Kia Amanti 2006 and earlier

charj

staceyaz- it was not me who had the friend claiming to get 32mpg. I was just asking for advice back in post# 812 before I purchase an Amanti. (please read it) Your posts appear intelligent -any words of wisdom for me?

shadow99688-i saw that salvaged Amanti online last week. no thanks. I may end up with a 2005 afterall. Trying to cut out all the "games" but the auto advisor has not located one thru the dealers he works with or at auction yet. Our small local dealer only has one Amanti but I can always drive to Orlando.

Gas mileage is not a priority since I work very close to home and the comfortable ride on trips would be worth it! In the past 3 months I have only seen one Amanti on the road locally(its the one that sparked my desire).... today I saw 6 !!!

shadow99688

I can get an amanti for about $5,000.00 less by flying to Washington, so it is worth it for me to fly to another state and drive back, I figure that after the airline ticket and gas to drive back to Alaska that I'll save about $3,000.00.
It may benifit you to check dealers in surrounding states, I have driven from LA area to Sicorro New mexico in 8 hours.

stockchaser

"I can get an amanti for about $5,000.00 less by flying to Washington, so it is worth it for me to fly to another state and drive back, I figure that after the airline ticket and gas to drive back to Alaska that I'll save about $3,000.00.
It may benifit you to check dealers in surrounding states, I have driven from LA area to Sicorro New mexico in 8 hours. "

Before you leave Washington, change the tires and tweak the engine a little, and boost your mileage to around 60mpg, and you'll save alot more, LOL!

I think your friend is full of it. There's no way this car gets better than 25mpg on the highway unless it's downhill all the way. And as for your drive from LA to Socorro, NM in eight hours, Mapquest puts that at 841 miles........ you'd have to average about 105mph with no time for bathroom breaks, gas-stops or speeding tickets. Unless your car can fly--which it probably also does.

shadow99688

Check link http://www.kia.ca/specs.asp?lang=en&plate=amanti before calling anyone a lier, The location I left from was the northern section of Camp Pendelton close to LA and as for speed at times on that drive the spedometer was at 115 sometimes faster other times slower and the only time I stopped was to get more gas, it was oct 1992 . the car was a 1971 Monte Carlo,

and before I leave washington the car will have a K&M filter kit, different plugs, and different tires, should get me a couple mpg.

staceyaz

First things first - Char, no real words of wisdom, no. I've had my Amanti a little over 13 months now, and love everything about it except its tendency to get small dents and my apparent inability to get 50-60mpg out of it, or 150mph. It has at least four dings now, in only 11000 miles. Mine is a basic "carbon gray" model, no options at all. It still feels and looks like a new car, and I intend to drive it for about another nine years. It sucks that the 10-year, 100k-mile part of the warranty is nontransferable, or I'd say grab a used Amanti. Still, I suspect that it is like most new cars, and that if it is maintained well, it won't give many problems except for those that shake out in the first couple of years. Lets face it - if Kia thought the 100k-mile, 10-year powertrain warranty would be a source of huge expense for them, they wouldn't offer it. By offering the warranty, they are saying "you won't need it". The only reason EVERY carmaker doesn't offer that long of a warranty is because someone in their management has said "We can't afford that!"

To everyone else, regarding fuel economy: Why does www.kia.ca claim 32mpg, while www.kia.com only claims 25mpg? This is more than just a "rounding" difference...

Here's the answer: It's wrong at www.kia.ca. Here's why I say that:

What the site SAYS is "8.7 liters per 100km". There are 3.79 liters in a US gallon, so that gives you 2.2955 gallons per 100km, or 0.022955145 gallons per kilometer. Take the reciprocal of this, and you have 43.563 kilometers per gallon. There are about 1.609 kilometers per mile, which gives us a value of...

