2014 Kia Forte EX Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2014 Kia Forte EX Long-Term Road Test

Our 2014 Kia Forte long-term test car is ready for its 15,000-mile service.

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fordson1

Oil change, tire rotation, cabin air filter and a "host of inspections" - $167. For an economy car. Jesus.

kirkhilles_

Agreed, I don't understand these absurd costs. Our 2013 Pilot says to replace both the cabin and air filters at 30k and are VERY easy to do yourself. Oil change and tire rotation? Either do it yourself and use Mobil 1 or have some other place do it for a LOT less. How much "inspecting" does a brand new car with 15k miles need? If there is a TSB you should've been notified about it and can judge how critical it is to get done now vs later.

In addition, 2 hours? I presume no complimentary car, so you have to bum a ride there and back... and then there and back again.

What a rip off.

gslippy

I think Edmunds is afflicted with the 'not my money' syndrome. As long as something is covered under warranty or advertisers' dollars, it's OK. New Tesla drivetrain under warranty - twice? No problem; it's just a reliability bug as described in their concluding video for the Model S. The highly mysterious Dodge Dart engine snafu? Caused by just a spark plug (no repair costs mentioned, quite possibly the whole engine); nothing to see here. Spend $167 on a no-headaches car for $65 worth of services? Gets me home with no hassle. But its definitely worth it to spend 8 weeks shopping a Porsche around for an extra 1-2% in sale price.

zimtheinvader

My guess is they have a policy of going to the dealer for the services so they have comparable data between the cars. Sure, plenty of average owners might do it themselves or go to an independent shop but we already know what rotating your tires yourself costs and independent shops vary a great amount; making it harder to compare.

fordson1

I love the fact that they gave it a "complimentary" wash. Like after charging you $167 for this minimal amount of work, running it through their robo-wash is some kind of freebie. LOL. Edmunds, believe me - every service department wishes every customer was as compliant and uncritical as you are.