Kia Sedona Love it or Hate it

[Janet Hill]

We had a 2004 Sedona that we just traded for a Toyota Sienna. We were starting to have problems with it (catalytic converter $$ and some wheel bearings thing $$). Fortunately all was covered under warranty (which was definately a check in the "for" column. We had just finished putting over $500 into it because of some hose or valve or something (can you tell I know nothing about cars?).

I will tell you is that it didn't have as smooth a ride as the Sienna we bought and the biggest reason we traded it is that there was literally NO cargo space. We had to keep the back seats out at all times just to have room for a large grocery shopping trip. The rear seats on ours didn't go into the floor and it sounds like the newer models have that feature, but with the back seats operational, there was so little cargo space. It also sounds like the newer models may have more cargo space now but I'd certainly check out how roomy it feels in the back when the seats are up.

You get a lot of bang for the buck and a lot of bells and whistles. Would I buy another one? Probably not. We traded a Sienna for the Kia and regretted that decision pretty much from the beginning, but if Siennas didn't exist I would look into another Kia if the newer ones had more space.

If you got that at the Morgantown dealership BEWARE! Their service is awful, and the one time we took our car there they made it worse. We took it there only because my husband was really busy and didn't have time, but he had to do it anyway. My father has had bad dealings with this dealership as well.

That said we love our KIA Optima (134,000 miles), and my father is happy with his Sedona.

Yes gas mileage is worse for KIA models vs other like models, but a lot of that is that they are heavier vehicles.

 

[ohlas]

I wouldnt say "I love my Van". I loved the 2010 lx for the price 21k and that with all the taxes too. 23k on it havent had one problem. My sister bought a town and country new and loves the ride hates price and has already replaced a transmission at around 30k miles.

I wouldnt buy a Kia unless you are a drive it till you kill it person. They are throw away cars with no resale vaule.

 

[Mickey527]

I bought a 2008 Sportage in 2009 and just traded it in for a 2011 Sportage. I absolutly love my Sportage, it is not as big as a van but seats 5 with a large storage space in the middle.
My brother drove my first Sportage and went right to the Kia dealer and bought a 2009 Sedona and loves it. The only problem he finds is that he doesn't get the milage they said, the milage is alot lower than he got in his Toyota minivan he traded in for the Kia. But he does say he is not upset at all because he loves the car so much

 

[Mickey527]

I wouldnt buy a Kia unless you are a drive it till you kill it person. They are throw away cars with no resale vaule.[/QUOTE]

As I said in my last post, I traded my 2008 Kia Sportage for a 2011 Kia Sportage. My car had a trade in value of $11,000 and the Kia dealer gave me $13,500 for a trade in. My 3 year old car was in excellent condition and had less than $25,000 miles on it.
I did test drive Honda and Toyota cars and both dealers offered $12,000 as trade in for my 2008 Sportage.

 

[Suz D]

If you got that at the Morgantown dealership BEWARE! Their service is awful, and the one time we took our car there they made it worse. We took it there only because my husband was really busy and didn't have time, but he had to do it anyway. My father has had bad dealings with this dealership as well.

Janet,

We actually bought it up in Pittsburgh, but we have had to take it to the dealer here because of a problem with the stereo/dvd player. They got the DVD player working but had to order something for the stereo. They never called us back to let us know if the part was in and to make an appointment to fix it. I just haven't had time to call them and be without the van to have it fixed (that was last summer LOL!) Anyway, I fear that I may be in total agreement with you about the service from M-town Toyota. Do you still live in this area?

 

[ccgirl]

I wouldnt buy a Kia unless you are a drive it till you kill it person. They are throw away cars with no resale vaule.

As I said in my last post, I traded my 2008 Kia Sportage for a 2011 Kia Sportage. My car had a trade in value of $11,000 and the Kia dealer gave me $13,500 for a trade in. My 3 year old car was in excellent condition and had less than $25,000 miles on it.
I did test drive Honda and Toyota cars and both dealers offered $12,000 as trade in for my 2008 Sportage.[/QUOTE]

I bet if you brought the Kia to a non-Kia dealership you would have a different outcome.

