kia/hyundai

[historian]

Does anyone here have either of these cars? Any problems with them? Did the dealers respect the warranty if you had to take it in? I know that comparing to Honda they are far cheaper, but frankly im not impressed with Hondas. Bought one for my daughter and its been nothing but grief.
appreciate any comments

[jburton]

1. Far cheaper, yes

But they depreciate in value like crazy.

[historian]

2. ooops

never thought of that - thanks

[tkmorris]

3. That's not quite true

It used to be, granted, but it hasn't been so for several years now in the case of Hyundai.

Go check the depreciation rates of the Hyundai Santa Fe for example. I am buying one of these myself in a few months I believe, and I have researched it at length. The resale value is good and the Warranty is the best in the industry. It's safety record is good and it is a handsome vehicle all round. What's not to like?

[thom1102]

30. Consumer reports says that even the current Hyundai's...

Have the largest depreciation values in the industry. I was thinking about the Sonata or Kia Optima, but as I am changing jobs in the next few years, I was worried about depreciation value of whatever car I get (if I couldn't afford the payments, I wanted the car to have enough equity that I could trade it in for a cheaper car and have little or no payment).

I settled on the Saab 9-3 linear. Wanna see?:

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/[e-mail]/album?.dir=/My+Photos

[Kamika]

4. I have a Hyundai

I got a hyndai SUv(santa fe) and it works great !

I'm not sure about warranties etc since my Dad takes care of all that stuff, but as far as working good it's great.

[Nite Owl]

5. My son's girlfriend has a Kia Rio.

It has had all kinds of problems. She has a loan on it and it has gone down so much in value that she can't sell it now. It needs well over a thousand dollars in work (engine stuff) and has been sitting in my driveway since last August while she tries to save enough to pay for the repairs. Plus it seems that most mechanics don't have clue about how to repair these cars. It's a Kia Rio, 2001 with 86,000 miles. They aren't safe either.

[historian]

6. sorry to hear it

A worthless car is everyone's nightmare - hope it works out in the end for you

[Physicist]

7. hybrids

I hate to preach (well, actually I love to preach), but if you are buying a new car, a Toyota Prius or Honda Insight will save gas money for a long time to come, and they are top quality cars that will still be running when demand for oil skyrockets. Plus you get tax credits (actually, its really a government rebate).

Otherwise, maintaining a used car makes a lot of sense.

[Blue Gardener]

8. Maybe You Should Support American Jobs...

And buy a car made in America. If everyone is so concerned about jobs going overseas, why buy foreign made cars? I have a 1992 Saturn that runs great, with only routine maintenance. We should be doing everything we can to keep jobs here, especially well-paying jobs.

[Kamika]

10. hmm

well Hyundai will have a us manufacturing plant in atlanta in 05.. maybe.


Anyway don't blame me Dad is Korean so that's the only car he'll buy me

[Jose Diablo]

13. A Hyundia new plant is underway in Montgomery AL right now. n/t

[historian]

17. made in america?

No thank you - i bought a ford once and lived to regret it. Besides there is no such thing as made in america any more - looks at the parts and see where they made

[Blue Gardener]

21. Then don't complain about outsourcing

My job, along with tens of thousands other jobs, depends on the automotive industry in this country. For the most part, these are well paying jobs, and the people care very much about the quality of the product they are making. They aren't all just blue collar either. If these jobs disappear, the economy will be in even worse shape than it is now. Doesn't sound to me like the foreign cars like Kia are such a great improvement over American made cars.

[jmowreader]

18. American jobs? You want American jobs?

The United Auto Workers says to look at the VIN plate. If the first character is a one, the vehicle was made in the US.

A huge number of foreign-badged cars are made in the US, including Hondas, Nissans, Mazdas and Toyotas. Toyotas and Mazdas are Union-made.

[MissMillie]

28. I love my American-made, union-made Toyota

almost 6 years and 160K miles... running strong.

[Streetdoc270]

31. You need to check better

Many of the parts on your 'American Made' Saturn are forein made parts. Check at any dealership and you will see 'assembled in Mexico' signs.

[bj_liberal22]

9. not recommended

From what I understand, they are not recommended by most the buyers who purchase them.

Rio's don't get exceptionally good gas mileage, they are tin cans as far as safety goes, and like others have mentioned - they devaluate so quickly that they are worthless to resale many times, depending on the situation.

You may want to consider a new Chevrolet Aveo - roomy small car with service and support that is meaningful, and not such a high devaluation rate.

Since its a domestic car, can be fixed cheaply as well. No need to order parts from outside the country to fix...

[billbuckhead]

14. The Chevy Aveo is a rebaged Daewoo made in Korea

In general, Korean cars aren't as good as American cars let alone Japanese or German ones. Many banks won't finance used Hyundais/Kias due to the service problems and depreciation. The best bets are Civics, Corollas, Focuses and slightly used Dodge Stratuses.

