Hyundai/Kia Reliable?

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$1,300 for a used engine, $800 for a used transmission, not sure how many hours of labor but if it was 15 hours of labor at $120 an hour that's $1,800 for labor. $3,900 plus any taxes and fees for fluids.

Those are used engine and transmission prices with quite a bit less miles than my car.

www.car-part.com
 
When I was car shopping, I asked my independent mechanic what makes he would recommend. He said Hyundai/KIA are making the best cars these days. They see the fewest of those in their shop. He also recommended the Ford Escape.
 
Originally Posted by Brigadier
When I was car shopping, I asked my independent mechanic what makes he would recommend. He said Hyundai/KIA are making the best cars these days. They see the fewest of those in their shop. He also recommended the Ford Escape.


My mechanic would disagree. He said the Japanese makes are still the best...
 
Originally Posted by Nick1994
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by meadows
They also discount a lot more than Toyota and Honda.


What you save on them up front you will pay out in repairs over the course of the entire ownership of the vehicle...

I saved $6k buying my Sonata over an Accord.

I could have the engine AND transmission replaced and still be ahead.

1 repair so far at 92k miles, a torn CV boot.


It doesn't take much to accumulate $6K in repairs over the life of a vehicle these days, not to mention what your time is worth not having the vehicle while it's in for repairs...
 
As they say opinions are like elbows. Everyone has one. I've always preferred 1980s full size GM's for the best longevity/cost to keep on the road. But I'm starting to get bored of driving the same 2 vehicles basically for 15-17 years and I'm considering a 2002ish Lexus is300 with the 2jz engine for my next daily driver. Financially it will probably cost me more than the Caprice and Cutlass have over the years but compared to a late model car it's still cheap.
 
Originally Posted by caprice_2nv
As they say opinions are like elbows. Everyone has one. I've always preferred 1980s full size GM's for the best longevity/cost to keep on the road. But I'm starting to get bored of driving the same 2 vehicles basically for 15-17 years and I'm considering a 2002ish Lexus is300 with the 2jz engine for my next daily driver. Financially it will probably cost me more than the Caprice and Cutlass have over the years but compared to a late model car it's still cheap.




The opinions of 1980 era GM cars can vary widely. Most American vehicles made during that period were considered junk, and that is putting it nicely.

As for that Lexus, a fine choice.
 
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by Brigadier
When I was car shopping, I asked my independent mechanic what makes he would recommend. He said Hyundai/KIA are making the best cars these days. They see the fewest of those in their shop. He also recommended the Ford Escape.


My mechanic would disagree. He said the Japanese makes are still the best...


My mechanic specifically called out Subaru and Nissan as being CVT nightmares.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac


The opinions of 1980 era GM cars can vary widely. Most American vehicles made during that period were considered junk, and that is putting it nicely.

As for that Lexus, a fine choice.


And yet, the 19 YO Marine that bought my 85 Z-28 with 270k on the clock, was burning rubber as he drove away. Engine was all original at the time.
 
I'm definitely biased because growing up in the late 90s early 2000s I was into 1980s stuff like Caprices, g bodies and Camaro's etc and trucks. All of those were usually good vehicles back then and lasted forever. Parts are still easily available today. The motors can last 500k miles. The economy cars that weren't very common by the time I was driving and buying cars didn't register with me. By this time you could buy a good used 1980s Caprice for less than $1000. I never even considered an economy car back then.

The domestic companies did not know how to make a good economy car at the time. When I was like 12-13 my parents had an 84 Plymouth reliant and it was garbage. We also had a 77 Toyota Corolla and it was garbage too. It broke down a lot and the trunk rusted out so the spring shackles came through the trunk floor. Following the Toyota we got a 79 Impala wagon that my dad drove for 6 years without spending more than like $100 on it in repairs. It never left us stranded and started in the coldest weather when the other cars all failed. When he finally replaced it with an 83 grand prix I had it for a field car a little while, still running and driving pretty well.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by ls1mike
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by PimTac
It's interesting that this thread questioning the quality of Hyundai and Kia is right below the Ford replacing engines due to oil consumption thread.

One is a question, the other is reality.


Fixed it.


I have been reading the thread.

I don't understand what was fixed? Maybe It am missing it or it is over my head.


My remark was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, I bumped the thread about Hyundai/Kia headquarters being raided over the mishandling of their engine "defect" recall. This was the one where the engines were randomly failing and was originally claimed to be machining debris IIRC.

Ah got it. LOL right over my head.
smile.gif
 
The Kia Sorento is a good SUV and a very reliable one. Not only have Kia been consistent the past few years, but they are also improving. It also gets good gas mileage and has comfortable seats.

