Fiance is looking at a 2006 Kia Optima.  I don't know much about them.  How are Kia's as far as quality and problems?  I've also heard mixed reviews on their 10 year/100,000 mile warranty.  



Let me know what you think.

A friend of mine's parents who have always been Chevy people bought a little kia (small 4 door, can't remember the model) to use as a daily driver / semi-beater to keep their new suburban nice.  They ended up loving it and bought a new kia SUV as their next vehicle and seem to really like it.  Seem like nice cars.

This thread has the potential to become HHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Mother had an Optima and loved it. I took it on a few long trips and was never anything but pleased with it.



Earlier in the year she traded it in on a Sportage because the dealership was showing signs of weakness and she got a good deal.



Nothing but props for both vehicles.

Don't do it.

You will get hemmerhoids wiping your ass with the warranty, because that's all it's good for.

Resale value = nothing.

I have a Kia Sedona '03.    It is a mini van, and the ride is very cofortable, but we have had many problems with it.   We bought it used, so the warrenty was only good until it reached 60,000 miles.    We live about 75 miles from the nearest Kia dealer, so that was always a pain, but the dealer was ALWAYS really good about warrenty work––––until it ran out.    Now we have had other problems that we have had fixed by our local machanic,   but some things (computer related) he will not touch.    And the dealer wants alot of money.





My Take on Kia

Pros––-good coverage on the watterny and a very nice van

Cons––-poor gas milage, expensive parts, sparse Kia dealers, some people will not work on them



YMMV

Bottom shelf brand.    Follows the classic "features over quality" method of attracting sales.  
I'd never buy a vehicle whose name stands for Killed In Action.
They definitely don't seem to be built to last a really long time.  





Their resale value is abysmal.  





Mechanics don't have many nice things to say about them.   Not the ones I know.
It's a bottom shelf brand, period.  It's Hyundai's budget brand, and Hyundai is nothing special.
Don't mess around with second string brands.  Get a Toyota or Honda, maybe a Nissan.   You will NOT


regret buying a higher quality vehicle.   You MAY regret buying a CHEAP vehicle.
I firmly believe that a really long term warranty like 10 years/100,000 miles is a gimmick.   What I think

when I see that is that this vehicle is such a rampaging POS that the company has to promise to keep

fixing it for the next 10 years in order to lure you into buying it.    When you consider that most people

don't keep their cars 10 years,  with 5 or 6 being typical,  then you start to see that long warranty period

as nothing but a sales tool.  



I'd rather buy a car that has a reasonable warranty and I don't need to use it,  than one with a long warranty

that's always using the warranty in frequent service visits.
CJ
 

2009 Sedona............no complaints yet. Hopefully, it holds up like the 1999 Maxima has. We keep our vehicles for a long time.

01 KIA spectra, OK but i would never buy another , only runs OK , eats tires like crazy with no fix available,

Been in the the auto repair biz for almost twenty years and I can tell you I would never own a Kia. Even if you got lucky and didnt get a lemon. Just getting parts is a problem.
My shop is about 45 miles north of NYC and we have to get most of our Kia parts shipped direct from a Cali wholesale dist.....PITA.
Basic things like brake pads , f/e parts etc have not been a real prob. but 02 sensors , cat conv. control arms.....dealer parts are the issue. We used to have 3 dealers in a 50 mile radius now there are none.
I would consider another vehicle .
Ray

I've had two Kia Sedona mini vans.  I've also had a new Honda Odesey.  I like the Kia better.  As far as mileage, the best I could ever squeze out of the Honda was 21 mpg.  The first Kia we bought new and traded in at 81,000 miles.  The only problem we ever had was the voltage regulator going bad right before we traded it in.  The second one we bought used a few months ago.  I wish I would have bought one of the Kia Rio compact cars they were selling them out of the K-mart parking lot in the Spanaway, WA new for $6,000 in 2004 when we traded in the first mini van.  I've yet to see a used one for less than $6,000.  Keep in mind that the more luxurious the vehicle is the worse the resale value will be.

I have a 2004 Kia Optima I bought new. It has about 60k miles on it now. I have had a speed censor and auto alarm replaced. My biggest issue is the dealer. I don't like them, and will never buy from them again. My philosophy is that all vehicles are a total waste of money. All except older vehicles where there's not much to go wrong. So I buy the cheapest I can find with the best warranty and/or reliability. This time it was the Kia. I have had good and bad vehicles from practically every auto mfg.

I didn't have a Kia, but did have Hyundai a few years back.  Great car.  The only problem I had was a goofy one - the passenger side door handle flat out snapped off!  It was molded plastic, so it was probably a weak mold.  The dealer was great about fixing it.  



I thought the car was GREAT for what it cost new.  Never a real mechanical issue.  Cosmetically it was pretty bland with the interior being ALL BLACK.  I mean, every fucking thing was BLACK.  I had to paint some parts to liven it up, and it turned out real well.  



