Ford Focus or Kia Spectra - Opinons Needed

[Clement]

Now we're looking at either a:
2001 Ford Focus 4-door, auto, 75K miles.
OR
2003 Kia Spectra, 4-door, auto, 55K miles.

Both cars are $5,500. The Focus will cost $50 less/six months to insure.

Both are clean, no rust/dings, both are quiet. The tranny fluid on both is clean and doesn't smell burnt, actually the Fords was a little cleaner.

I like the Focus simply because of the insurance cost, and it looks a bit more refined/roomier. My biggest concern however is mechanical reliability.

Thoughts on these two cars?

Thanks!

 

[BatmanLS1]

If you plan on owning for the long term...which is cheaper to repair?

I would lean towards the Focus myself. It should be straight foward to work on, but I truly don't know how hard Kias are to work on. Also, where is the oil filter located on each car?

 

[badtlc]

Doesn't the KIA have a warranty for 100k miles or is that just recently?

 

[Soonerfan]

I used to have an 01 Focus. I would say that they are very reliable. I highly recommend them.

 

[carock]

The Focus is a much better handling car, somewhat more refined, is rated more reliable in Consumer Reports, has more dealers, more independent service garages, and is easier to get parts. Seems like a clear choice for me.

 

[MIAMI-DADE]

quote:

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Originally posted by badtlc:
Doesn't the KIA have a warranty for 100k miles or is that just recently?

---

You need a 100k warrenty on that ***.A friend has one [2004]and eveything is going on it.The door handles fell off last week plus it rides horribly.Its only has 30k on it.

Bottom line>The Kia is a throw away car.

I can't believe anybody would come here with such a question.The Kia is probably the WORST car on the road today when it comes to realibilty

.

 

[mechtech]

The Ford Focus had a LOT of service bulletins issued over it's life.
When they run right, it is a better car than the Kia, however.

 

[Clement]

We were looking at the Kia because it is only 3 years old. Also, I drive an 02 Hyundai which has been fantastic with regards to reliability and ease of maintenance. I know that Hyundai bought Kia a while back and that Kias reliability has increased as a result, but I don't know what model year this applies to.
The Focus, as Mechtech implied, I've heard a good bit for and against. Then again, now that I think of it, I see a lot more Focuses on the road then I do low end Kias.

How about the trannies? The Koreans, I've heard have shakey auto trannies. My experiences with Ford haven't been much better.

So far the Focus is looking better than the Kia.

 

[JHZR2]

I have an 06 focus as a long term rental car. Other than relatively lousy fuel economy with the AT (32-34 on the highway), the car seems decent. It is put together well, the materials arent shiny, and it has a hard dash (good, IMO) that looks of much higher quality due to its lack of shine and appearance of hard plastic.

The car has a good deal of space for its exterior dimensions. Back seat is small, but what one isnt in a small car? I'm 6ft4 and 225 lb., and have three fingers worth of space above my head, and ca stretch a leg out fully next to the brake pedal.

The AT isnt designed all that great, as with even gentle driving, its always on the verge of downshifting - annoying and surely why the fuel economy isnt as good as they could have gotten. Ive driven an 04 MT focus down in the USVI, and it is a LOT better and a LOT peppier, even though the clutch is almost shot (its a rental car with MT that they keep for locals only, and gets abused), and it has a lot more miles than my 06 AT rental.

JMH

 

[blupupher]

The '03 Kia Spectra is not the same as the '03 Hyundai Elantra.
It was not till mid '04 that the Spectra was a rebadged Elantra.
While I am normaly one to say go Hyundai/Kia, and though I don't know much about the Focus, I would lean more to that.
The 10 yr/100k is only to the original owner, I believe it does have a 5 yr/60k bumper to bumper though.

 

[The Critic]

Keep in mind that Kia reduces the original 10-yr/100K powertrain warranty to 5-yr/60K for the second owner. Thus, you do not have much warranty left at all, for both the powertrain and the rest of the components.

The Focus, in its early days, wasn't the most reliable car on the road. When working properly, it is nice to drive. The 4F27E unit (transmission) is OK, but it isn't the most reliable one either.

