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The measurements I took suggested that it would lie flat since the width between the rear tire bulkheads is greater than 4', but on length you'd have a problem - if you consider not closing the rear lid a problem. On the other hand, I think bungy cords are wonderful things.
For those concerned about exposure to CO gases with the rear lid partially open, ensure positive front to rear air flow.
Prospective Sedona buyer looking for anyone in S.Fla area who has a Sedona and has had it serviced. Looking for your experience at the service center, good or bad.
Sedona is a no brainer for the money and warranty offered. Concerned (like others who have posted here) on reliability and local dealer service. Undecided between the Sedona and the MPV. Test driven both and am very impressed with both.
almost 1 year with the Sedona EX, over all fairly pleased with the way things have gone but we have had some similar problems as some of the other postings. I have had 2 wind shields replace , under warranty, stress cracks. the paint around the door handles seem to scratch very easily and the black primer on the front grill has started to peel off to reveal the same "chrome" as the rest of the grill. We had a problem with cold engine stalls but the dealer was able to change some settings and this has solved the problem. Over all there have been some annoying little things go wrong, I haven't taken in the Paint/ primer issues to the dealer yet but I think he will look after me as he has in the past,
Someone above mentioned that 5-wheel tire rotations are possible with the Sedona using the full-size spare. Any opinions on the best rotational sequence to use? I remember reading somewhere a while ago that used radial tires should not turn backwards (rotated from one side of the vehicle to the other) but only rotated from front to back.
I can't remember on the Sedona, but usually the manual states the preferred rotation pattern.
I just rotated the tires on my Passat this weekend and I used the spare in the rotation. I only rotated front to back and used one of the back tires (had much less wear) as the spare now.
The Passat manual states to only rotate front to back! But, it then states that you can rotate side to side if you see any unusual wear patterns.
Best to check the manual, but here's what I remember as a pretty common 4- and 5-tire rotation plan:
4-tire plan: Move the front 2 to the back, keeping them on the same side of vehicle (LF to LR, RF to RR). Move the rear 2 up front, but switch sides (LR to RF, RR to LF).
5-tire plan: Move front 2 to the back, keeping them on the same side of vehicle. Move one of the rears to the opposite front corner (LR to RF, or RR to LF). Insert the spare tire into the other spot up front.
Well, my wife and I love this van! We don't love our dealer... I wish we did. We bought the van early August. We had scratches on the bumpers that the dealer said we will fix it, and you'll never even know. So we rescheduled for the paint and the class3 hitch to be put on it after vacation. During the vaca, the ac seemed a little weak and a few times I smelled antifreeze altho could see no leaks. We mentioned this to the dealer. Well a week went buy, and they called, vans all set! Wife called back and asked how was it, the sales manager said bumpers look great! Hows the hitch, she said. Hitch? Oh my god, we forgot the hitch. He calls back, they ordered the wrong hitch. sure... So we need the van, we take it and reschedule another time for the hitch. I get home to inspect the van, and notice how nice the bumpers looked, except the front one. on the oposite side of where the scratch was, there was a "touchup paint job"..... I called and left a message that was in a very serious tone.... They have the van again and hopefully this will be resolved... Oh and we also could hear a helecopter like thumping from what seemed to be the tires at 40 mph with the window down. I hope we didnt get a crappy van.... I'm sure those people who can afford the big expensive vehicles have these same problems, but are embarassed to admit it. We love this van!
Has anybody had this procedure done on their Sedona? I'm scheduling a service appointment soon and I'd like to hear how this went for others. E.g. your dealer didn't even know what you were talking about, etc.
I seem to be having an electrical problem. The stereo won't come on, then does ten or fifteen minutes later. Sometimes it turns off when I hit a bump, then won't come back on for a while.
The back power outlets work sporadically while driving.
The door locks sometimes need to be locked individually.
There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to any of these problems.
The service dept says they can't do anything if these problems don't happen to be occurring when I take it in. The closest dealer is 230 miles away, which is a long drive for nothing.
