Help me choose a car
 

I'm thinking about buying a new KIA since I've been over here.

I'm looking heavily at the K5 (Optima) and the K7 (Cadenza-which isn't out in the States yet).

An Optima fully loaded is only $30k, where as the Cadenza is around $40k.

Am I going crazy or what? I mean I've always owned GM of some sort, and never planned to buy anything but a domestic. What would you guys do?

All I can say it that late model Kia's and Hyundais don't break.

My daughter bought a Brand new Santa Fe 5 years ago and it now has 65000 miles. I have changed the oil and done brakes and tires. That's it!! Plus she isn't really easy on a car.

I'd feel like I'm going against my own grain if I bought one though. I'm the kind of person that will pay more just to have American...but when you think about KIAs are built in America while most "domestics" are not.

i know a few people who have bought new kias, no complaints anywhere. nice options and warranty for prices gm cant touch. if gm cant offer a good product at a reasonable price thats there problem.

can you bring it back for reasonable money, or i think i heard somewhere the military will for free if you buy it while deployed?

buy the Genesis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

/thread lol

Why would I buy it here when I can buy it in the States? Importing is such a hassle.

I would buy the Genesis, if it was worth it buy the Korean one and import it. It's so different than the American version though so no way.

Another thing I would have to do is get rid of my car. don't know if I wanna do that or not.

waiit, you're still there? my bad, didnt know that

Haha, yeah. The American Genesis doesn't compare to the Korean version. At all.

2011 Kia Optima SX? I'd get it in black or blue, maybe even silver.
http://carspondent.com/wordpress/wp-...12/Optima1.jpg

2011 Ford Fusion Sport? Also in black or blue.
http://ford2012-models.info/images/2...t-review-2.jpg

2011 Chevy Malibu LTZ? Would be in black or silver.
http://www.joelfeder.com/wp-content/...5/IMG_3578.jpg

the malibus were small and expensive for what you on the higher models, i would never buy a ford, the kia looks cool except the wheels would have to go

I test drove a Malibu LTZ, with a 4cyl before I left for Korea. Wasn't impressed with the motor, so I want to test drive one with a V6.

I've been looking at the Fusion Sports over here thanks to new car sales, and they are very nice. Most expensive out of the three though, with the Malibu being the cheapest. Kia has the best options and warranty though.

last year we were at the various dealers looking at stuff for the wife, so we were in a malibu ltz V6 and they wanted almost 35k and i was like im not paying 35 for a malibu even if it had a rocket engine. it was too small anyway especially if your used to a bonnie. i was just playing with the "build your own" and the same car is about 27k now but thats still to expensive for a midsize.

Chevy = $28k
Kia = $30k
Ford = $34k

All fully equipped, no skimping if I'm buying new. I could probably get the Ford cheaper through AAFES new car sales though.

I can help you.

Stop thinking Kia and change the title of your post to something better than it is. Your current title makes me want to ignore your post because it's
1. Not descriptive
2. Not original
3. Overall prods me the wrong way..
:D

Spell check and a title change are your friends, my friend. :bd2

Spell check for what? I've misspelled nothing! I'm too perfect for that, unless I've been drinking.

Also, I would change the title but John hasn't given me those power back yet.

bill reminds me, have you checked out the new regals that are coming this year? optional tubo/hyrbrid 4 that has power and high 30's for mpg. the blue interior is cool too

gs
http://www.caranddriver.com/features...gal_gs-feature
hybrid
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/...hway-expected/

Helllllllp isn't spelled right there ace. trch

New Regals, looks nice. I'm pretty content with the $1400 price tag from my car, the low taxes on it and overall cheap insurance costs. Yeah I dropped about $3K into it, drive it for 3-5 years and it'll have paid me money. :thumbup2

Is that better?

While help wasn't technically spelled correctly, it was to show enthusiasm. I know you know that. Also, thank you Dan. It's much appreciated.

I also saw the Korean version of the new Buick Lacrosse today on base. The Daewoo thingy. Thing looked crazy nice.

I don't know what I've dropped into this car. While some of it was mods (CAI, headlights, tint) the other stuff was needed, like the stereo since all the stock stuff was blown up and mixed into a horrible "upgrade" anyway. If I had to guess I'd lose maybe $1k on "mods" another $500 on the stereo.

Also though the trunk lid is leaking so that's something I wouldn't have to fix, the rear door is effed too. I have the parts to fix those, but they're the wrong color. Also I think the UIM and LIM gaskets are close to taking a dump on me since my car is "using" coolant and it's not in the oil.

I dunno, I just really like the aspect of a brand new car with no worries for 5-10 years.

