Used 1997 Kia Sephia Consumer Reviews
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A mixture of good, bad, and ugly.
No major breakdowns; overall high reliability but at 70k miles, it is starting to fall apart at the seams! The interior build quality is absolute crap and the interior materials are highly substandard. My dashboard is BURNED from the sun and severely warped (has completely come unglued from the windshield side and has a huge warped bulge). Repeated brake problems that still have not been adequately remedied after taking the car in more than 10 times for service on this problem alone! The air conditioner has been completely out since about a month after the warranty covering it expired (go figure).
great cheap car
mazda base engine (bpo5) , easy fix issue.
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Owner
The car has proven to be dependable with limited problems. Fuel cell or computerized fuel system has to be repaired as did the hydraulic clutch. Next will be the timing belt. It has been a very good car and has needed only basic maintenance and clutch hydraulics.
My Kia was as good as my Civic
Kia got a bad rap. They are now on track to becoming one of the top 5 automakers in the world.
A bad two and a half year experience
This is my first car. I bought it used for $700 at about 70K miles. I made a mistake of not running the carfax report because the car was in an accident previously. When I bought it, the radio and interior sucked, the check engine light was on, it turned out to be a dead cylinder! It affected the O2 and MAF sensor that I have replaced 4 times already. I have also installed a rebuilt motor, catalytic converter, alternator, axles, wheel bearings, exhaust pipes, starter electrical switch, starter twice, belts and a host of other parts. I have put in about 8-9K into a car that cost me $700. I've been stranded 4 times and my engine has died on rough idle hundreds of times!