My dealer said we might want to consider an air deflector for the moonroof. He said that we would hear a helicopter sound if driving with the moonroof open. Sure enough. Kids thought it was great. Maybe the same thing happens with windows down?
Well, at least the dealer is honest. You will certainly have a greater chance of reaching a resolution if you can determine a way to replicate the problems or symptoms.
We did have an electrical problem that took out the interior lights, door locks, etc. I posted this about two months ago. The reported problem was a "pinched wire", that was causing some heat issues in the circuit (supposedly -- I never really accepted that as an explanation). The repair also included replacement of ETASC COMP UNIT, according to the service invoice and the explanation that the pinched wire, even though the technician isolated it and "unpinched" it, contributed to frying that component.
Are all of these problems fixing themselves? (e.g., between starts, or just over bumps?)
In our case, I had to reset three fuses in the engine compartment (not the driver access panel) in the proper sequence, using the owners manual to correlate the affected systems to the relevant fuses.
I haven't noticed any annoying wind noise with the moonroof open on our Sedona. I guess we seem to have both rear windows cracked open most times that the moonroof is open, which substantiates hoyahenry's suggestion.
The only real problem I have with my moonroof is it lets out that great smell of my Lexoiled leather! Good advice afore mentioned to crack a rear window, it allows airflow through the cabin which reduces may I say "turbulence" EX3
After spending over a year reading everything I could find about the Optima, and then the Sedona, I purchased a new Malibu in Nov of 01. Mostly because of dealership issues. I just couldn't get the Sedona out of my head, but the dealership problem is still there. I solved that problem by going on the net. I sent out about 6 emails, and was answered by 4. The first one that answered was Car Pros in Tacoma Wa. They quoted me a price of 500 over invoice, so I drove 7 1/2 hours from North Idaho, to Tacoma, expecting the usuall run around. I was amazed at how smooth things went. We were in a real rush, and the guys got us out of there quicker than any dealership I've ever dealt with. They had over 30 vans in stock, and it only took me about 10 min. to decide on the EX with ABS and Sunroof. They had the van prepped and filled with gas by the time we completed the paper work,(45-60 min) and we were on our way. Chad was the young salesman I dealt with, and I don't know if it was because he is new at this, or if he will continue to interact with customers the way he did with us, but after 30 years of hiring and training comm salesmen, I would hire him in a heartbeat. Thank you Chad and Roger for a great shopping experience. If you are having a hard time trying to find a decent dealership, I would check out carpros.com. I think you will receive the same great service I did. My only concern now, is having to deal with the local service center.
You said "I drove 7 1/2 hours from North Idaho, to Tacoma, expecting the usuall run around." Why in the h&*$ would you drive 7.5 hours if you were expecting to get the runaround?! I'm glad things went smoothly for you. Personally, I wouldn't walk across the street to a dealer, let alone drive 7.5 hours, if I expected to be given the runaround.
Ours (one, not two) has been disappointing. The first couple weeks, 20-30 feet seemed just fine. However, in the last couple months I can't even get the thing to engage standing right in front of/next to/behind the van. When ours does work, the horn toots upon locking (not when unlocking). I haven't paid attention to whether the lights flash or not. I'll have to keep an eye on that.
Doesn't the owner's manual have anything to say on the subject of what's supposed to happen when you lock or unlock using the remote? Bluedevils, it sounds like you need a new battery in your remote. The remote may be faulty causing the premature demise of the battery or the battery itself could just have checked out a little early.
I have noticed that the remote seems to have issues on hot days in the direct sun (don't ask me why -- seems to be reluctant on hot days).
Other than that it works.
I think I'm reaching middle age -- I'm getting more and more picky about my cars and how they work. So far the Kia is ok. We are enjoying the leather, the driving, the sunroof -- all the options!
I noticed the thumping when i opened the passenger window. The dealer had the van to install the hitch and we gave him our list of items to check. The ac belt had a problem, the lugs on on wheel wern't tight, and the tires needed rebalancing. I'll take it out for a test drive tonight... hopefully, if the wife lets me...
