How can anyone buy a KIA???

[mmead16116]

i think we have established something. because for the last few posts, we have gone back and forth with stupid arguments about this. i say i dont like them, you say you do. there is no statistic that you can show me that will change my mind about kias, and there is no statistic that i can show you.

[Cmotif]

There is growing enthusiasm for Korean cars regardless of whether you are in on it or not. One of the cars from www.streetkiaz.com

[Bizz]

Originally posted by eroc13
ok sedona,kia piece of crap owner, dont put down the Novas!!You have a lot of room to talk in defending a KIA!! Yeah they have a good warranty.What good is a waranty if its always breaking down? They are pieces of crap!! I am in the auto repair industry and they are junk!!!

Maybe you should try driving one first, then make your arguments

[Echo]

All you people say the kia is a great car for the $. Well I think almost everyone would rather have a 3-4 year old Civic that is around the same price as a new Kia. At least i would. Thats my 2 Cents on that.

[Bizz]

Originally posted by Echo
All you people say the kia is a great car for the $. Well I think almost everyone would rather have a 3-4 year old Civic that is around the same price as a new Kia. At least i would. Thats my 2 Cents on that.

not eveyone, just some people like yourself

[Koojo]

I agree. If you dont have the money to get a brand new car that will last you and is actually a good car, buy an affordable used car. But NEVER NEVER buy a brand new KIA because you are short on money.

Originally posted by Echo
All you people say the kia is a great car for the $. Well I think almost everyone would rather have a 3-4 year old Civic that is around the same price as a new Kia. At least i would. Thats my 2 Cents on that.

[GScivic7]

my mom has a '00 Sephia with close to 50k on it now and we haven't had a problem with it. My uncle drives a 5spd '00 Sephia pushing 60k through congested Seattle traffic every morning and he hasn't had a problem either. I don't understand how you can talk about a car without firsthand experience.

[Koojo]

Most people here do talk from experience. I know I am. I know a few people who have had problems with their KIA's. Why can't you just face the fact that KIA's are low quality cars which on average don't last too long without problems.

[Hudson]

Koojo:

Why can't you admit that it's possible that Kias make decent cars? They're not Lexuses (Lexii?), but they're perfectly acceptable transportation. I've known a few people to have them and no reported problems yet.

With a used Civic, you have to assume that the previous owner took care of the car. With a new Kia, you are the first owner...no previous abuse. The used Civic has the remainder of a 3 year warranty and the Kia comes with a 10 year powertrain warranty.

Again, Kias aren't going to get you all excited, but they're good, reliable transportation.

[boingo82]

Originally posted by Hudson
...they're good, reliable transportation.

I base a lot of my opinions on surveys, please see these ones:
2001 Kia Sephia consumer ratings

2001 Honda Civic consumer ratings

2001 Nissan Sentra consumer reviews

It's well established that out of every factory come some very reliable cars, and some very unreliable cars. What I try to find out, is what are my chances of getting one of the "good apples" vs. one of the "rotten apples". Based on surveys from this and other websites, I've decided that Kias aren't cars I'd recommend. But of course you're welcome to buy one if you'd want.

[Koojo]

Amen to that.

[Hudson]

You've decided that because SEPHIAS rate poorly in this survey, that ALL Kias are bad? Even I don't like Sephias and I have defended Kias on this thread. They don't even offer the Sephia anymore.

The Optima is an excellent value and a decent car. I enjoyed driving the Spectra, even.

[Koojo]

It is true that one kia that comes off the lot may be worse or better than another kia. I made up my mind because there are too many bad kias that are made and not enough good ones. That's why the ratings are down, and people don't like them ass much.

[boingo82]

Originally posted by Hudson
You've decided that because SEPHIAS rate poorly in this survey, that ALL Kias are bad? Even I don't like Sephias and I have defended Kias on this thread. They don't even offer the Sephia anymore.

The Optima is an excellent value and a decent car. I enjoyed driving the Spectra, even.

The Spectra IS the Sephia, they just decided to change the name for 2002. I haven't driven an Optima myself, but I dislike the Optima's derivative styling and name.

Another (big) reason why I dislike the company is given in my post earlier in this thread. I am trying to be polite and diplomatic, you'll see I haven't been name-calling or saying "all kia's R crap!!1", just trying to say that while I respect your opinion, Hudson (I've heard a great many good things about you) I disagree and I don't like Kias. I don't, and probably never will. My reasons range from not liking the exterior styling and not liking the interior to hearing numerous bad things about quality and not liking the company (as a whole). Yes, I have driven one, it was a Ford Aspire. It was 3 years old, at the time, was on its second manual transmission, at 50,000 miles, felt flimsy, possessed no torque and only 67 hp, was poorly laid-out on the interior, and had no tachometer. I was severely unimpressed with the car.

I beg to respectfully disagree with you, Hudson.

[Cmotif]

There has been a change in ownership between when Sephias came out and Spectras now. Kia was partly owned by Ford, and now they are owned by Hyundai. Many Sephias have a 1.6 liter. Spectras have a 1.8 liter 16 valve that is a Mazda deriative. It is basically a Korean made Mazda Miata engine. Many of the engine management parts are Bosch made.

I enjoy my 2002 Spectra GS, and have ridden in a Optima. The Optima reminded me a lot of a new but mid 90s Camry. The Optima is based on the Hyundai Sonata.