2005 Kia Spectra5 Advice

I have a 2002 Kia and it still to this day runs great! I have kept up on the maintanence and there have been little things that have went out (ie. the horn, every once and awhile the gear shifter will lock up) but other than that it has been a really wonderful car. Not to mention it's great on gas!

I agree with Evelyn - there's a great book called "Debt-Proof Your Marriage: How to Achieve Financial Harmony" by Mary Hunt. She suggests paying cash for a car - and you can even do that for a Lexus if you want to, eventually. Start out with something cheap - whatever you can afford to pay cash for - even if it's only a $500 clunker. Then save the money you would have used as a car paymt every month until you have enough to upgrade. For example, if you had planned for a $330 monthly car payment, and saved that each month instead, after 6 months you'd have $2000. Then take that $2K and use it with your trade-in to buy another car. Even junky cars can run for 6 months. Keep doing that, and the next time you'll have a better trade in and $2000 more. It's not instant gratification by any means, but it's a great way to utilize a small budget and keep you from adding debt.

I don't have a 2005 Kia, but we have a 2002 Kia Sedona and a 2006 Kia Spectra. We haven't had any problems with either car. We like them a lot. I think there was only one Kia that we wouldn't even consider and I am thinking that was the Rio (but not 100% sure). When we bought our Sedona it was the only minivan with a 5 star crash rating. I know several people that drive them and love them. Good Luck. Have you tried dealerships out of Shawnee, like into Olathe or anything? Hope you get the car you want.

I have a 2004 Kia Spectra and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. In fact, I've pretty much decided to only buy Kia cars from now on. We bought ours on a used local lot and because it had been repossessed from its first owner, we got half the warranty. I've had it for 2 years and the only time it's had work done on it was when it needed new brakes. We keep up with oil changes and only use regular unleaded gas. It gets great gas mileage and has plenty of room for our 2 boys and their "stuff" in the back seat. I was also impressed with how roomy the trunk was. I am tall with very long legs and I'm comfortable driving and as a passenger. I don't know what you've heard about Kias in the past, but my experience has been nothing by positive.

I say no way go kia, i had one bc it was cheap but lasted 4 years and than started making awful noisies out of the blue,i am on top of maitaince and oil changes, the kia dealers didnt know what to do after having it for 3 weeks. i took it straight to another car lot hoping they wouldnt hear and got something way better and cooler. your car is what transports the most important things in life it better be reliable

Carrie,
I am sure there are a lot of people who own Kia's who think they are great, and maybe theirs has been. However, I have been looking at getting rid of my gas guzzling mini van and switching to a more efficient car. We looked at the Toyota Yaris and at Kia's. When I told my sis that we were considering a Kia, she had a pretty strong opinion that that wasn't a good idea. She has three friends/coworkers that have, or had, a Kia and all had alot of problems with their cars. I don't know specifics...I am sure you don't want to hear that, especially if you had your heart set on one. :( Good luck, I am sure everything will work out.
D.

I do not have a Spectra, but I do have a 2001 Sportage and it has been a wonderful and reliable vehicle for me.I bought it new so what minor problems I have had have been covered under warranty. I can tell you that I have not experienced any major problems with the vehicle and I would buy another one.

I don't have the car. But I have a 2005 Kia Sadona. So far I have 40ish thousand miles on it and nothing has gone wrong. It feels/drives just as nice, minus a few little extras as any nicer van I have driven.

I'm not fearful of any Kia product at all. My brother bought a Kia of some sort, I forget the model and he hasn't complained about too many repairs either.

Suzi

I have an 02 Kia Rio Cinco. It runs great. It is nothing fancy at all, which is fine with me because it's just a car. You don't say how old your LO is, but if they need a carseat I would try it out in the car because I have to do some seat adjusting for a pumpkin seat, but my Britax convertible does just fine. Kia is trying to position itself as a major competitor in the US market so they have a lot to prove. I would feel comfortable buying from them again. P.S. If you are just getting started again make sure you price out how much replacement tires are on that car, some models can get pretty expensive. Also, if you change your own oil get a wrench because there is no way you can get your hands in to change the filter without one.

I live and die by the April issue of Consumer Reports. It will give you the repair history of every year, make and model of every vehicle out there.

It would be worth your time to go to the library and check out the April issue of Consumer reports before you buy any car. it also has a list of the most reliable used cars for every price range.

I don't have a 2005 but I have the 2007 Kia Spectra 5 and I absolutely love it! I have had it for almost a year and I have had no problems with it. I thought they would be cheaply made but it's not. I would recommend a Kia to anyone.

Hi Carrie, You might try CarMax in Wichita. The price they have is what the car sells for. Most have CarMax warrentys.

I have never driven and kia, I love my 01 Malibu.
good Luck Carrie, will pray everything comes out as it should and you get what you can handle.
K.

Have you tried Carmax.com? I was looking for cars and one day went there. We were so impressed that we got an amazing deal on a car. They have everything. Just had to share.