I have a Sedona EX with about 18K miles on it (no problems so far). The owner's manual says to change the air conditioner filter every 10K miles. Does anyone know where this is located on the car? I like to do my own servicing if I can get to it. Thanks for any help.
FYI.. you stated that you have 2 remotes, which means your build date was after Feb 2002. Now it could be that the lights flashing were programmed for units with 2 remotes ? As for mine, I only have 1 remote and the lights do not flash whether I'm locking or unlocking the van.. the horn does beep when locking......:>)
Is that price quote for a Sedona LX with NO options? Please remove the taxes from the equation so we can better determine how good/bad the price is. What is the MSRP (sticker price) on the vehicle? You should be able to do quite a bit below MSRP on the Sedona right now. Are you aware of the $1,000 rebate? Is it included in the price quote? Technically, I think it's a "dealer rebate" which means the dealer can keep the $1,000. But most dealers will pass the rebate on to the customer by dropping the price of the vehicle by the same amount. Did the dealer tell you about it or did you mention it to them?
I think you mean $17,995 after the $1,000 rebate, right? Sedona LX starts at $18,995, plus $595 destination & delivery charge. Total MSRP for a "base" Sedona LX with no options is $19,590. Carpoint.com (sorry Edmunds hosts - CarPoint's configurator is a great tool) shows invoice as $17,895. Many Kia dealers claim additional costs such as advertising fees and other stuff. Because these seem somewhat consistent and pretty common, they may indeed be legitimate costs that raise the dealer's true invoice price.
If I were shopping for an LX right now, I'd shoot for as close to $18,000 as possible. $18k even might be pushing it, but $18,500 shouldn't require too much dickering. It gives the dealer a decent profit and they should be eager to sell you a van at this price. That is BEFORE taxes and BEFORE the rebate. So add tax to a price of $18,500 and then subtract the $1,000 rebate. I'm not sure what your state or local income tax rates are, but you'll probably be a little < $20k before rebate. After subtracting the rebate, you should be < $19k.
The price after rebate but before taxes is the price that I think people should be discussing, because it's a common denominator (taxes differ by state and sometimes city). This number for you would be around $17,500: $18,500 negotiated price minus $1,000 rebate.
As a general rule, you should bargain UP from the invoice price and not DOWN from the sticker price (aka MSRP). Check Edmunds to see if their invoice figures are the same as, or close to, Carpoint's. If they are, then it's safe to feel you have the correct info. Ask the dealer what their invoice price is. Many dealers are becoming more willing to share this information with customers, since they know it's very easy for the customers to get the information on their own. The invoice price is not the mysterious piece of information that it once was.
Also, try sending a request for quote to several Kia dealers. You can do this via the Kia web site or via many others. Some will respond, and some won't. But this will give you additional bargaining reference points.
Bluedevils seems to be ignoring the possibility that the dealer may discount from MSRP. It seems your dealer is offering $1000 off MSRP and the $1000 rebate. Edmunds TMV appears to be $17904 so $16995 allowing for the rebate + destination of $595 plus tax and license seems like a reasonable deal if not a great deal. I don't know what tax is in your state but the math is not difficult.
I don't think the car buying process will get any less stressful for most of us anytime in the near future :-).
In addition to the great advice you're getting here, check out some of our Advice articles. There should be lots of dealers in your area too, so unless there's some pressing need for a new car immediately, you can take your time and shop around for a great deal.
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
grandtotal, I wasn't ignoring the possibility that dealers may be discounting off MSRP. Carpoint shows invoice cost on a base LX as $17,895 (including destination) and MSRP is $19,590. I was advising akinla to target $18,000 as the price, BEFORE the rebate. That represents a large chunk ($1,590) off MSRP. That would mean a target of $17,000 AFTER the $1,000 rebate. It appears that akinla's dealer has already met this price-- actually, beat it by 5 bucks for a price before tax of $16,995.
akinla, please clarify if the $16,995 price includes destination, or if the dealer is adding the $595 destination on to the 16,995. What are the taxes in your area? I'd like to see a breakdown of the items that are moving the quote of $16,995 up to $19,500. Right now, it's hard to tell exactly how good the deal is, but in general it does seem pretty fair.
