I am planning to get a Kia cerato, and have been hearing left, right and centre from ppl that Kia maintenance and parts are very expensive, and resale value is poor.

I am guessing I won't have much to worry about during the warranty period, but what about long term? Will I have to burn holes in my pockets in the future just to upkeep the car or is this just a perception that people have from Kia's older models?

Korean cars are quite reasonable to maintain. When people say Korean parts are expensive they are comparing original parts with Taiwan and China parts for Jap cars and not original to original. But nowadays you can also get non-original parts for Korean cars if you like. Parts are also easily available.

So buy with confidence. It's not like you are maintaining a Conti car.

Bought the Cerato in March 2015, now already clocked 65,000km

Only claim car battery once, other than that only normal service according to the schedule
Resale value not sure, but this car is so packed with features- really worth it. If you're looking for power than its got none, but if you're looking for a car that u can use daily without worries then you should go and buy

This post has been edited by kapalterbang_737: Jul 26 2016, 03:54 PM

Inkambing professor andnhis disciple with their elongated story about how Kia failed by not hiring them, and furthermore steal their master plan to conquer the world.

Oh wait.....

Ok, just FYI, gonna send my forte to service center to do the following :-

1. Air cond condenser replacement (FOC, claim warranty).
2. due to above change, need to change Expandable Valve (RM250).
3. Air cond Gas, RN50 orRM 150? not sure i hear wrong or not.
5. Labour RM50.

Owned a Kia previously for 5 years, would say that it's quite similar to Japanese makes if you go to the official SC.

3rd party workshops might not carry much Kia parts, so better buy from spare part shops around Jalan Ipoh for cheaper parts.

About the resale value, you should look at the % drop instead of the final 2nd hand amount, as well as the interest saved by taking lesser amount of car loan. At the end, might be quite similar as well.


This post has been edited by atah: Jul 26 2016, 04:16 PM

Frankly speaking, it is not necessary to replace expansion valve when replacing condenser coil.

Believe it or not, Korean car original part is slightly and sometimes a lot cheaper than Japanese car part. If you are fan of OEM and China part, you just need to know where to get it.

Cerato is a nice car. With the features that you get against the price u pay no one else can beat. Not to mentioned it looks good too!

U from KL ?
Then mobis segambut is ready to serve u with a lot of cheaper parts...

Still using a 1st gen picanto. 10yr+ clocked 150k.

changed parts, inc labor;
absorber - 1x (2pcs) (RM300)
ball joint - 1x (RM60)
lower arm - 1x (RM200+)
top overhaul - 1x (change gasket head, change all new pipes, radiator cleaning, etc etc) - 1x (RM1200+)
Fuel/gearbox filter - 1x (RM100-200 if i can recall, every 80k)
Aircon & timing belt - 1x (RM200-300)

I service at enoes 1utama after warranty ended. rm120+ for semi, every 7k. Normal service only.

Parts I buy myself and sometimes I get outside workshop to pasang with small fees.

RM50+ can gives 350km 100% city drive.

Cabin noise n comfort are still best compare to viva, myvi, axia. (as i usually rent those car while outstation work, some even brand new with few K mileage, fyi) Especially assemble parts, still intact nicely, not like those falling apart.

But RV is worst compare to the above mentioned car.

So conclusion, it's reliable and not costly to maintain a KIA. And parts are available easily.

don't listen to those people who hearsay or from last generation or typical jepunis cars fansi.... find real owner and get to know the numbers from them... those haters no matter what will say korean cars need to maintain like CONTI CAR... jokers....

Normally high maintenance and low reliability cars have low second hand value and this especially applies to Conti cars. However Korean cars have low resale value due to perception not reliability or maintenance cost. This benefits the smart buyer of used cars. Some Jap models have so high second hand value that it is ridiculous to buy them.

Im waiting also... Why still not kambing yet

dont forget that usually the korean cars come with extra safety features. that alone worth a lot of money

VSC is a must, dun buy T brand kosong car without VSC.

I have been around and owned Korean cars for 15 years and counting

so this is a true narration and not dramatized

- spare parts and repairs for Korean cars ARE AS EXPENSIVE IS MERC AND BMW

+100000

maybe u need to change a workshop

I was the owner of a Kia Optima for 10 years until I sold it last year. First 5 years maintenance was quite minimal. From 5 to 10 years my maintenance cost was RM2500 - RM3000 a year not including tyres. I don't think you can maintain a Merc or BMW on that.

I serviced my car outside. Were you servicing and repairing at SC?

This post has been edited by KennyKB: Jul 27 2016, 04:09 PM

Either you are still in 200x or you had a really old Merc and BMW. Mercedes E300 service only already close to 1K even when you are servicing outside. If goto SC, already 1K++.

