Are Kias any good?

[Kazerella]

Hello

I'm in need of a new car and like the Kia Picanto, but I'm just a bit worried since it's only 7 grand brand new. Why are Kias so cheap in comparison to other makes? Is there something I should know? or am I missing the bargain of the century

[denisond3]

Its a combination of factors that offset the low cost; lower durability, the higher maintenance needs, and how many miles you want to put on per year. My limited experience is that a Kia will not be as durable as the pricier cars when the warranty expires; in fact not as reliable as a GM car, let alone Toyotas or Hondas. But if you wont be driving it much - it could do fine. For general daily transportation that you Need Daily - I would not recommend it.
Being retired, I do all of the repairs to my own cars motorhomes, and those of in-laws. I replaced the timing belt, water pump, and tensioner pulleys on a 2000 Kia Sephia belong to a family friend. The parts werent expensive, the repair wasnt hard - but it was work that was called for at 60,000 miles. I have also replaced the corresponding parts on a Toyota Avalon, where they only called for replacement after 120,000 miles. The Kia also had a non-functional door handle and its CV joint boots were both ripped open. Failures like this would happen on a Toyota at maybe 180,000 miles, not at 60,000.
I usually get my cars for free, after the prior owner gets tired of seeing it sitting dead in the driveway. Then I rebuild the engine or transmission or whatever it needs and drive it for a few years. Kia's may have improved in the last 7 or 8 years, but right now there are 3 types of cars I wouldnt take for free: Any Jaguar, any Hundai, and a Kia.
Sorry.

[MeettheCreeper]

Kia IMO is a much more reliable vehicle than anything GM makes at this point in time. All Kias come with a 100k powertrain warranty and a 5/60k bumper to bumper.

The manufacturer is not in the business to lose money and if the carline was not built with quality in mind their warranty expenses would be high thus costing the company money.

Timing belt intervals on toyota varies from 60K to 90K on the avalon. Sure you can continue to drive past that if you like, but something to remember is that if the timing belt breaks on an interference engine you are going to be spending much much more than the 100 bucks for the timing belt plus labor.

I have seen CV boots on all cars (toyota too) ripped open at low mileage. It depends on the amount of abuse the car gets.

Like anything else if you take good care of it and do not abuse it it will last a long time.

I routinely have Kias come in with 200k plus miles on them.

[frobotz]

We love out Optima. Best car we have ever owned. Not a simgl problem with it. We sold out Alero with 46K miles, on it, What a hunk of GM garbage, Went to th eOptima. What a great car, I still drive my 93 chevy truck. But as cars go , The Kia is awesome.

[odicus]

163,000 miles and no problems yet. I put about 130 miles on it 5 days a week. I would definitely get another one when I'm done with this one.

[thainogkok]

in last few year Hyundai and kia car has improve a lot in quality.

[driffter]

Don't buy a kia they are cheep junk, faulty head gaskets, stupid timing belt setups, you name it.

[odicus]

I'm up to 196,000 miles and still no major problems.

[spike88]

.

My one neighbour has a "new" 2009 Kia Rondo and just loves it. It starts every time (even in -30 C weather), its hugs the road really good (for great winter traction), its easy to park between the yellow lines, its got great MPGs, its rear hatch loading is great and as per his own words, "it's a fun vehicle to drive". re: http://consumerguideauto.howstuffwor...-kia-rondo.htm If wondering, I like his 2009 Rondo so much, I might buy one - when our current "run about" needs to retire.

My one friend has a Kia Sedona van. Think its a late 2008. Soon after buying, she noticed something wasn't right. She took it in and they replaced its front wheel bearing. No questions or "hassles". They replaced it and we're very sorry.... On her previous GM vehicle and its blown wheel bearing, it was like she had to sell her first born - just to get them to admit something wasn't feeling right. With her local Kia dealer, no fuss / no muss. It was fixed without hesitation...

I have a few other friends who have Kia vehicles as well. Many of them would buy Kia again. Of these folks, there's a common message. re: Never "under buy" a vehicle. For example: Buy a vehicle for how you plan to use it. Don't buy a Rondo and expect it to be a heavy hauler / tow vehicle. And don't expected to buy Forte and expect to put zillion miles on it. Always "up buy" a vehicle - to ensure it can take the odd abuse above `your normal` driving conditions. In other words, fit the best tool for the job that needs to be done.

Long post short... I'd buy a Kia Rondo - for my wife's in-town "run about" driving needs. And, use my other vehicle for towing/hauling needs...

.

[possumrat]

I bought a 2010 Kia Soul base model 2 months ago. So far I love it. I went from a 2005 Mercedes Benz C240. It had more problems and needed more maintenance then any car Ive owned so far. I loved it but there comes a time where it is fiscally irresponsible to hold on to a car.

Being a college student, the Kia is the first car I have truthfully owned, in my name, etc. I didnt go in expecting the most reliable, best car on the road. But I went in knowing I could get the car I wanted for the price I wanted, and it would be mine.

I have had a Honda CRV, Volvo (old one), Saturn SC2 (still miss it), Infiniti I-30 (late 90s model i believe), and Toyota Corolla SRX (good car til i blew the tranny). Granted, I have enjoyed most of my cars, but for sheer fun, this car is my top.

