A non Motorcycle Story but it's good advice

[bpate4home]

My Son was on his way to help his sister-in-law move out of a bad situation. He's gets about an hour into his 4 hour trip and his car, a 2011 KIA Optima, just dies. Won't turn over, nothing. His in-laws arrange a tow and the driver takes it to a small shop near by. He get's picked up by his wife and they head out to finish what they started. He called me, says there was oil in the engine bay and I told him to wait and see what the mechanic says but he probably blew the motor. 115,000 miles on it. The mechanic calls and says the motor is siezed. The kids can't afford this as he just started nursing school to finish his BSN. After talking him off the ledge he waits for a quote on replacing the engine. They get the quote of ~6500.00. I told him I would make a few calls. He's figuring he'd be better off getting something else and starts calling salvage yards for quotes to buy the car off of him.

 

Well my first call is to a fellow rider who owns his own auto shop. I just want to make sure the price is fair and it was. I explain to him the situation and he looks up on his computer and finds a potential recall because of a crank shaft bearing failure. I dig around online and find that the Kelly Blue Book site has a recalls page. They key in the VIN and the car qualifies. Now the question - 115,000 miles will they cover it, the recall was posted in 2017 so I'm thinking not. They call the KIA dealer closest to their house and talk to the service rep. The car is covered. She starts to collect the information and it turns out the service rep lives just down the road from my son. KIA is covering a new engine, reimbursing all towing fees and providing a loaner while the engine is being replaced. That is customer service.

 

Sad point to the story - KIA is replacing engines out of warrenty and we can't even get Yamaha to fix the darn 'Infotainment' system in our bikes while under warranty.

 

Moral - Always check the recalls.

[SpencerPJ]

Good story, Glad it is working out for your son

 

I'm not counting on Ford to be so customer service focused when my new Truck has issues. Then again, that's why Toyo and Honda came to America and kicked our locals arse in quality and service.

[Condor]

I pickd up a POS KIA Optima for my daughter and finally ended up donating it to the Wounded Warrior Program. Never again will I buy a KIA....

[bpate4home]

I pickd up a POS KIA Optima for my daughter and finally ended up donating it to the Wounded Warrior Program. Never again will I buy a KIA....

 

Sorry to hear that. This has been a good car for him. He bought it in 2014 after totaling his truck. More over it's about the recalls. I was talking to Mike, the rider that owns his own shop, he does this regularly for his clients, specifically the older ones on fixed incomes and he said you'd be amazed at how many repairs he could've handled that were recall repairs. Everything from motors to light assemblies.

[BlueSky]

As everyone knows, Hyundai owns Kia. The only thing that saved Hyundai in the beginning was their 100,000 mile warranty because those cars had lots of problems in the beginning. But, from what I'm hearing, they are as good as anyone's cars now? A neighbor friend has well over 200k miles on his Hyundai.

[Freebird]

I think that they are both very good cars now. I've owned two Kia Sorrentos and never had a problem with either one of them. I don't presently own one but they would be on my list if I were shopping

[XV1100SE]

I work at the Toyota plant in Cambridge and Woodstock Ontario where we make the RAV4 (previously also made the Corolla) and Lexus RX350. I work in the I.S. department, not on the floor.

 

When you look at the list of defects per 100 vehicles, Genesis (Hyundai) is at the top of the list (as in best, not worst). Kia/Hyundai beat Nissan, Acura, Honda, Mercedes..... Big difference from when they introduced the Pony.

https://www.autonews.com/retail/genesis-buick-tops-vehicle-dependability-jd-power-survey-says

 

I'll admit I am biased but my choice in brands would be Toyota - for quality, dependability, resale value.

[cowpuc]

So many many years ago, 1989 to be exact,, I was a poor college student carrying a full load of classes (carried a 24 hour class load in one semester) so I could finish my Bachelors degree and move up the corporate ladder and eventually fulfill my lifes dream of owning my bike dealership all while working full time to support my wife and 4 kids and I needed a cheap car to get me around in.. Two years before this we saved up and I purchased a 1987 Chevy/Starcraft conversion van for the wife to haul the kids around in so I all I needed was a decent beater that got decent gas mileage.. I grabbed a CHEAP Ford Festiva,, and gradually fell in love with it..

