Test driving a 2012 kia optima tommorow....

[agent]

Do yourself

This is sound advice.

[CrusherCurtis]

Can't beat Hyundai/Kia right now. Actually drove the new optima. The performance is the same across the board for the these family sedans imo. You will be impressed by the interior quality/fit and finish. The styling is also a little better than the rest of the pack imo. The passat is no good. The latest gen of passat has been cheapened by $7k to compete with competitors...it shows. The trusted brands (toyota/honda) know there trusted so you'll typically get less bang for you buck interms of features/content. Also the styling inside and out are super bland. The new optima was designed by Peter Schreyer (fromer Audi designer) and it shows. It doesn't look like their last generation, unlike Altma and Camry, so it should hold value better. With 10 year/100k warranty you can't wrong. Chicks usually don't keep cars that long anyway. How long has she had her camaro?

[Kershaw]

i was pretty impressed with the 2012 honda accord. the 4 cyl is very smooth and the manual shifts really easily. im sure the auto does too. gets good gas mileage too and is very spacious. about the size of an e60 5 series. very comfortable. good forward view and rearward visibility.

i like it a lot better than anything in the mid 20s that hyundai/kia had to offer. the genesis sedan is nice, but pricey at 45-50k.

coincidentally, i was car shopping with my ex as well. she went with the accord and sold her e30.

[stamar]

man the camaro she has had for 10 years, but she hasnt driven it for 2 years.

It seriously just sits there. i drive it when Im bored to figure out whats wrong with it and get it ready for sale maybe.
But the gas mileage is so terrible its like a joyride you pay for. its an auto 3.8

Thats why I just try to say forget about finance, resale all that stuff. Shell never sell a car anyway. Shedoesnt care. Shes not rich. Compared to some of us maybe but not like 1%er shes just wasteful.
Whats the smartest purchase is irrelevant.
If she had a delorean shed take it to the used car lot as a down payment for a yugo.

thanks though. You gave me new car market advice most people dont have. Used kias are crap but the kias that are hyundais are good.

Ya actually she has already checked out this optima to an accord. the accord cost 35k vs 27k and it was inferior. So I forgot to say its already out of the running. An accord used is great but new its stupid. I would buy a 3 series over an accord because its cheaper.

Most peoples car sensibilities are out of touch with the recent market. Mine included. according to consumer reports an optima is more reliable than a altima.

[brainspo0n]

If you don't get some waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles out of this

we are through.

[jasonbk]

Hyundai/Kia after 02~04 is pretty reliable, only downside of owning those cars are; they don't hold used car value well. And I've heard lots of complains about North American Hyundai dealerships.

I had lived in Korea for 20 years and most of people around me (including my family at one time) drove Hyundai, and I've heard few problems regarding reliability, except some lemon issue regarding Sonata and Elantra. But new Optima (K-5 in Korea) is the most popular sedan in Korea, and I've only heard good thing about it. (except one case the car had issues with rusty spark plugs and coil packs, eventually the owner got a new car)

Just make sure she doesn't get the hybrid one because they suck.

[stamar]

Ya that does look nice

the one she wants has has a double sunroof in that same color.

even the base 4 cyl has 200 hp and 35 mpg. makes our old peices of crap look like... old peices of crap.
I would say the main failing it has to a camry right now is its too sporty, the back seat is too small. Camry gets better gas mileage.

I have news for you all, the people who went out and bought a honda accord in 2012 over a kia optima.... were all really dumb people who didnt know cars and didnt know how to research.
Whenever the used car market reaches you and a honda accord costs 5k and an optima costs 4k hit it.

You can check out the camrys and 3 series owners of this era and tell theyre dumb when its time to hand over the keys.

I havent checked out every model, but I can tell you this about honda accords, 011 012 is when the accord went to crap. The optima has pearl paint, hid headlights. It does look like an audi. The accord is cloth plastic and slow.

[Emre]

You have 3 choices: Mazda 3, Ford Focus, or VW Golf/Jetta.

The Mazda is the cheapest to buy. The VW is the nicest. The Ford is probably the cheapest to own in the long run. All of them will come in at under $18k and all of the, are better than any P.O.S. Kia/Hyundai.

[stamar]

well itd be a mazda 6, a ford fuzion and a vw passat. I may be wrong but I feel more strongly that fords are peices of crap.