I don't know too much about Kias, but here's my advice. If you have a chance to buy an extended warranty, I would do it. We just bought a 2005 truck with warranty also. My sister's husband just bought a truck 2 months ago with warranty and already had to use it. If anything breaks or blows up on our truck we only pay $100 to get it fixed. Motor, transmission, anything. If you don't really have the money to spend on a new vehicle, do you have the money to put a new motor in it? I would buy the warranty, you never know what people do to vehicles before you buy them. I hope this helps, good luck with you new vehicle:-)

My sister bought a 2005 Spectra a few months ago from Olathe Kia and loves it. It also came with a lifetime warranty at no charge as long as she keeps the oil changed and maintance done. You may want to check there if you are wanting a warranty. She said she gets around 30 miles to the gallon in it! Good Luck!

Don't buy the GAP insurance either. It is just a waste of money-they deny 99% of claims.

I would so recommend an extended warranty and use the heck out of it. Look for transmission problems they seem to have problems with the auto sticks, I have heard several people say that. Other than that a decent ride. CHANGE OIL according to the owners manual and record and mark calendar to have done consistantly. We have a vehicle with 180 and runs like a champ because of preventive maintenance.

I can't say much about Kia's - never owned one, never known anyone with one. What I can say is to check with Carmax - we've bought two cars from there - no problem. They also have lots of financing options.

The other thing I can say is that the one time we bought a brand new car, we bought an extended warranty that DID pay for itself - the warrenty carried us 4 years past the manufactuers warrenty and literally 300 miles before it was to run out, the transmission went out and for nothing - zero - we had a brand new transmission!

So - they can be great insurance policies because the cost of that extended warrenty paid for itself more than double by us not having to pay for the new transmission.

Thought I'd pass that along....

Good Luck!
M.

what about a hyundai? a friend of my just bought a hyundai and has had good luck with it. he bought a brand new one for about $13k. not sure what your budget will allow but i can tell you his payments are around $225 or so.

Hi Carrie,

I have a 2005 Kia Spectra that I love. I drive a lot in my job and I have had no problems at all with my car. I keep up the oil changes and that is all. So I would recommend it and I would not mind buying one again.

Pernille B.

My advice is a little different from everyone else's - instead of spending all that money on a fairly new car of questionable quality, why not buy a slightly older, better quality car for a few grand? There are all kinds of cars made in the last ten years that are likely more dependable than a Kia. You could probably get a decent Honda or a Toyota for around 3 grand. And pay cash - if you don't have the cash wait a few months until you can get it saved up. That way you won't have a car payment eating into your monthly earnings. Also - do you have an emergency fund? Start out with at least $1000 - there is your extended warranty should anything go wrong. Honestly - I have a 2001 Honda Odyssey, I do all the regular maintenance to it, and I have never had any mechanical problems. I bought it brand new - before I knew better - but it works great after 7 years and I have no plans to get rid of it anytime soon. It may sound weird, but my husbands last two cars we got slightly older models (1996, 2000) and paid cash. The peace of mind of knowing the car is paid for is priceless! Good luck!

Carrie,
What is your budget? I don't know about Kia's. I would be concerned if a 2005 isn't under warranty anymore. It depends on how many miles. We found a 2000 Chrysler Sebring JXi at Seeger Toyota for $6950 (we paid $6300) and it drives great. It isn't under warranty being a 2000, but it had low miles 44K. It has some dings, scrapes, and a few issues with the interior; but it still looks pretty good and most importantly drives well.

Maybe, just by asking in this forum, somebody might have a car they would sell you. But, again, don't know what your budget is and what you are willing to buy (i.e. number of miles, body work on the outside, etc)

D. - mom of three, 17 (hence the extra car), 14, and 9

I can't say anything specific about a 2005 kia spectra, but I will tell you that I had a 2000 kia sportage that my daughter drove. It NEVER needed a repair, just maintenace. We sold it after 114,000 miles and if I had had any use for it myself, I would have kept it. It was terrific and I still see a lot of these around town. You can tell they are the older ones since the sportage changed it's body design.

i had an earlier Kia Optima (can't remember the year, maybe '02) and loved it. i did have a warranty, but only had to use it for a window issue. i would still have it but i wrecked it (had nothing to do with mechanical problems, just a dumb mistake on my part).

my husband recently bought a 2007 Spectra. He likes it so far. He had a 2000 Hyundai Elantra before that and it had a lot of issues, but he also did not take very good care of it to begin with.

i would suggest trying a credit union for financing. if you decide to go with them, you will need to open an account and put in usually $25 and keep the account open for the life of the loan. you won't actually have to use the account. Credit unions generally offer lower interest rates. When you find a car, you have some bargaining power with the dealer's financing department. they might be able to get you the same rate. you really need to shop around for different rates. dealers are really out for themselves and not interested in saving you any money. they get a rate from a lender and then add a percentage and pass on the inflated rate to you to make a profit.

If you can get away from financing a used car that has no warranty that would be the best advice I can give you. I have been down that road before, you need a car, have problems getting someone to finance you, finally get a used car, no warranty and it breaks. You are still paying for the car payment and now you need to fix it on top of it. I know there are some situations where you just can't help but have to take out a car loan. If you have no choice you would be better off trying to get a new car that has a warranty and pay more for it then get something used and have to fix it. The last 2 cars I have had I paid cash for and let me tell you it is NICE. They are top of the line cars but I make NO monthly payment and have money in case something breaks.
Good Luck
N.