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Comments
Thanks for sharing the info with us.
MagMax
Ray
By the way, in post 925, I mentioned a nonrestrictive muffler to get more mileage. Bad idea. I'm putting the original muffler back on tomorrow. The performance muffler is too noisy inside. Wasted some money there!
I wrote to them and this is what I wrote:
Thanks you for your informative new car update where you issue "stars" to all new cars based on what you think is a good value and fun to drive. I guess though, in order to qualify, a car must be really sporty as you have issued the Kia Amanti only one star. I've owned one now for almost two years and beg to differ with your opinion. The Amanti is quiet, comfortable, loaded with luxury & safety features and inexpensive, not to mention it's strong warranty -better than most cars. Okay, it's not fast according to your standards, but you know, it is not that slow either. Apparently it's a Kia and that must be it's qualification for your one star rating. Yes, it's front suspension is a little soft, and has a front grill that take some getting used too. (Actually...I'm still not used to it). It's MPG is weak, but it doesn't need premium fuel, something that some of your other choices do need.
Please understand that for some people a cushier ride is fun and enjoyable, and while not perfect, two stars would have been much more reasonable for this rather nice, well built car. As Motor Trend is a car magazine that carries a lot weight with it's opinions to it's readers, please be a little more open minded and don't imply that the Amanti is junk or inferior with your one star rating. Not all your readers want to race their cars everyday, so please lighten up!
Sarasota, Florida
Well, at least I feel a little better writing to them.
It looks AWESOME!! Having done it myself, I want to share some tips to save y'all some grief if you plan on a DIY project. It's NOT that hard. First, completely remove the hood liner. You'll have to replace the retainer buttons, but any local parts house will have them, you don't need genuine KIA parts for that. Second, (and this is why to completely remove the liner) there are 4 acorn nuts (just like the 4 that are visible) hidden where you can't see them inside those square holes. (the center pin is for locating only) Use a 1/2" universal socket on a 6" extension.
It's even trickier to get them back on, but patience IS a virtue.
As always, it's nice to hear from other Amanti owners and your points are excellent and well taken! After reading this (and other) Amanti forum (s), one can detect mostly -if not all happy and satisfied owners. So, yes it is great to be among our select group!
I noticed that, even at Motor Trend's own website their Amanti vehicle report had the following comments:
Among the Best for Lowest Depreciation
Top Winner for Lowest Repair
Pretty good, no?
My concern is that other MT readers think the Amanti is a one star car. I don't want to be looked down upon by other driver's who conclude we're driving some lower grade car :mad: . Also, if we want to sell our car someday and it has a mediocre reputation (thanks to MT and other auto publications) that will affect the value of our used car. Luckily though, so far the Amanti seems to be standing up very well and remains a good investment.
Thanks, P
captainbob, could you find that again and copy the link and paste it here? I couldn't find it.
Thanks.
ok, go to the jdpowerand associates site,click on consumer site then next page click on autos then to auto ratings and proceed in any direction you want and any cars you want to compare all sorts of info
enjoy the site and also your AMANTI, we have 21000 miles on ours now and it is still an amazing car and people still come up to it in parking lots and ask about it.
Somebody know the cost of the grill??
Please any help with my ESP question as mentioned in post no# 931 !!
- - - - - - - - - - - -
September 21,2005 | DETROIT -- The Kia Amanti was the highest ranked mid-size car in a customer satisfaction survey released Wednesday by J.D. Power and Associates, marking the first time an entry from Korean automaker Kia Motor Co. made it to the top of the list.
-P
Thanks,
Philander
Thanks,
Philander
It astounds me how the car critics pound the Amanti and then the following year other cars come out with similar things the KiA had years earlier and they knock the hell out of the car.they definately have a hate phase against the korean cars.A smart way to test cars would be to deliver them without company logos.Motor Trend articles about 5 cars gave the ride factor and the quietness db rating for them and the KIA AMANTI again was TWICE as quiet as they were.they bragged about the vault like structure of the Avalon and the roominess,well just check out the specs for yourself and you will see again how the AMANTI wins again.WE HAVE ONE H--- OF A GREAT CAR AND DON'T LET ANYONE SWAY YOUR OPINION
The South Koreans have the world's brightest students. No joke. Now, think about this for a minute. Being that Korean students are more disciplined, score better than Japanese students on yearly aptitude tests and then they go on to work at companies like Kia and Hyundai and, yes, Daewoo (OK, now it's GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Company), doesn't it stand to reason that they have the ability to make a great automobile? Sure, they have the ability, and they are doing it yearly now. My '99 Kia Sephia was the one that turned me on to Korean cars. That car was a blast to drive. They are improving their vehicles year by year.
