Someone Else's Problem: You May Not Like It, But This Is What Peak Performance Looks Like - 2012 Kia Forte EX

[Spectre]

Rick can't afford the good ones.

No, Rick had one of the good ones but Pennsylvania ate it.

 

[MWF]

So what can you buy for $7500 that:

a) doesn't suck donkey balls?
b) would meet the criteria specified by rick's bank?
c) won't be a complete money pit and fall apart every 5 seconds?
d) isn't an MX5 because that would be far too obvious?

But while are are on the subject, rick, why the hell didn't you buy a Miata?

And if you give me any of that "because I'm my family's biatch/taxi driver and it's not practical enough" BS I promise you I will floss my arse with the nearest piece of roadkill and mail you the proceeds!

 

[Redliner]

And if you give me any of that "because I'm my family's biatch/taxi driver and it's not practical enough" BS I promise you I will floss my arse with the nearest piece of roadkill and mail you the proceeds!

Well, then grab the roadkill and start flossing.

 

[Spectre]

You May Not Like It, But This Is What Peak Performance Looks Like - 2012 Kia Forte EX

So what can you buy for $7500 that:

a) doesn't suck donkey balls?
b) would meet the criteria specified by rick's bank?
c) won't be a complete money pit and fall apart every 5 seconds?
d) isn't an MX5 because that would be far too obvious?

2002 Lexus LX470 - been looking at them for a family member. He'd have to have gotten it from outside the Rust Belt, though.

 

[rickhamilton620]

Hopefully this will be far less needy than the Jeep, and can last you for a few years.

By the way, you need to change your vehicle under your avatar.

Let's hope so. I'll fix that shortly.

Congrats sir. Boring? Yes. But, it?s not a corolla so, you?re winning.

Hah. It feels a bit nicer than a equivalent Corolla but I did like the Corolla's LED headlights - they're really good.

Congrats, Rick

As above, this should provide you with comfortable, safe transportation and save you a bunch of money on both fuel and service.

And, as I've commented before, I worked for a good while in a dealership that sold Jeeps and I STILL don't get the fascination. I drove a bunch of them (new and used) while I was there and basically didn't like any of them! There must be something I'm missing, because the Jeepers were the most loyal (and demanding) owners we had...

SL

Thanks SL! Let's hope so. IDK man, Jeep addiction....it's a sickness! :lol:

Want a newer XJ? Beijing Jeep BJ4000 is your answer if you want the 4.0. Those were built until 2009. If engine doesn?t matter you could get a BAW Qishi as late as 2014. Just import one. How hard could it be.

I've seen pics of those....so much want.

Nice to see this new couch fort(e) of yours. Normally I'd say have fun, but that's not really a thing with this. So... Erm... Enjoyable travels!? ... Hassle-free motoring!? ... Happy saving up for a new XJ!?

:lol: Thanks!

Yaay!

Thank you!

No more tales of Rick's shitbox woes? What are we even on this site for then?

:lol:

It's very Rick! Congrats! Not sure about the loan to be brutally honest, but this should indeed provide reliable transportation at a lower cost and that is exactly what you need.

Honestly, trying to save up for the replacement XJ showed me that I'm not as destitute as I thought - The car payment is only $119 bucks a month, that's more than doable. Insurance is more expensive than the XJ but that's because I have full coverage on the car, gap insurance, etc. All in, i'm looking at around $175 a month if you include my insurance payment each month.

Because the good ones can do this out of the box:

[video=youtube;6z2nV8u-yHc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z2nV8u-yHc[/video]

Also, what sort of 'peak performance' is being referred to in the title of the thread? Peak beigeness?

Stoppp, don't torture me like that man!

Title is a meme: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/this-is-the-ideal-male-body

rick reverting to time after a period in the wilderness.

I know you have to use your common sense when buying a new vehicle but $7500 should surely have secured something less ibble* than this?

*'reliable, sensible, dependable and lots other words that end in "ibble" ' - Dave Lister

Let me clarify, I only had a loan for 5000 dollars. In retrospect, I could have asked for 7500 bucks and still had a doable car payment. Oh well.

Oh, a Cerato! :lol:

Congrats. If it's not fun or sporty, let's hope it's at least reliable and comfortable.

It is comfortable and hopefully reliable. Thanks!

Congrats Rick! That MPG should pay for the car over the Jeep soon enough.

Indeed, I certainly don't mind the savings. It'll probably mean no more weekly fill ups.

Congrats man, like others said, you likely won't be jonesing to take it out on the back roads but it's the car you need right now.

