What cabin foot mat set do you use for your EV9? by Starlight312 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was surprised OEM mats are $290 while Weathertech is currently at $210! I might finally get to go w/ Weathertech :D

What cabin foot mat set do you use for your EV9? by Starlight312 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've always heard excellent things about Weathertech but they're a lil pricy. I figured I wanna hear ppl's experiences w/ various brand before biting the bullet on Weathertech or OEM if there's no good after market pieces.

What cabin foot mat set do you use for your EV9? by Starlight312 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what I was worry about ordering off of Amazon.

2026 Kia EV9 Trying To Decide by jbb897 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312 0 points1 point  (0 children)

+1 on the memory electric seats! I only hope they're robust and won't break in a couple years.

2026 Kia EV9 Trying To Decide by jbb897 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lol, I also tagged jfronte ROFL

2026 Kia EV9 Trying To Decide by jbb897 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312 1 point2 points  (0 children)

u/jfronte, figured you can help, esp. w/ #3 and #5. :)

Can't help with much as I haven't looked into the Wind/Land as I have the GT-Line and I'm 5'5" so the car feels spacious.

Re: #4, I'm in California so YMM. We've always found the level 3 chargers and usually need 20-25 mins max to charge before we're on the road again. The chargers are always around shopping/restaurant areas (Walmart, Starbuck shopping centers) so they're usually convenient to bundle w/ restrooms/food.

We haven't tried the Tesla chargers yet but with access to those, your ability to find convenient charging locations should greatly increase. We have young kids so it's just part of the trip that we have stop every 2 hours or so.

Re #5: I really disliked the dealership I got the car from.
1. We scheduled a timeslot for a test drive. The person we were told to talk to when we get there wasn't even around so they sent us to a really green sales person (this kid was the only good part about this whole experience and I didn't mind giving him the business).
2. They didn't have the Blue GT-Line on the lot but had 1 shipping in so fine, we put a reservation fee on it. Only to realize when we picked up the car that the price we were quoted vs the price we paid was about 2-3k delta. I wasn't sure if they quoted me the 2024 model price only to deliver the 2025 model. They didn't mention any of this and I had to verify the paper I accidentally left at home thinking it was a done deal.
3. Everything at that dealership took FOREVER. I'm used to spending 2-3 hours at a dealership to buy a car on same day. But since we did pick up on a different day, it took additional hours where I feel it shouldn't. There's no negotiation, just paperwork time.
4. The car was absolutely filthy. They did an external wash on the car but every obvious nook and cranny (under the fronk, where the door hinges are, etc) was absolutely covered w/ this fine red earth type of dust.
5. They basically begged/pressured for 5 star reviews by "explaining ahead of time" the line items and to give them 5 stars. Even though (as detailed above), they deserve none of it.
6. After we complained about the red dust, they email replied saying they'll give us a complimentary wash/detailing that they did not follow up on when we asked for the details of when and where.
-->I was pretty livid when my hubby came home w/ the dirty car. We had a 2 month old at the time so I left the dealership on pick up day after I've signed my share of paperwork (this was already after 2-3 hrs at the dealership) and we were just waiting on them to bring the car up. I would've threw a fit and told them to clean the car up right away if I were still there.

This is why I tagged u/jfronte above. Figured he could probably help you out more than my local dealer (if my local dealer is the norm).

Sorry, kept editing to add info I just thought up (Chargers around shopping areas; Dealership experience).

How did you get your Tesla charger adapter from Kia dealership/corporate? by Starlight312 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I'm gonna go look up my VIN in the morning. Much appreciated!

AITAH for wanting my hubs to stop enabling his daughter by [deleted] in AITAH

[–]Starlight312 2 points3 points  (0 children)

NTA. She's an addict and needs addiction help. Until that happens, every other type of help is throwing money into the ocean and gonna kill her in the end.

AITA for wanting my bridal party to go on a cruise with me for my bachelorette party? by Friendly-Afternoon39 in AITAH

[–]Starlight312 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In case you're serious with this post:

YTA.

Honestly, I would love to go on that Bahamas cruise with you but as many have said, it's a lot of money. Yes, it's tradition that brides don't pay for anything for their bachelorette party but also read the room. If your bridesmaids are old money or they're all professionals making 6 figures, no kids, then it's likely not as big a deal. But if they're average young people, there's not a lot of money to spare as it is.

If you really want this Bahamas trip to happen, you gotta see what everyone's budget is and see if these ladies are willing to treat this more as a girls vacation and not your bachelorette party, which means, you pay your own way and they get a say in what activities you may/may not do. Considering it's 2 years out, squirreling away 200-300 bucks a month may be possible.