Also, Hyundai builds the most reliable cars you can buy. So, you can never go wrong with both.
 
Originally Posted by Brigadier
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by Brigadier
When I was car shopping, I asked my independent mechanic what makes he would recommend. He said Hyundai/KIA are making the best cars these days. They see the fewest of those in their shop. He also recommended the Ford Escape.


My mechanic would disagree. He said the Japanese makes are still the best...


My mechanic specifically called out Subaru and Nissan as being CVT nightmares.


Funny you should mention CVTs. My daughter has a 2010 Cube with a supposed junk CVT that's going strong with 110K miles...the way people talk about these CVTs it should've gone out a long time ago...
 
Originally Posted by chims
Also, Hyundai builds the most reliable cars you can buy.


That may be your opinion, but it certainly isn't a fact...
 
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by chims
Also, Hyundai builds the most reliable cars you can buy.


That may be your opinion, but it certainly isn't a fact...

Depends on where you look. On JDPower, Hyundai/Kia are # 9 and 10 in reliability for 2019, CR in 2018 has Kia at #5 and Hyundai @ #10, Repair Pal has Hyundai/Kia at #1 and #2, and by that one, it is a fact that Hyundai/Kia is the most reliable car.
It just depends on what facts you look at.
 
I am not entirely convinced of their reliability.

One of my measuring sticks is "how many of their older cars do you see on the road" - around here I can't even tell you the last time I saw a 2005-2009 Sonata (the one that took a bunch of design cues from the Accord), can't tell you the last time I saw a 2007-2010 Elantra (the bubbly one) or even the 2005-2010 Accent. I know they were not rare as this was the beginning of the Hyundai renaissance so they must all be sitting in junkyards somewhere - meanwhile these vintage or older Honda, Toyota, Nissan (pre-CVT) are still a dime a dozen running all over the place.

The 1997-2001 Camry is a legit cockroach - there are so many beige on beige 2.2 Camry's of that vintage running around here. I don't think it is possible to kill one of those unless you are just straight neglectful.
 
Originally Posted by pezzy669
I am not entirely convinced of their reliability.

One of my measuring sticks is "how many of their older cars do you see on the road" - around here I can't even tell you the last time I saw a 2005-2009 Sonata (the one that took a bunch of design cues from the Accord), can't tell you the last time I saw a 2007-2010 Elantra (the bubbly one) or even the 2005-2010 Accent. I know they were not rare as this was the beginning of the Hyundai renaissance so they must all be sitting in junkyards somewhere - meanwhile these vintage or older Honda, Toyota, Nissan (pre-CVT) are still a dime a dozen running all over the place.

The 1997-2001 Camry is a legit cockroach - there are so many beige on beige 2.2 Camry's of that vintage running around here. I don't think it is possible to kill one of those unless you are just straight neglectful.


This is exactly the correct measuring stick. You just plain don't see many old Korean makes still on the road, however, I still see old Japanese cars all over the place. Anybody can make a vehicle that's reliable for 5-8 years, but the ones that are 20 years old with 300K+ miles are the ones passing the true test of build quality, and I just don't see the Korean makes doing this...
 
Originally Posted by blupupher
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by chims
Also, Hyundai builds the most reliable cars you can buy.


That may be your opinion, but it certainly isn't a fact...

Depends on where you look. On JDPower, Hyundai/Kia are # 9 and 10 in reliability for 2019, CR in 2018 has Kia at #5 and Hyundai @ #10, Repair Pal has Hyundai/Kia at #1 and #2, and by that one, it is a fact that Hyundai/Kia is the most reliable car.
It just depends on what facts you look at.


They are rating their reliability when they are new. I'm talking about reliability after the vehicle has several hundred thousand miles on them. You can make the argument that most people don't keep their vehicles this long, which may be true, but that is the true measure of build quality, and in this way, the Korean makes still don't stack up...if they did, you'd see a lot more of their older vehicles still on the road, which is not the case...
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by Brigadier
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by Brigadier
When I was car shopping, I asked my independent mechanic what makes he would recommend. He said Hyundai/KIA are making the best cars these days. They see the fewest of those in their shop. He also recommended the Ford Escape.


My mechanic would disagree. He said the Japanese makes are still the best...


My mechanic specifically called out Subaru and Nissan as being CVT nightmares.


Funny you should mention CVTs. My daughter has a 2010 Cube with a supposed junk CVT that's going strong with 110K miles...the way people talk about these CVTs it should've gone out a long time ago...


The first one I ever saw fail had 80k highway miles. It was a company car that was brought to us regularly for maintenance. I can't remember the year but it was a Nissan rogue. That was before we found out about their high failure rate.
 
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