Complaint Review: Kia Motors - Elmhurst Illinois

Kia Sportage may be the last car you ever own! Why? Several good reasons:

It is a real Off Road Vehicle! If the pavement is wet in the least you will spin like a top and end up - Off of the Road! It is engineered to be a cross between a cheap sports car and a cheap jeep. It handles and drives like an insane wild mule on steroids and met amphetamines! The suspension system, what little there is, is just awful, and will give you spinal problems from the miserable rough ride!

Great Warranty! You will need it - until you figure out that you cannot spend the rest of your life taking it back to the dealership and just give up! It is just a cheap piece of junk! In all fairness to the dealership - they cannot make an acceptable car out of a Kia. Windows malfunction, doors malfunction, knobs come off in your hand, inserts come flying off of wheels, windows break if hit by a bug, and the go cart engine misses, sputters, and dies, preferably in heavy traffic - just to name a very few Kia terminal repair problems. The Kia self-destructs while it just sets in your driveway! You will get to where you are afraid just to look at the thing! A Kia is a very depressing sight for its owner! Kia makes the Yugo look like a Lincoln!

The little lady has been making around $400.00 a month payments for the death trap, for two years now, for her $15,000.00 Kia. She still owes around $14,000.00 for it. Why? Kia financing! The dealership took advantage of her being in a grief reaction over the death of her sister to tack on every useless add on warranty and charge imaginable, and some which no sane person would ever think of! The interest rates are the highest I have ever seen outside of a pawnshop! By the time she gets through paying for it - she could have bought another home - on the lake yet. Right now she owes around $14,000.00 for a Kia which is worth around $5000.00, if we could find anyone stupid enough to buy the thing.

The Kia has the worst resale value imaginable, and you will have to pay handsomely just to get any car dealer to take it in as a trade! And after having this one - we really can't blame them! We have thought about selling our Kia Sportage Death Trap to a private individual, however, we are just not big enough liars, we can find no one whom we hate that much, and do not wish to be responsible for someone else's death on the road.

It looks like the Kia will be the last car we ever own! If we do not die in this death trap, we will spend the rest of our lives paying for it! And worst of all - we have to spend the rest of our lives riding around in a self destructive, abusive riding clown car! Thanks to Kia Motors and Roper Kia in Joplin Missouri!

Do yourself a favor. If you are seriously considering buying a Kia, just shoot yourself. It will be a lot more fun, less painful, make more sense, and you might just live afterward - unlike Kia ownership! You do not own a Kia, the Kia owns you - forever! Kia ownership is like a very bad horror movie with lifetime, non-ending sequels - Kia - the terrorist revenge upon the American People for us being in their country in the first place! KIA - MADE IN KOREA!

Most likely, a Kia will be the last car you ever own!

I bought a Sephia in August 98 & have had no unusual problems (just brake pads; a couple of recalls - which I expected because it hadn't been in the US market long; 1 electrical problem that was a bit of an issue). I've put almost 50,000 miles on it (I live 300 miles from where I grew up, so I'm on the road back & forth a lot!) & am considering trading it in for another Kia (automatic this time; my husband can't drive a standard).

Basically, it was inexpensive, it gets good mileage (about 420 miles/13.2-gallon tank), and I've had no major problems. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

On the other hand, you've obviously had a horrific time with yours & I'm so sorry to hear that. The transmission problems sound like they'd fall under warranty; I think in 98 it was 5 years, 50,000 miles powertrain. Have you had problems getting the warranty to cover these repairs? It seems like every once in a while, one of these cars (or any car, really) is a real dud & that's why they're warranted for so long - your transmission shouldn't go twice in 4 years.

Have you tried to deal with Kia directly? I've had pretty good experiences with their customer service people; I'd like to think the company - if not the dealership, which should care about your business (in an ideal world, right?) - would want to address your concerns & try to make things right.

I'm only asking because you don't mention these things in your report & if you haven't, maybe they'll help. If you have & they haven't done anything, then I'm REALLY sorry. Having a lousy experience with a car & then another lousy experience with getting it taken care of is a double-whammy.

Good luck!

I bought a Sephia in August 98 & have had no unusual problems (just brake pads; a couple of recalls - which I expected because it hadn't been in the US market long; 1 electrical problem that was a bit of an issue). I've put almost 50,000 miles on it (I live 300 miles from where I grew up, so I'm on the road back & forth a lot!) & am considering trading it in for another Kia (automatic this time; my husband can't drive a standard).