Im definitely checking out the passat today or tommorow. If it were the same thing Id say get a vw but its not really. Its a top contender. Because she doesnt want a manual like I would, theres a really strong shot from the v6 altima with the cvt because it also gets 35 mpg.

everyone has their own brand sense.

When I was growing up, the ford taurus was the best selling car in america. Outselling camry and accord, in fact that was its ad campaign.
And somehow they were allowed to advertise that a taurus keeps it value better. I dont know why ford is allowed to lie like that but I know Im not that stupid twice in the same lifetime.

Yet I promise you a ford taurus is the biggest peice of crap ever made. Lost numerous lawsuits. I have nothing but stories about a taurus that touched my life that didnt talk about what a peice of crap it is. From a new one that crapped out its transmission twice in the first year to an old one someone gave me for free with a bad transmission.
Theres something weird about fords that are new too. I swear they are allowed to lie about their stats. Like 200 ford hp feels like 120 honda hp.

[Herr Faust Schinken]

The new optima is a good car from what I can tell my uncle has the turbo and he loves it it's quick comfortable and drives pretty good for what it is , don't get the sat/nav though it's Horrid

[jasonbk]

From what I've heard focus and fusion are really nice cars. Not sure about the new passat though.. But those who says that hyundai/kia cars are plain crap either haven't drove 04+ one or they drove crap rental cars.

New 2.0 turbos are pretty nice and build quality is the same as toyota/honda. But it's got the look so why not?

The reason that they offer 10yrs warranty isn't because they're unreliable, it's one of their clever(deceiving) tactics to attract customers. They say they offer 10yrs/100,000 miles warrenty but that is just a powertrain warranty only, and only CPO vehicles can retain the 10yrs warranty.

[Holland]

You are stupid to be looking at a Passat. Reliability? better off in a 500 dollar eta. The Korean and American companies have quadrupled their quality in even the last 3 years. If you have dealt with anything American or Korean even 5 years ago your opinion is completely invalid. The Koreans have a superb warranty and low entry costs, but even the new American cars have superior materials quality. Just for the hell of it, go check out the new 2013 Malibu. Don't bother with a 2012, that's the old model. I think you will find yourself quite impressed. Even Ford in the last 2 or so years has drastically improved. Warranty wise, GM is one of the best in the market and they take care of you very well. They may not have the largest warranty, but it covers pretty much anything you could imagine.

[OnMy2ndE30]

The Kia Optima is not all that bad. I work for a Kia dealership as a service writer and there aren't THAT many issues with them. There was a couple of recalls on them, but on the early models. The Turbo version had a recall for the EWGA adjustment on the turbo. All of the Kias have radio issues so don't be surprised if you have issues with the radio. Sometimes you have a brake switch issue where the shifter won't move out of park, or if you have the advanced key, the engine wont start because of a faulty brake switch. Over all, we haven't seen any big issues with these cars. Do remember though, just like ANY other car line that totally re-designs a car, it has issues during it's initial 1-2 yr run until they sort everything out. Look at the 1988 Chevy trucks as an example.

The plus is the 5/60 basic and 10/100 powertrain warranty. If anything goes wrong, you are pretty much covered unless it is an outside influence causing the part to fail, ie: modification or collision. Oh, and if Kia didn't think they had a good product, why would they stand behind it for so long? Wouldn't they just have a basic 3/36 like everyone else and tell the customer to suck it up if they knew they had a crappy product? I have customer's all the time that come in later in their powertrain warranty and get things like motor mounts, hub bearings, drive axles, even engines and transmissions covered, and they thank themselves for buying a car with that kind of warranty and company that will stand behind their product. Kia has come a LONG way since they first hit the states.

[Chaz]

I haven't had a lot of experience in the new car market, but why has no one suggested a 1 or 3 series? Not necessarily the newest car on the lot but something like CPO 3 series will go a little over 20 grand. Does anybody on here DD a newer bimmer or other brand cars?

[e30e]

I haven't had a lot of experience in the new car market, but why has no one suggested a 1 or 3 series? Not necessarily the newest car on the lot but something like CPO 3 series will go a little over 20 grand. Does anybody on here DD a newer bimmer or other brand cars?

Show me CPO 3 series at 20k, almost all CPO start at 31k and that's with 60k miles on them.