KIA K3 Owners check-in!

[MQX87511]

Going down to Alexandra tml to test drive the SX.....

 

But came across this in the review section

 

http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/newcars_reviews.php?CarCode=11322

 

"Review

I'm the 1st batch of K3 drivers and figured I'll give an update since sgcarmart doesn't allow to update prev posts. In general, the car is good and many of what the posters have said here are valid. So I'll just give the negative parts of the car.

 

1. The service at C&C is the worst in the industry. They upsell you stuff and even if you take the service package, be prepared to keep paying for all sorts of crap. Eg. Air filters costs 2-3x more than 3rd party workshops. Once they returned my car with brown paint on my seat. The 2nd time i sent my car in, my aircon screwed up and has always had an uneven flow problems... And they have never been able to fix it after that. They just want to frustrate you to the point that you live with the issues. They take about 3-6 weeks to import parts from Korea. Eg. My window motor spoilt and aircon problems (still not fixed). They tell you come back again and you waste another half day.

 

2. They key issue is the the C&C group is owned by Jardine Group, which is indonesian and they are facing massive problems back home. So they will rip us off to subsidise their problems back home.

 

3. Fuel economy. When i first the got the car, i could get 7.9l/100km very easily. I drive the same route every day and after 2 years, I have to be really really light footed to get 8.4liters/100km. If i drive like previously, i would probably get 9/100km... Almost like the current new SUVs.

What I like

Most of what the other many reviewers have posted.

What I do not like

1. Cycle and carriage service. It is VERY BAD. This is very real because you must stick with them for 5 years... and they basically rip you off for 5 years.

 

2. relatively fast decline in fuel economy even though i service regularly."

 

Anyone has any views of this or has taken this into consideration?

 

Existing K3 owners, will really appreciate your feedback and experiences during servicing.... thanks a lot.

thanks for you info,

OMG! Never realized K3 so bad,

I almost clinched my deal last Saturday, like that have to think twice between K3 and Mz3

[Julietta]

 

Yep, last weekend went to a few showrooms, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Toyota. I'm currently driving a Toyota and liked it, very few issues at all but the price difference seems too high. So ended up with Elantra and K3. I'll probably go down to the showroom this weekend again and look for Tham or Kee as shared by another forum poster.

 

Now can't seem to decide whether to get the Sports or normal version, weighing if the price difference is worth it for my family.

 

Saw that most people got the Eurostyle FOC, if i get the normal model, also can get Eurostyle?

 

like tat u need to ask the sales person liao. let them convince u to hoot normal or sport hahaha. i saw de normal version at my hse mcp w the eurostyle gps mayb u can try

[Nav14]

Going down to Alexandra tml to test drive the SX.....

 

But came across this in the review section

 

http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/newcars_reviews.php?CarCode=11322

 

"Review

I'm the 1st batch of K3 drivers and figured I'll give an update since sgcarmart doesn't allow to update prev posts. In general, the car is good and many of what the posters have said here are valid. So I'll just give the negative parts of the car.

 

1. The service at C&C is the worst in the industry. They upsell you stuff and even if you take the service package, be prepared to keep paying for all sorts of crap. Eg. Air filters costs 2-3x more than 3rd party workshops. Once they returned my car with brown paint on my seat. The 2nd time i sent my car in, my aircon screwed up and has always had an uneven flow problems... And they have never been able to fix it after that. They just want to frustrate you to the point that you live with the issues. They take about 3-6 weeks to import parts from Korea. Eg. My window motor spoilt and aircon problems (still not fixed). They tell you come back again and you waste another half day.

 

2. They key issue is the the C&C group is owned by Jardine Group, which is indonesian and they are facing massive problems back home. So they will rip us off to subsidise their problems back home.

 

3. Fuel economy. When i first the got the car, i could get 7.9l/100km very easily. I drive the same route every day and after 2 years, I have to be really really light footed to get 8.4liters/100km. If i drive like previously, i would probably get 9/100km... Almost like the current new SUVs.

What I like

Most of what the other many reviewers have posted.

What I do not like

1. Cycle and carriage service. It is VERY BAD. This is very real because you must stick with them for 5 years... and they basically rip you off for 5 years.

 

2. relatively fast decline in fuel economy even though i service regularly."

 

Anyone has any views of this or has taken this into consideration?

 

Existing K3 owners, will really appreciate your feedback and experiences during servicing.... thanks a lot.

 

I have said it earlier , the C&C service charges for Kia are above other Japanese makes. Very gimmicky as well. Every 10k km servicing, they try to get you to include the engine refresh package costing $60+ which is really unnecessary and just an avenue to make money. The cost of spark plugs are not even included in the servicing package price and is included as an extra cost. They are using ordinary spark plugs but claim they only need to be replaced every 40k km. Their 40k km servicing packages costs around $700 for the Sportage which will cost you around $500+ at Tan Chong for eg.

It is very clear they are trying hard (maybe harder than others) in recovering the cost of the additional warranty of 2 years.

