Kia Rio

Price Paid:  $12900.00 from Desert Kia, Mesa, AZ

Year / Model Reviewed:
2007 Kia Rio LX

Summary:
Everyone at the dealership was rude. Everyone promised us how great the warranty was. The guy said for the first year and 12000 miles everything is covered whether it is kia's fault, or the customers. He used an example if you spilled your drink on the radio and it needed to be replaced that it would be free. Well sure enough on the way home she hit a curb at about 15, which bent something. So we took it back to the dealership expecting them to fix it under their warranty. Now they have chagned their tune to say that since it's her fault that they won't repair it. This car was in our possession for less than 18 hours, we put less than 30 miles on it. They tried to sell us an extended warranty for 5 years and 75000 miles which they also said covers things that are kia's fault, or the customers. He said with the basic warranty if the AC stops working they can blame it on the phoenix climate and not repair it at their choice. So we were basically forced to buy the extra warranty. Now I don't know if that warranty will even be worth it's cost. Now they have our car at the dealership, they call us and tell us it needs 1429 worth of repairs. They say we bent the tie rod, lower control arm, spindle, and both left side wheels, and hubcaps. Luckily I am an ASE certified master tech, which they weren't aware of. So I headed over today after work for them to show me the damage, however they closed at 2. The guy up front said I could go around and look at it by myself. After looking at the car I've determined that one wheel needs to be replaced, 2 hubcaps, and an alignment. I think the front subframe may of shifted so it may also need to be moved back, or replaced. They told us to use our insurance since we only have a $500 deductible. I feel they are just trying to steal from us. While we were making the deal to purchase the car the salesman told us we have 48-72 hours to return the car if we're not happy for any reason. Now they say we can't return it since it's damaged, even if we pay for the repairs. Today I did some research and it turns out that Arizona does not have a 3 day "cool off" period. This dealership has been very dishonest, and we should of walked out when we caught him in his first lie. I asked him about gas mileage, and he told me it gets 45 MPG. When I told him it says 29/38 on the sticker he said that's not accurate, and that he sold a car to a guy who got 45 mpg on the freeway. When I told him that they test the car and the amount on the sticker is the average he got upset and felt like I was insulting him. We should of just left. However as a first time buyer without established credit history we were stuck with Kia. I took the car home today and the salesman mentioned something about me doing the repairs may void our warranty. This is ridiculous, nobody is required to have their car repaired at the dealership. However I do believe if we have a problem in the future they will refuse to fix it just because someone other than them worked on it.

Strengths:
none...

Weaknesses:
Cheap steal, everything about the car is cheap. If you can cause 1400 dollars worth of damage from hitting a curb at 15 mph then there is some serious doubt if you were ever in a real collision with another car.

Similar Products Used:
04 nissan sentra

Price Paid:  $13500.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
2004 Kia Rio Cinco

Summary:
Except the roof mounted glasses case fell apart on the way home from the dealer, the car ran fine for the first year. Then it began to have a problem dieing at stoplights in hot weather. Took it to 3 dealerships and none of them could find the problem. Gas mileage has only been fair. One dealer told me that doing my own routine maintenance had voided the warranty. Then at 45,000 miles it began dieing while driving down the road. The check engine light never came on all this time. Finally the light came on and a mechanic friend checked the codes. I was pretty fed up with the dealers service (or lack of)by this time. The codes indicated 3 sensors were bad. I purchased & replaced the sensors, only to have 2 of the connector plugs literally fall apart in my hand. Three other wires fell out of plugs and I found 2 wires broken inside the harness shield. The whole harness is cheap junk. Replaced the harness and reset the computer. Now 2 cylinders won't fire. And this thing doesn't even have 50,000 on it yet. I should have suspected something when all of the dealers cut the sales price in half ($13,000 to $6500) 6 months after I bought it. It sits in my driveway now as it's not worth fixing.

