Comparing Maintenance Issues on 2 vehicles

Before I spent $17k on a different car, If you like your current car.
I would check with some of these places that modify cars for disabled/handicap people and see if the can modify the seat in your current car.

The engine breakdown is for the Kona with the CVT transmission has a 2L I4 while the ford with not the cvt transmission has the 2L I4 Ti-VCT GDI

Ride and comfort is huge, itā€™s the issue I have now as I really didnā€™t do a fair road test with the outlander. I plan on taking both for a quality drive, and hope that comfort is what I need. I am not to concerned with performance of the engine as in how fast I go as I donā€™t drive a ton and not a real leadfoot. I am a point A to point B guy. If it gets me there and my legs are not gone numb then that is a huge plus.

I have already explored that and of the 3 places I went, two advocated against it as it would mess with how the airbags operate and such. The third said it would but that if I was in an accident the insurance company could say if hurt it was due to the seat being moved back. All three agreeded a better option would be going to pedel operations being moved to stearing wheel but I am not for that at this time.

Hereā€™s a gross estimate from Consumers Reports. It is only for brand and not model. Ford is less expensive than Hyundai or Kia. The repair averages for the first years and the following 5 years are:

Ford: $1100/$4300

Hyundai: $1140/$4500

Kia: $1450/$4400

There isnā€™t even a $500 average difference between the brands. Hereā€™s the article.

Edit: maintenance will cost far more than repairs. Look at those costs nstead of just repairs.

My friend who has cerebral palsy and unable to walk owns a 2016 Nissan versa that he purchased this year after totally his 2016 Toyota Corolla SE.

I was the one who pressured him to buy the Corolla, and do I regret it! He complained every time he got into the Corolla. His life was a mess. His complaints were mostly difficulty getting in and out of the car, and his scooter had trouble fitting in the trunk.

His son did the Nissan shopping for him, and he loves that car so much. No modification was done to his car to accommodate his scooter.

His wife would remove the batteries and another accessory before lifting it into the back of his Versa.

And yes, I never had good experiences with the Nissan brand when it comes to maintenance and repair. Someone recommended the Honda fit. Iā€™d go with that.

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The 2L L4 direct-injection non-turbo engine appears to be the engine configuration for AWD version of the vehicle. It appears to use a timing chain, so if you prefer AWD, the Ford seems a good choice. Expect some addā€™l repair and maintenance for the AWD though. Between the two vehicles , hard to say, probably a wash. You seem to want to be concerned about the Hyundaiā€™s cvt. If you prefer a non-cvt and accept the AWDā€™s extra complexity, the Ford seems a pretty good choice.

I must be in a better market. I found several Mazdas within 30 miles of me, $15,000 - $20,000, under 50,000 miles, 2019 or newer.

Although I have no direct experience with either vehicle, I own several Hyundais and my son has has a free engine replacement (including loaner car) on his Sonata.

My priority when purchasing a new vehicle was NO timing belt, only a timing chain, and NO CVT. SInce I keep cars well after 100K milesI have no desire to incure the significant expense to replace ethier.

To address your particular question and you need to confirm it. the 2019 Hyundai was before the ā€œenging chipā€ recall, may still have been using their reliable 6 speed transmission and may still be eligible for a tranferrable 100K mile warranty, You need to research this.

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If riding comfort is important then I would also spend some time just sitting in the various cars. Explain this to the salesperson and tell them you just was to ā€œauditionā€ the seat and driving position. Tell them that when you are driving the vehicle, you have too many other things to consider and watch out forā€¦

Most vehicle have adjustable steering wheels, up and down (higher or lower) and in an out (closer to you or closer to the dash). Adjust the seat as you would be as if you are driving, and just sit there. Depending on your ā€œgirth,ā€ some bucket seats are more commutable for folks with narrow hips and those seats feel like a the seat on a childā€™s swing set is you are a sizableā€¦

I think the Ford Echosport is the only car sold here that is made in India, I would rather have a Hyundai/Kia. WE have several in our family and have had zero problems.

With the CVT transmission I have heard some things about it, I donā€™t know a ton and need to educate myself on it but the bit of info I have gotten on it is that is a bit more unrealiable but then again given my limited driving it might not be an issue for me.

My big issue with my outland is for some reason the driver seat doesnā€™t go back as far as I need it to. I no longer have feeling in my feet from my knee cap down and keeping my leg bent will cause me discomfort and spasm in my leg muscles. If the seat went back to where my leg wasnā€™t bent as much as it is then I wouldnā€™t have a issue. Itā€™s my fautl for not thinking it would be a problem when I bougth this car back in january.

Look for a custom shop that deals with custom work for really tall people and or disabilityā€™sā€¦ Also do an internet deep dive into seat track extenders for your vehicle, if you can find them then about any independent shop or car upholstery can install them, even call a few to see if they can just do it turn keyā€¦
Wayyy cheaper then $15,000 plus for another vehicleā€¦

Comparing maintenance on vehicles is a waste of time. If you choose one that is painful to drive you have not solved your primary problem.

Also it seems that you do not have this scooter but are looking at it online. How will you know if you can load it in the back ?

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I have actually tested driven the scooter. There is a store in Pigeon Forge TN that allows you to rent them and test them out. They show you how to tear down and load. I then road it around the Island Shopping area for about 3 hours before returning it. They are pretty sweet rides and can handle extra large folk like myself.

I have looked into those and while it is something that can be done, it was recomended that I donā€™t because that change of having the seat go back farther then the manufacture and designed can void out insurance and such as the airbags are set up specifically for where the seat is. The recomendation was to convert the peddle and brake from floor to steering wheel which would elimiate my leg issues. I am not ready to make that change.

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Without looking it up, are you front side air bags in the seat back, if so then how is moving the seat back another 2 inches making anymore difference then moving the seat all the way forward for a short personā€¦ unless the airbag would somehow hit and deflect or get stuck on the B pillar ore somethingā€¦

My 2004 Infinity, 2009 Vibe/Matrix, 2023 Tacoma all have the bags in the seatsā€¦ And did you ask your ins if it effected the ins in anyway??

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The locations I took the car to have the seat issue looked at said that from what they new that if I was to be in an accident that if an insurance did some investigation and saw that the seats were moved from their set location by the manufacture that they could either reduce payment or fight it in court. They would reason that I should have seeked other options like going with moving the pedal and brake to the steering wheel or such.

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Ok I pulled a vin report on both cars. The KONA came back showing 3 owners the first having the car for 23000 miles the second for a little over 3000 miles and now a third for 6 which I believe is the present dealership. It looks to be a car they purchased at auction and it wasnā€™t a trade in. In itā€™s life time with just a recall in itā€™s history back in 20 dealing with the Piston rings. It states Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Elantra, 2019-2021 Kona and Veloster vehicles equipped with 2.0L Nu MPI engines. The piston oil rings may not have been properly heat-treated, which could result in engine damage.
No other red flags or such.

However the ECO sport had this under the odometer section Problem Reported
The odometer reading is known to be other than the true mileage for the vehicle. The section had no other issues till this most recent check, Im unsure what to think about that, it had 2 recalls dealing with the airbags. There has just been 2 owners prior to the dealership getting it I believe but weird the first owner had the car for about 30000 miles and the second for 350, which doesnā€™t equal the 32018 it is showing on the sale page, so I am guessing that is the issue with the odometer, as the first two donā€™t equal it.

Yes I know both cars have some issues, and I am betting most here would say walk away and I may, but I do want to test drive them myself and see. Also with this info should I use it to see if they will come down in price at all?