Spider Webs Force Recall of Suzuki Kizashi Sedans

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesA 2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport on display at the New York International Auto Show in 2010. DETROIT -- Spiders drawn to gasoline vapors and weaving webs that block a hose to vent those vapors have caused Suzuki Motor of America to recall about 19,000 Kizashi midsize sedans from model years 2010 to 2013, U.S. regulators said Wednesday. Air flow blocked in the cars' evaporative emissions system can cause negative pressure in the fuel tank, which can lead to cracks which could cause leaks that increase risk of a fire, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This is a similar problem to one experienced by some Mazda6 owners. Mazda Motor has recalled the Mazda6 twice since 2011 because of spiders building webs in ventilation hoses. No crashes or injuries have been reported in relation to this issue, Suzuki told NHTSA. Suzuki last year stopped selling cars in the U.S. market after nearly three decades, so NHTSA and Suzuki advise Kizashi owners to take their sedans to authorized "service providers." Letters the company will send to car owners and filed with NHTSA don't identify where these service providers are, but owners can call a customer service line at 800-934-0934 to find out. The remedy to be applied is a filter on a ventilation line to keep the spiders out. The Kizashi was one of the company's best-sellers in the United States before Suzuki in late 2012 said it would stop selling vehicles in the U.S. market after its standing inventory ran out. U.S. Kizashi sales reached about 7,000 in 2011 and fell each year after that. When you get into that back office and start signing all the paperwork, the topic of extended warranties will come up pretty quickly. Ellie Kay, an author of 15 finance-related books, notes that such warranties are negotiable. "Before you sign on the dotted line, check out other sources of extended warranty pricing," she says, such as those provided by your bank or insurance company. "Then either use this lower price in the financial and insurance office for negotiation to get them to match the price, or buy it from the other source." A scenario from Kay during her last car purchase: "The dealer quoted me $4,200 for a three-year extended warranty for my 280SLK Roadster Mercedes that included a $250 deductible. USAA -- my insurance company -- gave me a three-year warranty for $3,200 with zero deductible. I've used the new warranty once already. The bill was $1,100 and I paid nothing because of the zero deductible." Bottom line: The default extended warranty is almost always the worst deal. 1. You'll get the dealer's extended warranty You may have a monthly payment figure in your head when shopping for a new car, but your interests are better served when you focus on the out-the-door price instead. "A sales rep can often trick you by offering a lower monthly payment, but [one that] will stretch out the terms of the loan," says David Bakke, a car buying expert at MoneyCrashers.com. You can reduce the overall cost of the car via negotiation and by skipping accessories and add-ons. "Things like navigation systems, rims, floor mats or car audio/entertainment systems can be purchased from a third party vendor, usually for less."