I have owned Lexus, BMW, etc. first, you can't get the same car for the same price. $35k is over $6k more than the Optima. That's an extra 20 percent plus. Second, the Kia turbo outperforms the IS250, which is the fully loaded is you're talking about. The Is350 is significantly more expensive. The same is true of BMW, etc. the Optima's actual competitors are the Accord, Camry, etc. to a certain extent the Passat. On all those cars, though, the get the same performance as the Optima SX, u need their V6 versions. To get the same packages, you need their premium packages. I started looking at the Kia because it is assuredly cheaper than its competitors at the same package, performance combo. And frankly, it looks better than a Camry or Accord... Meaner All that said, I understand the sentiment - close to $30k for a Kia? But I'm past caring about "perception". Paying $35k for the Lexus badge and an otherwise inferior product is the stupid thing to do. That said, I'm no car expert, and this am looking for opinions... Appreciated
I'm not so sure. You're only giving the dealership free money to the exten the car doesn't actually deppreciate as much as they think. Otherwise you're just paying a finance charge as yOu would with any loan. I already don't drive that much, and this would be a new car after about 3.5 years. Given that I have that pattern, I'm thinking about leasing. Any others with experience??
I had a good friend of mine from Japan that used to tell me, we have Lexus in Japan, we just spell it....T..O..Y...O...T....A....... DD
Unless you're buying used, you're not going to get even a stripped down comparable model of those brands at $29k-$30k.
Congrats! Can I ask what dealership you went too? I went to Freddy Kia a few weeks ago to put a down-payment on a 2012 Optima, but they were total D*CKS there, so I walked out.
I just signed a lease on a new 2012 Honda Civic Coupe with a car like a Civic you can actually build equity in the vehicle at the three year mark. it might be worth more than what you actually owe on it. plus you pay no money down to drive it off the lot. you've got a problem with your new leased car? the dealer takes care of it. and you can buy it after three years
None, really. I like what Kia and Hyundai are doing, but for me, nothing beats reliability and it's going to take another 3-5 years of watching how the new Kias and Hyundais hold up for me to make a decision on them. Just based on what they offer and for the price they offer it, I think they're great cars, but something tells me they've got to be taking shortcuts somewhere. If you're owning a car for 3-4 years and getting a new one, then it may not matter to you, but I have to have a car that's near-trouble-free for the first 100,000 - 125,000 miles. That mileage on the Kia is awesome for the power output, btw. That's the kind of mileage I want to see in a car like that. I've actually thought about getting an Optima or Accord as my next car. My current TL is running like a champ and I just hit 185,000 miles on it today. I'll probably be looking for a new car in the next year or two and the Optima will definitely be on my "possible" list. FYI : There should be a re-designed Honda Accord coming out in 2012, but they'll have to step their game up to match what Hyundai and Kia are doing.
I'm also in the market for ~30K car, but I know very little about car buying. Is there some universal resource that would be good for me to read?
ive been having sooo many issues with my 03 civic that i'm thinking of getting a new car and my cousin just swears to me that getting a kia is the best option out there right now...well for my budget at least.
Honestly, I don't know much about Kia in terms of reliability, resale value, etc. I've always thought they operated in the $10k-$20k range after seeing all those damn Capital Kia commercials when I used to live in Austin. Personally, I'd consider something like a 2-yr old certified Acura TL - may be a better value at around $25k-$26k.