Jen
Somerset,#2Author of original report
Wed, April 18, 2007
Cory thanks for clarifying that. You can imagine how hyper sensitive I am being as the car was towed twice in one week. the reason my payments are $456 is because i had no downpayment money. i traded in a grandam that i was still paying on and there was still a little bit of that loan that carried over. also unfortunately when my husband passed unexpectedly he had a lot of debt connected with his construction business that i was unaware of. to make a very painful and long story short my credit score went from the high 700's to mid 500's. it was devastating but that is a whole 'nother topic. i appreciate you taking the time to point out what was pretty obvious. thanks so much! -Jen
Cory
San Antonio,#3Consumer Comment
Tue, April 17, 2007
Jen, no offense intended. What I was trying to point out is that at for $456 per month you should have been able to get one of the other vehicle. Much of it depends on your credit situation, though we won't go into that. A $456 per month vehicle payment for 60 month could easily have gotten you a $22-$25,000 vehicle. A $12,000 usually equates to a $2-$250 per month vehicle payment. They sell baseline camries for around $18,000 around here and well equipped accords for $20 to $22,000. What kind of terms did you get from kia? I wasn't trying to insult your intelligence, I was trying to get your frame of mind.
Elaine
Boise,#4Consumer Comment
Mon, April 16, 2007
While I cannot condone what you went through in New Jersey, I bought my first Kia Sportage in Las Vegas in 1995. It worked great. Once, the power windows broke in the down position (during the 120 degree summer months, of course!) but the Las Vegas Kia Dealer called me right in and fixed it. I don't remember if I waited at the dealer or they gave me a loaner, but I DO remember I wasn't pissed off because of the time I had to wait. I moved to Montana and bought my next Kia in 1997, I upgraded to another Sportage. A terrific car, the dealer was terrific, I even spoke frankly to the dealership owner about his tacky commercials. He laughed and knew me by name. I had a meeting out of state once and had something wrong with the brakes. I took it in, they took a NEW car off the lot and gave me the keys and a tank of gas and a dealer plate and I had the loaner for 3 days while my car was being fixed. No problems after that. I bought my newest Kia, a Sephia, only because Montana started charging enormous registration fees for SUVs, and I decided to go with a cheaper to register car. Again, I loved it. I have over 120K miles on it, the dealerships I've dealt with have been great, the mechanics very helpful. The 3 of my Kias were like Timex watches...they took a lickin' and they kept on tickin'. I would have another Kia but my husband is talking me into getting a Mini Cooper. So, Jen, I'm sorry you had such bad luck with your service people, but I've not had problems with my Kias, and given the opportunity (and the cash) would buy one again. I had to defend the company here, due to my good history with the cars. Take care and good luck.
Jen
Somerset,#5Author of original report
Mon, April 16, 2007
Cory, "why in the world did I buy a Kia you ask?" Because a Toyota or a Honda IS NOT a little bit more money. After the the rebates and sales on this hunk of junk the sticker price was reasonable of about 12 G's. You tell me what brand new Honda or Toyota with enough passenger space for a family runs at that price tag, especially here in the North East. I thought I made myself clear that I was a widow (at the early age of 31 with three kids in tow) and that I needed something under warranty and that was somewhat affordable. So your rebuttal seems to insult my intelligence as a consumer. I did my research and and Kia seemed to be getting off to a good start according to some of the consumer reports I looked over. Unfortunately I lacked the good fortune to know an actually purchaser of a Kia to ask them if they liked the car or not. Anyways Cory, PLEASE let me know where in NJ or NY I can find a new Honda or Toyota off the lot in the $12,000 range that will fit 5 passengers comfortably. Thanks. -Jen
Cory
San Antonio,#6Consumer Comment
Mon, April 16, 2007
Why in the world did you buy a kia? For that kind of money or a little more, you could have bought a toyota or a honda or a mazda, but a kia? What were you thinking? You state; "Ripoff, dishonest, horrible customer service, horrible mechanics" but the headline ought to be about how bad the vehicle is. They figure they'll sell a total of ONE car to each person, one time and that'll be the end of it.