I read in the owners manual that the remote distance is about 15 feet. I am a pre February manufacture date. In fact mine was built Aug 2001. Correct, first off the line. Anyhow I do get a flash of the lights and a beep of the horn on lock. Nothing on open.
Does anyone here know where I can find all Kia Sedona TSB's? Also, more specifically I am looking for information about the engine. When I do a cold start with the a/c on I get a semi-stall or a loss in engine power. I know that I have read this before on this board. I am a memeber of having read all messages here... I can't find those posts. Any help is appreciated. Thank you !!
go to alldata.com. You'll need to navigate to their 'Consumer' area (unless you are a licensed shop that participates with their program). You can view a list of the NAMES of each TSB, but if you want more detail you'll have to pay up for it. I checked a week or two ago and there were only 3 TSBs listed for Sedona.
I'm not sure if there's a missing plastic cover on our Sedona's rear wiper arm. It's toward the part of the arm where it connects to the vehicle. There is an exposed bolt/screw head and it looks like there probably should be a cover on it. Can anyone confirm if this is normal, or if it sounds like something may have fallen off?
You're correct, your first paragraph registered with me but unfortunately your second did not. My apologies. I too would be interested to know how the dealer gets from $16995 to $19500, though I can imagine a number of scenarios where that would be possible. In Ontario, of course, that would be simplicity itself since we have a total of 15% taxes, but hey that's the price you have to pay to live here.
actually, your post made me nervous and I quickly re-read MY post, to make sure I hadn't led anyone astray with bad information. I was relieved to see that I hadn't!
Yes, there is a bolt cover for the rear wiper blade. I had accidently knocked mine off during a cleaning and I didn't think it would stay on (I'll check and see tonight if it has). The plastic seems to bend out of shape very easily, which makes it a loose fit that looks like a good wind could take out.
I'll add that to the list of items for the dealer to take care of - dropping our Sedona (6 months, 7k miles) off at the dealer for its first appointment tomorrow. I've already changed the oil & filter twice at home, but this will be the first trip back to dealer.
I'm looking for feedback and, hopefully, consensus regarding the following:
* Which 'additional' charges (advertising, etc.) most dealers are adding to the Sedona's invoice price * Which of these additional charges customers are accepting as part of the deal, because it appears these are legitimate costs to the dealers.
I'm helping my parents in a vehicle search, and I hope to convince them that Sedona is their best choice. If Sedona offered all-wheel drive, their minds would be made up - lots of snow in West Michigan winters. When we bought our Sedona in Feb. 2002, demand was much higher so I simply targeted $1,000 off MSRP as our final price. I knew the invoice price, but didn't bother to bargain up from there as I normally would. Therefore, these questionable additional charges such as advertising fees were never discussed during our buying experience.
Invoice on a loaded EX is $21,400 including destination. My target is around $22,000 BEFORE rebate, which leaves the dealer with a decent profit. Edmunds' True Market Value is $22,411 which is a good price, but a savvy customer can probably do better. After the $1,000 rebate, the price should be around $21,000. What concerns me is if the dealer says, 'yes our invoice is $21,400 but we also have $xxx marketing fee and $yyy regional advertising fee and $zzz other fees, so the REAL invoice is $xx,xxx.'
Are the dealers issue to deal with. The question is will he meet your price. If he will, deal. If he won't walk.
If your price is reasonable (which your's sounds very reasonable) then you should have no issue.
Whenever the dealer starts with the "well, we have $$ in other fees and the pin stripe costs $$$, etc." it's my queue to do one of two things. 1. Tell him good for him but this is what I'm offering and walk if it doesn't work for him. 2. Offer my condolences and detail the additional subtractions I have to come up with (time to deal, etc. -- petty of me).
The question isn't how much he paid for it. You don't care how much he paid for it. The question is at what price will he sell it to you. Keep the question clear and move on.
