Kia Ceed or Citroen C4

Trebor16

Flyboy152 wrote: »

They don't have to use OE parts, they have to use comparable quality parts.

They have to use manufacturer approved parts, not comparable quality parts.

photome

Trebor16 wrote: »

Have you looked at the amount of legroom in the back of the new Astra if the drivers seat is pushed back to accomodate a taller driver? Douglas Bader would be the only person who could get comfortable as the leg room is non existent.

Thats the same in the new Megane, all style over substance

jase1

Flyboy152 wrote: »

I disagree. The Kias of the past had been terribly unreliable and of very poor quality. They were prone to rust and were very expensive to maintain. I remember having to replace an alternator on a Pride. The price from the dealer was six hundred and forty pounds; this was twelve years ago.

The built quality was cheap, to say the least and often fell apart for no apparent reason.

An exaggeration, but basically correct. The old Mazda-derived Kias suffered from very cheap build quality. They weren't unreliable in my experience (the basic mechanicals were strong, given the basic design that isn't surprising) but were prone to faults on the underdeveloped bits that weren't borrowed from Mazda.

This started to pass in 2001 with the Magentis, and continued with the 2004 Picanto, 2005 Cerato and 2006 Rio. All essentially rebodied Hyundais (Sonata, Amica, Elantra and Getz respectively). Earlier cars had inferior build.

The gearboxes are essentially Mitsubishi and are solid. The linkage is very light and will feedback to the driver if abused -- they don't like being moved before the clutch is disengaged. Honda and Mitsubishi cars tend to be the same in this regard. That said, they don't fail any more than anything else.

dmcclymont

I used the MKI Ceed 85 HP version for 87,000 miles over just under three years - sold for £ 4.5K with some warranty left. Was fine, had a hard life ;-), warranty after the snow replaced track rod end and steering rack no questions or arguments at all - new drivers seat also (mechanism stuck).

New cars of other makes have been less than ideal for me, esp German ones. Personal experience is powerful. You would most likely not regret the Ceed, I am posting here to say, watch the dealer - I had one awful and one brilliant. IF anyone is near Wilts, use FJ Chalk and Sons - brilliant.

They could (perhaps should) have tried to blame the AWFUL post snow road condition around here on the rack etc, but did not at all!

I looked at other cars, but after spending ages explaining that they were the perfection of build quality, and practically bomb proof they all failed on warranty.

An opinion not a no to Citroen as I have had some old ones (zx's) that have gone twice round the clock with no major issues :-)

mutley74

i had a good look at the Ceed today. All seems okay, except agree its bland interior. Only main plus side is the 7year warranty and 20k service interval. Except Kia quoted me £25pm for 3years, over £850 for 3years servicing cost!!! (this is very excessive IMHO).

Kilty_2

mutley74 wrote: »

i had a good look at the Ceed today. All seems okay, except agree its bland interior. Only main plus side is the 7year warranty and 20k service interval. Except Kia quoted me £25pm for 3years, over £850 for 3years servicing cost!!! (this is very excessive IMHO).

Never found these service plans to be good value - phone a couple of dealers and ask for the price for a minor and major service.

mutley74

Kilty wrote: »

Never found these service plans to be good value - phone a couple of dealers and ask for the price for a minor and major service.

will do on monday morning. To be honest if the service prices are this excessive, it may be better to buy a used car with say 2 years warranty left and get it serviced from a local garage afterwards.


What are the official rules to get a car serviced at another garage (non dealer) but to keep warrantoy intact?


Not sure about the Ceed now, may hold out for a used C4 or look for a less 1year old C3.

Kilty_2

Another garage needs to use original parts and be VAT registered.

Flyboy152

Kilty wrote: »

Another garage needs to use original parts and be VAT registered.

The parts don't have to be OE, just as long as they are of comparable quality.

Trebor16

Flyboy152 wrote: »

The parts don't have to be OE, just as long as they are of comparable quality.

They have to be manufacturer approved parts, not of comparable quality.

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/general-advice/right-to-repair-campaign.html

http://www.blackcircles.com/servicing/about/block-exemption

http://www.vulcan-motors.co.uk/blockExemption.html

Could someone please quote this post so that Flyboy can see that he has got it wrong (yet again) by saying the parts only have to be of comparable quality. He has me on ignore for some odd reason (probably fed up with his mistakes and general rubbish being pointed out to him:D)