Tiny little beater of car.. 1.3 ltr motor with amazing guts and awesome (45 mpg regularly) backed by a little 5 speed tranny.. When I got it it had 30k miles on it, two years later it broke 150k and was still running strong as ever.. I ran that little thing out past 300k and was so amazed by it that when my kids started driving they all actually wanted one.. My daughter,, working her way thru Pre-Med at GVSU while working for Hospice in her spare time dumped over 60k miles on hers (a newer one with EFI) and hers actually got better MPG and was peppyer than my carb models.. I owned, and serviced 5 of these little go getters at one time,, yes,, having 4 kids driving at once and one of my own Festivas was a full time job just keeping them running as we lived on 5 miles of gravel roads that beat the living daylights out of the little things but we made it.. During all this I learned that,, believe it or not,, the little Ford Festiva was actually sub-compact car of the year for 5 years standing in Europe,, wayyy cool but it did not surprise me at all..

In the late 90's my wife decided she wanted a small car to stomp around in,, remembering the Festiva fun we had had and the durability of such I went shopping and was disappointed that the Festus was no more,, replaced by the Aspire.. I found a 94 Aspire in decent shape and bought it for my wife.. Shortly thereafter another daughter called from college in South Carolina and said she needed a car for student teaching.. I grabbed another Aspire for her. In the process of doing so my daughter who is now practicing medicine in California called and said she had been accepted at University of Michigan, Ohio State and University of Wisconsin and wanted to know if I could take her around for interviews (she ended up at Cornell in NYC but that is another story however me and my Festiva made several trips to NYC too).. Of course I did so to help her like any of you would do for your kids.. I took my daughter in South Carolina's new Aspire and headed out with my other daughter to visit medical schools,, lots of fun.. When crossing Illinois on the way to Wisconsin we got pulled over by the Illinois State Police,, when asked why they stopped us they said cause we had an out of state paper plate and they wanted to check the car for stolen.. It took them over hours to verify the VIN.. At the end of the red tape disaster we/I found out that the VIN came back as a KIA and the car said Ford on it.. Come to find out, the Aspires/Festivas came right out of the KIA plant in South Korea which also appeared to be a Hyundia.. Crazy..

Years later,, much after both the mighty Festiva and Aspires were no longer in production,, 2006 to be exact,, my wife once again decided it was time for her to need a car.. I went shopping, remembering the Festiva's of days long gone by.. Knowing what I did then I went around the car lots and car shops to see what others had discovered about the KIA's.. I bumped into a place in Holland Michigan that actually ran a rental fleet of KIA's/Hyundai's.. The owner and head mechanic of the place told me that absolutely solid cars well beyond 200k if taken care of.. Of course,, as with all interference motors,, a real biggy was making sure the timing belt got changed at 80k and also,, if automatics,, make sure to flush in fresh tranny fluid on schedule.. I found a 2005 KIA Spectra on a repo lot with a salvaged title with just under 20k miles on it for 3500 bucks.. A close examination of it showed that someone had ran it up on a parking concrete bumper or something and bent the pull tabs on the frame to the point that an insurance company probably totaled the car for frame damage.. Could nothing,, I mean nothing else wrong or repaired,, I grabbed it.. Tip and I hauled our college bound kids all over the country in it.. Made dozens of trips all over america to move kids into their new homes and to meet their future husbands and so on.. Matter of fact,, had cancer not kicked my butt and Tip and I stopped living off the back of Tweeks (our bike) and started living in Trooper, our 2018 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid that gets over 60 MPG average and will maintain 50 MPG at warp speed (desert fun at triple digits,, you know the routine) we would probably still be driving the KIA..

