Car looks nice, ran well for first year

Cheaply made, no custoemr service from Kia's corporate office, NOOOOOO resale value

About a year after I purchased my Kia, the transmission began to hesitate. The first dealership I brought it to ignored my complaint and did nothing about it. I took it to the other local dealer and they replaced the tranny. A mile down the road after picking it up the hesitation returned. After returning to the dealer several more times the transmission was replaced a second time--after only 4,000 miles! Problems still persist. Check engine and flashing overdrive (indicating a transmission problem) lights came back on yesterday while driving up steep hill in a state park on a camping trip. I've now had to change my vacation plans (not the first time) so that I can get my car repaired again. I have written several letters to Kia regarding my transmission. Until recently the rep assigned my my case did nothing to help me. Only after requesting a new rep did I get a test drive with the district rep. Of course the car didn't act up while he had it... In addition to the tranny, the brakes have been replaced twice, a wiring harness has melted twice, one speaker is staticky, started has been fixed twice, exaush system has become punctured three times, and tires wore out prematurely.

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none

Looks nice, comfortable, good gas mileage.

No horsepower goin up hills, brakes, bad electrical systems.

I bought this piece of garbage at a tent sale. I was looking for a Honda but came across this. The dealer was very persistent about it. My girlfriend like it because her cousin has one. I figure it's a good buy cause it was cheap. This was my first car. When I bought it all was well till night came when the lights didnt work. The illumination in the dashboard wasnt lit. Worst of all I was pull over by the Highway Patrol and told me my taillights weren't on. And I just bought the car the same day! The brakes were sqeaking. The AC makes a wierd noise after the car is turn off. This is the worst car ever. Do not buy this car. I should have gotten the Honda.

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Dodge Neon

It is a good car to move stuff. it has a lot of truck space and the fold down back seat makes things easier

this is an extremely poorly made car. They can sell them for such a low price because they make up the difference in the extremely overpriced repair parts

Ladies & Gentleman, Pity me. I purchased my 1997 sophia in 12/98. 1 month later I found that the factory tire had bubbles on the sidewalls which was caused by ply seperation. Then it was the rotors, which warp due to heat. Kia is aware of this, they have simply chosen not to correct this. Good decision considering that every 6 months or so, I have to replace the warped rotors @ a cost of over $200. They warp so badly that they can't even be cut down. Then 6 months after I bought the car, the freeze plug blew, draining all of the coolant from the engine & leaving me stranded pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Had to replace almost the whole engine & took over a month for kia to send the correct parts to repair it. Add into it the rust along the doors of the car, The fact that I have replaced the entire exhaust system, several sensors before the dealership decided that it the wiring harness which was causing the car to ideal @ almost 3000 rpm totalling well over $2,000, the radiator which was mysteriously cracked when I got the car back from having the engine replaced but of course didn't occur when the engine overheated & therefore wasn't covered under the warrenty. I too also have this burn mark on my dashboard right infront of my steering wheel & yes the dashboard is warped & peeling back. I installed my own radio since the factory model am/fm cd just decided on day it wasn't going to work anymore & unless you want a heart attacke don't even bother pricing a new one from kia. Go to sears that's what I did & it didn't even cost me a quarter of what that kia dealership quoted me. I would gladly show anyone the copies of all the repairs that I have done to the car which includes oil changes every 3000 miles, coolants flushes twice a year, tune ups & tranmission flushes. I have tried to trade this car in on a number of occations & the dealership where I bought it wouldn't even take it. & it's no wonder I have soo much negative equity built into a car that I have spent far too much money just keeping it on the road. I don't think I remember a time when the check engine light wasn't on & now I just found out that the transmission is going & was quoted $2500 for a new one, far more then the car itself is worth. I have simply decided that I am not putting any more $$ into the car, I'm just going to let the trany go & take it to a push pull or drag sale

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1984 cavelair, 1989 sunbird, 1985 corsica, would take any of these back in a heartbeat

Interior has a lot of room for such a small outside package. Try to find another vehicle, brand new, under $20,000.00 (tax included) thats fully loaded and has a 5 year warrenty. Good Luck pal!

Dealership network, no aftermarket performance parts.

Great car! 70,000km and only schedualed maintenance. We almost made a mistake and bougt a 1996 honda accord with the exact same options as our brand new Kia Sephia. The accord was the same price!! with 150,000KM on it. This Kia is no Cadilac; however, if your looking for a better value for your dollar... forget it. There is no company out there that offers the value, options and warrenty for your hard earned $. Its roomier than a Corolla, has more pep than a civic and looks better than any hyundi on the road!

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civic,corolla,altima,neon,cavalier... All would have a substantial ammount of milege on them for the same price as a new "spectra" (new name for the sephia)

Nice to drive when running properly. good options.

No backing from Kia, they need to be pushed with a lot of complaining before they do anything.

Drove this car out of dealership had problems with erractic shifting between 1st,2nd,3rd gear. had it in the shop numerous times, Kia finally replaced transmission, but now I have problem with it shifting with the AC on. I have now started complaining loadly because Kia customer service wouldn't call me back. Finally got response from area service manager, but he tells me they were aware of this problem 14 months ago but it wasn't widespread so not a priority to fix!! Kia customer service told me to drive without the AC on until their engineers find a fix for this! when asked how long, soon.

