How many miles are on your Optima

1300 right now and I'm loving the car.....

1300 right now and I'm loving the car.....

I have cars come in to the dealer with well over 100k on them.\

Maint. is the key.

Oil changes, flush the trans every 30k, change the Tbelt every 60k

meetthecreeper...whats your opinion on the 2005 Kia Optima. Do you think its going to be a Reliable car in the long run? What kind of problems do you see with the car down the road?

meetthecreeper...whats your opinion on the 2005 Kia Optima. Do you think its going to be a Reliable car in the long run? What kind of problems do you see with the car down the road?

The only problems that I havee seen with the Optima, which hasnt changed much since its introduction, are problems with the vehicle not being maintained.

The trans needs to be serviced regularly, and I mean flushed, not just dropping the pan type service.

I like the V6, it has sufficient power and gets average gas mileage. From what I have heard from my GM buddies I believe the car to be more reliable than anything the big 3 are putting out at this time.

My understanding is that mid 2006 is getting a major design change along the lines of the new Hyundai Sonata.

IMO the car cant be beat for the price and the warranty is the best in the industry.

I drive 70 miles to the dealership one way everyday and have considered an Optima or Spectra5 as my commute vehicle.

i am interested in buying a 2001 Optimun for $4000... Is this a good idea or should i forget it?

2001 optima/134,000 miles

I bought a 2001 Kia Optima 1 1/2 years ago for only $2000. It is Pearl White with Tan interior and is in mint condition. It had 78,000 miles on it and for $2000 I figured I couldn't go wrong. I now have 117,000 miles on it. I have had to replace a little belt behind the timing belt that broke with caused the crankshaft positioning sensor to go out. I had them replace the timing belt at the same time. All of that, parts and labor, at a Kia dealership for $400 total. I used to have a Camry and the quality of the interior and exterior build is much nicer. I now have a Taurus with the 24V DOHC Duratec engine. The Optima is now my wife's car. While the Optima feels better built than the Camry as far as being solid, the Taurus feels even better than the Optima. The Taurus now has 148,000 miles on it as its also a 2001. It's just as reliable. I think the Kia has a stronger suspension as i've had no issues with the Optima handling, but the Duratec engine in the Taurus is definately better. The sad thing is that my 24V DOHC V6 taurus engine gets better gas mileage than the 4 cylinder KIA Optima. I thought there was a problem but when I checked out autos.msn.com it also said the 200HP taurus gets better MPG than the Optima. Well this is my 2 cents on the pros and cons of the Optima. Definately worth the money.

2004 Kia Optima with 118,000+ miles on it. :)

I have about 70,500 miles so far on an '04 Optima EXV6! Bough it December 31, 2004.

22,000...I have a 2006.5 Optima EX...love it:)

160,000 on my 2002.

They need to get a 4 cylinder where you don't have to do the timing belt at 60 k , that gets expensive . Does the V6 have a belt or chain?

'08 LX 4cyl with 19,700mi and "lovin' it"!

I bought a 2001 Kia Optima 1 1/2 years ago for only $2000. It is Pearl White with Tan interior and is in mint condition. It had 78,000 miles on it and for $2000 I figured I couldn't go wrong. I now have 117,000 miles on it. I have had to replace a little belt behind the timing belt that broke with caused the crankshaft positioning sensor to go out. I had them replace the timing belt at the same time. All of that, parts and labor, at a Kia dealership for $400 total. I used to have a Camry and the quality of the interior and exterior build is much nicer. I now have a Taurus with the 24V DOHC Duratec engine. The Optima is now my wife's car. While the Optima feels better built than the Camry as far as being solid, the Taurus feels even better than the Optima. The Taurus now has 148,000 miles on it as its also a 2001. It's just as reliable. I think the Kia has a stronger suspension as i've had no issues with the Optima handling, but the Duratec engine in the Taurus is definately better. The sad thing is that my 24V DOHC V6 taurus engine gets better gas mileage than the 4 cylinder KIA Optima. I thought there was a problem but when I checked out autos.msn.com it also said the 200HP taurus gets better MPG than the Optima. Well this is my 2 cents on the pros and cons of the Optima. Definately worth the money.


Any known suspension work on that thing? You think it handles well now, try replacing U/LCA bushings, shocks, struts, etc.