New Kias

Looking at a new soul for my sisinlaw , is their 4 banger holding up ? Is this the same 4 my wife has in her elantra (8 years no problems) ?

I came here expecting lots of posts about problems, whats up ?

Thank you, Michael in Oregon

We bought a 2008 KIA Optima EX 6 Cyl Fully Loaded and It nicest vehicle we have ever owned. It was for My Wife. We bought a 2002 Hyundai Elantra GT New and I have driven it daily since then. It still has original everything except tires, brakes wipers, filters and fluids. And rides as good as the day we bought it. I'm 67, retired and we may drive these both till we are gone?? Unless that 2011 Optima grabs our fancy? :o)

Rev. Tom Wenndt wrote:

We also bought in 2002 and our elantra is still like new

66 and ditto on the till we are gone??

We call it our 'boring car' ...always starts,always run, no drama ! Thanks for info.

Michael

People tend to post to ng's when they have problems, need info, or just want to gripe. No problems yet for my 06 Spectra and the online service manual solves my info needs.

Tom, I think this sums it up. It's a good thing it's quiet here, yes?! Our '02 Optima just keeps running & running & ... like the Energizer Bunny. The absolute worst thing about the car? It runs out of fuel every 400 miles or so. The dealer can't figure out a fix for that one yet. ;-)

2008 Amanti still like brand new. no problem and the only concern I have is that the 2009 model takes MP3 and all I can play is CD. The car works perfectly for 30K and not a single visit to the shop for any reason.

Just keep records of service work done and all is well. Been through this question with Hyundai, Kia and Ford with same results.

Does not have to be done at Kia. Keep records, receipts, and notes showing that it was done.

So THIS is what it took to wake this group up, eh? Thanx for all the responses, friends.

My opinion of this remains unchanged. I am grateful that there is a lack of talk on bad experiences, repairs, etc. But I don't think there is another brand, Hyundai included, that has anything close to what is and will be happening at Kia in the months to come. It is downright exciting.

Apparently the dealers are excited as well. I got to meet the owner of one of the local Kia dealerships just yesterday. He was blunt in his assessment of his dealership. He said: "First we were a Mitsubishi dealership that also had Hyundai, and yes, you could get Kias here as well. Today, we are a Hyundai dealership that also has Kias, and yes, you can get Mitsubishis here as well. But within five years, I expect us to be, first and foremost, a Kia dealership. And maybe one of the bigger ones of any brand in the city."

He had just come back from spending a week at the plant in Georgia where they make the new 2011 Sorrento. He can already tell it will be more than a major player in that small SUV/crossover niche real soon, and was excited about what else would be happening there in the years to come.

So if you do get a new Kia, crow about it here. Better than people coming and seeing nothing.

Tom ~ I will be interested to see how the 2011 Sorento shakes out. We will be in the market, maybe pending upon cash flow, for a replacement car for wife next summer (2011) & she is eyeing the Sorento. She currently drives our '02 Optima. Our son has a base level '08 Sorento & loves it.

Rich

Ya know, Tom.... As soon as you quit talking, it got real quiet in here again! ;-)

Tom ~ Continuing in a, uh, quiet vein...

As I said, we are lightly thinking of getting a new KIA next year with wife centered on a Sorrento. However, our local dealer has consolidated his dealerships in the past several months & moved his KIA operations much further away making any visit a 3 hour obligation for a round-trip. For a big city dweller like me with virtually every other dealership within 15 minutes of the house - including Hyundai by the same dealership owner- , it makes it hard to justify. Oh, well...

Rich