Modern Cars - Kia, thumbsup!

[Scorpion8]

In my usual jaunts around Alaska I've posted some of the rental trash I've gotten. But I have a happy story too. This trip to Anchorage I got set up with a Kia Optima. Superb little mid-size (or they call 'em "intermediates"). Since I always rent from the same company (State travel rules) I have gotten stuck with a bunch of dogs lately.... my 2x Dodge Avenger stories still bring nightmares. But this Kia has punch (within reason) handles great on ice w/o studded tires, has plenty of room (I took 5 of us to lunch today and two of 'em are, well, Mamma's big boys!). I love the dash lightup at night too as the light source is a very subtle backlight almost like a Timex Indiglo but white. And it's got a decent if basic stereo. Anchorage has a very good classical station and the plain stereo setup rattled the doors with deep bass on some concertos I was listening too off FM radio, and at low power too. Not like I had to turn it up to thumper volumes. Nice and clear.

If GM and Chrysler made cars like this..... ahh, well, let'em go under.

Kia Optima....*thumbsup*

[elroy]

when KIA first came out, they were pretty unreliable, now they have the best warranty for anything out there,

"Kia’s 100,000-mile warranty covers powertrain components but not the whole vehicle. On a new car, the Korean automaker offers a five-year/60,000-mile basic bumper-to-bumper warranty that includes coverage against manufacturer defects."

so they must be doing something right to make them run for 5 years without major problems. I would consider buying one, but I usually go for the old honda, put a couple bucks in it and drive to the 300K mark.

elroy

[JaeTee]

I usually go for the old honda, put a couple bucks in it and drive to the 300K mark.

elroy

Ditto. I'm on my fouth Acura in a row! A 1999 TL 3.2 that I got four years ago with 104K on the odo. It has just over 160K now, but will last me for at least another 100K.

The first acura I bought was an 88 Legend 2-door. V-6 with a 5-speed manual tranny. I bought it with 137K on the odo and sold it to a good friend with 267K on the odo. We are still good friends!

I kept ALL of my reciepts and after I sold the car I actually sat down and tallied up my initial cost + maintenance and upgrades (stereo equip) and then subtraced the amount I recouped when I sold it. Plus, I estimated the cost of gas for those 130K miles by using the price of gas at the time of sale and using the 21 MPG that the car averaged over its lifetime in my possession.... I ended up with a ridiculously low amount of approx $0.12 per mile! I sold that car eight years ago. Had I kept actual track of the price of gas along the way, I bet that number would have been more like $0.10 or $0.11 per mile.

I'll buy another Acura for sure... Got my eyes set on the 2004/2005 RL model next. I like Acuras because they seem to be an even better value used vs. Hondas.

My wife has a Toyota Avalon V-6 with 220k miles on it and it purrs like a kitten. Fantastic car.

BTW, a really good strategy for when you are in the market for a good used car is to subscribe to Consumer Reports online, or pick up the used car buying guide. That way, you know what cars to avoid, what problems are common to various models... and basically where your money is best spent.

[Scorpion8]

I would consider buying one, but I usually go for the old honda....

BTW, a really good strategy for when you are in the market for a good used car is to subscribe to Consumer Reports online, or pick up the used car buying guide. That way, you know what cars to avoid, what problems are common to various models... and basically where your money is best spent.

Well, since we're porbably in the market for a new car anyway, our strategy is different: we buy from a dealer in-town, since that's who'll service it beyond the general maintenance that I do. We have a Honda-Toyota-Subaru place, but very little other than Dodge, and a Ford/Chevy (gack!) broker, as I don't know if you can call him a dealer anymore. If we have to buy a car from outside (okay- lower 48 to you all) then we pass. Can't get warranty work done if the vehicle has to be shipped back to Seattle or somesuch. Everything else (like my daily driver Ford) I service and maintain myself.