Alright, let’s talk about that 2008 Suzuki Reno I had for a bit. This was a while back, needed wheels, didn’t have a lot of cash to throw around. Stumbled across this Reno listed pretty cheap nearby.
Went over to check it out. Wasn’t much to look at, honestly. Kinda plain, silver, nothing exciting. But the guy selling it seemed decent enough. We haggled a bit, landed on a price I could actually manage. I remember checking online around that time, just curious. Saw the values were all over the place, like maybe $500 if it was beat up, maybe pushing three grand if it was mint, which mine definitely wasn’t. Seemed fair for what it was, though.
So, I bought the thing. Started driving it every day. Just needed basic transport, point A to point B. And you know what? It did that. It just ran. Engine wasn’t powerful, transmission was automatic, nothing thrilling. The inside was just basic, lots of hard plastic. But it had seats, a steering wheel, and the heater worked, which was important.
Living With It
It wasn’t smooth sailing the whole time, naturally. Little things popped up. Developed this annoying squeak from the suspension after a few months. Lubed up everything I could reach, finally got it quiet. Then a check engine light came on. Always a joy, right? Borrowed a code reader from a buddy. Turned out to be some sensor, oxygen sensor maybe? Can’t quite recall. Ordered the part, swapped it out myself one Saturday afternoon. Felt pretty good fixing it without paying a shop.
Here’s a list of little quirks I remember:
- The driver’s side window motor was slow. Like, really slow.
- Radio display was kinda dim, hard to see in sunlight.
- Had to replace the battery terminals, they got corroded bad.
- Always felt like it needed an alignment, pulled slightly right.
But despite those things, it never actually left me stranded. Just kept chugging along. Got me to work, got me home. Handled grocery runs like a champ. Gas mileage was okay, nothing amazing but definitely saved me money compared to the truck I had before it.
Drove that Reno for maybe two, two and a half years. Put a fair number of miles on it. Eventually, started feeling its age more. Little repairs seemed to be cropping up more often. Plus, my finances were looking better. Started thinking about getting something a bit newer, maybe a bit more reliable for longer trips.
Decided to sell it. Knew I wouldn’t get much. Cleaned it up best I could, took some pictures, listed it online for cheap. A young fella came by, needed his first car to get to a new job. Seemed thrilled just to have his own wheels. Took my low asking price without even arguing. Handed over the keys and the title. Watched him drive away in it. Felt kinda strange, but it served its purpose for me. Got me through a time when I needed it. No regrets, really. It was just a car, an appliance on wheels, but it did its job when I needed it to.
