Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We always talk about how far Hyundai and Kia have come, and their cars are very good compared to what they used to be, but I cant forget the utter amount of trash GM, Ford and Chrsyler put out up until around 2010, when it seemed like most auto makers had to get it together and made decent cars from 2008-2010ish onwards.
Of the big 3, I think Ford actually might have had the best cars and then screwed it up with the DCT transmissions in Focus and Fiesta and internal water pump design on their 3.5L FWD applications.
Hyundai and Kia have serious recall problems on 2.4L I4 Theta engines blowing up or seizing, during 2011-2017 gap. Because of that, most of American cars are easily more durable and dependable than Hyundai and Kia during that era.
Newer Hyundais and KIAs are very good from a design and build quality standpoint. That doesn't always correlate with the reliability or durability of the vehicle.
Quite a few of those 'garbage' American cars were actually semi-reliable because of how basic they were. For instance, I see first-generation Focuses (Foci?) and '90s through early '00s Chevy Cavalier/Pontiac Grand Ams still chugging along fairly often.
Chrysler was, is, and likely always will be, complete and utter junk.
Newer Hyundais and KIAs are very good from a design and build quality standpoint. That doesn't always correlate with the reliability or durability of the vehicle.
Quite a few of those 'garbage' American cars were actually semi-reliable because of how basic they were. For instance, I see first-generation Focuses (Foci?) and '90s through early '00s Chevy Cavalier/Pontiac Grand Ams still chugging along fairly often.
Chrysler was, is, and likely always will be, complete and utter junk.
Appropriate that it is paired with Jeep........also junk.
the problem here is perception, and what the auto magazines kept putting out regarding the domestic brands. they took every opportunity to denigrate domestic cars that they could. as a result in the minds of the consumer, domestic cars were supposedly junk in comparison to foreign brands. the reality is that they all have had similar problems over the years with durability and reliability, but because of the perception implanted in the minds of the consumers, similar issues were seen differently. it also didnt help that domestic dealers had crappy service departments during that time.
the problem here is perception, and what the auto magazines kept putting out regarding the domestic brands. they took every opportunity to denigrate domestic cars that they could. as a result in the minds of the consumer, domestic cars were supposedly junk in comparison to foreign brands. the reality is that they all have had similar problems over the years with durability and reliability, but because of the perception implanted in the minds of the consumers, similar issues were seen differently. it also didnt help that domestic dealers had crappy service departments during that time.
Because up until the mid 90s domestics were just crap builds. Mostly cheap interiors, old 70s styling ques, big chrome, square design. There is a reason why they got that reputation. And well deserved. They treated costumers like second hand citizens in the 80s and people migrated to imports. And imports were lightyears ahead in quality and longevity.
Kia/Hyundai got started building entry level cheap throw away cars. Yes they had quality issues but imo they were on par with domestics as they were building crap too. But they got better and they got better fast where domestics kept churning out crap. Imo by 2003 they started putting out decent stuff. I started buying KIAs back in 2005. I had great luck with them. Other than some typical wear items brakes tires a few sensors I had no reliability issues.
The problem Kia and Hyundai have is their old beginning reputation I being cheap followed them. I have 145,000 miles on a 07 Optima and the only repairs were two smog sensors. Everything else was wear item replacement. It’s been as if no more reliable than a Honda Civic. I drove it for years 120 miles a day every day on my commute.
We had a Sorento that in 70,000 miles the most I did was maintenance, my only repair was a cracked coolant reservoir and a Cam sensor. Maintenance was one set of tires one set of brake pads and rotors all around. Typical 30/60k service. In 12 years of ownership.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
