i'm buying a 98 suzuki esteem anthing i should know?

[bigdawgjr]

I'm looking at buying a suzuki esteem it's a1998 5spd manual with (i think it has) 249000km and needs a new altanator is there anything i should look for? how are these cars? I couldnt find much as far as price or anything on the net . thank-you for your input.

[Torch]

Hi,

Well, if the 98 is anything like the 99 you should not have any problems with it, I have the 99 with automatic transmission instead of the manual. The only problems I have had with mine is the battery and O2 sensor had to be replaced. Just do regular maintenance as scheduled in the owner's manual it should last a long time.

[quick69gto]

A '98 Esteem looks slightly different from a '99 but is basically the same car.
If your '98 has a 1.6L then the timing belts are an issue. If it breaks, it will take out the top half (valves) of the engine.
If your Esteem has a 1.8L then it has chains for timing instead of a belt. Timing chains usually never need replaced.
The AC condenser fan is an issue. I've had to replace five of these fans in a small fleet of ten Esteems so far. It's the fan mounted behind the grill towards the passenger side.
The rest is just normal wear items (struts,brakes,O2 sensors, catalysts,etc.) associated with high mileage.
The Esteems surprised me on how long they can last. The highest mileage Esteem we have has 260,000mi and still going strong.