As for Kcars, I drove a company provided Sonata. I had enquire about bumper, headlights as some bastards bang me while being park outside. Not much difference from say Camry. Things that are costly for Kcars are things that you dont often change like windscreen, sunroof etc. Parts that are normally wear and tear like brakes, engine oil, filters, absorbers, lower arm are not much different from T and H. Dont come around with your Vios part pricing and compare with Sonata.

ive been waiting for 15 years for such a good advice

any recommendations to change workshop to?

well can try either KCM/Autosaver

else Express Mobis for parts, plenty of suppliers at Jln Ipoh/Segambut

so many stars u have there but your current and earlier statement sounds like a joke

meh, those who complaint should probably blame themselves for lack of knowledge and initiative
if u lazy then get ready to be either cheated or butchered to get job done, so hard to find a good mechanic nowadays

I had a Toyota Camry and still keeping Kia Rondo since the RV is low. On maintenance issue it costs more for Rondo than Camry as I sent my Camry to Toyota SC (Shah Alam) and send Rondo to KIA approved SC (NSS Shah Alam) but I'm happy with the services provided.

mind telling me the service cost? let say..engine oil..gearbox oil change cost..tq.

you can check from the kia website.. for the service price. all are standard one.

Kia cerato is good.. no issue except for the batteries.. claim once already..maybe coz of the all of cool gadget given.

This post has been edited by buzz_peppermint: Jul 27 2016, 03:59 PM

If you only know how to send to official SC for maintenance you will get chopped. Same with any other make.

own a cerato for 3 years now... no major issues just the normal services so far... and wear and tear like battery, tyres etc...

like some said, those much older models of KIA is harder to find OEM parts since demand is not there, thus more expensive to supply... since Forte era onwards, parts are quite easily available...

service charges are definitely higher than P1 or P2, but definitely not on conti level la...

oh dont mind those stars - they can be traded if you know how

Cerato...i also thinking whether or not to buy this car as im doing sales, travel millage very high... need opinion whether anyone here using kcar for doing sales job with high travel millage?my old car currently persona 5 year 280k millage

This post has been edited by bingzz: Jul 28 2016, 01:07 PM

Buy Toyota for peace of mind.

Most of my relative bought Korean car once & never repeat..

well... I have frens driving korean cars.... cerato or elantra to be specific.... 3 years and running... no regret.... if you say those older korean cars i dunno la... but this current gen... more than okay already... some of them running sales on it too.... i would say reliability as japanese cars... for the common wear and tear parts... the pricing not too far ahead....

i'm doing sales and driving a Cerato... the car 18 months old already 65,000km
i can vouch for the car if you're looking for a worry free car to drive everyday.. since you're gonna spend a lot of time on the road, you will appreciate all the features that the car have (keyless, easy access seat, electric seat with memory, gps, bluetooth, revers cam, auto climate aircond, cooling glovebox, auto headlight, front parking sensor,60:40 split folding seat, etc)
and the safety features too

@@ battery also can claim?

battery have 1 year warranty or 20,000km, whichever comes first
the car battery died at 17,000km@4 months, so can claim new one

Expensive if you stick with authorized SC

then which car brand offer cheap authorized SC?

I don't know. He asked about Kia, I answered about Kia.

There is one? I suspect there is none.

Used to drive a vios and the price quoted everytime is 30% above what I could get from a distro in Segambut. For brake pads, it could be as much as 2x time more expensive. If not mistaken, I changed my front pads with Toyota SC for RM3xx, whereas you could get for RM1xx outside. As for KIA or Hyundai, you can get them cheaper at Mobis Express. Some said they are selling China OEM but the price does vary quite a lot between SC and Mobis Express.

why not just bring up the maintenance schedule of each brand(H,T or whatsoever which normally can get from official website) then compare side by side...
i too drive K3 1.6 since Feb 2015, clocking 50k, driving 90% highway, average can get average 550km~580km with 40liter of Shell Ron95. Maintenance wise more or less following the schedule as per stated...

I think K3 1.6 tank is 50l,
btw, are you happy with car?

Yes it's 50l, but you don't drive till you empty only look for petrol station, that's why i always pump when it about remain 10l or 100km == 40liter +- each time i pump till full tank.
Yup i am happy person, especially when your passenger give you the surprise face when they found each feature bits by bits.

This post has been edited by blur19755: Aug 15 2016, 03:05 PM

Maintenance schedule is useless. It is assuming everything's perfect.
Go take a Vios maintenance schedule, and you will think it is so cheap to maintain. Some rear bearing gone case and you have to fork out ~rm900 for the entire component including ABS sensor. Alternator gone case and fork out ~rm1000. It is still acceptable if parts are available and need not wait further and can be fixed on the same service.