I like your perspective. You said "The question is at what price will he sell it to you."
This is 100% true. However, I DO care what the dealer paid for the vehicle. The price at which the dealer will sell the vehicle is pretty dependent on the price the dealer paid to acquire the vehicle. At least it should be the buyer's goal to make it so. My goal as a buyer is to get the vehicle for the lowest possible price and make sure that the dealer earns a fair but small profit. This is obviously somewhere above the dealer's cost to acquire the vehicle, or the dealer would not remain in business.
Bottom line: if you aren't keenly aware of what the dealer paid to get the vehicle, then you must bargain without a key piece of information. This often results in people spending more than they need to.
I agree -- know his price if you can but remember that the price isn't always 100% what it is.
Example: I purchased my 1998 Dodge Caravan at ~1500 below their alledged cost (per Carpoint and Edmunds -- well below TMV). This isn't counting the rebate. This was a new purchase. I'd be hard pressed to believe that the dealer did NOT make a profit since it only took a few hours of negotiating.
Example2: I purchased my 2002 Kia Sedona at ~500 or so below alledged cost as well -- (per Carpoint and Edmunds -- below TMV of course as well) not counting the rebate (i.e.: deduct the rebate afterwards). This too was a pleasant experience and the dealer seemed pleased to make the sale -- so I've got to believe he made money on it as well.
Do your research. Find out what you think his base is. Don't be insulting but decide what you want to pay. If the dealer can meet it great. His profit margin is the least of your worries.
Although I must admit I have had some worries regarding having paid too much for the vans outlined above (too easy???) I did get the price I wanted, it wasn't significantly more than anyone else was paying and both vehicles are a good deal at that price.
We have had our 2002 Sedona for about 45 days now. Last Friday, my wife (who has only put 600 miles on the car) went out to start it and dead battery!! I had her call free tow in service and found that I would be towed to the closest dealer. Since I live between two dealers the one I bought my car from and the "other one", of course the "other one" was about a half mile closer. When the car got to the "other one" they informed me that the battery was dead! Amazing. Anyway, the service manager stated that they had received a letter from KIA regarding faulty lumbar switches in some cars that would stick open and slowllllllyyyyyyy drain the battery. They recharged the battery and said that they would have to order the part and it would be in five days later. Also, he said we did not drive the car enough to keep the battery charged up?? How much is required? I didn't notice anything in the owners manual or during the dealers new owner indoctrination spiel that mentioned "you must drive your new KIA for a minimum of x minutes per day to keep your battery charged". Anyway, we brought the car home on Friday afternoon, it sat idle Friday night, all day Saturday and around noon on Sunday we hopped in our new KIA and decided to go to the movies. RRRRRRRRR! would not start. Monday morning, (you can't get anybody to talk to on Sunday) we had the car towed back again. Guess what. The battery was dead. Well now we can E-Order the part and get it this afternoon. Tuesday morning the part was still not there. Tuesday afternoon, it finally came and was installed, the battery was recharged and we were sent home. It started yesterday (Wednesday) and this morning. I have yet to feel like the switch was that bad.
To all of you who have not had this problem yet, beware of not driving your KIA every day. I think all the dealers are aware of this lumbar problem, but I don't know if the cars have been recalled. I don't know if it is all Sedonas or only those manufactured in certain months.
I'm sure I saw another post regarding this problem.
Just recently purchased a new EX Sedona after my wife's lease expired on her 98 Nissan Pathfinder. I did not want to lease another car as I believe its a waste of money. We got our new loaded EX (all options minus sunroof) for $21,000, after hours of negotiation. Four hundred miles later we absolutely love the car. To date we have had no issues. Thankfully after reading all about the Sedona on this site I was very well prepared and even got the two remotes after they told me only one was available. Thanks for listening!!!
