I'm looking to buy a relatively new minivan but Toyota Sienna's are so expensive even used so I'm thinking of buying a brand new Kia carnival for the same price as a 3-year-old sienna. Consumer reports rates it as being very reliable, but the carnival has only been around for 2 years so I can't see how they would know. Does it matter on the reliability if they're giving a 100,000 mi warranty on powertrain and I don't plan to drive it to 100,000 mi before selling it. Or should I just stick with Toyota sienna?
Is it worth buying car warranties on newer cars?
Another question I've always had is why do newer car manuals say you need an oil change every 10,000 mi with synthetic oil but the mechanic says 6000 mi and your car starts warning you that it needs an oil change at 6000 mi.
why do newer car manuals say you need an oil change every 10,000 mi
Because people these days are lazy. Manufacturers want people to think they won't have to maintain these cars to make them more attractive. Then they'll happily tell you the engine is done for, and offer you a new car.
Average length of new car ownership is around 7-8 years, or just after the warranty expires. If you only want a car to last that long, change the oil every 10k. If you don't want to buy a new car every 7 years, then listen to your mechanic.
claims of "lifetime fluid" are also part of this swindle
Should I trust Kia's warranty
That's easy. No.
should I just stick with Toyota sienna?
without a doubt
Is it worth buying car warranties on newer cars?
if you have to ask, then no it's not
claims of "lifetime fluid" are also part of this swindle
When the fluid expires, the car expires too, so legally they will be correct with their claim. 😀
oh yes. they're experts at legalese alright.
See this site's Hyundai/Kia topic and you'll understand why those are cheaper.
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/hmg/
That's why it has 100,000 mile warranty for a reason. Their vehicles are made like crap. Sure, Kia is Cheaper than Toyota but it may not be cheaper in the long run.
Consumer reports rates it as being very reliable
I've been a member for over 40 years and I still am. CR isn't the "ultimate buyer's guide" but just another source of information for buyers. I'll give CR their just credit; They were one of the first groups to recognize Toyota as being on of the best vehicle manufacturers in terms of building reliable cars, suv's and trucks.
A few years ago one of their top recommended cars was a BMW, I just laughed...
Comparing a Kia to a Toyota, the Toyota is a far better vehicle.
Many years ago (decades) Consumer Reports top-rated a Fiat, much to the horror of members who took them at their word and actually bought the stupid things. As you say, CR is just another source of information to take into account when doing research.
Too bad Consumer Reports already sold their Kia Carnival test vehicle at the time of this writing. It was up for sale at the end of last month. They put 30K miles on it. However, if $43K for a Sienna XLE is too much, I would go for a lower trim level and sacrifice some options.