27.07 miles per US gallon

That's not to say someone out there with his tricked out, fully pimped Amanti doesn't get 32mpg. I'm just saying www.kia.ca has a typo, and here's how they got it:

Some car salesman saw "8.7L" and converted liters to gallons, saw a number a little above 32 flashing on his calculator, and accepted it as the fuel economy in mpg. That car salesman is wrong.

shadow99688

Many cars sold in the US have california emmisions that kill mpg.
Where I'm at I don't have to have car set up for california emmisions testing, so I can buy a car that won't pass california emmisions, get a car without california emmisions and you will get better gas mpg.
sucks that most dealers have cars with california emmisions, only place that should have it is those in california.
I wanted to get my car from canadia but they have the damn wood grain on the steering wheel and idiot dealer tried to tell me Canadian dollar is same as us dollar.

iluvmysephia1

the 2nd owner does get the balance of the 5-year, 60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper Warranty, they just don't get the balance of the 10-year, 100,000 mile powertrain Warranty. Someone chime in and correct anything about this post that is incorrect, please. I want to know for sure on this.

staceyaz

Yes, shadow99688, back when I worked at Cummins we grumbled about California emissions, as well. Pain in the rear. More than half of our engine control software had nothing watsoever to do with controlling the engine in the Dodge Ram - it was all of the crap related to CARB and to OBD-II diagnostics.

Re: warranty - iluvmysephia1, You are correct that it is only the 100k/10-yr powertrain warranty that was nontransferable. The "bumper to bumper" warranty is transferable. There may be a "transfer fee" involved, though - I don't recall.

shadow99688

They have a problem here with the cummings in the dodge, the fuel pumps start leaking really bad when it gets -30 or colder, friend had pump replaced 4 times, last time mechanic told him to go to a 4X4 power shop and get a different brand pump, he did that and no more leaks.
It is funny to see people that put #2 diesel in vehicle then wonder why it has turned into jello at -40

shadow99688

The 2006 may come with a 2.8 or 2.5 with CVVT (Continuous Variable Valve Timing), if they do do this it will improve gas mileage and power at the expense of a higher base price

mcconh

The Kia.ca math is correct. A Canadian Imperial gallon is 20% larger than a U.S. gallon. The 32 mpg is correct in Canada.

mcconh

iluvmysephia1

then. A Canadian Imperial gallon is 20% larger than a U.S. gallon. The 32 mpg is correct in Canada, or should that be 32 kpg (kilometers per imperial gallon). Translated over I can't help but think that the Canadian Kia Amanti will get about 25 mpg in American thinking. True or False? :confuse:

mcconh

True
Any Canadian Kia Amanti driven on the highway in :
Canada will get 32 mpg ( buying imperial gallons)
U.S.A. will get 26.6 mpg (buying U.S. gallons)
figures are rounded off

* 1 imperial gallon = 4.546 litres = 1.20 U.S. gallons
* 1 U.S. gallon = 3.785 litres = 0.833 imperial gallons

For Canada

To convert L/100 km into mi/gal or mi/gal into L/100 km, use the following formulas:

* L/100 km = 282.48 ÷ mi/gal
* mi/gal = 282.48 ÷ L/100 km

To convert L/100 km or mi/gal into km/L, use the following formulas:

* km/L = 100 ÷ L/100 km
* km/L = mi/gal × 0.354

mcconh

iluvmysephia1

very well. Ya ask for a scholarly response to a decent question and ya get it here at Edmunds. That's just one of the reasons Edmunds is a great car chat site to head to!

Ya want car science ya got it here!

shadow99688

The 2006 Rio got CVVT, I think thay may put CVVT in all thier other cars, it would be really nice, only thing is CVVT in other brands requires synthetic oil and synthetic oil interfears with engine breakin so how do the manufactures get the rings and valves to properly seat. that is why new cars get better gas mileage after a few thousand miles.

shadow99688

anyone notice that specs for 2006 Hyundai Sonata are close to 2005 Amanti except for engine.

