Kia Carnival or ??

[NurseKobeh*]

My dad used to work for Kia..

He made me promise to him to never buy one lol

[ausgirl]

Originally Posted by NurseKobeh*

My dad used to work for Kia..

He made me promise to him to never buy one lol

Hahahaha - that speaks volumes!!!!

[*Efjay*]

Originally Posted by ausgirl

I had a Kia Spectra - hatchback, I got rid of it when things started to go wrong, because yes, once they do start going wrong, then they cost you alot of money. The mechanic at the time told me never to buy a carnival as they are great until you get to a certain number of kms (can't remember how many) and then the timing belt tends to go on a lot of them, very, very costly. I live in a small town and he has had 2 with this fault himself. One caused alot of damage and was incredibly expensive to fix. So NO don't consider a KIA@@@@!!!!!!

yep 5k is what i just paid

[mummy of many]

Hi ladies, I just wanted to add, I drive a Toyota-Tarago van that seats 8 people,very roomy and comfortable,is a 4 cyclinder,very fuel effichent,we do lots of family trips,bought it second hand,and DH & I just love it. Toyota has a very good name & has a good re-sale value. Good Luck with find a car.

[katkins]

I have a Kia grand carnival 2008 model and it's fantastic. V6 engine and lots of grunt. We've had no real problems and I love the space in it.

[katkins]

we've just had the engine fail. Hubby is waiting for NRMA so will let u know how it goes. He is NOT happy

[NurseKobeh*]

KIA are crap

Dont buy them

My dad worked for them lol

[KatieKoo]

Hi there, just wondering if you're still happy with your Kia. I'm just about to close a deal on a Grand Carnival (2008). Have you had any problems with yours since you bought it?

Cheers, KT.

Originally Posted by Lulu

Lazy cut and paste from the other thread..

Check out the Kia Carnival for sure. I bought one last month and I am RAPT with it.
$15,300 got me a 7 seater 5 speed man (I hate autos) with fully removable seats, arm rests, drinks trays, 4 anchor points, air con with seperate front/back controls...the list goes on - it's like a bloody first class airline in the back. Even better it's gun metal grey with dark tinted windows and nice rims so I get to look like a bit of a rock star.
Full service history, cd player elec windows. It only had 89,000 on the clock, its' a 2002 model I think.

I've just done extensive research on this and here's what I found....

The Taragos are very expensive and hold their value, a little too much in alot of peoples opinions. 2nd hand they are always 20,000 k's higher, 5 years older and $10,000 more expensive than anything else. My mechanic warned me they are crap to fix and I don't think they are going to make them anymore. To be honest I think they cornered the People Mover market and got lazy.

Honda Odyessy - more than I wanted to spend, and smaller inside than I wanted. I think Hondas are excellent cars on the whole though.

Voyager - yeah, nice and smooth, but again smaller inside. Also older, more k's, more expensive.

I'm not the FWD type and a Holden girl all the way so I did have reservations about the Kia, but I read heaps of 2nd hand car reviews and they all said pretty much the same as I have above. Not only that but according to Choice Magazine the safety record for those both inside and outside the car in the event of an accident is excellent.

According to my mechanic Kia released the Carnival for the express purpose of filling an huge gap in the market (decently priced people movers), all the extras (cd player, anchor points, 2 zone aircon etc) are standard. Yes they did have problems with the 1999-2001 models, but it's pretty much rectified, certainly something to be aware of.

I'd say for about $20k you could find yourself a fantastic 2004-05 model, they are soooooooo roomy and not THAT uncool. Mine looks funkier than I expected and if DP is worried you can tint the windows, lower it a little and stick some nice rims on and look like a rock star like me! It's a 6 cylinder and I get up the country hills in 5th gear no problem. Can't stand a car with no guts!

good luck with your search!

[katkins]

well turned out it was just a false read and the NRMA disconnected the battery and reconnected and it ran fine. So not sure..............
I personally love the car, but there have been a few small probs like with the auto doors and the park brake etc. But Kia have fixed them or tried to anyway. The doors still play up occasionally. We just have to open and close them again. Usually fine after that

[KatieKoo]

Hi there, just wondering if you're still happy with your Kia. I'm just about to close a deal on a Grand Carnival (2008). Have you had any problems with yours since you bought it?

Cheers, KT.