I decided yesterday to go to my local dealer here in Madison, WI just to see what kind of inventory they had ( I really wish I would have bought a White/Biege EX, I own a Sappfire Blue/Beige). As some of you may recall Madison is a liberal town of 175,000 big U town (U of Wisconsin) Naturally Hondas, Toyotas, Suburus, Saab, Volvo, and BMW are huge here. I really had been surprised over the months since December of '01 when I discovered the Sedona, how few I had seen on the road. I began to wonder why so few were seeing the Sedona for what it was, a huge value, in the mini-van sector. I consider myself a saavy car buyer, and I figured it was just a matter of time. Well, my hunch was right, after visting the local Kia dealer, they had 2 LX's left and no EX's available in the entire region. The demand for them is great, and most will wait for the new '03's to come out. The stock on Sedonas has gone up, so take care of your baby! I would suspect some minor but significent changes will be present in the '03 model year. The '04 Toyota van will be out in March or April,(it's about time they got rid of that DOG Sienna...the Previa was by far a better van!) and should be real stiff competition to Honda, and I will be looking at it. Our beloved Kia Sedonas will have to establish themselves, and so far so good. Not anything drastic to complain about, certainly nothing major. Those of us that can remember Hondas back in the 70's can attest that there is curve to this. Congratulations on the charter members/owners of the Sedona for "stepping out" and going against the "establishment" EX3
Comments
For those concerned about exposure to CO gases with the rear lid partially open, ensure positive front to rear air flow.
Prospective Sedona buyer looking for anyone in S.Fla area who has a Sedona and has had it serviced. Looking for your experience at the service center, good or bad.
Sedona is a no brainer for the money and warranty offered. Concerned (like others who have posted here) on reliability and local dealer service. Undecided between the Sedona and the MPV. Test driven both and am very impressed with both.
Leaning towards the sedona but....
Over all there have been some annoying little things go wrong, I haven't taken in the Paint/ primer issues to the dealer yet but I think he will look after me as he has in the past,
so far I'd give it a 7 out of 10
I just rotated the tires on my Passat this weekend and I used the spare in the rotation. I only rotated front to back and used one of the back tires (had much less wear) as the spare now.
The Passat manual states to only rotate front to back! But, it then states that you can rotate side to side if you see any unusual wear patterns.
Who knows!
4-tire plan:
Move the front 2 to the back, keeping them on the same side of vehicle (LF to LR, RF to RR). Move the rear 2 up front, but switch sides (LR to RF, RR to LF).
5-tire plan:
Move front 2 to the back, keeping them on the same side of vehicle. Move one of the rears to the opposite front corner (LR to RF, or RR to LF). Insert the spare tire into the other spot up front.
I called and left a message that was in a very serious tone.... They have the van again and hopefully this will be resolved... Oh and we also could hear a helecopter like thumping from what seemed to be the tires at 40 mph with the window down. I hope we didnt get a crappy van....
The back power outlets work sporadically while driving.
The door locks sometimes need to be locked individually.
There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to any of these problems.
The service dept says they can't do anything if these problems don't happen to be occurring when I take it in. The closest dealer is 230 miles away, which is a long drive for nothing.
Any advice?
Thanks.
We did have an electrical problem that took out the interior lights, door locks, etc. I posted this about two months ago. The reported problem was a "pinched wire", that was causing some heat issues in the circuit (supposedly -- I never really accepted that as an explanation). The repair also included replacement of ETASC COMP UNIT, according to the service invoice and the explanation that the pinched wire, even though the technician isolated it and "unpinched" it, contributed to frying that component.
Are all of these problems fixing themselves? (e.g., between starts, or just over bumps?)
In our case, I had to reset three fuses in the engine compartment (not the driver access panel) in the proper sequence, using the owners manual to correlate the affected systems to the relevant fuses.
Look forward to your response.
Of course, your experience may vary.
How is the remote supposed to work? Are the lights supposed to flash at lock? Are they supposed to flash at unlokc?
In addition -- what range are people experiencing with their remotes? Mine is about 7 feet.
I'll have to do that this evening.
I have noticed that the remote seems to have issues on hot days in the direct sun (don't ask me why -- seems to be reluctant on hot days).
Other than that it works.