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Pontiac Sunbird

Unbeatable value for your money! Decent ride, good power (kicked many a civics butt!!), nice looks and great gas milege 30mpg

Dealer network (improving each year) performance aftermarket parts are not available

In August 2000,My wife and I were looking for a "dependable" used car to replace her ailing 1988 VW Fox. She had just received a promotion and her new job required her to make a daily 100km trek down the major highway. The Fox was just not reliable enough for my likeing. We shopped arround and came across this "KIA" dealership offering 0% financing for the full 4 year term on this new car called the "sephia". My wife fell in love with the LS model (power everything,air conditioning, cd player) and we both liked the room the car had... I'm 6'4" and shes 5'11". Keep in mind she was happy with her fox and to her this was a gem! We settled on the green metalic 5 speed, had the dealer install a rear spoiler, front bug deflector and aluminum wheels. Needless to say it was one good looking little car! Whats my review? I suppose I'm just "one of the lucky ones". My wife just told me yesterday that she hit... the 70,000km mark. The car is not even 2 years old yet. It certainly is not my Chrysler LHS, but for a car in its size category nothing can touch it! I enjoy driving it as much as she does! A trip last fall to New Brunswick (4,500km) cost us $160.00 in gas! We love our Kia, from the interior room, its sporty good looks, the way it handles to the simple fact that I can set the cruise control on this little 125hp car at 160kmph and my 230hp V6 Chrysler is governed at 140kmph. Most of you probably don't have to deal with great ammounts of snow but if you do let me tell you, I slapped a set of snow tires on the steel factory rims and I have not looked back since! Regular maintenance for any car is the key... Every 5,000km the oil gets changed, every three months the exterior gets waxed and once a week it takes a trip through the drive through car wash. Has it been "trouble free"? No. The clutch started slipping at 26,000km, the dealer We bought it from misdiagnosed the problem and simply replaced the clutch. A week after getting it back the clutch started slipping again. The dealer kept the car an unbelivable 13 days! To say I was "upset" would be an understatement... A car ...8 months old with 26,00km on it... spending that long in the dealer... yes I was concerned. I have never taken the vehicle back to that dealer for service and never will. My sister bought a 2001 Sephia in January for my teenage niece... She loves her car too!

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At the time... a 1996 Honda Accord with 150,000km on it was the same price as our new Kia! The sad thing is we almost bought the Accord (with the fixed 9% purchase financing!) We were lucky to find ou

Low body roll on turns, high horsepower, reliablity, cheap to own, nice interior features, solid steering

Some sqeeking noises, low LOW resale value (which I'm convinced will go up with newer models as more people hear about the greatness of Korean cars)

My car is GREAT! 59,000 miles right now. It's taken me from Texas to S. Cali and back and from S. Cali to N. Cali countless times. I got it a year ago and have put 25,000 of my own miles on it now. I couldn't be happier. I'm going to keep my car until it won't go another inch, which probably will be about 200,000 miles. It's never broken down, and I could have had the hood welded shut when I got it, and it would still be on the road. I've only done scheduled maint. I'm so happy with my car!

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'96 Dodge Neon (also good), '88 Pont. Grand Am, '01 Honda Accord (Honda and Toyota owners are waisting their money! Buy Kia/Hyundai are the way to go!

Handling Acceleration (esp. in the lower gears) Build Quality

Could ride a little more comfortably Fabric/Interior Materials Quality

I have had this car for 9 months with a little over 9,000 miles on it. With the exception of a faulty dimmer switch (replaced under warranty), it has been a wonderful vehicle. It has plenty of pep for a 4-cyl w/a 5-speed (it can squeal the tires in 1st and bark them in 2nd), sips gas, gives a fairly comfortable ride, and handles well. It is worth well more than what I paid for it.

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Buick Skyhawk Toyota Corolla Honda Civic

Excellent value. Excellent engine. Solid construction. Well thought out interior.

Weak exterior sheet metal. Gas filler tube burps gas on fillup.

I have had no problems with my Sephia after 2 years of solid driving, it's better than a Civic, better than a Neon, and way better than the GM J-twins!

I knew nothing about cars before we bought our Kia. After dealing with all the problems I bet I can rebuild an engine blind folded. I just wish my knowledge came under better circumstnces

Are you serious?

Where do I begin! My husband has taken that car to be fixed better than 20 times, and each time he comes home I pray that the car is not with him. Aside from the imaginary brake problems acorrding to the dealer, and near death accident according to our lawer, our Kia Septic-tankia has: spit the fuel hose off the fuel filter- locking up steering and spraying gas all over engine- causing small flash fire, only put out because the car spun almost completely around in rush hour traffic-1,758 miles; fuel shooting out in my husbands eyes from the under filled but not going to take any more gastank; paint shedding like a snake; exhaust sounds like a jet engine in the front but thank god the heat shield finaly came all the way off the scraping sound pierced your ears. The transmission slips from 1st to fifth then back again, making for a rather nauseating ride; The dealer has since relocated and no longer sells or services kia's, go figure; countless other problems to many to list.

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Nothing I have used has been similar to this, Thank God!