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Hi all Rondo owners. I havn't posted in a while so I thought it was time to let everyone know how my Rondo is doing. I have had it for just over one year. Milage is 42,000 kms. I drive 135km per day to work. Well I can tell you this, I am very impressed. This car has only been in the shop for oil changes. I have no concerns, not a rattle. I am a bit of a heavy foot so milage is not the greatest but I have since slowed down 10 to 15 km and I see a great improvement. Car is comfortable and with the seats down it carries a lot. Any questions just ask.
Nice to hear that from someone else - I'm at 18 months trouble-free (well, except for the roof tabs, but if there were ever a minor problem that's got to be it). Same model as you (mine's red :-)).
My Rondo is 1 year old tomorrow and had 14, 130 miles as of last Friday. No problems. I do my own oil changes (~3,000 miles) and tire rotations (~6,000 miles) and other inspections and all is well. When you do this work yourself, you really get to see how the car is built and how it is holding up.
I could not get a Rondo with leather and without the sunroof (since we seldom have sun in Western PA, a sunroof is of dubious value). I had my dealer put in a leather interior from Classic Soft Trim and it came out very nice indeed. About a month ago, I noticed a short split in the side of the drivers seat. It will be replaced at no cost next Wednesday; Classic is very anxious to correct the problem.
My Carens will be 'one' in a couple of weeks. Covered just over 11000 miles - mostly local running but a few 500 miles 'hops' as well - have probably towed something (caravan, utility trailer, boat) for 2000 of those miles. The only problems have been the tow bar electrics which were mounted too low on the OEM towbar - rectified by the dealer with no quibbles - and a 'squeek' from somewhere at the back - again I think the dealer has sorted it although it did make a brief reappearance a few weeks back.
Very happy with the car. If I was buying a new car tomorrow, I'd buy another one without hesitation. Also very happy with our local dealer.
just went in for my 12 month / 24,000km service at my local KIA dealer. Here is a summary of my first year of ownership:
Total cost of all services at the dealership - $259.62 (this includes local taxes and discount coupons from KIA). Services were at 4 months, 8 months and 12 months.
Warranty issues:2 and they were:
one heated rear window strand did not work (repaired) and the other was a inside windshield pressure crack (replaced). Both items repaired to my complete satisfaction.
Absolutely no mechanical issues, no squeaks or rattles and no minor adjustments had to be performed.
Mileage has varied from a low of 26 mpg to a high of 39 mpg. My average being in the 31-32 mpg range.
Overall very well satisfied with the vehicle and a joy to drive and the wife agrees too.
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talked to the salesman that sold me the car and he said that the Rondo is his personal best selling (he was just delivering another one to an older gentleman while I was waiting for my car) double his other best seller, the Sportage. He had only one '08 Rondo left in stock. He had seen the Soul and said it would replace the Spectra 5 coming with a 1.6L or 2.0L engine.
__________________ Mileage: 21,200 km (13,200 miles), Ownership: 13 months
Last edited by conwelpic : 10-30-2008 at 09:11 AM.
Reason: adding salesman's comments
Problem with the DPF from day 1 which is still not yet fully sorted! Long story short, finally got Kia to replace the DPF in June after too many trips to the dealer with a fault code on the computer & very poor mpg but am still getting exhaust fumes entering the car via the air vents, problem is intermittent & only when the DPF is doing a regeneration so dealer struggling to replicate it. Kia have instructed me to use a different dealer, fresh pair of eyes, ears, nose etc. so see whether my local garage have missed a trick somewhere, thought that a fair idea & is booked in for next week.
I've had intermittent clutch slip since day 1 of ownership but never more than the odd time & unable to make it slip when doing the usual test in 3rd gear with the handbrake on. I had the DMF fail at 23,000 miles (bloody technology!). Again replaced under warranty but took 10 days to get the parts however I didn't rant too much as the dealer wanted to remove the gearbox to ensure no metal swarf had permeated this & they confirmed the clutch was fine. Kia were very helpful, offered me approx £600 worth of free servicing after a pleasant exchange of conversation.
MPG never better than 30, I know my trade is harsh on a car however I've only ever lost about 10% off the book values so should be in the 32-34 bracket, possible issue with the DPF may affect this but dealer thinks not, others in the same trade are also only getting appx 30mpg with the manuals, 25 with the autos.
Replaced front disks at 40k, rears still original & had front pads changed at 15, 30 & 40k with rears at 20 & 40k.
Front tyres last 12-15k & rears 25-30 but I rotate so not exactly sure what the life would be if I left a set on the fronts til they were no longer safe.
No problems with interior trim (happy with that as the handles & switches get a lot of use) or exterior bodywork, just had it's 1st year body inspection.
Had a full MOT at 1 year (taxi licensing requirement) & passed the emissions etc. with no problems.
Would I buy another one? For the 'driveability' a definite yes however my judgement is clouded by:
1 - The DPF problem, my work is 90% city & this seems to be a common complaint amongst the trade who have DPF on their cars, also the failure of a DMF at 23k was surprising but this may well be a 1 off as haven't heard of any others.
2 - The poor mpg, really need to get 34+ to make sense running a new model every 2 years, am seriously considering a 4 year old Vauxhall Zafira with 52k miles for £5k & running it for 2 years, can't depreciate any lower than zero & mpg from these is 35 at the worst.
3 - The dealer network. Local dealer is struggling to sell any new cars & have amalgamated 2 sites & closed the original site completely which tells me their finances aren't good however we all know the world is in recession right now!
To sum up: I love driving it, hate filling it up with fuel so often & wish the dealer would find a solution to a problem which is now over a year old!
__________________ <--- I just asked him to double check my monthly MPG!
Last edited by Supacabby : 10-30-2008 at 08:44 PM.
Nice to hear from you again Bikedrifter. I'm glad your Rondo is running good. Seems like its one of the best built Kias. So many of you report not having any problems at all, which is great to hear.
And that also confirms Kia has improved the quality of the it's cars a lot. Did you know they ranked 10th in the 2008 Consumer Reports study? kia was two places behind Hyundai, which was 8th. Among top ten brands, there were only Japanese and Korean brands.
Europeans were the biggest loosers among 22 brands. You can read more details here: Kia quality
One year anniversary on my 07 Rondo LX I-4. Couldn't be more pleased. Am considering getting another (2009 or 2010) when it has the slightly boosted hp rating.
Drove just less than 1200 miles last week along the coasts of No. and So. Carolina. Almost all hwy miles. Average mpg was 28.4.
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Owner: In Raleigh, NC
2002 SLP Firehawk (#738), LS1 V8, 6-sp
2007 Mazda MX-5 Miata
2006 Pontiac Vibe
2007 Kia Rondo, LX, 2.4L, AT
2006 Honda Civic.
And that also confirms Kia has improved the quality of the it's cars a lot. Did you know they ranked 10th in the 2008 Consumer Reports study? kia was two places behind Hyundai, which was 8th. Among top ten brands, there were only Japanese and Korean brands.
One Year Rondo Report
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