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Comments
Steve, Host
Here is the link
http://ca.photos.yahoo.com/mdsf_1
in the Sorento directory.
The last 3 photos show the side-molding.
Cheers!
Mike
Picked up my kia sorento ex, alpine grey (darker than the silver, blends in with the two tone moulding, looks like 1 color), luxury package, paid $495 less invoice...$26,000. Bought it at Major Kia, Northern Blvd, Queens, NY.
Real nice car..inside and out. Just had 1 problem, the cd player would not load any cd's. So they will have to replace the unit.
Otherwise, no problems, no vibrations....
real smooth car and plenty of looks!!
#1008-mikesf: those look good, Mike! I hope they're enough to protect your new Sorento! Our EX has cladding all around and it's made out of some sort of plastic composite material, with color all the way through. I'm hoping that's enough to prevent or at least hide those inevitable dings. If not, maybe you could introduce me to your BMW friend?
#1009-dimitrie: congrats on your new Sorento! $26,495 seems like MSRP, not invoice (unless you have other options not listed). So maybe you paid $495 under MSRP? $495 under invoice would mean dealer sold to you at a loss.
Sorry to hear about the CD player not being able to load. Is that a problem when loading a single CD, all 6 CDs, or both? I'm very sure our antenna connection is loose, 'cause lots of static, etc. Other than that, the car has been just PERFECT!
Please let me know about the crash test information and anything else besides the warranty, that would convince me to purchase this vehicle.
Thank you!
Customer service? Letter to the owner? Good luck, he has already deposited your check. Besides, he gave you what you wanted, a bargain basement price. Better yet, he made you work to get it. One of the oldest saying in the sales/marketing world: "People will pay dearly for what they are told they cannot have".
-mike
Speaking of my BMW friend... I met him for lunch last week and while he usually treats me to driving one of their cars (last time was a Mini Cooper S, an X5 before that)this time I insisted he drive the Sorento. After all the jokes about him having to wear a fake beard and glasses were over he took the wheel and we took off. In the end he was honestly impressed by the vehicle's handling, performance, and fit and finish.
:-D
RE #1013...babieboy acclording to the reps I talked to last night the Kia is to get a 5 star rating by the NHSTA for crash safety I explain further on in this post.
AS far as vibrations go we have not felt any as of yet and to all the new Sorento owners please check you tire air pressure. Ours were set at 50 lbs. and rode like a flinstone car. I lowered them to 33 pounds(placard states 30 but I add in 10% for highway driving) I think many dealers are gun shy after the Firestone Ford debacle.
Now for the good stuff. Our dealer held a get to know us night, last night, for new Kia owners and it was quite good they had food, munchies gifts and prizes and because of a pending snow storm here in CT there was just my wife, myself and another lady who bougth a Kia auto. So we really cleaned up on the gifts, Kia coffee cups and promo toys and we got a nice big Kia golf umbrella. At the meeting there was the NewEngland N.Y. Sales manager and and as well as the Service rep for the smae area. In all it was interesting as they wanted to know how we like our Sorento and what could they do about improving it. I gave a couple of suggestions as a band around the visors to hold mail and such. A extra grab handle on the passenger side window pillar, makes for easier entry and to start coming out with some accessories such as rubber mats. Also they let us know about some privy info. The Sorento in Jan 2003 will get a 5 star safety crash rating from the NHSTA. Also this is the last year(2003)for the Sportage as it will come out in 2004 as a 2005 and be based on the Hyundia SantaFe unibody. The reps said it may closely rsemble the SantFe. Also Hyndia was a little annoyed that Kia got the mini van Sedona and the Sorento and they have to wait. Also that Kia is coming out with a pickup truck based on the Soreto frame in about 3-4 yrs.
Now for some info the Service rep mention my wife and I. The Sorento has a break in period for the engine. Where for the first 600 miles try to vary speeds and to not drive at the same speed for to long. I asked about hiway driving and he said to go between 65 or highr and even 55 just to work in the engine. BY doing this they found people are getting better gas mieage than the sticker states. Also this tid bit which I thought was BS There is no after market oil filter for the Sorento yet and do not use Frams as their test have showed that the Frams tend losen up allow oil to squirt out and the Kia filter for the Sorento is about 2.99 at this dealer. By the way where I live in CT we got 6 inches of snow and my wife reports that on the way to work that her auto 4X4 worked great and she even tried the 4LO and the vehicle just kept going.
Sorry I ambled on to long.
Everyone have a good and safe holiday.
Take care.
b.b.
#1014-djasonw: many new owners purchased below MSRP, so don't let any dealer tell you otherwise. I agree that 0% financing is an attractive come-on. In a perfect world for us consumers, we should be able to have our cake and eat it too, but for us, it was worth 4.45% to have something terrific for the next 5, 7, or 10 years. Some of the articles I've read about the Saturn VUE were very discouraging. Be a good friend and don't let your friend buy a VUE!
#1018-hciaffa: one of the KIA brochures in our owner's package cautions us specifically to vary our driving speed during the break-in period. It would seem your dealer's service manager was giving out good advice. Thanks for sharing all your info!
