Kia??

sarahgail

I'm looking to buy a new/nearly new car and don't really know much about cars. I notice that kia offers a 7 year warranty which sounds pretty good, but I don't know anyone who has a kia. Are they decent and reliable cars?

It is the ceed or the rio I have seen that looks like the sort of size I'm looking for (small family car with a reasonable sized boot).

Any advice/info would be great.

Thanks!

Older_but_not_wiser_2

Wife has a Kia Picanto, and it's great.
Mate has a Kia Sportage and he says it's great.

I haven't heard a bad thing about them, although I'm sure they have some detractors.

sar050680

My workmate has a Kia Sportage and he said the warranty is second to none and the customer service is excellent...Good luck.

flyingscotno1

Think they are decent enough cars, but a common misconception is that the whole range is 7 year warranty. The Ceed is but the Rio is 3 years IIRC- see the bottom here.

They are what they are. Not enough prestige or quality or class leading enough to get magazines squawking, but decent enough transport.

vikingaero

The Ceed is very well rated. Not quite top of the league but close enough, especially with that warranty. You could also consider the Hyundai i30 which I think is a Ceed in drag.

blue_monkey_2

I LOVE my Rio. It is 7 years old now but I would hate to get rid of it. It is a greaty work horse - but a car the same size now is the Ceed, the Rio is smaller now.

The warranty is 7 years on the Ceed only, the Rest of the range is 3 years. You have to get the servicing done through them but the prices are reasonable to be honest and I've never been charged any nasty extras really. They have never tried to rip me off by saying stuff needed doing when it didn't. It sailed through it's last MOT. It comes with a 6 year bodywork guarentee. If any service work needs doing (the paint flaked of my grill) they get it done for you.

You can also extend the warranty for another 3 years for around £200 - which I did, but it was not worth it as I never needed it at all but it gave me peace of mind. The local garage always has offers on MOT's and (touch wood) 7 years on and all it has needed is a suspension arm and the usual repairs.

My husband wants to get another car later in the year but I will be very sad to lose my Rio, sure it is not the best looking car in the world but it does me, it is reliable, it starts each and every time, it is great for flinging around the lanes where I live and is just perfect for us. Go give one a test drive and see what you think.

The one niggle I would have (and it is a small one) - my kids are 5 and 6 and their seats are starting to hang over the back of the seat and where they sit when my husband is in the car there is not much leg room. Not sure how this compares with other cars but as it does not happen that often it has never been a huge issue.

I would never hesitate in buying another Kia. I would like to add, see if you can get one that is pre-registered - just before the new plate is due out, they have to register a certain amount and ours had been pre-registered and because of that we got 2k off the usual screen price.

EssexHebridean

Double check that the warranty transfers if you are buying second hand - not all manufacturers will transfer the full warranty to a new owner. Good luck with your purchase!

Sobraon

UK Kia Owners Club Forums are at http://www.kiaownersclub.co.uk/forum/default.asp . I have had two Sedonas. Only problem was a fuel leak on the second one which did require Kia to collect and repair under warranty.

Nilrem

We've had a Rio for nearly 6 years and it's done very well (especially for the price), the only problems have been the rubber seal on the driver side (car body not door itself) is damaged - I suspect it's where I catch it getting in/out.

As has been mentioned the servicing costs tend to be very reasonable, I think for the Rio it varies between about £16 and £220.

We're probably going to be looking at a new car in about 2 years, and I strongly suspect we'll be getting either another Rio or a base level Ceed when the time comes, as we've been very happy with it (my only complaint with the Rio is our one doesn't have AC ).

blue_monkey_2

LOL Nilrem - my husband says the same 'we should have got aircon'. Personally, I'd be too tight to let him use it anyway as it used extra fuel when it is on!! :rotfl:

I would suggest if buying 2nd hand to go via the Dealer as the prices are not that bad and you can then be sure that all of the details for the warranty are done properly.

If you are buying the one with 7 years warranty you HAVE to have the car serviced every 12,000 miles or every 12 months with a Kia Servicer so make sure it has these or the warranty will be invalid.

If you want to fix the car yourself (as we have started doing now the car is older as hubby is a service engineer) the parts are still hard to get hold of as not many generic parts are made. We recently bought a suspension arm strut - a generic one would have been £30 but the Kia one was £100.