[kawazydude]

hello everyone!

ever since i laid eyes on my beautiful titanium koup sx auto about 3 months ago, i immediately fell in love with it and bought it without hesitation. but after having driven it for about 1800 miles now, i began to start thinking that i may have made a mistake... what's the mistake u may ask? well, i think i should've bought my koup in manual rather than in auto.

i've always wanted to drive a stick shift, but for some reason when the opportunity came to buy a car, i opted to get an auto instead b/c it seemed more practical, since 80% of my driving is in the city (Los Angeles). i still agree that it is more practical, but driving a stick jus seems so much fun now...

so here's the big dilemma: should i keep my beautiful auto koup and remain content or should i risk losing a whole mess of money to trade it in for one in manual? how much do you guys think i'd end up losing even though the car's paint is still new and it only has 1800 miles on it?

any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[blackwatch]

IMO Live with your decision, i think you would just lose way too much money to make it practical. You lost money as soon as you drove it off the lot.

I love my manual, but I hate driving in traffic! I can imagine what traffic is like in LA.

 

[the67beast]

You probably lost 10-15% at least. Go talk to your dealer and see what they can do. If it's a littleore than you want to lose, wait until the 2011's come up and upgrade then and at least get some new options for your loss of money.

Make sense?

 

[xSilverX9x]

Stick is very fun to drive, but our vehicles do have an unresolved problem with 2nd gear shift (5spd manual at least). Driving stick in traffic is not as bad as people think, well that's if your able to downshift easily... I have to agree with blackwatch, you will end up paying way more than necessary for a car with more problems... the Forte was rushed into production without much testing, and this is one problem you should stay away from..

 

[wingzero_]

Do what you have to do. I mean did you try the manual yet? You may not even like it? But I mean owning a car is important so you might as well enjoy what you have.

 

[UnsureStephen]

I went to trade my fully loaded 6speed Forte in, which was 20k, and they said it was worth 14k. It only has 4k miles, and is in perfect condition.
I'll admit that Kia is stepping their game up, but I'll tell you that I will never by another one.

 

[flynng]

Off the lot losses

"I went to trade my fully loaded 6speed Forte in, which was 20k, and they said it was worth 14k. It only has 4k miles, and is in perfect condition.
I'll admit that Kia is stepping their game up, but I'll tell you that I will never by another one."

Reality time...

Your car lost 30% of its value 4000 miles later.
Big freakin surprise.
Take any car to trade 3 months after purchase and you will be lucky to get 70% of purchase price. Stop with the "I'll never buy another one"

Go buy a Honda, pay 50% more, and they will stick it to you harder.
This time, it's 6k, with a Honda, it would have been way more. Honda or any other vehicle for that matter. Cars are not an investment, they are a consumable. Unless you have the means to buy rare, or high end vehicles, put them in cold storage, and come back in 20 years, depreciation is the norm. If you had that kind of money, you wouldn't be her whinning to start with.

You lost +20% coming off the lot. And now you put 4000 miles on it.
Trade it in, the dealer has to make a profit to resell it, inventory, paperwork, blah, blah, blah.
Sell it yourself, you will get a little more, then go by the car you should have.

One last point. Switch sides, how much you willin to pay for a used Kia with 4000 miles on. I bet you would be expecting a big break...hum

Flame over....

 

[ile2010]

Stick is very fun to drive, but our vehicles do have an unresolved problem with 2nd gear shift (5spd manual at least). Driving stick in traffic is not as bad as people think, well that's if your able to downshift easily... I have to agree with blackwatch, you will end up paying way more than necessary for a car with more problems... the Forte was rushed into production without much testing, and this is one problem you should stay away from..

Now, not all of our vehicles have a an unresolved problem with the 2nd gear shift. As I've stated before, my problem was resolved.

But, to get with the topic of this thread, my advice is live with it. It's not worth it to lose money on a trade, especially considering that you're downgrading as well.

 

[flynng]

What downgrade

He already compromised by going with an auto.
Don't think a stick is a downgrade in most peoples view.


But, to get with the topic of this thread, my advice is live with it. It's not worth it to lose money on a trade, especially considering that you're downgrading as well.

 

[MFury]

If you want to switch to manual (which is very fun) then I would also wait till next year for some new features. I myself never had a problem with my 5 speed manual and it was made in Sept 09.

I went and vacationed in Vancouver last year and drove there in my Pontiac Wave 07 5 speed manual and I really hated driving it with the bumper to bumper traffic since I was constantly clutching and in some cases could smell the hot clutch. I can't imagine what LA would be like.

 

[JibbaJabba34]

"I went to trade my fully loaded 6speed Forte in, which was 20k, and they said it was worth 14k. It only has 4k miles, and is in perfect condition.
I'll admit that Kia is stepping their game up, but I'll tell you that I will never by another one."

Reality time...