billh6

Does anybody know if Kia has added more interior colors yet to the '05? I have '04, carbon grey outside and light grey inside. I did not want black inside, the light grey, with the light tan carpet over time will be difficult to keep clean. Besides my orig. floor mats I bought clear plastic mats in front and back to protect it as long as possible (although the plastic is looking brownish). Just wish they had other interior colors besides the two. Also, the exterior seems to dent and scuff easily, so be VERY careful. I was on Anna Marie Island in Florida leaving a convenient store and backed into a pole. Fortunately, no dent, just scuffing and got most of it out. Then again, I guess any vehicle would scuff if you back into a pole. Bill

shadow99688

Check http://www.kia.com interior color is dependant on exterior color.
as for the scuffing a good body shop should be able to get it out fairly cheap.
there are products that can protect the paint from scuffing and minor scratches
and 3M has a spray on product that protects carpet and other spray products to protect cloth and leather from staining.
Just be glad you don't live where they spread dirt/sand/salt on the roads in the winter then have it turn into a slushy muddy mess in the spring.
here you can wash your car 2 times a day in the spring and it will still be dirty

amanticrazy

Re: floor mats - We live in the northeast with the salt, sand, etc. and have the light colored floor mats. We pull the floor mats out and scrub them with "Sunlight" dishwasher soap and rinse them. It does a GREAT job and they look brand new once they dry. We did this for 8 years with my last car and no damage done to the mats. Also, some kind of scotchgard wouldn't hurt, although, frankly we don't need to use it as long as we "keep up" with cleaning the mats. We try to do it once a month during the "dirty" months. Not so much now during the summer.

Still loving the Amanti - after 4 months of ownership.

shadow99688

Dealer says no change for the 2006 model they decided to keep it unchanged and they are supposed to get some in August instead of December

shadow99688

http://www.hyundaiusa.com/vehicle/soon/azera.asp
http://www.hyundaiazera.com/features_specs/specifications.aspx

80129

Recently go rear-ended, not significat damage but required a new trunk deck lid and bumper. KIA did not have any in stock and had to pay additional $300 for one at a dealership. Love the car but they have a major parts problem if you need body repair!

livingdust

Shadow###
You authored the following post on the Sonata board:

Factory tires are usually junk, the Michelin tires are really bad, I had a new car that had 5 sets of defective Michelin tires on it in 3 months before the dealer finally put goodyear tires on it and they lasted about 35k miles.
the hancok tires usually only last about 8k to 10k miles

....and I know positively that Michelin tires are not as bad as you say you experienced. And as for Hancook tires, after almost 15,000 miles on my car, they show virtually no wear. My experience with Goodyear is also the opposite of yours...

The only reason I'm mentioning your post on the Sonata board is your previous comments about changing tires on your new cars to get better mileage. Good luck....sounds like you could use it.

shadow99688

the low rolling resistance tires are made to be inflated to 60 to 90psi they make a differance in mpg the downside is they transfer more from road bumps and reduced traction, for long drives (cross country) they do pay for them selves , but I wouldn't recomend them for twisty mountain roads or someone just doing city driving, lots of stop and go.

Several people here had to replace thier hancok tires at around 10k miles tread was very worn, most of wear was in center of tread. the dealer here will put on goodyear or BFgoodrich at no extra charge.

I have had hancok tires on 2 cars and a motorcycle the motercycle tire lasted less than 3k miles the replacements lasted over 8k miles both cars had the belt wires poking through the tread at about 6k miles and the front tread worn to point of replacement at 12k miles,back tires 15k miles. tire shop told me that wires sticking out was normal for those tires, didn't appear to affect tire in any way front wheel drive and wires where sticking out of all tires on both cars second car got about 1k more miles, they may have changed since then but I won't buy them again getting burned 2 times was enough.