When we went shopping for Hybrid vehicles that we could both sleep in,, we really went looking at new Prius's cause that is what I discovered adVenturous youths camping/living in on YouTube.. I did all the measuring,, all the comparing,, at the negotiating between Hyundai and Toyota and in the end,, the lifetime battery warranty on the Hyundai, the DCT tranny compared to Toyota's rubber band feeling CV drive (or what ever it is) and the look,, the sports car look of the Hyundai won us over.. Also,, the back of Trooper was much larger and more conducive to where we were headed use wise.. What really broke the camels back deal wise,, besides the fact that I had come to trust KIA/Hyundai,, was the fact that the Toyota Dealer closest to us would not come off 26k for a cash buy for a comparable model of the 2018 base model of Ioniq that we got for 18k cash,, brand new..

So far,, knock on wood,, besides having a neighbor go nuts and start tossing nails on the road resulting in a bunch of ruined tires and a socialist group going crazy at a political rally and keying/fist denting our new car,, the little Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid (not full EV,, it has a gas motor as well as EV,, you dont have to stop and charge it, just put 100 bucks worth of gas in it to go to Sacramento California from west Michigan and it does the rest) mini-motor home named Trooper that has won its place in our hearts and home is still doing a fine job..

The End

Puc

 

PS - as in our CTFW adVentures,, you can find some of our Trooper adVentures on our Youtube page now too..

[Chaharly]

The warranty is exactly why my sister continues to buy Kia vehicles. I have to say that they make a hell of a car IMHO

[Holly]

Had a 06 Hyundai Tucson, 2.7 v6, bought with 65k on it, gave it to son with 189K on it, only routine maintenance, other than having the timing belt replaced at 170K, we really miss that little thing!

[CaseyJ955]

I had an 86 Hyundai Excel. Man was that something, the right rear window worked, only door handle that had not fallen off so that was the way in! They have improved dramatically over the years. Anyone that can rank with Toyota and Honda has proven themselves at least highly competent.

 

I'm still gun-shy on H/Kia, knowing folks that have also had checkered experiences with them. I would not be afriad to buy one today, for the price how can you go wrong?

 

I see myself going back to BMW with a Toyota backup. Someone just destroyed my cosmically reliable 25 year old Lexus sedan, wife and I both heartbroken over it and we'll probably get another. BMW has something the others are missing, cant really put it into words. I'm willing to do the increased maintenance to enjoy what BMW has to offer, but not w/o a backup Toyota/Honda. BMW makes a car I want to drive. Toyota/Honda and probably Kia make cars I can drive if all else fails.

 

I'm still not quite sold on Kia, but it's hard to deny that they are making a much better product, and in many reviews are competitive with Honda and Toyota. Thats huge. For me to leave Toyota someone has to show me a better product. Kia has not really been at the grown up table that long, in my mind they are still on probation, but I cant help but respect their turn around.

 

H/Kia has the undisputed advantage of being economically priced and still being reviewed so highly, and we are indeed living in interesting times. I'm glad the choice exists to spend less, and I hope that H/Kia enjoy a lot of success. They sure earned it going from where they started to where they are now. As great as Korean and Japanese cars are, they do leave a massive void that BMW has filled quite nicely. Best of both worlds just means two cars, at least for now. I'm cool with that, and those are the choices that have served me exceedingly well over the years.

[BlueSky]

I've always thought I would have to have a BMW if I test drove one. But, I'm too cheap to put up with the very high maintenance costs and from what I've read, they are costly. Same reason I don't have a BMW motorcycle. If you google their reviews, it will scare you away. ABS problems are likely as well as numerous other ailments and are an arm and leg to repair.

 

Back in 98, my 86SS Monte Carlo needed its 3rd engine replacement and it was bashed in from a Nebraska deer charging into the side so I test drove a 95 Lincoln Mark VIII and I had to have it. The performance, handling, comfort, and everything was just first class. DOHC V8 engine, rear drive with independent rear suspension was wonderful. Drove it 8 yrs and loved every minute. If Ford built that same car today with a 5L V8, I'd buy one. Traded it for a Dodge Magnum with the Hemi V8, rear drive, and independent rear suspension. Still loving it too. It's not as beautiful as the Mark but it's more powerful and has been more reliable. So yeah, I'm sure if I drove a BMW, I'd have to have one.