Basically, it was inexpensive, it gets good mileage (about 420 miles/13.2-gallon tank), and I've had no major problems. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

On the other hand, you've obviously had a horrific time with yours & I'm so sorry to hear that. The transmission problems sound like they'd fall under warranty; I think in 98 it was 5 years, 50,000 miles powertrain. Have you had problems getting the warranty to cover these repairs? It seems like every once in a while, one of these cars (or any car, really) is a real dud & that's why they're warranted for so long - your transmission shouldn't go twice in 4 years.

Have you tried to deal with Kia directly? I've had pretty good experiences with their customer service people; I'd like to think the company - if not the dealership, which should care about your business (in an ideal world, right?) - would want to address your concerns & try to make things right.

I'm only asking because you don't mention these things in your report & if you haven't, maybe they'll help. If you have & they haven't done anything, then I'm REALLY sorry. Having a lousy experience with a car & then another lousy experience with getting it taken care of is a double-whammy.

Good luck!

I bought a Sephia in August 98 & have had no unusual problems (just brake pads; a couple of recalls - which I expected because it hadn't been in the US market long; 1 electrical problem that was a bit of an issue). I've put almost 50,000 miles on it (I live 300 miles from where I grew up, so I'm on the road back & forth a lot!) & am considering trading it in for another Kia (automatic this time; my husband can't drive a standard).

Basically, it was inexpensive, it gets good mileage (about 420 miles/13.2-gallon tank), and I've had no major problems. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

On the other hand, you've obviously had a horrific time with yours & I'm so sorry to hear that. The transmission problems sound like they'd fall under warranty; I think in 98 it was 5 years, 50,000 miles powertrain. Have you had problems getting the warranty to cover these repairs? It seems like every once in a while, one of these cars (or any car, really) is a real dud & that's why they're warranted for so long - your transmission shouldn't go twice in 4 years.

Have you tried to deal with Kia directly? I've had pretty good experiences with their customer service people; I'd like to think the company - if not the dealership, which should care about your business (in an ideal world, right?) - would want to address your concerns & try to make things right.

I'm only asking because you don't mention these things in your report & if you haven't, maybe they'll help. If you have & they haven't done anything, then I'm REALLY sorry. Having a lousy experience with a car & then another lousy experience with getting it taken care of is a double-whammy.

Good luck!

I bought a Sephia in August 98 & have had no unusual problems (just brake pads; a couple of recalls - which I expected because it hadn't been in the US market long; 1 electrical problem that was a bit of an issue). I've put almost 50,000 miles on it (I live 300 miles from where I grew up, so I'm on the road back & forth a lot!) & am considering trading it in for another Kia (automatic this time; my husband can't drive a standard).

Basically, it was inexpensive, it gets good mileage (about 420 miles/13.2-gallon tank), and I've had no major problems. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

On the other hand, you've obviously had a horrific time with yours & I'm so sorry to hear that. The transmission problems sound like they'd fall under warranty; I think in 98 it was 5 years, 50,000 miles powertrain. Have you had problems getting the warranty to cover these repairs? It seems like every once in a while, one of these cars (or any car, really) is a real dud & that's why they're warranted for so long - your transmission shouldn't go twice in 4 years.

Have you tried to deal with Kia directly? I've had pretty good experiences with their customer service people; I'd like to think the company - if not the dealership, which should care about your business (in an ideal world, right?) - would want to address your concerns & try to make things right.

I'm only asking because you don't mention these things in your report & if you haven't, maybe they'll help. If you have & they haven't done anything, then I'm REALLY sorry. Having a lousy experience with a car & then another lousy experience with getting it taken care of is a double-whammy.

Good luck!

Hi,
I bought a Kia in 1999 and it has been a good, reliable car. I have replaced the brakes on it twice and I have driven it about 76,000 miles. It has never been in the shop for anything.
Sorry that yours was a dud.

Hi,
I bought a Kia in 1999 and it has been a good, reliable car. I have replaced the brakes on it twice and I have driven it about 76,000 miles. It has never been in the shop for anything.
Sorry that yours was a dud.

Hi,
I bought a Kia in 1999 and it has been a good, reliable car. I have replaced the brakes on it twice and I have driven it about 76,000 miles. It has never been in the shop for anything.
Sorry that yours was a dud.