Did I make a mistake buying a Kia instead of a Ford?

I would prefer that you buy the ford just to support USA, but the Kia Spectra 5 is a solid vehicle for the price. A lot of people bash Kia, but there build quality has improved tremendously over the past 5 years.

Honestly? As a person that works on, and knows the ins and outs of vehicles fairly well? Neither. They are both very poor vehicles. If these are your only choices, AND you are going to keep up the maintenance on them properly, either one will suffice for a "round town" vehicle. The choice is really personal preference. I, personally, have never met a Kia I liked, would like, or even approved of. Most of them are weak, poor on fuel, have very little options for their price, and are too small. Also, Kia is a korean company, and as such many parts are fairly expensive if they need replacing. Ford on the other hand, has been around since the 1920s. The focus is a good 30 years old, and many of the kinks have been worked out. For it's pricing, the focus offers good options, good fuel economy, and decent power and handling. There are many more aftermarket parts for a ford focus than exist for any kia; making replacing almost anything at least a bit cheaper, if not a lot. On a side note, it really doesn't matter what car any one person buys, so long as they keep up regular maintenance on it. Oil change every 4 months or ~4500 miles, air filter change every 12k or every year, transmission service every 60-90k (depending on the manufacturer) miles, tire rotation every 5-10k miles depending on driving conditions and the condition of the suspension parts, changing the fuel filter once every 24k or 2 years (or every year or 12k miles if you use gas from the cheapest place in town.), and any other service you owners manual may call for. This also inlcudes spark plugs, brakes, bushings and any lubricants not mentioned here.

I have owned several cars. They include Fords, Chevys, Mercedes, Morris, Fiats, Dodge, VW. I have clocked almost a million miles altogether with them. I bought a Kia Spectra about a year ago because they are known to have less manufacturing defects than Ford.

As a general rule, Koreans and Japanese cars are far less trouble prone than Fords.

I am a Manufacturing/Design Engineer and an automobile enthusiast.

I am happy with my choice. I drive 110 to 260 miles a day to work in it. Never had a problem. I made this choice because it meets my requirements such as reliability and low operating cost. Yes safety too.

In the past small Fords are not that durable. The large Fords are better built. I may not be comfortable to invest on a small Ford yet. The Focus may look impressive to many however I am more impressed with durability, safety and low operating cost.

Cheer up you did well!

I drive a 2001 Ford Focus, and I think it's fantastic. I have had to do some minor repair work on it though....new front wheel bearings...shocks...and a coupe of other things.

I have never owned a Kia, so I'm hoping maybe you get some answers from Kia owners too.

I can tell you...you definitely see more focus' on the road than kias.

EDIT: In response to Ken...a Ford Focus is almost entirely German. Only the front end suspension (lol) is Ford.

I have read that the Kia Spectra is one of the top 5 used cars to buy. Ford was not on that list. I been searching for a vehicle for my step-daughter so I been reading up on used vehicles. However, the Spectra is not good enough for her she wants something that looks more "appealing" to drive. Don't get that, I would have driven anything at that age if it were free. I think you made a good choice so don't worry yourself.

No Mistake.

The Kia will have less problems than the Ford.

Kia was bad in the 90's and marginal in the early 2000's.

From 2003 and up, they are usually reliable.

Fords are notorious for needing repairs. (Fix Or Repair Daily - FORD)

Kia, now run by Hyundai, has a great repair record. And a good warranty. And it's probably better on mileage.

You made a good choice. You can double check yourself by looking at repair history in consumer report's buying guide at your library and compare the price at kelly blue book. www.kbb.com.

You did good.

you should've bought a CHEVY!!

jk, i luv chevy's but kias save alot more money than fords do.

so in the end if you bought a ford wouldnt you be having buyers remorse and thought about getting the kia instead?

but then again the ford had less miles =/

I would probably say yes. KIA's are disposable cars. I had a Kia Rio and in order to keep the warranty you had to do required maintenance like every 30,000 miles. Besides just the basic oil changes. They don't keep their value either.

Sadly the foreign-made Kia will probably outlast the Ford and have fewer problems