Now take a Kia Cerato maintenance schedule, and you wll think it is so cheap to maintain. What happen if the component fail, do you need to wait? (ignore the price first).

Rule of thumb is, the more common your car, the easier to find the parts (as well as cheaper), and also able to get cheaper non-orginal replacement parts.


Instead of asking kia maintenance cost expensive, just go and buy one and tell us the story.

I owned a vios before, so i can give my piece here. If you can buy your own parts, can save you a hefty sum.

Rear wheel bearing (with ABS module) don't cost so much. If go buy your own (taiwan/china OEM), around RM250, fix outside definitely at least double.

Front wheel bearing, a general NSK bearing part, around RM200+ (but that was almost 10 years ago).

Air cond magnetic clutch, around RM300. This one i fix at workshop, buy part yourself will be cheaper.

Absorbers, KYB, (buy outside) less than RM400 per pair.

Radiator change (preventative), around RM600 including coolant.

Transmission oil + filter, around RM250

Petrol filter, i think less than RM50 (can't remember clearly)

My alternator still ok after driving it for 13+ years, some more 3 years in a very dusty heavy industry area. Not sure why yours die so fast.

Which VIos you are talking? NCP93 dugong rear bearing is shit expensive.
Front wheel bearing original Toyota is RM150. Price from Toyota SC probably 2x.
Absorber RM120 per stick original Toyota.

Yes, dudong Vios has some tendency on the alternator issue.

If your petrol filter is RM50 or less ... or around RM80. Then yours is NCP42. First gen Vios.

http://www.lelong.com.my/original-toyota-v...7-02-Sale-P.htm

yes i drove the NCP42

So the price has drop so much. The first time I asked was ~rm900. I just hold on and delayed. It was when it drop to ~rm600 i changed it and has been running with it until now.


Not to derail the thread further, it is better if you go and ask for certain Kia's spare parts price and availability directly.



This post has been edited by dstl1128: Aug 17 2016, 08:28 AM

I suppose the question of the maintenance cost have to factor in the reliability of the parts. I get the impression that Japs cars are build to last while the local and Naza Kia - a lot of localized sub standard parts will start giving problem prematurely. I was considering getting a Kia but gave up the idea after learning about the frustration from their users e.g. steering rack, radiotor started giving prb prematurely (under 3 years (a typical honda / toyota's steering rack could last up to 10 years. Yes, their parts are not expensive sif we source from the spare part shops/ kedai potong but do consider that labour and time at the workshop are not cheap.

Just wondering if TS made up his/her mind... lol

I've been driving around my Kia Cerato for the past 2 weeks! Got a great deal for it! Will just have to see how things go in the future =)

Bro, mind sharing what kind of deal u get for the cerato?

Thanks

Maintenance fees and expense is vary and pretty subjective to all vehicle, regarding brand and car parts.. AM a owner of first batch Optima K5 in Malaysia, already 4 years ++ , clocked mileage around 190k

Normal schedule service at Kia SC, claimed a faulty on power window switch only when the car 2 years old and changing the car battery once a year, other than that, everything still firm and good till now, guess what, reliability is the key thing here.. just sharing my opinion and voice of a Kia owner

10 month old Cerato 1.6 K3 mileage 9000km, RM72k excluding insurance and road tax.. basically brand new condition.. it even still has new car smell and plastic protection that has not been peeled off some of the surfaces.

Previous owner was mat salleh who needed to leave and go back to his home country urgently

This post has been edited by wakenabeb1: Aug 24 2016, 02:52 PM

Just realized your post in K3 thread, hope your warranty still good! Welcome to the club.

I have been driving Hyundai Tucson as my working car for 4 years . Has around 135k km on the mileage . My work is construction related so I have to go site often and the car do take some quote of abuse . I would say Korean car fit and finish well at least for my car is top notch . My Passat cc has all kind of sound from the dashboard where as my Tucson sometimes driving like a rally car in site doesn't have a squeak from those plasticky dashboard or door trims . The only sound it was making after so many years was 2 worn lower arm bush which I just recently replaced at around rm 500 each . From day 1 the car never serviced at Hyundai service center . Oh air Cond has a little bit of leak because I have to refill it every month or so

let me revive this topic...im interested in getting the new facelifted kia picanto..

how hard/expensive isit to maintain and look for spare parts??

this will be my 1st car..

Did you buy in the end?

Also interested in used picanto

nope..

What did you end up buying

nothing..lol

still perfectly content with taking public transport

Hi, would anyone know how much itll cost roughly to repair the window regulator of a kia rio sx 2014? The window rolled down and would not roll back up anymore.. if you have any recommended workshop for kia please let me know too. Thank you!