Thanks man! Yeah this is what I need right now, time and winter weather wait for no one - having something I don't have to worry about breaking down over the winter with good brakes will be nice.

There are people that mod/hoon Dodge Avengers. Nothing wrong with having fun with what you got.

Yes, that could be a euphemism for something.

:lol:

Rick can't afford the good ones.

I hate loans, but in this case I think a small loan might pay off in the long run. $1500 is NOT going to buy you a car that does not need repairs soon, if not immediately.



Let's hope for the return of the XJ when the reliability and dependability affords him some extra spending cash

Thanks, hopefully that'll happen in a couple years!

It's... a car. Nothing more, nothing less - given your history, I think that's good? Congrats

The Accord was supposed to be that saving grace but we all know what happened there. We'll see if Korean reliability will prove more fruitful.

So what can you buy for $7500 that:

a) doesn't suck donkey balls?
b) would meet the criteria specified by rick's bank?
c) won't be a complete money pit and fall apart every 5 seconds?
d) isn't an MX5 because that would be far too obvious?

But while are are on the subject, rick, why the hell didn't you buy a Miata?

And if you give me any of that "because I'm my family's biatch/taxi driver and it's not practical enough" BS I promise you I will floss my arse with the nearest piece of roadkill and mail you the proceeds!

I only had 5000 bucks. MX-5s aren't practical enough for my job. That and here in PA the one's I did see had terminal rust.

While yes, I don't carry around my family often, I do need trunk space for a wheelchair on the occasions that I do need to take my mom places. That's a non-negotiable.

 

[luokyio]

Congrats! I hope it serves your needs better than my Korean did for me

 

[Perc]

FWIW, my coworker bought one of the first Cee-apostrophe-Dee's to come out, a 1.6 liter diesel wagon. It was not the most comfortable of cars and the white-bottomed instrumentation was BRIGHT ORANGE at night (they fixed that in the facelift) but he put a shitload of km's on it with zero issues other than a couple of ball joints. He eventually traded it for a new i30, again a 1.6 liter diesel wagon. He was originally aiming for a then-new second generation Cee'd, but for some strange reason the equivalent Hyundai i30 came out ?5000 cheaper. I have no idea how that works, considering it's a ~fifth of the total sticker price and the cars are made by the same company using the same basic components.

Anyway, the i30 was just as good to him. And he's now in an ix35 AWD diesel.

 

[LeVeL]

Congrats, Rick

As above, this should provide you with comfortable, safe transportation and save you a bunch of money on both fuel and service.

And, as I've commented before, I worked for a good while in a dealership that sold Jeeps and I STILL don't get the fascination. I drove a bunch of them (new and used) while I was there and basically didn't like any of them! There must be something I'm missing, because the Jeepers were the most loyal (and demanding) owners we had...

SL

I really liked both of our Grand Cherokees

 

[rickhamilton620]

Reviewed the owner's manual today - found out that I can adjust the default volume for phone calls in the radio's setup screen. I'll have to try this the next time I get in the car.

Two annoyances - Fortes without the Kia security system don't have illuminated entry when you unlock using the remote control. They also don't have dome lamp delay off with theater dimming either. I wish it had a actual temp gauge and not a red "high temp" warning light.

One nice feature - all 1st gen Fortes have Auto Off headlamps even without automatic headlights.

One curiosity - 2012+ Fortes got Hyundai/Kia's "A6" transmission. Apparently said transmission is "filled for life" under normal driving conditions and does not have a dipstick (nor a sealed over tube where one would go like some brands). Kia put out a TSB stating that most Kia vehicles in use in the US fall under "normal" criteria. The manual does call for a 60k fluid change interval under severe driving conditions though.:

CarFax shows it was serviced at a garage for 60k but it looks like just a oil change. I wonder if changing the AT fluid now would do any harm or if I should leave well enough alone.

Congrats! I hope it serves your needs better than my Korean did for me

Thanks, fingers crossed!

FWIW, my coworker bought one of the first Cee-apostrophe-Dee's to come out, a 1.6 liter diesel wagon. It was not the most comfortable of cars and the white-bottomed instrumentation was BRIGHT ORANGE at night (they fixed that in the facelift) but he put a shitload of km's on it with zero issues other than a couple of ball joints. He eventually traded it for a new i30, again a 1.6 liter diesel wagon. He was originally aiming for a then-new second generation Cee'd, but for some strange reason the equivalent Hyundai i30 came out ?5000 cheaper. I have no idea how that works, considering it's a ~fifth of the total sticker price and the cars are made by the same company using the same basic components.

