I got my 1998 Sephia LS for free (with a blown engine). Put about $1500 into it. Drive the crap out of it and save for its generally cheap quality, it's been surprisingly reliable. I seriously thrash on it. This is not to say that I think they are good cars at all. Kia had some serious reliability issues until fairly recently. But, this body has nearly 200K on it now.
Yeah, I had a 1998 Kia Sephia. Crappiest car ever. I bought it new for about $16k and sold it in Feb. 2008 for about $500 with only 53k miles. Paint was peeling, brakes were failing, tranny was about to go (wouldn't shift and you had to put it in neutral when stopped), dash bubbled up, engine stalled and overheated. When it was under warranty I had to take it back just about every month for work. Horrible car. Sold that death trap and bought a 2000 Ford Police Interceptor. Never been happier.
my mother bought a 98 kia sephia back in 05, and already replaced alternator, rebuilt tranny, it over heats, engine light, radiator is screwed, and burns oil. junk ricer piece of korean shit!!!!!
Wow, I feel for you man. That sucks. Does she still have it, or was she able to get rid of it? My mom almost crashed into a police car driving my Sephia once. She was approaching an intersection going the limit and a come came from the right with his lights on to cross. My mom hit the pedal as hard as she could (you could hear the tires screeching) and had the cop not stopped she would have crashed into it. Gotta be careful with those crap boxes. They're dangerous.
she still has it, but dont drive it much, cause it keeps stalling. theres only like 75,000 miles on it. wouldnt pass pa inspection or emissions either. typical.
- fyi other pos to stay away from are the impalas, dodge and chrysler, and hyundai.
And best American, reliability wise is Ford. My pop's '97 has 138,000 miles on it with no major work. And It's it's done everything from boat hauling to road trips, and light off road driving. And my '00 Crown Vic P71 has 78k miles with no major work and still drives like a dream. And yeah, mine kept stalling out too, only it was around 55k miles. I was stopped in the middle of an intersection waiting for the light to turn red and to turn left...
carcano38 - Hey thanks for this. I actually just purchased a '98 Kia Sephia a couple o' days ago... cheap. She's a little rough looking but her engine seems pretty sound and the interior just needs a little cleaning up. It's a 5 speed with incredible pick up. The faring underneath the steering wheel is missing (gotta replace that) and there's no stereo (gotta get that too). Anyway, thought I'd share and thanks for showing me what the inside of a "put together" Sephia looks like. Peace.
You actually bought one of these? Wow. Good luck. Has it broken down on you yet. I would get another one of these if they paid me to. Well, once again good luck. If it's anything like my '98 Sephia was you're going to need it.
I got her for a steal. No, it hasn't broken down on me and I certainly wouldn't have paid 16k for a car like this, but for what I DID pay, this car has paid for itself and still going strong. The person who had it before me must have put some TLC into it because it's treating me fantastic. Too bad to hear about your expensive purchase. Better luck next time.
Well, I bought it brand new because I was tired of the headaches that came with older cars. Talk about irony. But yeah, I traded her in last Feb. for about $500 and bought a 2000 Ford Police Interceptor which I've put 20k miles on so far with no problems at all. Never been happier. And yeah, about the Kia, some people got lucky some didn't. All I know is I'm staying away from Korean cars.
the 1997-2003 1997-2004 (export) Kia Sephia/ Kia Mentor/ Kia Shuma/ Kia Spectra was assembled in
Egypt: Cairo
Russia: Izhevsk
South Korea: Hwasung
Annihilator1111 6 months ago
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The older Kia Sephia. Did they have seat belts that stay in place or did they zip down to the windshield when the door was open?
Goldenrod636 1 year ago
I got my 1998 Sephia LS for free (with a blown engine). Put about $1500 into it. Drive the crap out of it and save for its generally cheap quality, it's been surprisingly reliable. I seriously thrash on it. This is not to say that I think they are good cars at all. Kia had some serious reliability issues until fairly recently. But, this body has nearly 200K on it now.
924Carrera 1 year ago
Yeah, I had a 1998 Kia Sephia. Crappiest car ever. I bought it new for about $16k and sold it in Feb. 2008 for about $500 with only 53k miles. Paint was peeling, brakes were failing, tranny was about to go (wouldn't shift and you had to put it in neutral when stopped), dash bubbled up, engine stalled and overheated. When it was under warranty I had to take it back just about every month for work. Horrible car. Sold that death trap and bought a 2000 Ford Police Interceptor. Never been happier.
dodge69874 2 years ago
my mother bought a 98 kia sephia back in 05, and already replaced alternator, rebuilt tranny, it over heats, engine light, radiator is screwed, and burns oil. junk ricer piece of korean shit!!!!!
MrRichierich1990 2 years ago
Wow, I feel for you man. That sucks. Does she still have it, or was she able to get rid of it? My mom almost crashed into a police car driving my Sephia once. She was approaching an intersection going the limit and a come came from the right with his lights on to cross. My mom hit the pedal as hard as she could (you could hear the tires screeching) and had the cop not stopped she would have crashed into it. Gotta be careful with those crap boxes. They're dangerous.
dodge69874 2 years ago
she still has it, but dont drive it much, cause it keeps stalling. theres only like 75,000 miles on it. wouldnt pass pa inspection or emissions either. typical.
- fyi other pos to stay away from are the impalas, dodge and chrysler, and hyundai.
the best would be nissan, honda, or toyota.
MrRichierich1990 2 years ago
And best American, reliability wise is Ford. My pop's '97 has 138,000 miles on it with no major work. And It's it's done everything from boat hauling to road trips, and light off road driving. And my '00 Crown Vic P71 has 78k miles with no major work and still drives like a dream. And yeah, mine kept stalling out too, only it was around 55k miles. I was stopped in the middle of an intersection waiting for the light to turn red and to turn left...
dodge69874 2 years ago
Well, it turn red alright, and as soon as I put my foot on the gas to leave my Sephia stalled out and didn't want to start.
dodge69874 2 years ago
carcano38 - Hey thanks for this. I actually just purchased a '98 Kia Sephia a couple o' days ago... cheap. She's a little rough looking but her engine seems pretty sound and the interior just needs a little cleaning up. It's a 5 speed with incredible pick up. The faring underneath the steering wheel is missing (gotta replace that) and there's no stereo (gotta get that too). Anyway, thought I'd share and thanks for showing me what the inside of a "put together" Sephia looks like. Peace.
thesethingz 3 years ago
You actually bought one of these? Wow. Good luck. Has it broken down on you yet. I would get another one of these if they paid me to. Well, once again good luck. If it's anything like my '98 Sephia was you're going to need it.
dodge69874 2 years ago
Comment removed
thesethingz 2 years ago
I got her for a steal. No, it hasn't broken down on me and I certainly wouldn't have paid 16k for a car like this, but for what I DID pay, this car has paid for itself and still going strong. The person who had it before me must have put some TLC into it because it's treating me fantastic. Too bad to hear about your expensive purchase. Better luck next time.
thesethingz 2 years ago
Well, I bought it brand new because I was tired of the headaches that came with older cars. Talk about irony. But yeah, I traded her in last Feb. for about $500 and bought a 2000 Ford Police Interceptor which I've put 20k miles on so far with no problems at all. Never been happier. And yeah, about the Kia, some people got lucky some didn't. All I know is I'm staying away from Korean cars.
dodge69874 2 years ago