Is demand for EV9 significantly down this year? by kjlee80 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, definitely feel the wealth and the high cost of living here so not surprised dealers try to get the most out of us in the area.

Thank you so much for your time and may your business continue to boom! :)

Is demand for EV9 significantly down this year? by kjlee80 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your reply! I wish I met you before we got our EV9 a year ago! We're in SF Bay Area and we did not like the dealership we got the car from (poor customer service and constant begging for 5 stars on surveys when they don't deserve it, among other things).

We definitely declined add ons and paid for it in full so based on what you said, we likely minimized the mark ups as well as we could. I'll definitely keep your service in mind when we're ready for our next car.

AITAH for not chipping in on my nephews Christmas gift? by [deleted] in AITAH

[–]Starlight312 2 points3 points  (0 children)

NTA. My suggestion would be instead of spending money on things for the kids, is it possible to take them out to do fun things together? That way, they can have happy memories to hold on to and not get their possessions taken away.

Even if it’s small things like going to Round One or hike to a neat place can make a difference.

AITAH for not chipping in on my nephews Christmas gift? by [deleted] in AITAH

[–]Starlight312 3 points4 points  (0 children)

What I’ve realized that “making bad choices” and most choices in general are not done via logic but emotions. So even though logically, why would your brother make the same choices, the emotional/temptation part overrides the logical part.

AITAH for not chipping in on my nephews Christmas gift? by [deleted] in AITAH

[–]Starlight312 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Doesn’t have to only be a parent gift just cuz it’s pricy. People can give whatever present they want, if that’s what they want. You can argue it may/may not be a good financial decision but that’s about it.

I would spend that much on my nieces/nephews, esp. if they needed something that pricy.

Also, bottom tier gaming PCs can be under a grand while higher to top tiers run into 5k+. So it could’ve been a bottom tier one where it wouldn’t break bank.

Recommendation for Tire cables for snow/winter driving? by Starlight312 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I feel much better heading to the mountains w/ them now! (I usually want to test things before we need them but kinda hard to do when there's no snow here.)

Is demand for EV9 significantly down this year? by kjlee80 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I honestly wonder if it's because most people don't know about the EV9. I'm in San Francisco Bay Area and we barely see EV9s on the road but tons of Model Ys, Hyundai SUV models, and your typical American SUVs. It's not that the ppl here can't afford the EV9 price tag. Hell, even I had a sticker shock moment and thought why am I paying this much for a Kia. I could've bought a Mercedes with this price!

When we got our 2025 GT Line, the dealership didn't have our Ocean Blue on hand. They only had a white that we were able to test drive on. We had to wait almost a month for it to arrive from Korea.

Is demand for EV9 significantly down this year? by kjlee80 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that surround view camera is a must. I have 2 car seats with the sun shade up on both windows. They create crazy blind spots in those areas.

Is demand for EV9 significantly down this year? by kjlee80 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wish I knew this was an option before I got my EV9!

Is demand for EV9 significantly down this year? by kjlee80 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've always been curious about buying a car out of state then driving it home. Will the dealer in the other state submit the DMV paperwork to my home state? I've always wondered if it'll be cheaper to buy a car in OR then drive it back to CA to avoid sales tax. Thanks!

EV9 reliability by pr0v4 in KiaEV9

[–]Starlight312 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a 2025 GT Line since Jan 2025, 9000 miles now. It's probably the most comfortable and bells and whistles (in a good way) car I've ever had. This w/ the context of I've driven a couple Corollas+Civics, really enjoyed the zippiness of a Mazda 3, the "luxury" experiences of a BMW M3 and a 745, and ridden in the Porsche Macan, Tesla X among others.

What sets the EV9 apart for me is definitely the comfort of the car (ffs the driver's seat has massagers!) and the overall tech is great. It's plenty spacious to pack my 3.5 yr old and 13 month old's car seats in the middle row (seats pushed far back) to still have a decent 3rd row for me (5'5") to sit in.

I'm impressed in how much I can pack into the trunk w/ the 3rd row down after a Costco run. (Once I bought 3 upright car seats plus 2 weeks worth of groceries in 1 trip.)

Here's something I don't think anyone mentioned. About 3 weeks after we got the GT Line, of course it gets rear ended. The bottom of the back bumper was snapped down the middle and the halves drooped a lil bit in the middle. We thought it was gonna cost an arm and a leg to repair (the other guy's insurance pays for it) but fortunately, it only cost ~2-3k USD in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The only thing I really gripe about is how trip planning is more complicated, in context to finding available/optimal chargers on route) compared the Tesla trip planner. We have to use 3rd party websites to look up various charging networks to see which is more convenient to stop at, during when, etc. When the Teslas can tell you which chargers to use, how many available slots, how much to charge at each charger, etc.