2008 KIA Optima Experiences/Opinions

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KCJeep

KCJeep

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Hello all,

Looking to replace the old faithful warrior Lumina. Had pretty much settled on a Taurus/Sable, however we stumbled on a 2008 Optima that has us very intrigued.

Our experiences with the 2012 Sedona and my daughters 2015 Soul have been fantastic. I am however a little less confident with an older KIA. This will be for my 18 year old daughter to drive and us to use as a third car when needed.

What say you BITOG?
 
had an 09 4 banger as a rental for a 500 mile trip, the engine was a little on the gutless side but the suspension was comfortable and it was relatively quiet inside. They are for sale around 4-5k around my area, which is an OK price i guess.
 
KC, is this the Theta II engine ??
(2.4 GDI)


Originally Posted By: KCJeep
Hello all,

Looking to replace the old faithful warrior Lumina. Had pretty much settled on a Taurus/Sable, however we stumbled on a 2008 Optima that has us very intrigued.

Our experiences with the 2012 Sedona and my daughters 2015 Soul have been fantastic. I am however a little less confident with an older KIA. This will be for my 18 year old daughter to drive and us to use as a third car when needed.

What say you BITOG?
 
Do you have proof as how it was maintained? If the inside and outside look "roughish" then chances are mechanically it was not maintained either, unless there are records. On the bright side if it was maintained it should be cheap and worth it as an extra family vehicle.

Whimsey
 
It is the 2.4 4 banger but I don't know if it is the GDI theta II being a 2008. I'd actually rather not have GDI but it's not a deal breaker.

Appears new flawless in condition and seems to have been (as well as claimed) to have been well maintained. Has 115k on it. Like I said was looking at Taurus/Sable but the daughter flipped when she saw this.

Here is the topic of interest, should have posted this originally I guess.

KIA Listing
 
Originally Posted By: KCJeep
It is the 2.4 4 banger but I don't know if it is the GDI theta II being a 2008. I'd actually rather not have GDI but it's not a deal breaker.

Appears new flawless in condition and seems to have been (as well as claimed) to have been well maintained. Has 115k on it.


FWIW:
http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-models/
 
Reliability of 8 years old Kia/Hyundai is not as good as Toyota or Honda. A little more money will get you a much better car from the two makers above.
 
Originally Posted By: KCJeep
It is the 2.4 4 banger but I don't know if it is the GDI theta II being a 2008. I'd actually rather not have GDI but it's not a deal breaker.

Appears new flawless in condition and seems to have been (as well as claimed) to have been well maintained. Has 115k on it. Like I said was looking at Taurus/Sable but the daughter flipped when she saw this.

Here is the topic of interest, should have posted this originally I guess.

KIA Listing


so that is a classic dealer selling in the "for owner" section. red flags are the parking lot and no license plates. Just know that its a dealer and not the original owner.
 
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
Originally Posted By: KCJeep
It is the 2.4 4 banger but I don't know if it is the GDI theta II being a 2008. I'd actually rather not have GDI but it's not a deal breaker.

Appears new flawless in condition and seems to have been (as well as claimed) to have been well maintained. Has 115k on it. Like I said was looking at Taurus/Sable but the daughter flipped when she saw this.

Here is the topic of interest, should have posted this originally I guess.

KIA Listing


so that is a classic dealer selling in the "for owner" section. red flags are the parking lot and no license plates. Just know that its a dealer and not the original owner.


Yeah one of my pet peeves for sure! I hate it when they do that.
 
FWIW: These days, I would shoot for the KIA long before the Mitsubishi... And maybe before the Focus also, a ton of those around locally with mixed opinions. the biggest issue though seems to be rust, that said my Dad bought a brand new Focus in 2012 maybe 13 (cant remember). He bought it as a commuter car it was a clutch base model with A/C and Sirius being the only options. He pulled 40MPG every day with it on the hi-way, with a mix driving giving 30MPG average. It was pretty impressive as a clutch (for what it was). He traded it back in a 2 yrs.
 
It's the same thing as a Sonata (with a couple different panels/lights). My Sonata is at 149k with no real issues. Burns a quart now at 7500 OCI. Mine is a stick though and redline doesn't help that
shocked.gif
. Only motor issue I really had was check engine light for oil control valve (controls VVT), easy change if it happens.

Don't know if Optima has it (probably) but Sonata came stock with stability control also which is great if needed for accident avoidance. Was actually a big factor in why I got it planning for son to use (16 this year). Sonata at least got many great write ups from all the magazines and others starting in '06 with the changes and being in Alabama as of then.

Great on trips, fits 4 very comfortably for headroom and legroom, rides nice. Not a sporty top handling machine but not designed for that.

oh yeah---- changing the third brake light when bulb goes out $uck$. Engineer should be shot.
 
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