Its a fun peppy little car that doesnt cost much. Sure, corners are cut considering you are getting a cheap car. But if you look at it, the options that come standard are numerous. (the thing has a rhino-lined underbody, on a base model!). Love it and so far havent looked back. And the warranty is very good, not to mention the services you get that the dealership pays for (every other oil change, new set of tires when needed, etc). Dont hesitate to go test drive a kia, just know that resale will not be great, and road noise tends to be fairly high. Otherwise, A+ for overall experience thusfar

[crt49]

I have a 2008 Kia Optima EX and love it. I have had it for about 18 months and the only problem I have had was a tire pressure sensor that the dealer fixed for free. It is a nice car, got a great deal on it and extremely happy with it.

[w9awx]

Kia's have always been one of the less expensive manufactures. Kia is a sister manufacture to Hyundai. The Rio and Accent are the same basic cars as are some of the more expensive cards in their lines. Both are rated very well and obviously very competitively priced. Competitively priced and competitively equipped. Occasionally has some reliability issues, but so does every manufacture of cars in the same class as theirs. I am waiting to pick up my car on Monday and personally, I can't wait. If you are expecting a $30,000 ride from a $14,000 car, you will be sorely disappointed no matter how good I think their cars are. if you compare them to others in the same price and size class, it is hard to go wrong.

[Huney1]

Originally Posted by denisond3

Its a combination of factors that offset the low cost; lower durability, the higher maintenance needs, and how many miles you want to put on per year. My limited experience is that a Kia will not be as durable as the pricier cars when the warranty expires; in fact not as reliable as a GM car, let alone Toyotas or Hondas. But if you wont be driving it much - it could do fine. For general daily transportation that you Need Daily - I would not recommend it.
Being retired, I do all of the repairs to my own cars motorhomes, and those of in-laws. I replaced the timing belt, water pump, and tensioner pulleys on a 2000 Kia Sephia belong to a family friend. The parts werent expensive, the repair wasnt hard - but it was work that was called for at 60,000 miles. I have also replaced the corresponding parts on a Toyota Avalon, where they only called for replacement after 120,000 miles. The Kia also had a non-functional door handle and its CV joint boots were both ripped open. Failures like this would happen on a Toyota at maybe 180,000 miles, not at 60,000.
I usually get my cars for free, after the prior owner gets tired of seeing it sitting dead in the driveway. Then I rebuild the engine or transmission or whatever it needs and drive it for a few years. Kia's may have improved in the last 7 or 8 years, but right now there are 3 types of cars I wouldnt take for free: Any Jaguar, any Hundai, and a Kia.
Sorry.

.

IMO that is the most ludicrous post I read in a long time so please allow me to get your thinking in line. Let's start here:
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...15/469235.html

Do you think Hyundai would have the highest owner loyalty buying another Hyundai if they built a sorry, problematic vehicle that wasn't built with quality and very reliable? Hyundai owns KIA and both offer a 10 yr 100K mi warranty which I doubt they would do if they weren't built with quality components. BTW, many parts are interchangeable from Hyundai to KIA. A salesman said a KIA is a Hyundai in different clothing. Same like a Ford Crown Vic and Mercury Grand Marquis. Hyundai sales increased 35% in 08 and 09 45% and if you don't think people are getting the Hyundai spirit take a look how many of the H's you see on the roads. Also, the dealer service we have re'cd on our KIA and Hyundai is the best ever.

Not reliable? Say what? Consumer Reports and J.D Powers and Associates have some info for you.
How often do you stay abreast of current events in the automotive industry?
"After all, Hyundai is now considered one of the most reliable new vehicle manufacturers sold into the North American market, according to Consumer Reports and J.D. Power and Associates, two of the most respected third party analytical firms in the auto industry.
That newfound reputation for quality and longtime name for value has resulted in month over month sales records, making the addition of a new production facility critical for continuing growth, by protecting earnings from exchange rate fluctuations while allowing the automaker to bypass importation quotas and increase market share." Do you think they are just blowing smoke?
Read it for yourself: http://www.automobile.com/hyundai-op...y-alabama.html


KIA and Hyundai build vehicles in ultra modern plants in Alabama and the 2011 Sonata is selling so fast they moved some Hyundai assembley over to the KIA plant to make room to build more Sonatas to meet the high sales demand and the all new redesigned Tuscon is also selling like hot cakes. In some areas dealers running short on Sonata's and Tuscon's have a hard time finding them to sell. Don't believe me? Check it out: http://www.autospies.com/news/Hyunda...-Sonata-53945/

The Sonata car is more than beautifully designed and it blew my mind when I found they are making a new station wagon that is out of sight: http://blogs.insideline.com/straight...ata-wagon.html

Did you know a lot of Hyundais are made in the USA?
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...26tbs%3Disch:1
I could go on but I have made my case so I suggest you stop bashing and trashing Hyundai KIA when you obviously don't know what you are talking about.

I have a 09 Rondo LX 4 cylinder 35K mi not one poroblem and we love it. Other car 09 Hyundai SantaFe GLS V6 and love it. By the way, Hyundai saves money by treating its US employees good so they aren't union like typical US auto workers gouging the US auto plants eyes out with union high wages and benefits packages. Just because US autos cost more does not mean they are better and Hyundai owner loyslty proves they are buying another Hyundai, so that should also tell you something.

Last but not least. Go to Edmonds.Com and read the review on the 2011 Sonata. One of the reviews I read said,. "Look out Accord and Camry because the Hyundai Sonata is on the scene." For the record, I do not own Hyundai stock, I am retired and we just drive 'em and LIKE 'EM and unless something bad happens we will be in them for the remainder of our lvies.

[famlycar]

Wow...! This is some good info on Kias! Although it is an old thread. Does anyone else out there auto land have any more recent input on this?

I feel the kia service outperforms toyota in helpfulness and respect to the vehicle driver/owner.