[Jose Diablo]

11. I love mine

I get 39 mpg highway and 31 city. Got the bumper to bumper warranty and its been perfect. Service is great. Had a problem with fuel system; water in tank, they replaced all the injectors, pump and tank. All warranty. Even gave a loaner and sent a wrecker to pick-up the car.

It handles nice on the highway. Took a 2000 mile trip last summer with no problems whatsoever.

I will get another when I need a new car.

[Jose Diablo]

15. BTW, its a Hyundia, I don't know about KIA. n/t

[onethatcares]

12. wife is on her second Hyunai

No problems, good gas mileage, pretty nice little car. I think she paid about 11K for a 2002 Elantra. She's going for an upgrade soon. She doesn't like the prius so it'll be back to hyundai for her.

[WillyBrandt]

16. Buy a Toyota Corolla: The best "normal" car ever built

The thing will get you up to 400,000 miles if you take decent care of it.

Also, I recomment the Mercedes Maybach :)

[jmowreader]

20. No, buy a Chevrolet Prizm

The Prizm is the Corolla, except for two things: it's got a different nameplate, and it's less expensive.

My wife has a Prizm. I need to change a hose and we already changed the alternator. Except for that, it's been just great; the car is 13 years old and we paid $700 for it.

[Susang]

19. You do not want a Kia

We have a Ford Aspire, actually made by Kia and it's basically made out of paper mache. Look at it the wrong way and it dents. We lovingly refer to it as the "Ass-Pyre" since it truly is a flaming pyre of ass. }(

[AnnaCatherine]

22. KIA

In my book, Kia stands for Killed-In-Accident!!!!

O8)

[ProudGerman]

24. Let's not knock the Korean cars

Sure, the only Korean car I would buy is a Tiburon, but that's because of my very stringent tastes. Anyways, Korean car manufacturers aren't jokes anymore. Hyundai is light years ahead of where they used to be, and Kia is increasing in quality even faster than Hyundai did. The Kia's of today are nothing like the Kia's of even a few years ago.

[Susang]

25. I'm knocking my car, which happens to be Korean made

Trust me, it sucks, and I have every right to knock it as I see fit.

Kia's may be better now than they used to, but that still doesn't make them on par with other manufacturers. They have consistently had the worst crash test ratings in the industry an I would not buy one ever again.

I was born and raised in Detroit and many of my family and friends work in the auto industry, so I am an equal opportunity critic when it comes to cars. Ford actually imported this piece of shit, so they must also share the responsibility for the craptastic nature of the product that bears their name.

[Streetdoc270]

32. My kia seems indestructable....

I have a 98' Kia Sophiea (sp?) and succusfully dented a 92 Caddy +$1000 repair bill) with only a scuffed bumper ($10 wax).

[renegade000]

23. just buy a volvo 240...

they're practically immortal

[AnnaCatherine]

26. Volvo???

While I actually like Volvos, I really wish they would change their emblem. Check it out, very interesting. (Hint: it's the male symbol, also the symbol for Mars).

Ah well!

[MissMillie]

27. Kia

I only knew one person who bought a Kia. It literally fell apart around her after less than a year.

Hyundai seems to be a pretty solid car, but it will cost you more to insure it and/or fix it as the replacement parts are all have to be imported from Korea.

[BigMcLargehuge]

29. don't own one and haven't, but several family members have

and the reason both Kia and Hyundai have 10 year 100,000 mile warranties is simple. They NEED them. Avoid the Kia mini-SUV at all costs. It doesn't seem like a bad deal knowing that if (when) something goes wrong it won't cost much (if anything) to get it fixed. However, when you are spending 10-30 days a year waiting for the car at the shop the ancillary costs do add up.

Buy a used Corolla. Unless someone submerged it in the Marianas Trench it's almost guaranteed to run, and well, for a billion-million miles.

[CatWoman]

33. I had a 1996 Kia Sophia

fucking POS car. Brand new, right off the line.

When the car turned 2 months old, it started giving me problems. The problem at that time (I think) was the engine light.

More problems arose when I couldn't find anyone to honor the warranty -- there was only one dealer in my area that did. Whenever I dropped the car off for repair, I have to find alternate transportation for at least a week.

When the summer came, the air went out.

When the winter came, the heat went out.

I swear that car was possessed.

Then the brakes went out -- the car wasn't even a year old.

I sued Kia via the Better Business Bureau -- the Lemon Law unit.

They refunded all payments plus interest. But before my settlement, Kia pulled a lot of dirty stunts. I was to have the car picked up and towed for them to inspect it (even though the BBB sent their own independent inspector to my house).

Those jerks fixed all the discrepancies, and refused to pay me. That is totally AGAINST provisions in the Lemon Law. And it really pissed the BBB off even more.

I bought a 1998 Mazda pickup and have been happy every since.