Originally Posted by Lulu

Lazy cut and paste from the other thread..

Check out the Kia Carnival for sure. I bought one last month and I am RAPT with it.
$15,300 got me a 7 seater 5 speed man (I hate autos) with fully removable seats, arm rests, drinks trays, 4 anchor points, air con with seperate front/back controls...the list goes on - it's like a bloody first class airline in the back. Even better it's gun metal grey with dark tinted windows and nice rims so I get to look like a bit of a rock star.
Full service history, cd player elec windows. It only had 89,000 on the clock, its' a 2002 model I think.

I've just done extensive research on this and here's what I found....

The Taragos are very expensive and hold their value, a little too much in alot of peoples opinions. 2nd hand they are always 20,000 k's higher, 5 years older and $10,000 more expensive than anything else. My mechanic warned me they are crap to fix and I don't think they are going to make them anymore. To be honest I think they cornered the People Mover market and got lazy.

Honda Odyessy - more than I wanted to spend, and smaller inside than I wanted. I think Hondas are excellent cars on the whole though.

Voyager - yeah, nice and smooth, but again smaller inside. Also older, more k's, more expensive.

I'm not the FWD type and a Holden girl all the way so I did have reservations about the Kia, but I read heaps of 2nd hand car reviews and they all said pretty much the same as I have above. Not only that but according to Choice Magazine the safety record for those both inside and outside the car in the event of an accident is excellent.

According to my mechanic Kia released the Carnival for the express purpose of filling an huge gap in the market (decently priced people movers), all the extras (cd player, anchor points, 2 zone aircon etc) are standard. Yes they did have problems with the 1999-2001 models, but it's pretty much rectified, certainly something to be aware of.

I'd say for about $20k you could find yourself a fantastic 2004-05 model, they are soooooooo roomy and not THAT uncool. Mine looks funkier than I expected and if DP is worried you can tint the windows, lower it a little and stick some nice rims on and look like a rock star like me! It's a 6 cylinder and I get up the country hills in 5th gear no problem. Can't stand a car with no guts!

good luck with your search!

[Inanna]

Hi my love,
I haven't been involved in this discussion but I purchased a Kia Grand Carnival (premium) a couple of months ago. I am in love with it. DD6 calls it a Princess car!!!!

Mine is black and has the nice funky wheel trims - so it doesn't have the van look that I must say I find a bit icky... Like Lulu I feel a bit like a rock star, or perhaps a Mafia driver!!!!!

Mine had 30,000 on the clock it has the leather seats and electric / remote control door operation which my goodness is so fabulous when my arms are full of Immy and bits and bobs...

It drives beautifully, it has much better fuel economy than my Pajero (granted the Pajero was old and very ill...).

The space in it is just fabulous. I have 5 kids and the boot space fits Immy's 3 wheeler stroller and all the groceries. It is very comfortable to sit in and it's the space that I most love. I also love that it doesn't look vanny... I really didn't like the Stavic or the Tarago as they looked like a bus to me. I like that it has great luggage space and that you can remove the seats altogether if you want to...

It has 6 anchor points.

I live on top of a range and it is mighty steep - Black Betty doesn't struggle at all to get to the top!

Remember that Carnival has won the best people mover 3 years running. I believe the earlier models had a few issues - but according to my research they have been ironed out.

I have a very good friend who is a mechanic and he said it will be his family's next car - he said when they first came out they were a bit bodgy but he hasn't seen any more isssues with the Carnival than other makes.

I hope you find what you need soon...

[rhyb]

What year onwards are we calling ok? Im a bit confused

[Inanna]

I can't answer that accurately but all I have found it was prior to 2002 models. But really I think that's often the case with lots of makes. When they are new problems need to be ironed out...

[KatieKoo]

From what I know, anything pre 2006, even some '06 models have issues. It's a hard one though because different people tell you different things, especially car salesmen!

I spoke to the service department at the car yard (where I may be purchasing the car from) and the guy there agreed that it would be wise not to touch anything up to 2006.

We looked at a used one (2007) through private sale and it had some oil leak around the manafold. The guy had only 5 months left on his warranty and my feeling was that he wanted to get rid of it before it ran out.

With the '08 model that we want to get, it comes with a 4 year new car warranty so I'm figuring if anything happens, we'll be somewhat covered! Fingers crossed anyway.