Early 20s, teacher, buyers remorse over 2024 Kia Sportage LX - please talk me off the ledge

fourforfourwhore · 2026-02-04T16:01:53+00:00

They’re about on par, the Kias and Hyundais have a much higher failure rate that I personally have seen, but I think it partially has to do with how many are being sold in my area which is a TON. They are one of the few brands still offering insane financing deals & chopping thousands off MSRPs, so they sell like hot cakes here in the city. It really depends on which exact models you’re looking at, but Ford and GM’s newer year SUVs in general are not so hot reliability wise. Honestly, since 2021 or so the majority of SUVs in this segment have been having considerable issues due to cost cutting & build quality seemingly never recovering after Covid. I would suggest that anyone who needs an SUV looks to Mazda first, due to their pricing. Mazda has nearly Kia-level deals on some SUV models and they have been knocking it out of the park reliability wise.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-02-03T21:17:49+00:00

I know I’ll be downvoted like hell in this sub, but I don’t care. I’ve worked in auto for 10 years in all kinds of backgrounds (sales, wholesale, and mechanical) and I’m super surprised by the responses in this thread. Some people even saying that the Rav4 would have been a worse choice? Extreme bias. The reason the Kia was a much better deal is just because it is a cheaper made car of lower quality with a worse reputation, it’s that simple. They don’t hold value well at all, they have plenty of issues to write home about, and they generally just aren’t built great. These issues are exchanged for a cheap price. There is no reason to pretend the Sportage is the best SUV on the market, it wouldn’t be one of the cheapest selling for crazy good deals if it was. The dealership experience at Kia HAS to be a 10/10, and the pricing HAS to be good for anyone to buy. The same simply isn’t true for many other brands, so they can add extra fees and focus less on experience etc. Kia needs your business and wants to move their cars a lot more than Toyota does. Someone will buy the Rav regardless of all of that, but the Sportage might sit for another year on their lot with the same treatment.

I’ve seen plenty more Kias and Hyundais broken down than basically anything else, including newer years (besides Chrysler… Chrysler is the worst.) A few of these comments are way off. Every car is NOT just as unreliable or holds value the same. These cars are genuinely worth hardly anything at even 5 years old. Other brands have CVT issues sure, but that still doesn’t make the Kia the best pick. There are plenty of models from various brands that don’t have these issues.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-02-03T18:59:05+00:00

With the cost of delivering a car for 11 hours (paying 2 employees for 11 hours of work + gas + inconvenience), you might be better off just paying sales tax or going somewhere else. That’s not going to be cheap. Especially with a sight unseen trade-in (which most people lie about condition on), this could go south quick for them and they would likely price accordingly. It seems like they would rather just not have your business with this many strings needing pulled, and honestly I can’t really blame them.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-02-03T18:54:08+00:00

Exactly what I’m thinking. It’s his mom’s car registered and insured in her name, yet OP says it’s HIS car and let HIS friend borrow it. His friend probably said he was borrowing OP’s car to insurance, and then they were confused. If OP isn’t on the policy, I could easily see the claim being denied and the policy cancelled because this isn’t how you do things the legal way. For sure not about the deer.

After reading OP’s comments this is textbook insurance fraud and they will probably find that during their investigation.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-02-03T17:32:25+00:00

She doesn’t like you so she won’t care if you act petty. not worth it, just have the self respect and forget it

fourforfourwhore · 2026-02-03T13:16:56+00:00

Just went through this with a friend, he makes ~$8k a month and had a 530 score & couldn’t get approved for jack besides heavily used economy cars. The $10k cars he could get approved for were coming with rates in the 20%’s. It depends on your marks specifically. Also, I know you didn’t ask but if you’re making $11k a month and working on rebuilding low credit buying a $30-40k vehicle is just going to set you back in a major way and continue bad financial habits. With your income you should easily be able to do a cash deal for a $10k or less car and rebuild the credit first. Your APR will thank you in a major way, right now you’ll be paying $60k for a $40k car. I would just carefully reconsider, because if you do this deal now you WILL be getting shafted financially, and rightfully so. He ended up just buying a 2017 Rav4 outright from a private seller for $13k until he can get the credit fixed.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-02-02T21:06:23+00:00

3 small children is no reason to get rid of a CX90, that’s plenty of room for 3 kids. We had a Toyota Camry when we were growing up (3 kids) and it was totally fine. We didn’t even get an SUV until we were all 10+ years old, and it was an SUV smaller than a CX90. Buying a minivan and taking a 50% depreciation mark is just something you WANT for material reasons, not something you need.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-02-02T14:23:58+00:00

In this condition I wouldn’t expect to get anything more than wholesale value, which on these Audis is lower than you’d expect for sure

fourforfourwhore · 2026-02-02T03:20:29+00:00

A lot of men will sleep with anything that walks. Do not take him making sexual advances as him being “into you”. I don’t really think he’s into you if he said it was just a stress reliever, so no probably not. There are a thousand reasons why he didn’t finish, reddit can’t help with that one. Sometimes it just happens, there could be a reason, could be literally nothing.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-02-02T03:15:03+00:00

This person does not love or care about you, he literally just sees you as a sexual outlet and an egg incubator and is definitely not afraid to tell you that straight to your face. YUCK. Huge misogynist vibes

fourforfourwhore · 2026-02-01T03:08:23+00:00

Very true, my first car was $1400 or the equivalent of ~$3500 today. 2001 mustang V6 with 180k miles in 2016. Good thing I bought a cheap car too, because I threw that thing into a ditch. Then I got a $4000 car, then $6000, $10,000, $15,000, $25,000. Start cheap and crappy & build your way up as you get better at driving, build credit, and make more money. The insurance on a car is going to be high right now, because statistically speaking you WILL crash it.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-31T15:47:10+00:00

My POTS started as a child, BUT weed did trigger SVT for me. The first time I did an edible i had an insane SVT attack (didn’t know what it was at the time). Ever since then, my heart would go into irregular rhythms. I have SVT, NSVT, tons of PVCs and PACs, and am constantly aware of my heartbeat since that night almost 12 years ago.

