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RelativeMotion1 t1_j0zxkh3 wrote

Reply to comment by CommonWraith in Dan O'Brien Kia to pay $1.25M in settlement over accusations of deceptive practices by Beneficial-Hand4310

They rely on lower information buyers and people who want a new car with features, despite their budget. Kia/Hyundai offer cars with lots of competitive features at a low price AND with a very long warranty.

But they haven’t unlocked a secret to cost effective manufacturing that no other automaker knows about. They just cut corners. A decade or more of poor quality engine manufacturing leading to ever-expanding recalls. Not using security key technology that has been used by other carmakers for over 20 years, leading to very high theft rates. And most recently a major child labor issue. Keep in mind that they opened plants in southern states to avoid the UAW - and the worker’s protection that comes with them.

They lure buyers in with good deals, and then deliver a substandard product. They hope you’ll overlook that due to the crazy long warranty, but then constantly fight paying warranty claims.

As someone with nearly 2 decades in the automotive industry, I absolutely wouldn’t recommend one to my friends or family. There are plenty of other vehicles with better design and higher quality manufacturing.

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CommunityGlittering2 t1_j10r9je wrote

I've owned 4 KIA's since 2010, all nice cars. 2010 Optima, 2018 Stinger, 2019 Stinger, 2020 Niro. Only problem was the 2019 Stinger which had bad special edition yellow paint and was recalled, paint was not manufactured by Kia. I choose to get another one instead of getting it repainted. Besides the possible issue with the paint never a problem.

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RelativeMotion1 t1_j10uynq wrote

I’m sure plenty of folks have had good experiences, and I’m glad your cars have been reliable. There’s some confirmation bias going on too, though. You would’ve almost certainly had the same experience with at least several other brands.

But you can find similar anecdotes about every car manufacturer. I don’t find those anecdotes to be compelling reasons to disregard evidence that a manufacturer is making poor choices and/or major oversights in engineering/production.

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