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What made you choose a Kia

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Why Did You Buy A Kia?

83K views 112 replies 100 participants last post by  Warcraftwolf73 
#1 ·
I know its a little difficult to choose just one of the answers above. I voted on the price. The price was right. If I had gone with another make of car I would have spent alot more $$$$$$.
 
#5 ·
I voted price. Before the Sorento, my wife wanted a Mitsubishi Montero. **** NO! We've had the Sorento for 2 years (20K miles) and haven't had any problems other than the clock going out. I've had my Mitsubishi Diamante for 3.5 years (41K miles, and this is the third one owned) and have had a few major problems with it that the stealership and Mitsubishi would not fix. I would have bought another Mitsubishi, but they blew that by not honoring their own warranty. I know the ropes and I know what should have happened.

It's kind of funny, you go into the Sorento/Amanti/Optima forums and everyone is happy about their purchase. You go into the Sedona/Rio forum and it's one big room of people yelling out complaints. Most of the complaints, to me, seem like more of a problem with the dealers than Kia. My Mitsubishi problem started at the dealer level and went up from there. I like the cars, and I think that overall they are good vehicles, but since the service was so bad, I'll never own another one.

The Kia dealerships around here have bent over backwards to please their customers, and I think that says a lot.
 
#6 ·
I had a micra for a short time. First car I have ever had of my own. Usually drive my husbands. For some reason I hankered for a red car. My micra was blue. Next door neighbour bought a red picanto l.0litre and I really liked it. I got a good price on my micra which had a lot of extras on it and so went for a red lx model. Good price with many extras. The only differences between the micra and the picanto was I lost the alloy wheels and parking censors. Still you can't have it all. At least I got the colour right.
 
#9 ·
Having worked for Nissan Corp for many years, I know the internal workings of auto companies fairly well. I also know many at Nissan said it was only a matter of time before Kia and Hyundai would have truly quality cars. When I purchased my 02 Optima LX V6 plenty of workers wanted to drive it and not a one found any serious problems with it. Most were rather surprised by the quality fit and finish and when I told them the price, their jaws dropped to the floor. Nissan move over. I purchased the Optima after much research, driving and getting the right PRICE!!! I never tire of the beauty I have found in my car, too.
 
#10 ·
Originally posted by Schnauzer@Oct 9 2005, 10:35 PM
Having worked for Nissan Corp for many years, I know the internal workings of auto companies fairly well. I also know many at Nissan said it was only a matter of time before Kia and Hyundai would have truly quality cars. When I purchased my 02 Optima LX V6 plenty of workers wanted to drive it and not a one found any serious problems with it. Most were rather surprised by the quality fit and finish and when I told them the price, their jaws dropped tot he floor. Nissan move over. I purchased the Optima after much research, driving and getting the right PRICE!!! I never tire of the beauty I have found in my car, too.
NICE!!! Now that's an awesome story! I for one am STILL Happy with my LX! And to add.. as for Nissan (LOVE THE SKYLINE!!!!) my grandmother on my father's side... her family OWNS part of Nissan.. if not all.. heh.. just wanted to mention..
 
#13 ·
I also worked for Nissan/Infiniti for a while at NNA in Gardena.
I have to say I bought my Kia mostly because of the warranty. Hyundai was one of the first to offer the 10/100 and it is fast becoming the industry standard.
The EPA 34mpg didnt hurt either, LOL.
While working at Tech-line I have to admit I wasnt always impressed with the customer service I observed.
Cant say that about Hyundai & Kia ! Thier customer service is ranked very high. My experience with the Kia & Hyundai Tech-line has been very positive.
Customer satisfaction is driving the bus and people love it !!
It's exceptionally nice when a company listens to it's customers and the customers respond by purchasing more of thier cars !
 
#14 ·
i really dont know why. I actaully wish I hadnt becasue now on my 99 sephia just barely owning the dam thing after 5 yrs its worth less than 1000 bucks.... actual kbb price 600 bucks.. I parted it out for more than it was worth for goodness sakes.... what other car do you have to do that with to get some money back you put in it???? none all the other makes still hold a little value..
**** the 1999 jeep cherokee my wife and I inherited is still worth 10,000 while my 1999 kia is worth 600 bucks..... Thats funny...
sure good price when you buy but you better expect to keep that car forever or get nothing back for it....
Ill never buy another kia unless they can get the resale value to actually be worth something 5 years later.....

And for some dumb reason I bought a 2nd kia. this time I bought a spectra and this car has more problems than any other car Ive ever seen... fix one thing and another goes wrong and it has just over 40K on it. Ive since I bought it 6 months ago dumped at least 2k into repairs....
 