I think I'm reaching middle age -- I'm getting more and more picky about my cars and how they work. So far the Kia is ok. We are enjoying the leather, the driving, the sunroof -- all the options!
Picky in NY.
I am buying my first car and am looking for advice.
Was quoted around $19,800 for a base model sedona LX, this includes tax, delivery, etc.
I have my own financing set up.
From here, I am not quite sure how to bargain down.
Thanks
ps I must say buying you first car is stressful.
I was quoted a $16,995 msrp (this included a $1000 rebate).
This is with no options.
Plus tax, license, destination etc. It came out to around $19,500.
Including tax, delivery etc, what is a realistic goal for my negotiation? Is it crazy for me to think that I can get out around $17,000.
Thanks for your help
If I were shopping for an LX right now, I'd shoot for as close to $18,000 as possible. $18k even might be pushing it, but $18,500 shouldn't require too much dickering. It gives the dealer a decent profit and they should be eager to sell you a van at this price. That is BEFORE taxes and BEFORE the rebate. So add tax to a price of $18,500 and then subtract the $1,000 rebate. I'm not sure what your state or local income tax rates are, but you'll probably be a little < $20k before rebate. After subtracting the rebate, you should be < $19k.
The price after rebate but before taxes is the price that I think people should be discussing, because it's a common denominator (taxes differ by state and sometimes city). This number for you would be around $17,500: $18,500 negotiated price minus $1,000 rebate.
As a general rule, you should bargain UP from the invoice price and not DOWN from the sticker price (aka MSRP). Check Edmunds to see if their invoice figures are the same as, or close to, Carpoint's. If they are, then it's safe to feel you have the correct info. Ask the dealer what their invoice price is. Many dealers are becoming more willing to share this information with customers, since they know it's very easy for the customers to get the information on their own. The invoice price is not the mysterious piece of information that it once was.
Also, try sending a request for quote to several Kia dealers. You can do this via the Kia web site or via many others. Some will respond, and some won't. But this will give you additional bargaining reference points.
I didn't miss type however.
The dealer quoted me a $17,995 minus $100 rebate for an msrp of $16,995 for no option LX.
So is this a steal?
Is $19,500 including tax, license, destination, etc a good deal? Or can I get it for $18,500.
Thanks
In addition to the great advice you're getting here, check out some of our Advice articles. There should be lots of dealers in your area too, so unless there's some pressing need for a new car immediately, you can take your time and shop around for a great deal.
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
akinla, please clarify if the $16,995 price includes destination, or if the dealer is adding the $595 destination on to the 16,995. What are the taxes in your area? I'd like to see a breakdown of the items that are moving the quote of $16,995 up to $19,500. Right now, it's hard to tell exactly how good the deal is, but in general it does seem pretty fair.
Any help is appreciated.
Thank you !!
You're correct, your first paragraph registered with me but unfortunately your second did not. My apologies. I too would be interested to know how the dealer gets from $16995 to $19500, though I can imagine a number of scenarios where that would be possible. In Ontario, of course, that would be simplicity itself since we have a total of 15% taxes, but hey that's the price you have to pay to live here.
* Which 'additional' charges (advertising, etc.) most dealers are adding to the Sedona's invoice price
* Which of these additional charges customers are accepting as part of the deal, because it appears these are legitimate costs to the dealers.
I'm helping my parents in a vehicle search, and I hope to convince them that Sedona is their best choice. If Sedona offered all-wheel drive, their minds would be made up - lots of snow in West Michigan winters. When we bought our Sedona in Feb. 2002, demand was much higher so I simply targeted $1,000 off MSRP as our final price. I knew the invoice price, but didn't bother to bargain up from there as I normally would. Therefore, these questionable additional charges such as advertising fees were never discussed during our buying experience.
Invoice on a loaded EX is $21,400 including destination. My target is around $22,000 BEFORE rebate, which leaves the dealer with a decent profit. Edmunds' True Market Value is $22,411 which is a good price, but a savvy customer can probably do better. After the $1,000 rebate, the price should be around $21,000. What concerns me is if the dealer says, 'yes our invoice is $21,400 but we also have $xxx marketing fee and $yyy regional advertising fee and $zzz other fees, so the REAL invoice is $xx,xxx.'
