Hello,
Having been a Saturn (1996 SL2) owner for the last 8 years or so, I am moving up to a 2005 Kia Spectra.
I am decent backyard mechanic, having even done a engine rebuild of my Saturn (which after a recent (used) head replacement is having oil burning problems so I have to pull the CAMs off and replace the valve seals which may be the cause). It is kind of nice getting away from working on the Saturn to getting a 2005 Kia Spectra.
The Spectra has 102,000 miles on it, had a single owner all its life and no accidents, etc. (got a CarFax and AutoCheck report). Carfax shows it was regularly brought to the dealer of things like oil changes. The car was not used a lot for the last few years. It was owned by an older couple who moved a couple times and it appears they parked for awhile during the moves. They decided to buy a new car and decided to sell this one.
So what do I need to know about a Kia Spectra ?
What are the most common problems ?
Any recommendations for common replacables, like oil, spark plugs, coolant, etc. ?
How well do the timing belts hold up on these cars and is there a standard interval for replacement ?
How hard a job is replacement of the timing belt on this car ?
I do know about the fuel tank strap problem they have. This car has one pretty clean one and the other one is a good bit rusty but looks still reasonable solid. The straps are low cost, so I likely will replace them anyway. Any problems when replacing the straps I should know about ?
I did a google search for specs on what oil to use, but the best I could find was a document from Kia and it appears they allow a variety of oils weights and simply provide a chart based on temperature range. The dealer I am purchasing it from offered to do an oil change for free and the previous owner used regular "dino" oil (not synthetic), so I opted for 10W30 dino oil (request Castrol). My Saturn only could use 5W30, so was surprised the range Kia allowed for this car.
So what is the "real story" about oil with the Kia Spectra ?
Are Spectras oil burners at all ? (Saturns are notorious)
What is the most common cause for oil usage on a Spectra to be aware of ?
I guess that's enough for now. Will likely have more questions after I use the car for some time. I will get a Haynes manual soon. I get one for every car I buy. Hope to become as knowlegible about working on the Kia Spectra as I am with my Saturn. The SaturnFans forum was vital to my learning what I needed to know, so hope this forum will provide similarly for my gaining knowledge about the Kia Spectra. You may get a kick about this: I probably have the longest thread ver on the S forums. I documented an entire engine rebuild on it.
Let's hope my experience with the Kia Spectra is less exciting. Hoping only 102,000 miles on the car will give me a few years of minimal grief. I got my Saturn when it had 175,000 miles on it and today have 90,000 on it since I rebuilt it and it has about 265,000 miles on it. Previous to that, had a Geo Prism which had about 180,000 miles on it when I got it and kept it until about 330,000 miles on it. Not sure what kind of lifespan to expect from the Kia.
So, let me say thank you right from the start, since I know how important forums like these are to car owners.
Having been a Saturn (1996 SL2) owner for the last 8 years or so, I am moving up to a 2005 Kia Spectra.
I am decent backyard mechanic, having even done a engine rebuild of my Saturn (which after a recent (used) head replacement is having oil burning problems so I have to pull the CAMs off and replace the valve seals which may be the cause). It is kind of nice getting away from working on the Saturn to getting a 2005 Kia Spectra.
The Spectra has 102,000 miles on it, had a single owner all its life and no accidents, etc. (got a CarFax and AutoCheck report). Carfax shows it was regularly brought to the dealer of things like oil changes. The car was not used a lot for the last few years. It was owned by an older couple who moved a couple times and it appears they parked for awhile during the moves. They decided to buy a new car and decided to sell this one.
So what do I need to know about a Kia Spectra ?
What are the most common problems ?
Any recommendations for common replacables, like oil, spark plugs, coolant, etc. ?
How well do the timing belts hold up on these cars and is there a standard interval for replacement ?
How hard a job is replacement of the timing belt on this car ?
I do know about the fuel tank strap problem they have. This car has one pretty clean one and the other one is a good bit rusty but looks still reasonable solid. The straps are low cost, so I likely will replace them anyway. Any problems when replacing the straps I should know about ?
I did a google search for specs on what oil to use, but the best I could find was a document from Kia and it appears they allow a variety of oils weights and simply provide a chart based on temperature range. The dealer I am purchasing it from offered to do an oil change for free and the previous owner used regular "dino" oil (not synthetic), so I opted for 10W30 dino oil (request Castrol). My Saturn only could use 5W30, so was surprised the range Kia allowed for this car.
So what is the "real story" about oil with the Kia Spectra ?
Are Spectras oil burners at all ? (Saturns are notorious)
What is the most common cause for oil usage on a Spectra to be aware of ?
I guess that's enough for now. Will likely have more questions after I use the car for some time. I will get a Haynes manual soon. I get one for every car I buy. Hope to become as knowlegible about working on the Kia Spectra as I am with my Saturn. The SaturnFans forum was vital to my learning what I needed to know, so hope this forum will provide similarly for my gaining knowledge about the Kia Spectra. You may get a kick about this: I probably have the longest thread ver on the S forums. I documented an entire engine rebuild on it.
Let's hope my experience with the Kia Spectra is less exciting. Hoping only 102,000 miles on the car will give me a few years of minimal grief. I got my Saturn when it had 175,000 miles on it and today have 90,000 on it since I rebuilt it and it has about 265,000 miles on it. Previous to that, had a Geo Prism which had about 180,000 miles on it when I got it and kept it until about 330,000 miles on it. Not sure what kind of lifespan to expect from the Kia.
So, let me say thank you right from the start, since I know how important forums like these are to car owners.