Kia Sorento

fopjustice

I looked at a Sorento yesterday and saw the local dealer had added $995 for stain proofing. The salesman said this included stain protection for the cloth interior and paint sealant for the entire vehicle. I have two questions I hope someone here can answer. Is this a valid charge, and is Kia's paint so bad it needs extra sealant?

I have had many vehicles and the only problem with paint I ever had was on a 89 Chevy pickup (when they determined they had bad paint and re-painted for only $100 even though I was the 3rd owner of a 4 year old truck at the time). This seems like a dealer rip off to me.

stever

Rip-off. Scotchguard and some car wax. RUN!

Steve, Host

yoonny

Here is better link on the recent award.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/021119-4.htm

Get the Sorento while you can. Once Kia realizes that its cars are comparable to its counterparts, price can only go up. I think Hyundai will do that first and Kia will follow. Hyundai's cars are finally winning JD Powers surverys and even the anti-Korean Consumer Reports is recommending Hyundai cars. Kia will follow Hyundai's trail very soon. And please, no more comparison between Sorento, CR-V and RAV-4. They are in a totally differnt league.

anonymous02

How do they compare in price? That is the final "league" for me in my decision making...

lok888

hciaffa - Finally realized these two types of 4WD. Part-time with 2H, 4L and 4H. Full-time (with TOD) with Auto and Low.

paisan

Yup that's correct.

-mike

daveghh

yoony,

Actually I would say the CRV competes directly with the Sorento. It does have a larger cargo and luggage capacity.

paisan

I got to intimately explore the Sorento @ my dealer yesterday, a Luxury Model with the TOD.

Have to say it looks real nice. Fit and finish was excellent. It comes with Michilen Cross Terrain tires so right there you are saving >$600 worth of tires that you'd have to go out and purchase if you bought most other SUVs (they usually come with crappier tires)

I did not see a "sport/winter" button though, I didn't turn it on so maybe I missed it.

Overall they look to be an excellent value if you are in the market for a REAL SUV/REAL TRUCK as opposed to a cute-ute. The only competition in that price/class is the Isuzu Axiom, also an excellent choice for the $.

What other Truck-based SUVs with Low-range are there in the $25K range that offer AWD?

-mike

jrdowney

Folks,
There is NO history for this vehicle. Given all the competition its hard to imagine the price going up substantially. Also, as I said before Kia vehicles have very poor resale. There will likely be a fair number of inverted loans. I'll take a look but I think a used Kia two years from now will be a superior buy. By then we'll also have some reliability data.

paisan

There is almost Zero competition in the $25K AWD w/Low Range TRUCK Based SUV class.

-mike

anonymous02

I agree with Mike.

Some (Liberty, Trailblazer) come close, but miss on certain marks (AWD, price).

paisan

Forgot Liberty.

Liberty
Axiom
Sorento

All available with AWD, Truck/Semi-truck Based, $25K rangeish.

Trailblazer doesn't have AWD actually and is well over $25K.

-mike

anonymous02

XTerra
Liberty
Axiom
Sorento

lok888

There are two different SUV. See my posts #798 and #819 for cargo capacity.

yoonny

Steve_HOST, I think we need to open up a new forum on this topic.

lok888

None. But I hope to see some comparisons based on cargo capacity, value, off-road capacity. Has Motor Trend done that before?

anonymousposts

Montero Sport? Although the base Mitsu V6 has almost no power and I like the looks of the Sorento better but the Mitsu is based on a truck frame and can be had reasonably loaded for $25,000.

anonymous02

I'd rather see comparisons based on cost. What can you get for X amount of money?

lok888

Almost none. A fully loaded Sorento EX 4x4 with luxury package and ABS costs over $26K. You got the leather heated front seats, 6CD in dash changer, auto climate control, T.O.D. (I think it has wood and leather steering wheels) with the luxury package. Even without the luxury package, the EX has heated side mirrors, wiper de-icer, power sunroof. Plus 5yr/50000 miles basic warranty, 10yr/100000 miles powertrain warranty and 24 hour roadside assistant at no extra cost. No wonder Sorento won the Best Value SUV for under $25K.

paisan

Monty Sport should be on that list, it has AWD, Frame and Low-range.

Extera is not on the list It doesn't have AWD.

