Any Comment on Kia Sephia?

[sissoko]

Hi,
I'm looking forward buying Kia Sephia 1.5 (A), second hand car....do anyone knows or have any comment about this car? I'm concern about
1) Fuel Consumption
2) Happy with and Not happy with...
3) Spare part
4) Major and minor problems

Anyone?

 

[ehaab]

dont buy a second hand KOREAN car...first of all if it is the first gen of sephia...they are goin to be a handfull..korean cars are still not that reliable when compared to a jap car..if u want a second hand car...best is a japanese...
koreans are making progress in making cars especially hyundai...but it will tke time..until then buy a JAPANESE...

 

[Chriz Eryk]

i agree with ehaab....wats ur budget. go for jap cars if u r considerin second hand.

cheers mate!!

 

[si|verfish]

Check out how it's elder brother the Spectra did. I don't think baby brother would be any better. Conclusion, stay away from it.

 

[minivan]

stay away from a sephia. my neighbour has one and he says its a gas guzzler, RM10 = 50km!! he planning to sell it now...

my uncle bought a brand new spectra, was ok for the first 2 years or so he used it, but was problematic after that... he's sold it for a vios...

 

[zan]

agree no more with other thots...

dont be deceived by ur eyes perception...on paper the car may have 1.5 DOHC 16V (from mazda), 4 speed auto, 4 disc brakes, ABS but the 1.5 engine dont have enuff power to pull 1200kg of weight. what more with auto?

but for 4 or 5 years old sample, it is simply cheap. cheap means...less in demand. less demand means....he he trouble.
if really must buy, find a manual. if really must buy auto, get one with ABS.

here is my friendly reminder...
1) if the car is cheap, think how much it is worth when u want to sell back.
2) there is nothing special about Kia Sephia. not in terms of handling and ride, or spacious cabin. unfortunately, local Kia distributor didnt brought in the top spec version..the 1.8 twhich wud be a better buy in terms of power.
3) Even the facelifted Kia Spectra used value is about 50K.try bargain at 38-40K otherwise better spend money elsewhere. spectra is also gas guzzler even though a 1.6 ...slightly nicer than Sephia (elsewhere known as Shuma).

for ur budget bro (about 28-30K rite?)....get a Wira 1.6. it maybe ageing, but less hassle. easy repairs, low on maintenance, great to mod and easy to sell back.

i got one for myself a couple of months back. planning to change cylinder head to DOHC...he he :D

 

[EG8]

Hi,
I'm looking forward buying Kia Sephia 1.5 (A), second hand car....do anyone knows or have any comment about this car? I'm concern about
1) Fuel Consumption
2) Happy with and Not happy with...
3) Spare part
4) Major and minor problems

Anyone?

my true story.and i dont have intention to offend any sephia owners here.
my best friend bought the car way back in 2001.around rm64K after discount.after that he bragged around how good is his new car to all my friends, said that can make KL>Kuantan in 2 hours.Fine, maybe yes maybe not.He even ridicule my civic as he said that even my civic cant clocked that.Haha, fine with me.Like i care duh...
Anyway, according to him ,until today he didnt installed any alarm on his car, because he said the SC adviced him against that because the wiring are very sensitive.How true is that? I dunno.Yup the fuel consumption also bad, he said for rm10 he can get only rm60km.summore the engine is very rough.plus, the headlights faded to yellowish color just in 4 yrs? even my 13 yrs old civic headlights still clear.

just my 2 cents

 

[prozac]

A friend of mine wanted to buy the new Rio. After telling him about all the bad points (mostly covered in this forum) he immediately changed his mind and bought a Getz; the lesser of two evils.

 

[verticalimit]

at first i also thought of buying the sephia for year 2002 around rm30k
as my dad like it. then i test drive.totally underpower for 1.5 DOHC then
resale value will be worsen.imagine year 2002 for 30k.drive 3 more years maybe left 15k++
i told this to my dad he buy me a wira 1.6 wira sedan for rm33k year 97 hehe.i drive so far no problem with it.satisfy.

 

[7500RPM]

sephia = SAP PAI kar......chow kia one.

 

[BlackSamurai]

but inokom Atos is doing well :D

Check out how it's elder brother the Spectra did. I don't think baby brother would be any better. Conclusion, stay away from it.

 

[murcielago]

my fren bought a second hand unit...monthly petrol bill bout 600++..after 1 yr plus cannot tahan the repair cost, sell it for a new Gen2

 

[murcielago]

atos auto ppl say press accelerator the car oso dun want to move....kelisa n kenari has much better response

but inokom Atos is doing well :D

 

[BlackSamurai]

i drove Kia Sephia once.
Automatic, the gearbox having problem, the gear "skip", can't engage with the higher gear. scary experience i had.

2nd hand Kia (1 owner) only cost around RM 13K - 15K, if you are desperatly looking for a 4-door family sedan, and that's the price you can afford, you might can consider that. But my advice, test the car before you make decision.

FC is bad, but not as bad as Spectra.

PS: Spectra is not a newer version of Sephia, coz I saw Sephia II running on Singapore road.

 

[BlackSamurai]

atos auto ppl say press accelerator the car oso dun want to move....kelisa n kenari has much better response

1st thing, can't compare with Kelisa, Kelisa can beat many car on pick up, even a sedan or Hatchback car with bigger CC engine.

Kenari, i dunno, I never drove a Kenari before.hence can't make comparison. But the Atos pickup is a bit lag for me. :D

 

[zan]

i drove Kia Sephia once.
Automatic, the gearbox having problem, the gear "skip", can't engage with the higher gear. scary experience i had.

PS: Spectra is not a newer version of Sephia, coz I saw Sephia II running on Singapore road.

i worked with Kia Technical Service in year 2000. imagine what we were facing when customer complaint of this problem ...'my new car skip gear...'

kenot tahan becoz Sephia, Sportage and Carnival so many problems, customer jumping and shouting; so I resigned 24hrs before confirmed as staff. Kia Technical Service then became Naza Kia Service. but i wont recognise a single face at any of their service centre. everybody cabut already..ekekekekekee..

 

[sissoko]

i'm really shock with all opinion here.....mostly doesnot agree with sephia..at least now i know...even so many spectra on the road.....this car is like gen2...or even waja....many many problem...

 

[BlackSamurai]

zan, that gearbox really an common issue for sephia?

 

[icezboy]

hi all..

well i drove KIA SPECTRA for 2 years now so far no big problem like gear box skip ......thanks god but my spectra do have some small small problem like air con holes block... etc yes i also think that get JAP CARS will be much better, more spare part and easy to get anywhere. BUT for KIA spare part hmm i think it going to cost you alot. The FC is damm BAD like drinking water :thumpdown :thumpdown other than that just to make look nicer like bodykit, rims and Exhaust System...

 

[sixtythree]

Well, me oso drivin 2001 Spectra...all this while I hv change:
1. Battery
2. Brake pad
3. T/belt kit, plugs.
4. One engine mounting
NO major problem faced before..the g/b works fine, power window, a/cond still tip-top....
I agree the car is lack of appeal (compared to Hondas, Toyotas), performance (at least at par with most car in its class) and mebe lil bit high on fc. But I can rest assure its a comfy n reliable ride I can hv, at least worth the amount i've invested.

my 2 cents