As for Michelin tires, 2 of those 5 defective sets had front tire blow out the sidewall at 65mph (noticed that all remaining tires had goosegg lumps on sidewalls), last set had tire blow out in parking lot of the shop when manager kicked lump on tire, that is when manager had Goodyear tires put on. I don't know about you but front blowout at 65mph is NOT any fun and will never trust that brand again.

shadow99688

Here if you get rear-ended and your not under the infulance of alcohol/drigs/meds and have insurance then the other guy is automatically at fault and he has to pay all repair costs.

drew11

Hi all,
Anyone know if the 05 and 06 models have fixed the "tennis ball thumping sounds" suspension problems? Also any chances of getting a new loaded Amanti for 22k?
Thanks

shadow99688

Yes they have fixed the suspension problem and the 06 has tire pressure moniter price will be around $25,000 for a new one but you should be able to get an 05 for less as they want to dump them before the 06 cars come in.

ncitis

Hi, I have been reading a lot of the posts here and am finding some very useful information here.
I do not own a Almanti, but I am strongly considering it. I have looked at the Avalon, the XG350, and several other sedans, which are very nice but don't turn me on like the looks of the Almanti. I drove it for the first time today and loved it. I think it is absolutely beautiful inside and out.
I haven't had a newer car in years and want to make a wise a choice, any advice would be
much appreciated.

topgear

I have mine for one and a half years with almost 30,000 miles. I still love my car!

By the way, there is no "L" in Amanti!

-Pete

ncitis

Thanks Pete for the correction, I don't know how that "L"
got in there

I have a question, does the Amanti really dent easily? When we were at the dealer we noticed one of the new Optima's had a large dent on the side. When we asked about it, the dealer made a comment that someone must have leaned into it! My husband already being
a hard sell with Kia has concerns now about the steel used in the Amanti.

shadow99688

Every new car I have seen dents easy I have been looking at toyota, Hyunadi, Chevy, fords suck, GMC, Kia, and others they all dented easy, from checking I have been told that they are using softer steel to form fenders/hoods/doors so there is less wear on forms and dies that stamp out those parts.

ncitis

Thanks Shadow, thats to bad about the steel but if they are using it in most of these cars
what can one do? So seeing how we are going to buy a new car, perhaps my husband will reconsider the car I love
Deb

shadow99688

Saturn's don't dent but in cold weather they shatter, A friend had one and got rid of it because it spent as much time in the shop as on the road and they had lots of troubles with the dealer here getting problems taken care of, and when the front fender shattered when they hit a snow drift across the road they dumped it, it was only about 18 months old.

billh6

Deb: You are a wise consumer to investigate in a forum like this to get the true, unbiased opinions of those who have purchased the Amanti. I, like Pete and the others, love my Amanti. I went from an Infiniti, to a Lexus, to the Amanti. Once I was told to just take it home for the weekend (which I was hestitant but did) and looked around at the exterior and interior, I was sold. BUT once I felt the ease of the steering, which Consumer Report (aka Consumer Distort) said was a bad thing, the ease of the steering, the softness of the ride and OMG how quiet it was inside, not to mention how solid it sounded when I would close the doors, I was sold. Tell your husband to give it a try. I understand his concerns about the past Kia product, but I truly believe they are competing in quality with the Japanese carmakers now, plus the warranty is even better. I like the roadside assistance. I canceled my AAA. Anyway, keep us in this forum informed. Bill H. Orlando

ncitis

Thanks Bill, I sure appreciate all this input, I do want to be informed and make a wise choice.
Knowing the pattern of our life I will probably be driving this car for a good 10 years.
I am really enjoying doing the research and taking my time dreaming about the new car I hope to have in the near future. We live in the high desert and I have been driving old cars with no air conditioning for years, I'm now getting to a place in my life where I can't take the heat any more ( 114") the other day :sick: So when I get this car it is going to be such a delight. :shades:
Thanks again to all for your wise council.
Deb

chuck1959

I bought my mother a 2002 Kia Rio. It now has 25,000 miles on it. I am being honest here, it has not had one thing go wrong yet. After reading the comments in here and from one friend that owns one, I am trading my 1990 Lincoln Town Car for one next month.