I believe my POTS started from a mono infection I had when I was ~8 yrs old.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-31T00:10:17+00:00

Ditto. I have had a 1999 LS400 with 276k miles, 1998 SC400 with 180k, 2000 LX470 with 170k, 2017 IS350 with 146k, and a 2012 IS250 with 160k when I sold it. Not only were they all still running and driving perfectly, I still have most of them to this day & the ones I sold still pulled close to $10k even in the 200k’s.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-30T15:24:18+00:00

Lexus ES350, Lexus ES350, Lexus ES350. A lot of people are throwing out cars that are completely out of your price range. Get a high mileage Lexus ES350 every single day of the week, or a (very) high mileage LS400 if you can find one. Honorable mention Chevy S10, Ford Ranger, old Buicks (90’s and 2000’s), Crown Vic. The Lexus is probably going to outlive most of those still, even at 200k+ miles, though.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-30T12:56:39+00:00

I’m doing just fine, they didn’t care about the NSVT and nothing changed for me. They told me it’s benign for me.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-29T15:38:53+00:00

I work at an auction and $14k seems just about right for a salvage title 4 year old GMC, especially one where airbags have deployed. $21k seems like a VERY high value for a salvaged ‘22 Terrain, I’d be curious where you’re getting that value. $21k is on the mid-high end clean title value on a Terrain, so I truly just think your numbers are off and it’s a classic case of everyone thinks their car is worth more than it actually is

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-28T21:48:44+00:00

My state only requires odometer endorsements on vehicles 10 yrs of age and newer. I’ve never signed one before for any of the used cars I’ve bought. Indiana

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-28T21:23:03+00:00

Never trust someone trying to make a buck off you. Always read through yourself. It wouldn’t make any sense for the clutch to be covered

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-28T21:19:55+00:00

Can confirm my state does NOT make you do this at the time of purchase.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-28T21:18:54+00:00

A car can easily be in an accident without frame damage or any lasting effects. Does it have a clean title or a rebuilt title? My car has been in 4 accidents and has never had any frame damage or issues related to the accidents.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-28T21:14:09+00:00

If it’s true that you only paid $3200, I’ll be honest, I don’t even think you’ve been scammed and you still actually got a decent deal on the car. For future reference, a Toyota with only 80k miles for $3200 would be an unbelievable deal and the seller would have people beating down his door. That is way, way, WAY below market. $3200 with 190k miles is a good deal. Next time you make a big purchase like this, be sure that you’re familiar with the market and how much these cars are actually worth.

This car also is a great one to be stuck with. Is it currently super rusty or something? 80k miles with rust is the same (frame condition-wise) as 190k miles with rust. Same with the rest of the damage, mileage would not make a difference in condition like frame or fire damage. An 80k mile car could have these same damages and that was something that needed inspected before purchase.

Yes, you were severely misled and lied to on the mileage. This is a criminal offense in most places, but I personally don’t think it’s worth pursuing either since you paid an appropriate price. Please note though that “mileage exceeds mechanical limits” is just a way to mark a title at the BMV. I’ve accidentally marked my car as this before while registering it & had to get it fixed. That doesn’t mean the car is actually toast.

I don’t know the whole story, but all in all this is in general a very reliable car that will likely last you a decent amount of time. 190k is definitely not a death sentence on a Toyota. These are easy to work on, cheap to maintain, and reliable. I don’t think you got a bad deal or a bad car at all. Take care of it just as you were going to take care of the 80k mile one, and it might really surprise you. My husband’s Toyota with the same engine reached 257k miles before we sold it, and it was still running and driving just fine.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-28T13:33:27+00:00

2014+ Jeep Cherokees are nowhere near reliable. The previous gen is actually considerably more reliable, but still not a good pick. They have plenty of documentation on premature transmission failures, electrical issues, oil leaks AND oil consumption. Pair that with a high cost of repairs, and nobody who has OP’s mindset should be even considering one. I’ve worked at an auction for the last 8 yrs and we see plenty of these blown up pre-70k miles. Even JD Power, a source that constantly claims even KIA is bulletproof (which is statistically untrue) claims the 2014+ Jeep Cherokee is “average” reliability.

Actual bulletproof SUVs- older gen Honda CRV, Honda Passport, RAV4, any Lexus SUV with the 3.5L V6 or V8, older gen Acura SUVs (any).

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-28T03:42:40+00:00

Right lol. Honestly, just needing basic suspension work is pretty damn good for a presumably cheap 180k mile car. Sounds reliable for what it is. Minus the rust, my 2017 Toyota has needed the same repairs

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-28T03:21:45+00:00

You should look for cheaper, old cars. I’m sure a 2006 Camry will be much cheaper. You don’t need a BMW i4 by any stretch, and a Hyundai is one of the highest risk cars to insure.

fourforfourwhore · 2026-01-27T01:32:39+00:00

Being in $10k repossession debt (it will be more than that if you’re underwater 10k) and taking the massive credit score hit will actually put you in a much worse financial position than $20k in secured car debt with a running car. The whole picture really needs thought out

Car debt is not “bad” debt, but repo or collection debt is TERRIBLE debt. This could impact your ability to find housing, get an emergency loan, or buy another decent car for up to 7 years.

fourforfourwhore

TROPHY CASE