-mike

anonymous02

Does the Libby have AWD?

anonymous02

OK, so let's take the difference between $25K and $26k which is $25,500.00.

That is our point for comparisons. What SUV's (how much SUV) can you get for that amount or less? I'd say the Sorento is right up there, if not on top of the list from the sounds of things. I have not actually seen it, and would like to wait a while to see what happens with quality.

paisan

Yes the liberty has available AWD w/Low-range.

Liberty
Montero
Axiom
Sorento

All are Truck-based, AWD, Low-range, $25-27K selling price range.

-mike

anonymous02

(I'd still throw the XTerra in there, though.)

paisan

Then you open up to a ton of other vehicles.

Rodeo
Pathfinder
etc.etc.

-mike

hciaffa

Finally after waiting patiently for close to four weeks our dealr just called me and the Ivy Green Ex w/luxury is in. She was determined to get the green even though he had a couple of others in the lot. I know that he is not discounting the Sorento but at least there is no ADM as other dealers in the area are, up to 2100 dollars at one. Though he did say he would heavily discount some extras I want , cargo tray, mud flaps, hood protector and window rain guards. We are going this afternoon to check it out and test drive it again and it should be ready tomorrow. We're trading in our 99 Forester and they gave us a great trade in, more than NADA or Edmonds on the trade so this is why he may not be discounting it. Can't wait

stever

Tidester and I are open to any and all suggestions. We've had "best SUV under $25,000" types of discussions and we have the "long titled" ones where we talk about 6 SUVs.

It's hard to do more than 6 because our search categories aren't set up for more and if XTerra is being compared, but it's not in the category list, searchers won't easily find the comparison topic. It's hard to fit that many vehicles in the title too!

There's always the "Sorento vs the World" type of topic :-)

Steve, Host

paisan

Setup a topic:

"True SUVs with AWD + Low Range $22-26K comparison"

Include:
Axiom
Sorento
Liberty
Montero Sport

anonymous02

Yeah, but the Pathfinder isn't on a frame.

How about the topic: "Comparison of truck based, on frame SUV's with 4-Low for less than $25,500", only worded shorter, yet being inclusive of these criteria.

P.S. Does the Wrangler fit? Vehicross? Amigo?

anonymous02

"SUV's with Low Range and frame for under $25,000 Comparison"

I don't really care about the AWD aspect, and that would just be a bonus arguing point for those who have it.

paisan

The reason for the AWD is that it is significantly safer for on road, which is where most of the miles are driven, even by off-roaders.

Also you'd have to take the Liberty off the list if you don't want to have uni-body construction, they are uni-body like the pathy.

If you leave it as just Truck based then you have to include significantly more vehicles such as XL7, Sportage, Rodeo, Amigo, Wrangler, etc. etc.

I was trying to weed it down for people like me who off-road often, but also are concerned with on-road safety, hence AWD for on-road and 4-low for the gritty stuff.

-mike

lok888

paian - Which type of 4WD you perfer for the Sorento? The full-time 4WD with T.O.D. or the part-time with 2H, 4L and 4H?

paisan

There's no need to buy the PT 4wd. TOD costs 1mpg max in gas. The on-road handling is vastly increased, etc. You don't sacrifice off-road ability because in 4-Low you get 50-50 lock with low range gears

-mike

lok888

It seems the dealer has $500 ($22340 edmunds invoice vs. $22840 dealer invoice) hold back for this Sorento EX 4WD. Is that reasonable? I think it is if we are talking about 3% hold back for Kia. Edmunds (article about dealer hold back) suggested not to mention the hold back when negotiate, since this is non-negoiable. But we can simple negoiable the over price. So how much the dealer make if they sell it for $23600?

carspy01

As we all can see from the last 2 weeks postings, it is really difficult to specify comparison categories, as we all have pros and cons for this or that vehicle. I guess it does not matter, if we'll create a "frame-SUV and under 25K"-topic, because we will end up with endless other comparisons anyway. If some more Europeans would take part here, we might even see the RX300 and M-class put against the Sorento - no kidding, guys! The press over there compares those three in numerous reports! Just start a "comparison one", and we'll go from there... let's keep this one in majority for the Sorento and its future brothers and sisters until we'll find other categories for those...