Anyway, the i30 was just as good to him. And he's now in an ix35 AWD diesel.

That's...weird lol. Honestly if I end up looking at replacing this in 10-15 years and had to choose between a current Forte vs Elantra...I'd probably have to go with the latter as I'm not happy with the current Forte's odd interior design choices:

It must be said that the current Forte has a higher quality interior than the current Elantra but those ripples in the dashboard are just too much...

 

[SquareLeft]

And, as I've commented before, I worked for a good while in a dealership that sold Jeeps and I STILL don't get the fascination. I drove a bunch of them (new and used) while I was there and basically didn't like any of them! There must be something I'm missing, because the Jeepers were the most loyal (and demanding) owners we had...

Because the good ones can do this out of the box:

I really liked both of our Grand Cherokees

I guess I?m going to have to rise to the bait here. It?s not that I don?t get the fact that Jeeps are good at certain tasks ? I do. It?s just that ? for me ? the drawbacks far outweigh the advantages:

1.) The thing I like least about most Jeeps is the bouncy, tippy ride. If I were going to spend several hours each day rock-crawling, I might be willing to put up with the bounce-and-sway, but not driving to work or ? especially ? trying to enjoy a twisty back road.
2.) Jeeps are (sorry) crude compared to the competition. Even the Grand Cherokees aren?t overly comfortable for long trips. Some models are OK for towing, but a full-size pickup is a much more comfortable and useful vehicle. My buddy who used to own the Jeep franchise loaned us several Saharas for parade use. Hardtop or soft-top, I don?t remember ever having to work harder to change a vehicle from ?enclosed? to ?open? and back.
3.) As Rick found out, if you live ANYWHERE there is even a whiff of salt, almost any Jeep will rust faster than you can turn the pages in your payment book. Just look at the flood of replacement panels and bodies available.
4.) Jeeps can be ? and often are ? a PITA to service. Worst case: How many other ?car? companies can YOU name that sold vehicles with hydraulic fans behind the radiator?
5.) Last ? and this is more of a comment on owners more than Jeeps ? How many Jeep owners REALLY take their vehicles off-road? We sold a 2WD Sahara to a lady who brought it back and wanted to know how to engage the 4WD. For most Jeep owners, I think that they?re buying a statement of how they want other people to see them rather than buying a vehicle that really suits their needs.

SL

 

[ScarFace88]

4.) Jeeps can be ? and often are ? a PITA to service. Worst case: How many other ?car? companies can YOU name that sold vehicles with hydraulic fans behind the radiator?
SL

Toyota/Lexus did, my SC400 had one.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/performance-and-maintenance/332103-sc400-hydraulic-fan-problem.html

 

[Spectre]

I guess I?m going to have to rise to the bait here. It?s not that I don?t get the fact that Jeeps are good at certain tasks ? I do. It?s just that ? for me ? the drawbacks far outweigh the advantages:

1.) The thing I like least about most Jeeps is the bouncy, tippy ride. If I were going to spend several hours each day rock-crawling, I might be willing to put up with the bounce-and-sway, but not driving to work or ? especially ? trying to enjoy a twisty back road.

This is common to most all capable offroaders oriented towards crawling unless you spend cubic feet of money on unreliable air suspension setups.

2.) Jeeps are (sorry) crude compared to the competition. Even the Grand Cherokees aren?t overly comfortable for long trips. Some models are OK for towing, but a full-size pickup is a much more comfortable and useful vehicle. My buddy who used to own the Jeep franchise loaned us several Saharas for parade use. Hardtop or soft-top, I don?t remember ever having to work harder to change a vehicle from ?enclosed? to ?open? and back.

Per the factory manual, it takes two men or one man and a hoist/crane to convert my Bronco from enclosed to open or vice versa. Labor time is listed as .5 of an hour minimum. There are many other "convertible" vehicles that take significantly more effort than a Wrangler does.

Also, a full-size pickup is actually too big to go down many wheeling trails. There's something called the "full size pickup dent" that pretty much everyone who tries it on a regular basis gets in their offside fender.

3.) As Rick found out, if you live ANYWHERE there is even a whiff of salt, almost any Jeep will rust faster than you can turn the pages in your payment book. Just look at the flood of replacement panels and bodies available.

The latter is only in part due to rust and more due to people crushing, denting and bending those body parts while offroad. As for rust, there are (or were) competing offroaders that rusted faster. Way, way, way faster. Toyota 4Runner first gen, anyone?