Feedback is appreciated.
If your price is reasonable (which your's sounds very reasonable) then you should have no issue.
Whenever the dealer starts with the "well, we have $$ in other fees and the pin stripe costs $$$, etc." it's my queue to do one of two things. 1. Tell him good for him but this is what I'm offering and walk if it doesn't work for him. 2. Offer my condolences and detail the additional subtractions I have to come up with (time to deal, etc. -- petty of me).
The question isn't how much he paid for it. You don't care how much he paid for it. The question is at what price will he sell it to you. Keep the question clear and move on.
This is 100% true. However, I DO care what the dealer paid for the vehicle. The price at which the dealer will sell the vehicle is pretty dependent on the price the dealer paid to acquire the vehicle. At least it should be the buyer's goal to make it so. My goal as a buyer is to get the vehicle for the lowest possible price and make sure that the dealer earns a fair but small profit. This is obviously somewhere above the dealer's cost to acquire the vehicle, or the dealer would not remain in business.
Bottom line: if you aren't keenly aware of what the dealer paid to get the vehicle, then you must bargain without a key piece of information. This often results in people spending more than they need to.
Example: I purchased my 1998 Dodge Caravan at ~1500 below their alledged cost (per Carpoint and Edmunds -- well below TMV). This isn't counting the rebate. This was a new purchase. I'd be hard pressed to believe that the dealer did NOT make a profit since it only took a few hours of negotiating.
Example2: I purchased my 2002 Kia Sedona at ~500 or so below alledged cost as well -- (per Carpoint and Edmunds -- below TMV of course as well) not counting the rebate (i.e.: deduct the rebate afterwards). This too was a pleasant experience and the dealer seemed pleased to make the sale -- so I've got to believe he made money on it as well.
Do your research. Find out what you think his base is. Don't be insulting but decide what you want to pay. If the dealer can meet it great. His profit margin is the least of your worries.
Although I must admit I have had some worries regarding having paid too much for the vans outlined above (too easy???) I did get the price I wanted, it wasn't significantly more than anyone else was paying and both vehicles are a good deal at that price.
Last Friday, my wife (who has only put 600 miles on the car) went out to start it and dead battery!! I had her call free tow in service and found that I would be towed to the closest dealer. Since I live between two dealers the one I bought my car from and the "other one", of course the "other one" was about a half mile closer.
When the car got to the "other one" they informed me that the battery was dead! Amazing. Anyway, the service manager stated that they had received a letter from KIA regarding faulty lumbar switches in some cars that would stick open and slowllllllyyyyyyy drain the battery. They recharged the battery and said that they would have to order the part and it would be in five days later. Also, he said we did not drive the car enough to keep the battery charged up?? How much is required? I didn't notice anything in the owners manual or during the dealers new owner indoctrination spiel that mentioned "you must drive your new KIA for a minimum of x minutes per day to keep your battery charged".
Anyway, we brought the car home on Friday afternoon, it sat idle Friday night, all day Saturday and around noon on Sunday we hopped in our new KIA and decided to go to the movies. RRRRRRRRR! would not start.
Monday morning, (you can't get anybody to talk to on Sunday) we had the car towed back again.
Guess what. The battery was dead. Well now we can E-Order the part and get it this afternoon. Tuesday morning the part was still not there. Tuesday afternoon, it finally came and was installed, the battery was recharged and we were sent home.
It started yesterday (Wednesday) and this morning.
I have yet to feel like the switch was that bad.
To all of you who have not had this problem yet, beware of not driving your KIA every day. I think all the dealers are aware of this lumbar problem, but I don't know if the cars have been recalled. I don't know if it is all Sedonas or only those manufactured in certain months.
I'm sure I saw another post regarding this problem.
Keep you informed.
Also, have there been any updates on the 2003 Sedona? Last I heard they were pushed back until the end of September.