 

[Jaklackus]

We bought a 2005 brand new...somehow talked them down to 16k from 24k and then they gave us 6k on our trade..which was a 2001 Toyota Rav with 120k miles with transmission and engine problems(disclosed and verified by their mechanic)...since my inlaws gave us that car for free it was 6k off for free...so we walked out with a brand new van for 10k...for that price I LOVE my Kia....if I paid 24k for it I would hate it. The automatic locks sound like a door buzzer, one of the side sliding doors sticks, gas mileage sucks, it chews through front tires and front brake pads like crazy, the cost to change the timing belt was $500 last time I checked, oil changes are complicated..DH did it once and decided it was worth $35 to have someone else do it...the A/C pump died but they fixed that for free...while I was waiting for that another woman was in because her Kia Sedona seized the engine when her timing belt went ...since she was 300 miles over the scheduled interval she voided her warranty..it cost her $2800 to fix.

I hope to squeeze another couple years out of the van...DH can't decide whether he wants to replace the timing belt or pay to have it done...he's been debating for 40k miles...so I stay local...I don't do anything crazy like go to Disney while the kids are in school for fear that something goes wrong with the car and no one would be there to pick up the kids..I would never count on the van for a cross country trip at this point (92k miles).

 

[mafibisha]

NOOO to the Kia!! Both my best friend, and my brother and SIL had them. As others said, they were terrible on gas, just ridiculous, something like 17 mpg. They were always needing some repair so they were always taking them in for something. And not little things, but like transimission, power train (sp), the a/c and heater, ugh.

Recently both bought Town & Country vans and absolutely adore them! One is an '09 and one a 2010. Great mileage and the stow and go is amazing. I can't believe how much room they have, and the DVD systerm and little table, are perfect for the kids. We had one years ago and its what we're getting next.

 

[Mickey527]

[As I said in my last post, I traded my 2008 Kia Sportage for a 2011 Kia Sportage. My car had a trade in value of $11,000 and the Kia dealer gave me $13,500 for a trade in. My 3 year old car was in excellent condition and had less than $25,000 miles on it.
I did test drive Honda and Toyota cars and both dealers offered $12,000 as trade in for my 2008 Sportage.[/QUOTE]


[/COLOR]I bet if you brought the Kia to a non-Kia dealership you would have a different outcome.[/QUOTE]

As I wrote before. both the Toyota and Honda dealers offered me $12,000 for my old Sportage. I didn't buy toyota or Honda mainly because I loved my Sportage and loved the new redesigned one better than ano of the Hondas or Toyotas I test drove.

 

[tyniknate]

I wouldn't buy another Kia if it meant the difference between walking to work and not. The gas mileage is awful and, like the previous posters said - it is always in for repairs. Far as I'm concerned you get what you pay for. Yes, you can save $10,000 compared to other makers, but you can easily put that back into the vehicle and way more.

The sliding door ball bearings have had to be replaced in mine 3 times at a cost of $200 per time. For a 3" piece of plastic that can't be bought any other way. One day we just went to open the door and it wouldn't. Took it in to the dealer and he said "Yep, this happens all the time". What a PITA mine has been. Also, expect the motor to blow just shortly after the warranty expires. Replaced at a tune of $4500. Yep - $4500! The whole car is a piece of junk!

 

[*Seanaci*]

My mom has an 2006 LX. HATES it during the winter. If the chains (?) get wet and the temp drops below freezing, the doors freeze shut. The other day,my DH, our DS, myself and mom went to the mall...it wasn't snowing. Until we pulled up at the mall. SO, when I got the stroller out, I ended up putting down one of the back seats so that if by the time we got out of the mall the back doors were frozen shut, we'd still be able to get in.

It's also terrible as far as driving in snow/icey conditions. They put 25# sand bags over the back wheels every winter.

Other than that, she likes her car. Gas milage isn't a huge deal for her as she has a short commute to work (less than 10 miles round trip). The stow-away seats are fantastic as well (especially when you have lots to haul).