[ricleosg]

 

ehhh my family test drive Mazda 3 also complain of the light steering...maybe my HB is used to his k3 sports mode steering...they also commented something on the brake not "biting" not sure if anyone felt the same.

 

This is honest and neutral feedback hor..although we are driving k3 now. But we are also looking for another car with FC in mind so most likely wont get another K3...maybe will need to test drive Mazda 3 again. Or is there any other car with good FC at this range? Tried accent feels not bad but the car really a bit too small for our liking and for the price not very attractive...only few ks different we can a bigger car...

 

for me i felt that the Mazda 3 steering while it was light, it felt more direct and gave more feedback on the road, which makes me feel the mazda handles better. but however features and comfort wise the K3 won out. Agree the brakes on the K3 felt better too, more effective compared to the mazda 3 and toyota vios i test drove.

thanks for you info,

OMG! Never realized K3 so bad,

I almost clinched my deal last Saturday, like that have to think twice between K3 and Mz3

 

no la its not bad.... its just the fuel economy is not the best in class compared to its peers. everything else is actually good and features/comfort wise, class leading.

[Irenelow]

really? Sgcarmart list price still 102k

http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/newcars_pricing.php?CarCode=11322

 

yeah .. e sales guy showed me the new list. They might not have updated it yet? Not sure

[Maomao82]

So that you have referral fee from Tony? Why must quote your name... Keke...

 

Seems like Kee is the one highly recommended instead of Tony Will pass the name to my friends.

Bro, I'm juz sharing coz I've been served by a few SE.. and the level of customer service offered by Tham is real top notch.. Every time I go down C&C showroom is at least 1.5hrs, to entertain me.. for more it's impromptu!

 

Not pushy, and willing to serve..even after I collected my car, and assisting in follow-up.

 

Btw some other nasty KIA SE try to carrot chop me $10k off my car trade-in thinking I was a newbie.

 

BTW I'm Tony.. lol..Tham is the SE @ LengKee. I'm quite sure the deal I got for is 1 of the Best here (based on the COE price at that time), haven seen anybody else gt a better offer den me here.

Good price + Good service. . What more to ask for? =D

Edited July 29, 2015 by Maomao82

[Julietta]

Bro, I'm juz sharing coz I've been served by a few SE.. and the level of customer service offered by Tham is real top notch.. Every time I go down C&C showroom is at least 1.5hrs, to entertain me.. for more it's impromptu!

 

Not pushy, and willing to serve..even after I collected my car, and assisting in follow-up.

 

Btw some other nasty KIA SE try to carrot chop me $10k off my car trade-in thinking I was a newbie.

 

BTW I'm Tony.. lol..Tham is the SE @ LengKee. I'm quite sure the deal I got for is 1 of the Best here (based on the COE price at that time), haven seen anybody else gt a better offer den me here.

Good price + Good service. . What more to ask for? =D

If I'm u who has been served by a few agent in kia I wun even buy from them Liao. Directly go toyota or Mazda liao. To me service is v impt.

 

Normally trade in car the price is ard de same if u go individually car shop n ask. I went to toyota/Suzuki/kia/Mazda all give ard the same trade in price.

 

I doubt they will chop u off 10k different in car trade in Ba. Too much difference

Edited July 29, 2015 by Julietta

[Nzy]

If I'm u who has been served by a few agent in kia I wun even buy from them Liao. Directly go toyota or Mazda liao. To me service is v impt.

 

Normally trade in car the price is ard de same if u go individually car shop n ask. I went to toyota/Suzuki/kia/Mazda all give ard the same trade in price.

 

I doubt they will chop u off 10k different in car trade in Ba. Too much difference

 

Ya. To some people service is very important. Among all the cars I test drove, BMW sales people had the best service. But service not important to me. Lol. I just go in test drive and decide on which car I like rather than the service.

[ricleosg]

 

Ya. To some people service is very important. Among all the cars I test drove, BMW sales people had the best service. But service not important to me. Lol. I just go in test drive and decide on which car I like rather than the service.

 

in the end, the quality of the product, in this case the car is the most important factor.

 

i would not buy from a super good salesman with super service if it was a poor/unreliable/lousy car. you will live and drive the car for 10 years, no point buying a car just because the salesman is good if you didnt like the car in the first place :)

[Bonjoey]

 

yeah .. e sales guy showed me the new list. They might not have updated it yet? Not sure

Yeah, which is really bad in this age of online info...the PIs update their prices nearly everyday...but a big AD like KIA/ CNC updates only on Saturday s or sometimes when COE is out...bad for biz...

[7hm]

ehhh my family test drive Mazda 3 also complain of the light steering...maybe my HB is used to his k3 sports mode steering...they also commented something on the brake not "biting" not sure if anyone felt the same.

 

This is honest and neutral feedback hor..although we are driving k3 now. But we are also looking for another car with FC in mind so most likely wont get another K3...maybe will need to test drive Mazda 3 again. Or is there any other car with good FC at this range? Tried accent feels not bad but the car really a bit too small for our liking and for the price not very attractive...only few ks different we can a bigger car...