I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Hyundai.  It does seem to me that Kia has a bit of a 'lower than Hyundai' position on the market, so if someone was looking at a new Kia, I'd steer them to the Hyundai model - the Sonata.  

I will agree, I am not a huge fan of Hyundai but I did just get my wife a new Sante Fe. It is a 08 leftover fully loaded limited and got it for a great price. 100k mile warranty . I also have to say other then the basic brake and tire issues Hyundais are solid vehicles .
I am a Chevy truck guy myself and recomend a new 2010 Avalanche.

What ever you decide to get it is a buyers market. Dont jump on the 1st deal... shop around ,you will find a great deal if you put the time in.

Killed In Action

this sounds great if you're looking at used vehicles.
 

Girlfriend has an '04 Spectra. Bought it used for about $6K with no money down. Had to replace the battery and the two front tires so far. AC is starting to crap out. I feel like I'm going to ruin the transmission everytime I need to push it to 60mph in a short time. Its a decent car but its not a Porche.

All that being said I would consider buying one for myself.

We bought my wife a new KIA Sedona Mini Van in March of '04. It has been her Daily Driver ( her round trip to work each day is just over 70 miles ) since then and is the "family road trip" vehicle. It currently has 130,000 miles on the odo and is still running strong. Only issues we have with it is, a broken motor mound that was replaced with no problems and no cost to us under the 10/100,000 warranty, a broken door handle (drives side interior) after 100,000, and from time to time driving it makes an odd sound, from just barely audible to LOUD it will make a high pitched "wooooooooooopp!" sound. Only answer I can get out of KIA about the noise is that,
"It is normal. They all make that sound"

We have been very happy with it.

07 Rio. Could not keep front end aligned. Ate tires. Broke down on road 4 times needing towed. Paint failed after 18 mos. Timing belt broke at 30K needing engine basically replaced. Took 6 weeks. Timing belt broke at 50K needing engine basically replaced. Took 8 weeks. Out of warranty at 60K and timing belt broke at 62K. Repairs cost 4 weeks and 2K (used engine out of a wreck. Mercifully totalled at 65K. Was hit by a old lady doing all of 10 miles per hour in a Buick in passenger side door. I would not recommend them. WJ

What version? They had 2 models of the 06 Optima. I bought one in may of 06. 4 days later it started to get sluggish. Took it in they checked it. Said it was a loose wire. Everything was good for another week and 1/2. Started to do it again. Took it back in. They said they needed to replace a sensor and had to order part. gave me rental car. They had the car a week, called me said it was fixed. picked it up and got about a mile down the road before it started to stall out. went back in and raised holy hell. the owner came in to talk to me. This was a brand new car. I didnt want it. So attorney i talked to said to give them 1 more repair then they would do the lemon law. Owner promised to take care of everything.. they fixed it again but in the past 2 yrs i have still have trouble with the wiring.



POS and wont ever buy another KIA

I had one and my daughter still has hers. Great gas mileage and dependable. The resale value is -0-. Basically a disposable car.

05 Sportage.



Love it.



50 k miles w\ only minor issues. Warranty covered.

Only if you're foolish enough to buy based on price instead of quality.





I would MUCH rather own a 10 year old Toyota than a 5 year old Kia at the SAME price.   Because I know I can get ten more years out of


the Toyota,  but probably won't get 10 more years out of the younger kia.





Vehicles with easy parts availability but with no major maintenance hassles win every time over lemons you can't get parts for.
BTW, if you really want to see something impressive,  just put up new matching topics right here at arfcom:  Toyota owners,

rate your vehicle,  and Kia owners, rate your vehicle.     Put up those topics for ANY brands of interest.    Include polls and

be sure to ask every participant to ONLY post comments about vehicles he or she has owned of THAT brand.  



You'll find that the Kia topic will be pretty alarming.    You'll find the Toyota topic to be full of happy motorists.





CJ
 

Will they understand that if they don't live in NY?

My wife came with an 06 Kia Optima, it has been nothing but trouble:

-cheap paint that flakes off if you press down too hard while washing
-the front bumber has been losing paint for the past two years, not covered under warrantee
-horrible quality, everything inside rattles all the time, even on flat smooth pavement
-the radio never works
-any time we have made a warranty claim, we have been told the broken part isn't covered under warrantee, dealership always jerking us around
-I don't fit in it, the seat design hurts my back and right leg after about an hour of driving it
-no power whatsoever, try and pass a semi on the highway and it really struggles
-mileage sucks! we get 32 higway, 25 city and we are not hard on it, easy acceleration and a light right foot
-front suspension requires replacement about every 20,000 miles. Not covered under warrantee.

Bottom line, Please DO NOT buy a kia!!!