#1021-mbluff: I didn't know you purchased your EX the day before we did....cheers for both of us! We haven't taken ours out on anything but California freeways during commute hours. It's good to hear it'll handle well out in the wilderness! Your gas mileage does seem a bit low. I don't know if I've been lucky or if I'm a slow-poke driver....thus far, I'm getting just under 20 mpg, last fill up was 19.8 or 19.9...can't remember exactly.
The latest Kia Commercial (guy talking about tying up the accountant, etc.) stars Holmes Osborne as the spokesperson. Look him up on imdb.com and you'll recognize him from other movies and TV shows.
I liked them all but I'm leaning towards the Toyota vs the Kia. It would be a loaded Sorento vs a Beefed up SR5 or a low grade Limited. I just have a few questions...
The Kia's A/C and heater controls looked and felt really flimsy to me. The outer ring was an oval and the inner one round but held on by a thin plastiv stalk--I thougt I nearly broke it off when I turned it too hard. The controls were the first major drawback to me. How would the automatic controls be (similar rotating dial or something else) and does anyone have a picture as I have not yet seen one and the dealer won't get more in for a while.
I noticed the strange vibrations that some of the other people posting here reported. It felt like it was comming from the left front, but it seemed to only do it at certian speeds. Would that also be from overinflated tires?
I usually hold onto vehicles for 5-6 yrs and I'm a little afraid of what the return on the Kia, an otherwise competent vehicle would be.
I fell in love with the Kia on sight, but after that test drive, I was a little scared away. Between the two is nearly 5-6K, but I would rather pay that now than suffer for it down the line.
If anybody has some insight, let me know.
Thanks for the White plains info. I purchased just the EX 4X4. I wasn't sure at the moment I wanted all the extras in the luxury. it wasn't even about the money, so I just went for the EX. Good luck with your shopping. Let me know how it goes, and what your experiences with the vehicle are like.
Good Luck
Thanks.
tidester, host
This picture is taken from a Canadian version of the Sorento. Ours is a USA version; the ACC looks exactly the same, but the 6-disc CD/radio is completely different. All controls on the ACC are push buttons...no knobs or rotating dials. IMHO, nothing feels cheap or flimsy.
Some owners have reported vibrations problems, but many others haven't noticed any vibrations at all. After 1,800 miles, ours still seem fine.
Hope this info helps.....good luck with your new car purchasing decision!
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Speakers: there are 4 large speaker grills, one on each door, and 2 small grills at dash level on the front doors. Behind each of the 4 large grills are 2 speakers, mounted co-axially, giving a total of 10 speakers.
Amplifier: don't know where it is, have not looked for it, but it's definitely there. My guess is it's behind the dash. Curious...why is location of amplifier important to you?
Not to make a big issue of it, but people have been exchanging contact information on this forum in previous postings, and nothing was ever said.
as the amp goes, i just need to know i'm getting what was advertised. i'm still fearful of purchasing this vehicle given sorento's lack of history and kia past. i would like your dealer's location if possible, so that i can renegotiate my
deal. once again, thanx u 4 your input.
a) The "tall-wagon"-type AWD-version on the next gen Elantra-platform (to be shared by Kia).
b) The shorter "Sorento Sport" 2-door "real" 4WD.
The current Sportage as well as the extended version mentioned above ("Sportage Wagon" in Europe), are history for now...
On the other hand, we have a truck based SUV with multiple-wheel drive, and a refined but still truck-adapted power steering. Please do not forget this when driving it. The power steering is electonically speed adjusted!
So, if you think the Sorento will behave like a Town Car or DeVille - forget it.
The 3.5l V6 top speed is nearly 200km/h (120 miles/h) and I can tell you, the only vibrations you feel in a Euro-spec Sorento are the teeth and nervous vibrations of your "American" passengers!!!!
Steve, Host
Thanks, Happy Thanksgiving!!
-J
#1040: tee333, you're very welcomed! Glad I could help. You know...it's funny, but I can't seem to find any specs for the power rating of the amplifier. I think I remember reading somewhere that it's 280 watts, but I could be totally wrong. In any case, there is lots of volume and the sound is very pure, crisp, and clean, so there has to be an amp somewhere in the system.
The dealer we purchased from is Florin Road Kia in Sacramento, CA. http://www.frkia.com/kia/ When we were shopping, several dealers were ready to sell at $600 below MSRP. Our price of $24,302 happens to be $500 above invoice or $1,033 below MSRP. We got this deal for a couple of reasons: 1) it was end of month, October 28th, 9:30 pm and 2) it has auto load leveling, a $510 option which we did not want. So in essence, they charged us $77 for auto load leveling.
Again...good luck with your new car shopping. If I may, I would recommend you take the plunge! A comparable Toyota or Honda would cost thousands more and warranty would be 7 years less. For me, that more than compensates for any "Kia concerns'.
#1047: mwitt58714, yes, there is a panic alarm. When you're locking the doors, only the parking lights flash...horn does not beep, which is what I prefer. If you press the 'LOCK' button for more than 2 seconds, the lights flash AND the horn beeps for approx 25 seconds.
The doors shut with a solid 'thump', just like our current Infiniti and previous MB.
I guess we shouldn't post links to Kia dealers either? Every forum on here recommends their favorite dealer and posts up their experiences with dealers. It's quite important and in fact in the "owners clubs" we actually have whole TOPICS dedicated to nothing other than the exchange of this type of information.
-mike