 

If serious fuel economy is a priority, you can try the Peugeot 308. The SW is $117k now, the hatch should be less than $115k. Reasonably well equipped but doesn't have the electric seats of the K3. Problem of course is whether you trust French electronics, but the engine is good and can get up to 19.2km/l. Expect normal drivers probably get 14 km/l, though.

[PeiJiaLing]

If I'm u who has been served by a few agent in kia I wun even buy from them Liao. Directly go toyota or Mazda liao. To me service is v impt.

 

Normally trade in car the price is ard de same if u go individually car shop n ask. I went to toyota/Suzuki/kia/Mazda all give ard the same trade in price.

 

I doubt they will chop u off 10k different in car trade in Ba. Too much difference

 

yea, but i think most important still must see the quality of the car ba. the hyundai SE was very very very good, he was forthcoming with information and said will give in freebies and what not. the kia female SE was terrible, but I'm not comfortable to make the choice just based on the 2 SE, will head down to KIA again to decide.

[starofall]

Thanks 7hm, but the price too high leh. we are looking at basic version price range from 90-100k. of cause the cheaper the better but we know la where got such good deal..cheap with good FC lol...nvm on other features my family only want something basic with good FC but the car size must be around mazda3 / k3 / elentra size... cannot be like accent too small...and no hatchback lol...seems like not much choice liao only got this 3 at this range unless i am missing something..

[ricleosg]

Thanks 7hm, but the price too high leh. we are looking at basic version price range from 90-100k. of cause the cheaper the better but we know la where got such good deal..cheap with good FC lol...nvm on other features my family only want something basic with good FC but the car size must be around mazda3 / k3 / elentra size... cannot be like accent too small...and no hatchback lol...seems like not much choice liao only got this 3 at this range unless i am missing something..

 

If FC is very important to you, go for mazda 3, family members seating behind have to sacrifice in terms of comfort, and you loose the bells and whistles that come even on default for the EX K3 model.

[starofall]

ricleosg...what bells and whistles huh?

[7hm]

ricleosg...what bells and whistles huh?

 

Most obvious are electric seats with driver memory & cooled ventilation, welcome lighting, supervision cluster and front parking sensors.

Unless you are comparing a Forte EX rather than a SX Sport.

 

If you are comparing standard Mz3 vs Forte EX, I think the Mazda3 actually wins in value.

[boobic]

Personally from my point of views. not to offend any other makes or car owners in here.

 

Comparison is never ending. I have a friend who told me when he closes his Honda door, the "thup" sound is nicer. WTF, how many times do we actually go and pay attention to the sound of the door close? lol.

 

I have friend who told me why buy a kimchi car? his mazda 3/ Nissan is Make In Japan, so what? Mine is made in Korea, very disgrace meh? my washing machine and Tv, dvd player , mobile phone is kimchi brand.

 

I drove a Mazda before, an Astina model. I drove 4 Honda's before, the eg6, ek4, and the es5 and lastly Jazz( cos married, got kids, cannot mod and play liao,lol ). and yes, No doubt, I still prefer choosing back a Honda, durable and sounds good and powerful.

 

Wanted to buy back the Honda Jazz, and looking at that price from Kah motor for a 1300cc , make me look at other models, and say bye bye to them.

 

On why I choose Kia K3 over Mazda/Nissan/Toyota/Honda,

 

Size, cc , boot space, all +/- around same, no need to be too exact until boot can store how many litres. :)

 

- Kia K3 - Trendy design, features that can be found on conti cars. new feel for a different brand, I sit in it, I feel good.

 

- Nissan slyphy - not to offend, but I think its more suitable for my parents. in terms of looks. so no go for me.

 

- Honda Civic - not much diff from e previous batch of FD's. and price. very "tokong price" although its a 1800cc , not much features in it.so no go for me.

 

- Mazda 3 - Tested, its good and considered, but somehow don't have to "feel" to proceed with it. so no go for me.

 

As for parts for wear and tear, I shall not comment, as all this is depends on user too.

 

Please don't flame me. :)

Edited July 29, 2015 by boobic

[ricleosg]

 

Most obvious are electric seats with driver memory & cooled ventilation, welcome lighting, supervision cluster and front parking sensors.

Unless you are comparing a Forte EX rather than a SX Sport.

 

If you are comparing standard Mz3 vs Forte EX, I think the Mazda3 actually wins in value.

 

actually quite true. i have always been comparing the K3 SX to the Mazda Deluxe, just took a quick look at the SG carmart specs, and the mazda 3 standard is quite value for money. what's the price diff between the EX and standard now? Actually i didn't know the mazda standard also comes with HID and sunroof.

 

 

the other plus on the K3 not mentioned by 7hm is the rear aircon vent, dual zone climate control, and better legroom for rear seats and boot space. base model m3 has quite good value i agree

Edited July 29, 2015 by ricleosg