ncitis

That's good news about your Mom's Rio, but are you going to buy a Amanti or Rio?

chuck1959

LOL Now that I have re-read what I wrote I am a little embarrased! I am I am going to buy an Amanti.

porte

$25k (including processing fee, etc., before tax) sounds a bit too much for a fully loaded Amanti...?
Can any one paid less please let me know how much you have paid?
As there are not many Kia dealers around here in MD, it is not easy to lower down the prices.

shadow99688

indy 500 race only had 6 car race, all other cars could not race because of defective Michelin tires, Michelin is refunding all tickets to the race.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/tires/michelin.html
I'm not the only one to have had troubles with Michelin tires, every where I have been Michelin tires have been known for sidewall problems.

stockchaser

indy 500 race only had 6 car race, all other cars could not race because of defective Michelin tires

That Indy500 must have been the one I missed.
So what does this have to do with the Amanti forum? I don't know of any Amanti that comes with Michelins.
Do you own an Amanti yet?

harmar2

A better reason not to buy them is..the company is French owned.

1-year-old Amantis with <15K miles and full warranty are now selling for $17,900 and up. Let someone else eat the depreciation.

chuck1959

Frenched owned? Isn't Kia's parent company Hyundai? In KOREA?

shadow99688

The Amanti was supposed to come with Michelin tires but with thier problems they ship with Hankook tires, some still have the michelin tires though, I have test driven one and rented one, the rental had 2 Michelin tires still on the back, front tires where new good year.
The soft ride, warranty and that I have a Kia now with over 135k miles without any major repairs are the main reasons that I am going to get an Amanti, only problem with current car is the suspension is too stiff, and really hammers my back injuries.

mechanic80

I manage the sales floor at a KIA dealer in New Mexico. I bought an Amanti before I was even working here. I really like the car (traded a '98 Q45 for it!)
32 MPG is not realistic from what I've experienced. The Amanti gets terrible mileage on VERY short drives, but I get 18 mpg back and forth to work (10 miles). The trip computer reads11-13 mpg on the cars before they leave the lot. The real world offers 17-20 mpg in city based on my customers reports.

amlowe

Could someone tell me if the 2004 leather package is the same as the 2005. I know the 2005 has a concenience pakage attached with the leather. Specifically, I wanted the heated leather seats

drew11

Could anyone tell me which car rental company in central Florida offers the Amanti as a rental? I would like to try out the Amanti for a week or so on my vacation next month. Looked at a couple of car rental places online, but they dont specifically list the Amanti as an option. Rather they just say "Mid Size", or "Luxury" etc.
Thanks.

billh6

Drew: I live in Central Florida (Orlando) and I cruised up to another Amanti a while back at the red light, only to find out that the driver was renting it but that he really enjoyed driving it, but I do not know what rental agency he got it from. Wish I could help. But that tells me they must be in the area. Bill H.

verveka

My Amanti now has 20k on it and it seems to be holding up well except for the annoying tennis ball thing. It has been doing it since I bought it 3 months ago but I had to have it because it is such an awesome car. For everyone who is considering this car, I'd say DO IT! Comfort, fit & finsh, head turning styling, what more do you want? If gas mileage is a top concern, I would say don't buy it but that's the only thing. The only thing left for me to find out about is how will I be treated when I take it to the dealer to fix the tennis ball thing? I hate going to any dealer because it always seems to take DAYS to get anything done. What's your experience with the dealer?

topgear

Well..., glad to hear you also enjoy your Amanti so much! I had my "tennis ball in tube" sound coming from the front end repaired and I waited for it at my dealer. In fact I watched my KIA tech do the job and it's very simple. Once he started, it took less than half of an hour to complete. After which my Amanti was silent . I love my car more and more. It's only flaw in my opinion is it's thirsty mileage. The good news is ,we can safely use regular grade and that helps a lot -considering many of the premium type sedans MUST use high test. Needless to say that can add a lot to annual fuel costs!
Good luck with your dealer!

-Pete