If it was a cambelt driven car at least those other items would tend to be replaced by now and/or you would do them when you did the cambelt.

I am not a Suzuki expert so get someone else to confirm on the engine.

franc123, Jan 2, 7:30am
Looks like a J18 engine so will be chain. Why do you need to know! Chains aren't really an asset on most Jap engines as they are usually not very well engineered, don't necessarily last that long and they cost more than belts to deal with. I hope this isn't one of your main criteria for buying. The rest of the car does what its designed to do and nothing more, most examples I've driven seem very rattly and ride poorly, they aren't one of the better vehicles to buy IMO.

peternz, Jan 2, 7:31am
i have honda oddisy, been great but it sucks up the gas . also blind spot on drivers door post / window frame . looking for a good runabout, small s/wagon about the same size as the Honda .

thejazzpianoma, Jan 2, 7:38am
Hard to find, but my pick of the cheap reliable wagons is the Fiat Marea 1.6.
Super reliable, great on gas, easy to work on, no rust, parts are cheap and easy to get.

franc123, Jan 2, 7:38am
The Cultus is smaller than an Odyssey, its more comparable to a Honda Orthia I think the model is called. The Cultus is really only an update of an early 90's Swift whichwas also sold here as a Holden Barina which was a reliable and economical enough car but wasn't particularly safe or comfortable to live with.

countrypete, Jan 2, 7:42am
These aren't a bad car at all. The Baleno was one of the few Japanese cars of the time available new in NZ to have standard dual airbags and ABS brakes in some models.They run a cam chain, not a belt, and our 1.8 wagom has now done 180-odd kms with no issues at all. They are economical to run, but are a little noisy andthe front suspension struts tend to go soft.It's a little smaller than your Odyssey.

I have owned two, (still have them both) and have had several as company carsback in the '90's.They have no common faults that stand out at all.

thejazzpianoma, Jan 2, 7:43am
But not particularly economical (so whats the point!) and horribly over priced for what you are getting.

countrypete, Jan 2, 7:43am
Baleno / Cultus has nothing in common with the earlier Swift - they are a completely different model

thejazzpianoma, Jan 2, 7:46am
They were one of those cars where they airbags were not much more than a marketing gimmick because the chassis folded like origami around you. NCAP rating from memory was barely more than 1 Star and again if I remember right it was about the worst rated car in its class money could buy.

I remember cringing at all the reps with tight backside bosses who bought these for them to do high km open road driving in.

lazzo, Jan 2, 7:47am
Bugger all difference between a 1.8 and a 2.0 in economy.

Price is relative to the individual and what they perceive is value. $2700 is less than a weeks wages for me so do you think I would think its a cheap car!

thejazzpianoma, Jan 2, 7:52am
1. There is no helping you if you are going to base your economy estimates on cc rating.

2. Price is relative to what else you can buy for the money. In this case, you could buy a considerably nicer, safer vehicle.

franc123, Jan 2, 7:55am
Wrong, the Cultus Crescent/Baleno was simply a stretched Swift/Barina platform, it was based on its predecessor and wasn't completely new and unrelated.

franc123, Jan 2, 7:59am
Yep the safety ratings even for that time were crap, I guess fundamentally because they were really a late1980's design, or at least based on one. Airbags were not going to change much in that regard.

lazzo, Jan 2, 8:01am
OP hasn't raised any concerns regarding the economy any way.

a.woodrow, Jan 2, 8:03am
Refer post 5

thejazzpianoma, Jan 2, 8:04am
LMAO. other than them stating that they want something more economical to replace their odyssey.

thejazzpianoma, Jan 2, 8:04am
Snap!
Thanks.

lazzo, Jan 2, 8:06am
Honda Odyssey is a 2.4L 7 seat people mover. Go figure.

thejazzpianoma, Jan 2, 8:06am
Another thought, occasionally you see Ford Escort wagons going quite cheap. There are quite a few manual ones around too which is the go for economy and reliability in an older wagon.
We picked up a really tidy one a couple years ago for just $1200 and I have seen some similar bargains pop up more recently.
Another thought that might not have occurred to you.

Oh, and there are quite a few diesel ones around as well, also economical but can be a bit gutless.

lazzo, Jan 2, 8:09am
Listen to the piano man and he'll have you driving off in a crappy old European POS "because they're better".

My advice is good advice. Toyota Caldina is a good proven reliable wagon which can be obtained cheaply and will meet the need.

peternz, Jan 2, 8:10am
checking in with intrest .

a.woodrow, Jan 2, 8:10am
uhm and the fact they are almost as hideous as a multipla.!