carspy01

Let's try to see it from the other side: if a sales rep. only has flat deals (usually $75/vehicle), i.e. not enough margin in there to make a decent living, he/she needs to sell 20 vehicles at flat to make $1,500 + the minimum wage salary. Do not get me wrong, there are good guys out there and bad guys. Still, they need to make a living, too. If you know what you want exactly, fax out several official "request for quotes" to the Sales Managers. No phone or personal contacts. If price is your top priority, that's the way imo...

lok888

I thought a sale rep usually make $100 (more or less) per vehicle plus salary. That's properly why those Honda dealers are selling at MSRP for the Odys, CR-V and Pliot. Because there is not much for sale. But I still have no sympathy for them.

clpurnell

Listen dealers make a lot more than 75 a car. Carmax which has one of the worst scales pays 100 per unit plus another 100 if you sell the warranty plus 30% of options. Most dealers are 20-30% of net profit. One makes 2k on a car the salesman gets 4-600. most good salesman make over 100k a year. It is actually the next career I am looking to get into as I spend so much time on edmunds and looking at cars. Plus I'm a decent sales person. New cars sales at a domestic probably avg 200 a unit, Import 3-400, luxury 600+ depending on car. It is actually better to be a used car salesman (shudder) because you usually have a greater margin (2-3k) per unit.

carspy01

a) I was explicitly talking about flat deals.
b) If you go into a car sales rep. career with those expectations, cl, prepare yourself for a hard landing.

tidester

... something like "Is Sorento the best?"

That keeps it open-ended and invites comparison with other vehicles.

tidester, host

stever

Or even The Sorento should be the SUV of the year?

Steve, Host

carspy01

Now, that I have a little more time, an add-on to my previous posting plus 890. The points behind my comments were that especially the Kia sales reps were and are definitely not the 6-digits guys the rumor-mill and dreamworld is full of. Looking back to the Sephia, Rio etc. deals of the past, they were surely more in the "flat-rate deal scenario" plus bonus based on sold units. The Optima and Sedona changed that a bit, and now comes "The Sorento"! Guys, don't get me wrong, but with the rave reviews, nearly 900 postings in the Town Hall, Lexus-like looks, wow, hooraay, they smell money. Finally, they might get better deals and a better income for themselves due to their comissions, and you seriously wonder why they treat you like we could read here over the past few weeks? MSRP plus shoesize multiplied by age multiplied by dependants?

carspy01

headlight washers (Asian and European Sorentos) as well as HID-lights for model year 2005 in Northamerica.

anonymous02

OK, you win.

Good points.

Hosts?

stever

ok, let's start the fun. We can tweak the name and/or categories as needed.

True SUVs with AWD + Low Range $22-26K comparison

Steve, Host

hciaffa

Yesterday I wrote that our saleman had called to tell us that my wife's Sorento had come in. So last night before it got to dark we ran up to look at it. Ivy green EX w/luxury pkg. Sweeeet. I took a good look at the body and interior to make sure nothing was amiss and we then took it for a test drive. We had test drove a regular Sorento and an EX (even took the 4x4 EX on a dirt road) this one has the auto 4x4 with TOD. It drove very nice on the road as well as on a winding gravel road. We tried to negotiate again on price and they finally dropped the price by 500 dollars not much but still better than nothing. I am also buying some add on's such as mud flaps and hood protector, window vents and cargo tray and he is giving at his cost since we are buying a EX luxo. We are picking it up tonight and tomorrow is a vacation day and I get to drive it while the wife is at work. Boooyah.

lok888

Is this an aftermarket accessories?

lok888

Oh Yeah! It is better to be a used car salesman. My sister-in-law sold his 98 Lexus GS300 for $36K nearly two years ago. The Lexus dealer was willing for pay no more than $32K. This high end used car dealer sold it for $39K within two weeks. I doubt not too many new car dealer can make $3K for average car unless they sell it at MSRP or over (or add-ons).

loyalone

Thanks for the reply mikesf. The fact the the LX worked well in the snow is great. I am trying to see whether it is worth paying the $4000 difference in price(CDN) to go up to the EX. To me the only difference is the AWD and ABS. Are there any others in this forum who got the LX?

anonymous02

I saw the Sorento ad last night with the other SUV's chasing it, and the money flying.

It was great.

I wish them luck. Hope the quality is above the Sportage, which was a nice truck otherwise.