2016 Suzuki Ciaz 1.4 GLX A/T Part 3: Mysterious Dents and Paint Stains

Upon the request of many of our readers, we revisited the series of long term tests that we did for our 2016 Suzuki Ciaz. We hope that our series of long term tests are still relevant since it’s still the same model currently being marketed by the Suzuki Automobile dealers across the country. Here’s Part 3 of our report:

Our long term 2016 Suzuki Ciaz 1.4 GLX A/T has been performing flawlessly since we got it directly from the Suzuki Philippines, Inc. (SPH) factory in Canlubang, Laguna in July 2016. In January 2017, we had the 5,000-kilometer periodic maintenance service (PMS) done at Suzuki E. Rodriguez Sr. and we’re happy with their service. However, the fuel mileage of our Ciaz went down from 8.52 to 8.23 kilometers per liter and its fuel cost went up from P4.61 to P4.99 per kilometer during this test period. It’s not the fault of the car nor of our driving habits. We can only blame the ridiculously heavy Metro Manila traffic and the increasing fuel prices for this downtrend.

Besides the requisite PMS, we also try to pamper our Ciaz with a weekly wash and a monthly wax at our favorite car wash. We love it so much so that we have become highly protective of it. We avoid leaving it parked unattended at a busy road because it might get scratched, keyed, or dented by passing traffic. We park it inside our garage at home, in our parking slot at the office, inside my mom’s garage when we visit her, and at a designated parking lot when we fetch our kids from school. In short, we don’t like to leave it vulnerable.

Unidentified Flying Objects

But despite our utmost care for our brown Suzuki sedan, accidents do happen. Imagine our surprise when we found two mysterious deep dents – a small one on the upper edge of the left crease line of the hood and a larger one on the right rear sail panel (C-pillar). We were clueless where these dents came from. The projectiles that caused the dents were clearly dropped from above and these were heavy enough to dent the metal but not hard enough to ruin the paint. We were dumbfounded because we cannot trace the cause of these dents or where they were caused. Our VP for Sales and Marketing, Shawie Dizon, drove the car to a number of meetings in numerous places and may have parked it on street parking slots that were near or adjacent to a building construction site. We can only guess that falling debris may have caused the dents while windblown paint overspray may have stained the left rear portion of our car.

If the mysterious dents were not enough, we also found stains on the roof, trunk, and hood that proved difficult to remove despite several trips to our favorite auto detailing shop. Then, during a trip to the mall, we found a small white scratch on the left side view mirror housing when we came back to retrieve the car after a few hours. Perhaps, somebody opened the door of their white vehicle and then hit our side mirror. We’re trying to take care of our beloved Ciaz, people! Aarrgghh!

Repairs thru Insurance Claims

We’re just glad that the damages are only surface-deep and can easily be fixed by a competent auto body and paint shop. Since we do not where these dents were made and what caused them, we were not able to come up with a police report or a security agency incident report so we can submit it to our insurance company, Standard Insurance, in order to get a Letter of Authority (LOA) to have the Ciaz fixed. We just came up with an affidavit to attest to the truthfulness of the events.

After it’s fixed, we vow to keep our Suzuki under a car cover – even when it’s parked inside our own garage. Come to think of it, vinyl wrapping or “foiling” our beloved Ciaz suddenly looks like a smart idea!

MILEAGE REPORT

Odometer reading: 9,946 km

Mileage since last report: 5,117 km

Average fuel economy: 8.23 km/L

Fuel cost per kilometer: P4.99/km

Service cost per kilometer: P0.63/km

Current running costs: P5.62/km