You do know those parts are sitting here, and I have paint guns.

not no worries but less worries than a vehicle that has some time on it. im with bill if you dont drive very far or put many miles on it fixing up an older vehicle will save some money and sometimes have a cooler car depending on the level of mods. i paid 2500 last winter for my yukon because it had a o2 code and abs code, 150k miles so put probably 1k into it, rebuilt front end, shocks and all the crap to make it tow my camper. so it saved me a ton compared to a newer yukon. but its not going to see many more miles than it has now, i put about 12k on the last truck i had in 8 years.

if you drive alot like i do with my monte (anywhere from 25 to 40k per year) than i want something newer that i can trust to go on a 1300 mile one way trip. reliability is worth some extra to me.

Dan, how much to paint those parts for me?

Also, the car gets miles put on it. I bought my Bonne September of 09 with 60k, even with me being gone 6 months of 2010 It's still got 78k on it now and climbing. Like I said, I'm really just waiting for those gaskets to take a dump.

Paint plus $100 for my time. Paint, prime, and clear should be around $100 or so.

So $200 eh? Not a bad deal. My paint is still pretty close to stock quality so just using the paint code should work.

Yep. Just let me know.

Alrighty, will do. I'll ask the gf her opinion, even though since I've already bought the parts I might as well get them painted so I can put them on. That'll be a fun project when I get home.

So, besides that...of the three cars I'm looking at does anybody have an opinion? So far I've heard Kia, no Kia, and no Ford.

Seeing the parts are stripped right now I can paint them all around, inside and out. Better match that way.

Well that was going to be the plan when I took them to my body friend in FL, but if you can do it and then I just pick them up ready to go it's even better.

theres a bunch of gms better than the malibu for one and ive been thinking if my monte died tomorrow id be at the VW dealer getting one of those jetta TDi's with a man 6spd. they also have a tdi cup version that adds the cool looks and some interior stuff. the car is only slightly slower than my monte but gets between 40 and 50 mpg and will last alot longer as well. vw is one of the few companies you hear building plants in the US to increase production and decrease prices here.

Yeah, that's the reason why Kia's and Hyundai's are so cheap over here now. With the plants in Alabama and Georgia.

I totally forgot about the Jetta TDi, those things are amazing.

vw is sopposed to be building a plant over here too and "americanizing" there line up to compete pricewise

hopefully they dont mess it up, some of the things i like about it are inherently german

Not to sway you from a new car but you have an 02 Bonnie with over 78K on it. I rolled over 200K with my 03 Bonnie and just put a tranny in it. For me it is $2000 for the tranny vs over $25,000 to replace with a new car. Sure I am having issues with the new tranny but at least I know for the next 3 years/100K miles GM WILL fix it. Fix the issues with your Bonnie for a few $1000, put at least 200K on it and save Lots and Lots of money. Buy a new car and loose $1000's by driving it off the lot. Just my opinion,
Mike

Back in 2008, I bought a brand new Hyundai Azera! That thing was loaded and had stock, 267 HP. It was a dream to drive! I never had a single problem with it and I put almost 40,000 miles on it in 1 year! Oh, and with that much power, I was still getting 33-35 MPG on the freeway! ;-) Was it pricy.....yes! Was it worth it......YES!

I'm with Bruzer. Your Bonne is still style wise current. Why spend money when you don't need to. Everybody these dayz seems to be bent on considering all their income, "disposable". New cars a a big chunk of change for something "wanted". Not needed. And slide in value incredibly fast. I know. My GXP is worth 1/4 what it sold for new 6 years ago. With a nice car in your stable, maybe a home ownership and retirement are better shiny objects to catch your eye and wallet? I guess thats just me talking, who cough cough retired at 49.

End of rant, LOL. BTW.... I took time out of trying to play Forum catchup while I boil off Maple sap into syrup and got your permissions reset. You should be back to normal and good to go. I'm up to 27 guarts of syrup bottled. Tree's still bleeding well.

stick with the bonnie why would you even consider buying a kia or hunday.... or a diff car at all but thats all because im not one to give up a good reliable car ive had and know

pains me to say thism but that Kia looks pretty damn good, im so not used to looking at them for more than 2 seconds

as for the decision, you know your budget & wallet more than anyone, i had a really good offer on my GXP couple of weeks ago and i said no, because as John said, its something i want and not something i need and i have alot more important stuff coming up

Well with my upcoming job a a $30k car is change. As much as I love my car, doing maintenance on it is getting annoying. We'll see though as it won't happen until after I leave here. So that's 9 more months.

Alright guys, while I appreciate inputs on why I should keep my car, that's not what I'm looking for.

What I am looking for is what car would you choose if it were you, and why?

So those 3 are the ones to pick from, and I guess you can throw the Jetta TDi in there too.

my mom got the fusion sel great car. it will out handle and easily out run my ga. smooth ride. its a very nice car, also the sound system is amazing with the 12 speakers i can turn it all the way up with no distortion at all. the only complaint is its steering is sloppy but the sport has a standard hydrualic powersteering instead of electric like the sel so that wont be a problem