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| Home of SpectraMan - A NOW Not-So-New Fan of KIA Motors ! |
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SpectraMan's 2004.5 KIA Spectra EX -------------------- Here are a few snapshots of my "social experiment" (as I tell my friends). The "social experiment" aspect comes from owning an Asian auto (esp. a Korean-built auto) in the Detroit-metro area. So far the funniest exchange has been with my brother-in-law who retired from Chrysler's Toledo Jeep plant. Back in 2004, he saw the new KIA in my in-law's driveway and started to rail about "...it makes me sick to see that Korean piece of sh-t in the driveway....", blah, blah, blah. You should have seen his face when I told him that the new Jeep Wrangler's would soon be built on a rolling chassis provided by Hyundai-Mobis (A subsidiary of KIA's parent corp.)! Plus, Chrysler (with Hyundai's help) is now producing the new Theta family of 4 cylinder engines in nearby Dundee MI that are installed in several Chrysler and Mitsubishi small vehicles! The humor of that exchange lies not in the fact that foreign competitors are making in-roads into the domestic market, but that so many people (and many are autoworkers!) are uninformed as to the cooperative forces at work in the global auto industry! P.S. My nephew now WORKS for Hyundai-Mobis in Toledo! He got a job with them sometime back in 2006. --------------------- Options and standard features on my Spectra EX : -------------------- Misc. Facts : - Price out-the-door: $14,373 U.S. (which included all taxes, dest, and fees + $1,500 KIA Rebate avail in July 2004) - Current mileage as of 10/2007: 41,000 miles - Best gas mileage to-date: 34.5 highway, no (or limited) A/C usage - 5 warranty repairs: 1st - LED 3rd brake light was replaced due to 2 LEDs not lighting 2nd - Right headlight unit replaced due to moisture/fogging 3rd - Driver's bottom seat cushion replaced due to foam breakdown 4th - A repeat replacement of the LED 3rd brake light was needed again, due to some LEDs not lighting. Is this a weak point now identified? The light is in the spoiler on the trunk. Maybe trunk closing is rough on it? 5th - Had a auto-transmission "range sensor" replaced after the dealer checked out a "Check Engine" code. The dealer installed the part improperly, which caused my car to sometimes not start until I shifted it into neutral. I took the car back and it was "adjusted".... until I arrived at the dealership and was able to recreate the problem. Left the car another night, and a complete removal and reinstall of the part solved the problem permanently. Whew! NOTE: All 5 repairs were NOT challenged, and performed cheerfully and professionally. Keep in mind that the car now is in its 4th year of ownership, and has over 40k miles on it. The above list is miniscule in size and seriousness compared to the list that several other domestic cars I've owned have generated. But... the domestics have improved too. We also have a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan in the driveway with over 22k miles on it, and it hasn't recorded even one defect needing dealer remediation yet! - Scheduled Maintenance: - Previous Auto: 1993 V6 Plymouth Acclaim. It had 126k miles on it and looked and ran like new! That car was the *best* one I've owned to date (...although my new KIA has had way fewer defects during the first year). See the accompanying photos below that were taken just before the new owner came to pick it up. Hard to believe it was over 11 years old, with little garage time, eh? Send SpectraMan an e-mail ! |
       
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