thinking of buying a sedona

I have a 2005 Sedona LX with 7200 miles on it; so far, there have been no major problems......... but it does have one annoying problem. When going over even a relatively smooth road -- at low speed only -- there is a "thumping" sound that seems to be coming from the struts. My KIA dealer says they can't fix it because (and I'm not making this up) they don't know how to fix it. This is a common problem with the Sedona (which explains why they don't want to fix it) and it's been going on since at least the 2003 model year. Anyway......... the gas mileage is about what they said it would be, around 17 in the city and 22 or so on the highway. Power train has been OK; adequate power; A/C OK; radio and CD player OK; tires mediocre but it does handle snow OK. I had a 1994 Plymouth Voyager before the Sedona, and I would have gotten a Dodge Caravan, except, at the time, it was around $2800.00 more than the Sedona. All things being equal -- including the price -- I'd probably would have gone with the Caravan. In short, the Sedona is OK, but I don't think too much of KIA. Take a look at "kia-forums.com" for more poop on the Sedona. Martythed

"Zee" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

I'm in UK, slight differences in model designation, that said Just traded (Jan) my '01 SX 2.9 Diesel at 105k miles only problems were 1 set of rear shocks(warrenty job) and alternator. It averaged 34.4 mpg over the 95k miles that I owned it. No problems. Replaced it with an 04 model (ex Demo) now at 12.5k no probs and certainly an improvement. More power, suspension improved so it handles better, better rear brakes. Downside is that I have just dicovered a water leak round windscreen,which the dealer will fix shortly.

In short, I happy.

Am on my 2nd Sedona. First one was an '02, the first year they made it. A lot of niggling little problems, which sadly seems to be par for the course of any new vehicle anymore.

But I was impressed with Kia's seeming to pay attention, because my '04 has a lot of improvements in some of the very areas where I thought attention needed to be paid.

My recommendation is a) Give the Chrysler's a wide berth, particularly because most people I know (and there are many) who drive them continue to have transmission problems with them, a problem that seems to date back a good 15 years.

b) Wait for the new '06 Sedona to come out, unless you are want (and can get) the deal of 20 lieftimes on a remaining '05. The '06 is supposed to be a complete re-design - bigger, more powerful, more safety features, a VERY VERY good van. We shall see.

What drew me to the Kia in the first place was the fact that, all things being equal, the Chryslers (as well as the Chevy's, Ford's, etc.) will always be thousands of dollars higher in price. If the new '06 is as good as I think it will be, and it retains its price advantage, it is going to be an exciting minivan to own.

Tom Wenndt