Your car lost 30% of its value 4000 miles later.
Big freakin surprise.
Take any car to trade 3 months after purchase and you will be lucky to get 70% of purchase price. Stop with the "I'll never buy another one"

Go buy a Honda, pay 50% more, and they will stick it to you harder.
This time, it's 6k, with a Honda, it would have been way more. Honda or any other vehicle for that matter. Cars are not an investment, they are a consumable. Unless you have the means to buy rare, or high end vehicles, put them in cold storage, and come back in 20 years, depreciation is the norm. If you had that kind of money, you wouldn't be her whinning to start with.

You lost +20% coming off the lot. And now you put 4000 miles on it.
Trade it in, the dealer has to make a profit to resell it, inventory, paperwork, blah, blah, blah.
Sell it yourself, you will get a little more, then go by the car you should have.

One last point. Switch sides, how much you willin to pay for a used Kia with 4000 miles on. I bet you would be expecting a big break...hum

Flame over....

+1

Also, I have an SX sedan with a manual and I've been driving stick for 15 years. I've never driven a car that I've stalled as much as this one. It is a very tricky clutch to get used to and I wouldn't suggest it as a car to start learning to drive manual on unless you like stalling at red lights a lot. Truth is, you will lose way too much cash and probably regret your decision with all of the stop and go traffic you do in LA. Stick it out and trade it in for a new one once they fix the clutch issue on this one and add more features. Maybe a couple years from now so it doesn't hurt you as much in the wallet.

 

[kawazydude]

after reading everyone's great suggestions, i've come to a decision... I'LL KEEP IT!!

For one, i can't imagine my beautiful baby being violated by the hands of others. my current koup will always be my first.

Second, I did actually hear about the clutch issue several times, both on this forum and other car reviews. If i were to trade it in, u guys are right in that i should prolly wait for the next generation when the problem will hopefully be fixed.

Although i still envy you people driving a manual, i will remain faithful to my baby. Thanks everyone! You guys saved our relationship!

 

[gripphard]

with the money you saved you could bullet proof that trans.
Level 10 Performance Transmission Systems Bulletproof Transmissions,Supercharger

 

[Red Rocket]

Have you used the car in Sportmatic? Not 100% like manual, but minus the clutch pedal and over exaggerated shifting is kinda fun to drive. Almost like the best of both worlds.

 

[wingzero_]

with the money you saved you could bullet proof that trans.
Level 10 Performance Transmission Systems Bulletproof Transmissions,Supercharger

Level10 has been known to have some bad business practices. I remember ppl mouthing about them back in my Eclipse days.

 

[corytate]

Now, not all of our vehicles have a an unresolved problem with the 2nd gear shift. As I've stated before, my problem was resolved.

But, to get with the topic of this thread, my advice is live with it. It's not worth it to lose money on a trade, especially considering that you're downgrading as well.

it's weird, I don't have a problem at all with 2nd gear
no throttle tip in, no rough shift, nothing
seems like it resolved itself after 4 or 5k miles

 

[ForteSX2.4]

Have you used the car in Sportmatic? Not 100% like manual, but minus the clutch pedal and over exaggerated shifting is kinda fun to drive. Almost like the best of both worlds.

I agree with Red Rocket...use the sportmatic feature when you're feeling a bit "manual". Then when you get into traffic you don't have to "clutch-it" 50 times in 6 miles...the manual guys don't have this choice...LOL!!!

 

[Koupkid209]

I was in the same boat as you. I wanted a 6 speed really really bad, but they did not have a black sx manual trans so I had to go for the auto. I did the lease deal so I didn't have alot of time to wait for a 6 speed. I don't regret my decision at all. I love the fact that if I'm feeling lazy I can keep it in drive and not worry about shifting. And I love the fact that if a scion turtle (tc) pulls up next to me I can slap it into sportmatic and leave him reading my Kia badge.

Trust me in a year or 2 u will be happy u got an auto. This is coming from a 20 yr old kid so I'm not trying to lecture u on anything lol.

 

[kawazydude]

with the money you saved you could bullet proof that trans.
Level 10 Performance Transmission Systems Bulletproof Transmissions,Supercharger

puahaha, who in the world would buy this stuff?!? no offense to anyone who did...

replying to redrocket and koupkid, i use the sportsmatic function all the time! ...but often it jus makes me wish i had a stickshift all the more, haha. but true true, we people with the autos DO get the best of both worlds. cuz once u got manual, u can't go back, while for us autos, we can go back and forth

 

[al3k93]

Honestly, for the longest time I've been wanting a manual car but when it came to make the decision, i decided to get the automatic transmission for my Forte Koup EX. The reason for this is because for someone like you, who drives 80% of there time in such a populated city like Los Angeles, the stick shift is going to be more annoying than fun. On top of that, you will be losing at least 5 thousand dollars. (20 thousand dollar car, minus the depreciation costs which is about 6 thousand, you're at 14 thousand then you buy a 19 thousand dollar car. You're left with negative 5 thousand.) So I suggest you try test driving the car first, I also suggest you trade your car for a day with a family member or a friend who owns a manual car, to see how it is on a regular day.

Hope that helps, and I hope you make the right decision. And for your information, I went through the same exact dilemma as you. Good luck.