With that said, its really your choice, but there are some internal forces that pressure me to recommend the Focus over the Kia.

 

[beanoil]

Focus, no doubt. As the owner of a 2k, I can personally say it is a very good car. It does have squeaky rear brakes, and a high rate of failure for headlamps, of all things, but the rest of the car is good. My 100k maintenance of plugs, wires, water pump, timing belt, tensioner, and fluids and trans filter was less than 200.00 (did the work myself... an easy car to service). I get a consistant 30+ MPG. Straight 30 weight in the summer, 5-30 in the winter, or a 50/50 of 5-20 and straight 30 works fine. The trans in mine has been fine with 30k filter/fluid changes. Current mileage, 115k.

 

[Clement]

Beanoil,
How do you service the trans? does it have a drain plug or do you need to drop the pan? This'll be the first thing I do with this car.

 

[brianl703]

quote:

---

Originally posted by JHZR2:
The AT isnt designed all that great, as with even gentle driving, its always on the verge of downshifting - annoying and surely why the fuel economy isnt as good as they could have gotten.

---

If you feel like experimenting, remove the battery cables for several minutes and see if that makes any difference. Supposedly Ford's automatic transmissions "learn" your driving style and it's possible that a previous renter taught it some bad habits

 

[UncleS2]

If those were my only two choices, I'd buy the Ford. JMO.

 

[beanoil]

I drop the pan, clean it up, and change the filter. I use the ATP kit from RockAuto.com, and MercV fluid (house brand from AA). I have also run M1 multi vehicle, and QS synblend 4x4 multi vehicle with no changes to performance or shifting. I'm a firm believer that fresh fluids are the key to long trans life- especially in electronically controlled transmissions. A small piece of dirt or varnish can make the solenoids sluggish or hang. There is room to install a drain plug from HELP! or B&M, making fluid changes a bit easier. It takes about 4.5 quarts for a pan drop, filter change, and fill, and maybe 40 minutes of time.

 

[Tosh]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Clement:
Now we're looking at either a:
2001 Ford Focus 4-door, auto, 75K miles.
OR
2003 Kia Spectra, 4-door, auto, 55K miles.

Both cars are $5,500. The Focus will cost $50 less/six months to insure.
My biggest concern however is mechanical reliability.
Thoughts on these two cars?

---

Seems an odd way to choose a car, the lesser of two evils? Are these actual cars sitting on a lot somewhere? Why not get something you really like for the $5500? Pick something you feel at least a little excited and passionate about. If mechanical reliability is that important, then a Ford or Kia should not be at the top of your list, unless you have thorough service records for them.

 

[Sid]

quote:

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Other than relatively lousy fuel economy with the AT (32-34 on the highway)

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**** 32-34 on a Focus with AT is BAD for you? I envy you!

I'd say the Focus and not just because I own a 2000.

I'll tell you right now the most common problems with the Focus for that year ARE:

Fuel Pump (Has an extended warranty if it goes bad)

POSSIBLY Ignition locking (all years have this problem)

DPFE sensor ($40 very quick fix)

Fan Relay going bad ($25 sensor, fans won't turn on unless A/C is used)

Cheap seats.

Mind you I have a 2000 which is the problematic year of the Focus and I've avoided pretty much all major and common problems with the car. That's not say it's perfect though.

 

[wander2039]

I agree with Sid. My sister has 02 and my grandparents had a 00, the grandparents are the only one that had problems. Pretty much what he listed. They got only 25-28mpg out of theirs which was from a check engine light that they chose to take the bulb out rather than fix. Don't know the mpg on the 02. My sister has a botched power lock, power window install on hers but that wasn't Ford's problem. I've heard that insurance is higher on the Kia and based on that I would go for the Focus.

 

[oddball]

My fiance has an 2002 Spectra, and all I can say is RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!!! Trust me, we are using every little bit of the warranty -- at only 40k. Gets between 25 and 30 mpg on the highway (a bit temperamental in that regard, really). Puts my leg to sleep when I drive it. Straight up dangerous on anything but dry pavement, regardless of what tires are on it -- we have tried different tires.

I cannot speak for the Focus, but run like . . . well, you know what . . . from the Kias.