#16 ·
First Warranty, Price a close second then Looks. I figured if the warranty was not being honored then there would be a big stink about it all over the web.

I need a dependable car, hopefully the warranty will be a good indicator.
I get to find out what my local service center is like tomorrow.

Ciao
 
#108 ·
Replying to myself from message #16 back in 2005.
After some initial hiccups at the service center, my Spectra5 SX was the reliable car I was hoping for. The service at the dealership was also pretty much excellent (except for the first couple of visits requiring warranty work that the tech was not getting right). Except for gas, the cost of ownership was minimal. I never felt I was overcharged for the maintenance work.

In February, I bought a 2017 Sportage SX. This is the first time I've ever repeat purchased from an automobile manufacture. Sure I looked at other CUVs before getting the Sportage, but the overall excellent customer service I received was a significant factor in sticking with Kia (as well as value). I hope it remains so.
 
#20 ·
Well ya see.... I had a light blue 1987 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham and damn was she pretty. But I had to sell her cuz she ate all my money (gas wise). So I sold it for a thousand or so and the momma offered $500 for her KIA and I bought it. I wasn't too happy about driving this KIA, but as I started puttin some sound in it (new speakers, woofers, stereo) and I slowly became one with my KIA. w00t.
 
#21 ·
Well, I was actually looking at three different vehicles at the time. A 99 Isuzu Amigo, 98 Geo/Chevrolet Tracker, and my 98 Kia Sportage. I ended up getting the sportage because it was the cheapest at 4 grand and it was actually in better shape than the Tracker and had a 5-speed over the Amigo. The guy said the 4WD didnt work and it had a check engine light but after replacing the hubs and paying $300 dollars to get the light fixed its run great ever since ;)
 
#22 ·
I never tought i would buy a non-american car but it seems this day as come(i still wouldnt buy a japanese) but with the problem i had with my pontiac in the past couple of years and the bad service and prices GM is giving these days i had to changed.
I wanted to get the Vibe but the price difference between the Vibe and Kia Rio was about 6000$ for the same equipment and even then the rio was more.And the garantty was a big plus GM is 3 years/60000km vs Kia 5 years/100000km with my budget i had to finance over 60 month so with the vibe for the last 2 years i would still have to make payments on my car without having the garranty anymore.
My mother as a Kia Rio 2004 she now as 50000km accept for regular maintenance she didnt put a cent yet she didnt even changed the brakes yet and the maintenance at the kia dealer is not expensive 68$/hr labour compared to the 86$/hr Pontiac dealer is charging.
Maybe in 4-5 years my next car i will go back with an american one but not GM,unless then have a major changed in the policies.
 
#23 ·
We bought the Carnival basically because Wifey fell in love with it! Plus it was the biggest, best equipped People-Mover (you guys call them Mini-vans) for the $ on the market. Plus it was the only full-size job available with a manual trans. Oh, plus the free DVD player. An absolute godsend with small kids! :p

Rio: needed a new run-around for me & for the $ it came down to the Rio, Hyundai Getz or Toyota Echo. The Rio was the only 4-door (important with access for kids) & was the only one WITHOUT a front passenger air-bag. We actually wanted this as it means we can carry 1 of the kids in the front if necessary. Three across the back is a bit squeezy! :grin:
 
#24 ·
Hi,

I bought my 2000 Sportage as it is a really good off-road vehicle. I voted for price in this poll as price was the most important consideration for me that is listed in this poll. But price certainly was not the sole, or even the main, consideraton. I bought a used 2000 Sportage as an off-road vehicle. Proce was certainly a consideration. Alos, gas consumption issues and reports of reliabily problems were issues that I was aware of and chose to view as secondary issues.
 
#25 ·
Well for us it was simple. Our circumstances meant we needed a car we didn't have to worry about for 3 years (thought I would be better by then, not so seven years later) but it was also the best people mover on the market for it's price and equipment levels.

Very annoying about the engine troubles the early Carnival's had in Australia.

But both my wife and I still think they are easily the best on the market, and the new grand carnival with the larger engine is just magnificent, if we were in the right circumstances would buy one tomorrow. It would fit the four children in very nicely.

So it was warranty, price, and looks were well not so important when you are moving a large family around.


Ashley
 
#26 ·
I chose price, but all 3 were considerations. The resale value is less than an Accord but...
After 5 years and 150000 miles an Accord is worth about $5400, an Optima is worth about $3400. The Optima cost me $13,100, an Accord is about $20,000. My Kia will cost me about $5000 less!
 
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