Strengths:
None

Weaknesses:
Shoddy electrical components, very think sheet metal

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.25 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $18000.00 from Sherwood Kia

Year / Model Reviewed:
2004 RX-V (Cinco) Convience package

Summary:
This is my first new car. I shopped for 3 months, and picked the Kia Rio RX-V. I have put on 2400 km (1500mi) in 3 weeks. To date I have had the engine light on for a total of 2000km (1250mi) with 4 trips back to the dealer to fix. They still cannot find the cause of the engine light. Kia has said the engine light was due to the gas cap. I really get upset with that excuse. If they know what it is, then fix it. On a day that I was to leave my car for the dealer to repair the engine light problem, the transmission went. I was on my way to the dealership. It has been in the shop for 10 days without any repairs yet. I am to say the least, very disappointed. I haven't even made my first payment, and the car has been in the shop almost constantly. I don't know if it is a good car yet. I really wanted this car because of the warranty offered and the price was better than any other import or domestic in its class. I bought this car because gas was costing too much to run my big Chev C1500 pickup. My truck has 560,000km (350,000mi) all on the same engine/tranny. I don't know if I can trust my new car at this point. It funny because I really wanted this car, and now I don't know if I would buy this one again. I look at it and still like what I see, but I am gun-shy when I drive it. Every manufacturer has a lemon come off the line, I guess it was my turn to get one. Time will tell.

Strengths:
Nicely equipped Adequate gas mileage The little conviences of arm rest and lumbar for driver Heated mirrors Easy to drive Nice interior Kia Road side assistance was polite

Weaknesses:
Had to use Kia road side assistance Constant engine light Faulty transmission

Similar Products Used:
None similar, just my good ol' Chevy Truck

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $14995.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 Rio RS

Summary:
Got problems right out of the dealer with the car stalling when on idle. Went back to the dealer and they fixed it on the warranty, some problems with the spark plugs connection. Then the car was running fine, nothing great, but being short financially, it was taking me where I needed to go. I went to three different dealers for service and always got rude and ordinary service at best. I followed Kia's maintenance plan which is on the expensive side to make sure the warranty would be honored if anything happens. I also had to pay for repairs every year that were never covered on the warranty ($500-$600/year), and I'm not talking breaks pads or normal wear and tear on belts and such. Then all of a sudden, before the 60,000 miles, but just after the 60 months warranty past, the timing belt broke which cause the whole engine to die. Called the dealer, he wouldn't do anything for me. Contacted Kia and they just said warranty was over, nothing they can do. I had to dish out $2,000 to put a 2005 engine in. The shop I dealt with for this engine told me that Rios from 2000 to 2004 all have a tendency to die at or around the 60,000 miles mark. True or not, I can't tell but mine did die at that point. Piece of advice to Kia owners, don't bother following their maintenance plan, they will find a way not to respect it anyway.

Strengths:
Cheap, good highway mileage if you stay underneath 70 MPH.

Weaknesses:
Poor service, bad warranty, not really reliable, not much power (105 hp or so).

Similar Products Used:
Wish I had kept my first car, 95 Sonata that had 160,000 miles and counting.

Price Paid:  $7500.00 from Colorado

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 Rio

Summary:
I have had no issues with my Kia Rio to date. Bought it used with 5000 miles on it, and have since put 70,000 on it myself. I get exceptional gas milage. Brakes have not been serviced, although they will need it sometime in the next 3 months. Lack of power is my only complaint, but with 31 City/36 Hwy I can't complain. The care is responsive and has great torque in 2nd gear wich makes it fun to drive, no takeoff power though and using the A/C is not too bad but very noticable. Using the heat seems to have no impact on power. The car cruises at 70/75 and has no issues with sastained speeds of 80/85. She'll hit 100 but it takes awile and doesnt like it too much. The clutch is funky though, in first gear it seems to double clutch itself and make the car jerk, 2nd - 5th is smooth.

Strengths:
Great Gas milage, Low maintenance, Cheap.

Weaknesses:
Weird clutch and low power, expecialy with A/C on.

Similar Products Used:
Chevy Cavelier, Toyota Tercel, Hundai Accent.