They also still offer The Long Haul Warranty. For someone like me who keeps their rigs past 2 or 3 years that Warranty has a chance to actually work for me. I have used it and if someone has their maintenance work done on time and drives their car with care the Long Haul pops in if needed and Kia and your authorized Kia dealer will honor it and fix your car at no charge to you. I know it works because I've used it with my 1999 Kia Sephia and my 2001 Kia Sportage 4x4. The work has always been done right and it didn't take a long time to finish, either. No complaints from this padre.
The Amanti is a great car, and it's a quiet car, and it's a Kia. It's what you can be proud of driving home from the Sonics victory over the Trailblazers, right? Nate, why would you go to a team like the Portland Trailblazers? Please! That's gonna be one scrappy Blazer team, the first game in Portland coached by Nate against his former Sonics.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2005 Kia Amanti 2005 Toyota AvalonXLS
Invoice $23,130.00 $27,104.00
List Price $25,500.00 $30,800.00
Vehicle Class Midsize Midsize
Overall Satisfaction Rating 100 out of 100 92 out of 100
Then I compared it to the Ford Five Hundred SEL. There's a much bigger difference! Our Amanti is a little more money, but darn well worth it!
Invoice $23,130.00 $22,199.00
List Price $25,500.00 $24,165.00
Vehicle Class Midsize Midsize
Overall Satisfaction Rating 100 out of 100 80 out of 100
I'd encourage all to check this site out.
Stockchaser
(I came back to edit this.....had it all centered so it would make sense, but when posting, it shoved it all together on the left. Oh, well, you get the idea)
~alpha
When I was about 10 years old, my dad taught me the very advanced technique involved in this delicate procedure: "Son, you stick your finger in a little motor oil, then rub it all around the seal on the oil filter, like this." As I recall, that was the same day he also taught me the highly complex skill required to "Make sure the old seal came off with the old filter, before you install the new filter - you don't want that extra seal material remaining on the car, or you'll leak oil really badly."
Geez. Maybe I just need to go back to changing my own oil, even though I really don't have the time or interest in doing so.
1. Because it's an oil and filter change, and is not rocket science. I would not take it to Wal-Mart for anything that required much skill, but an oil change, frankly, doesn't.
2. Because my Kia dealership has screwed up more things on my fine automobiles than Wal-Mart ever has. The things that come to mind include the four trips I had to make (42 miles each way) to my Kia dealership to get a faulty Amanti lumbar support fixed, and the three trips it took to get my Sedona's bumper fixed after the kid working at the dealership backed my Sedona into a pole while I had it at the dealership for - you guessed it - an oil change. My experience thus far has been that my Kia dealership is far less cautious and far more incompetent than my local Wal-Mart, astoundingly.
3. Because taking it to the Kia dealership takes half a day out of my schedule, and taking it to Wal-Mart takes far less of my time.
4. Because my wife can't shop for her groceries while waiting for the Kia mechanics, the way she can while waiting at Wal-Mart.
5. Because an $8 difference for a low-tech "oil and filter change" still matters.
Other than those five, I have no real reason for not taking it to the dealership every time.
I have not seen how the Kia dealership does things as there where not any at that time.
Max
I am still totally delighted with the car, just not the dealership(s). Fortunately, I don't expect to be at the dealership very often. Let's face it, if an automaker gives a 100k-mile warranty, it's because their reliability predictions indicate you won't need it. Because of that, I suspect I interpret long warranties differently than most people. Where most people see a 100k mile warranty and think "Awesome - if it breaks, it won't cost me anything", I see that warranty and thing "Awesome - it's very unlikely this thing will break!"
As far as the oil changes go, what concerns me the most is the fact that in a couple of years I expect to be moving back to an area where the nearest Kia dealership is 100 miles away. That would be an immense inconvenience, if I had to take the car to the dealership for every oil change. Using 200 miles of each "oil change cycle" just getting to/from my oil change is not very appealing. In fact, that is one of the very few things that might convince me to sell this car (otherwise, I plan to drive it for 11 more years).
The car is now at the dealers having other work performed on it; I spoke to the technician on the phone about the noise, first response " --- thats normal" , my response "--- I'm a retired engineer and have heard that noise (whine) from hydraulic motors/pumps", his response " ---- I took the car out for a test ride, could not hear any noise, may be the way I'm driving", my response " --- the way I drive causes a non exist ant noise? --- when you finish the repairs that you're now working on lets you and I take it out for a test ride". Which is what will be done shortly.
After a boring background, my question is, is any one else hearing these noises? (high pitched whine when the transmission shifts from first to second)
Love the car, I'll join in on the chorus of " -- what cars are these magazines testing?" The jury is still out on the dealers service department.
Joe