At the auto show in DC a couple of years ago I stopped by the Kia
booth, and was surprised at the quality of finish and the appearance
of their cars. The also felt very good (I didn't test drive one, as I
really have no need to get yet another car.) And their prices were
2/3rds or 1/2 the comparable Toyota or Honda.

On Mar 14, 2008, at 2:28 PM, Old Volks Home wrote:

> Because I had continued to buy, own, operate, restore and sell used
> VWs of
> most any model for the past 3 decades, I chose never to buy another
> new
> vehicle because of one reason or another, one chiefly being I didn't
> care to
> be saddled with a monthly payment for 3 to 6 years.  But in my
> middle age
> and after 31 years (bought a Ghia then), I decided I deserved a nice
> vehicle
> with the niceties of automatic trans, air conditioning (a first for
> me) with
> a few other bells and whistles that come with the "modern car".
> Checked at
> the local VW dealership (Barber VW Ventura, CA), but after hearing
> horror
> stories concerning reliability and horrible dealer servicing I was a
> bit
> leary.  Looked at the New Beetle, Golf (now Rabbit again), Jetta,
> Passat and
> even a Eurovan MV, but they were out of my affordability range
> (Airhead/VWG
> pay is rather meager) and the salespersons at the dealerships I
> visited
> weren't really in a friendly "dealing" mood anyway.
>
> So I visted the Toyopet, M*ts*b*sh*, M*zd* and H*nd* dealers (No
> Nissans
> please & thank you).  All were nice cars, but still a bit beyond my
> pocketbook and they weren't in a dealing mood either.  The Prius
> Hybrid was
> just gathering steam, but still out of my financial league.
>
> So, initially on a lark, I went by the Crown KIA dealership.  Not
> only was
> the sales force accomodating, but they gave me a grand more than the
> others
> for my 12 year old 300K+ miles Honda Accord on top of a $2500
> automatic
> rebate for a practically loaded KIA Spectra EX (Late 04 model) fresh
> off the
> car carrier.  Only option missing was ABS Brakes, but that was fine,
> I know
> how to brake the ole fashioned way on slippery surfaces and panic
> stops
> anyway.  Next month, I will have had it for 4 years, 43K miles and
> nothin'
> but oil changes, car washings and regular maintenance as per the
> mileage
> points certain things required.  10 year or 100K mile warranty.  I
> have one
> year left on the payments and don't ever plan to sell it until it
> blows up
> or falls apart - if ever.  It's been that incredible of a vehicle,
> I've
> driven all over several western states with it, good mileage, great
> comfort,
> etc.  Guess I'm lucky with this one.  It's a shame VW can't get
> their act
> together to put something together this nice.
> --
> Jim Thompson
> 84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
> 84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
> 73 K Ghia Coupe "Denise"
> 72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
> oldvolkshome@gmail.com
> http://www.oldvolkshome.com
> ***********************************
> On Fri, Mar 14, 2008 at 9:02 AM, Donna Skarloken
> <dskarloken@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I was being sarcastic and not picking on Mexico; we have a Thing in
>> our
>> family and love it.  And the Beetle is a nice solid little car, but
>> all
>> the
>> crap that goes wrong with it is ridiculous for this day and age.
>> That is
>> why people buy Hondas and Toyotas, among other cars.  The
>> ridiculous crap
>> doesn't happen as much or at all.  The people at the factory in
>> Mexico can
>> only work with what they are given, and it if it is crap and a poor
>> design,
>> it is certainly not their fault.
>>
>> Donna, 87 Syncro
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 14, 2008 at 6:00 AM, The Bus Depot <vanagon@busdepot.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>> Being made in Mexico has little to do
>>>> with the poor reliabilty or durability.
>>>> German built Passats have most of the
>>>> same issues as Mexican built Beetles.
>>>
>>>
>>> I had a German built Passat and a Mexican built Beetle, a few years
>> apart,
>>> both purchased new. Contrary to my expectations, the Beetle was
>>> the more
>>> reliable of the two (although both were generally reliable).
>>>
>>> - Ron Salmon
>>> The Bus Depot, Inc.
>>> www.busdepot.com
>>> (215)  234-VWVW
>>>
>>> _____________________________________________
>>> Toll-Free for Orders by PART # :  1-866-BUS-DEPOT
>>