4.) Jeeps can be ? and often are ? a PITA to service. Worst case: How many other ?car? companies can YOU name that sold vehicles with hydraulic fans behind the radiator?

Ford/Lincoln, Toyota/Lexus, Dodge... and I think there's more. The HCF was at one point considered an up and coming solution to fan noise, fan modulation and fan packaging. Then powerful electric motors got smaller.

The most numerous HCF equipped vehicle on the road is the 92-96 Toyota Camry V6 and Toyota used them in their vehicles more than any other maker.

5.) Last ? and this is more of a comment on owners more than Jeeps ? How many Jeep owners REALLY take their vehicles off-road? We sold a 2WD Sahara to a lady who brought it back and wanted to know how to engage the 4WD. For most Jeep owners, I think that they?re buying a statement of how they want other people to see them rather than buying a vehicle that really suits their needs.

While this is true of any offroader (and why the class sales are basically flat to dead), IIRC, a higher percentage of (pre-Fiat) Jeep owners took their 4WDs offroad than any other 4WD marque.

 

[rickhamilton620]

Anyone have thoughts on the ?filled for life? transmission?

It shifts fine, I?m just curious.

 

[ScarFace88]

If Mercedes's and BMW's experience with the "lifetime fluid" in ZF's automatic transmissions have taught me anything, I wouldn't trust it.

 

[LeVeL]

I guess I?m going to have to rise to the bait here. It?s not that I don?t get the fact that Jeeps are good at certain tasks ? I do. It?s just that ? for me ? the drawbacks far outweigh the advantages:

1.) The thing I like least about most Jeeps is the bouncy, tippy ride. If I were going to spend several hours each day rock-crawling, I might be willing to put up with the bounce-and-sway, but not driving to work or ? especially ? trying to enjoy a twisty back road.

2.) Jeeps are (sorry) crude compared to the competition. Even the Grand Cherokees aren?t overly comfortable for long trips. Some models are OK for towing, but a full-size pickup is a much more comfortable and useful vehicle. My buddy who used to own the Jeep franchise loaned us several Saharas for parade use. Hardtop or soft-top, I don?t remember ever having to work harder to change a vehicle from ?enclosed? to ?open? and back.

I drove our 2008 GC for 3000mi on a road trip and I was perfectly comfortable. Wouldn't have wanted to do that in a Wrangler but that's obviously oriented much more towards offroading than cruising. I also recently spent several days in a new Explorer and our new GC is definitely nicer to drive.

3.) As Rick found out, if you live ANYWHERE there is even a whiff of salt, almost any Jeep will rust faster than you can turn the pages in your payment book. Just look at the flood of replacement panels and bodies available.

That's true of most cars. Look at Toyota and all the rust issues with Tacomas.

 

[gaasc]

Anyone have thoughts on the ?filled for life? transmission?

It shifts fine, I?m just curious.

There is no such thing. If you can, change the fluid every 70k miles. Filled for life is marketing for "replace instead of repair" gearbox

*shudders in 5G-Tronic*

 

[public]

To my understanding the XJ is basically a Lada Samara with a lift kit and a 4.0 six, when it comes to build quality and interior space. I would still drive one.

 

[Perc]

Anyone have thoughts on the ?filled for life? transmission?

It shifts fine, I?m just curious.

Is it an Aisin?

 

[rickhamilton620]

If Mercedes's and BMW's experience with the "lifetime fluid" in ZF's automatic transmissions have taught me anything, I wouldn't trust it.

There is no such thing. If you can, change the fluid every 70k miles. Filled for life is marketing for "replace instead of repair" gearbox

*shudders in 5G-Tronic*

That's what I'm thinking. I think I may go ahead and have it done. The fact that my BF's Focus is having shift flare issues with less than 100k on the clock (and a first transmission fluid service due at 150k) is further evidence that lifetime fluid is bullshit.

Then again, you don't hear horror stories about this transmission on the internets aside from a temperature sensor going bad - there's 2011 Sonatas/Optimas with well over 100k at this point so you'd think you'd hear more...

Is it an Aisin?

It is not, it's entirely designed and built in house by H/K.

 

[loose_unit]

If Mercedes's and BMW's experience with the "lifetime fluid" in ZF's automatic transmissions have taught me anything, I wouldn't trust it.

lol, ZF say with all of their gearboxes "120,000km is the absolute maximum with the oil in there" ... Meanwhile, BMW say "It's lifetime!"

So yes, Rick, get the gearbox serviced if it is possible.