I’m a 19-year-old college student trying to buy my first car. I don’t know much about cars, and after getting absolutely roasted for considering a Stinger with 73k miles for $19k, I found another Kia that seems decent. It’s listed at $15.7k before fees with 43k miles.
My main question—does this seem like a good purchase? Is this a reliable car that will last me at least five years without major repairs? I’d really appreciate any opinions!
Side note: How badly will depreciation hit this car? It’s had two previous owners, was previously certified pre-owned, and had an original MSRP of $26k. Now it’s listed at $16k. If I drive it up to 80k miles over the next five years, will it still have any resale value?
I recommend checking if you can get insurance on it before making your decision. Some insurers won’t cover certain models/years due to high theft rates. Make sure to quote a couple of carriers online.
Dezi said:
I recommend checking if you can get insurance on it before making your decision. Some insurers won’t cover certain models/years due to high theft rates. Make sure to quote a couple of carriers online.
Dezi said:
I recommend checking if you can get insurance on it before making your decision. Some insurers won’t cover certain models/years due to high theft rates. Make sure to quote a couple of carriers online.
Living in a smaller metro area makes it easy to insure, but if I ever move back to Chicago, I’ll likely have to sell it.
I recently traded in my 2019 Optima. It started burning oil at 50k miles, then lost all coolant at 90k, stranding me. It burned a quart of oil every 500 miles by then.
Even so, I was surprised by how much I got for it. I paid around $18k for it new and thought the dealership wouldn’t want it with all the issues, but they offered me $8500.
Aza said: @Briar
How did you get it for $18k new? That’s impressive. Would you say this car is bad then?
This was before the pandemic when car buying was totally different. They had a sale and gave me a bit more off since it was the month’s end and they were keen to hit sales targets. It was also one trim level below this one.
I loved my Optima initially, but the engine is problematic. Plus, you don’t get the same warranty if you’re not the original owner. I wouldn’t recommend buying this car.