So we just bought 2002 the Kia Sedona nearly two months ago. Everything looked great upon purchasing. Well, the other day my wife was pulling into a parking lot when she told me she heard a loud grinding noise along with the smell of burnt pretzels.
I came out to look at it, coolant was pooling underneath, so we had it towed to the shop. Now the shop is a family friend, so Im not questioning their judgement, but they claim the waterpump is busted, along with the timing belt.
Now my question, is it too far from the purchase time for me to be upset with the dealership? Yes, we bought it as-is, but we bought it under the verbal assurance that it was in peak condition. Obviously theyre not obligated to do anything for us, but doing otherwise would put a lot of negative reputation on their business.
" is it too far from the purchase time for me to be upset with the dealership? " It is never too late to be upset. It is too late to expect someone will make it good.
There is nothing wrong with contacting the dealer, but it is not likely they will do anything that will make it right. It is just another bump in the road of car ownership and the gap between what should be and what is.
“Obviously theyre not obligated to do anything for us, but doing otherwise would put a lot of negative reputation on their business.”
I would think not. They are dong nothing that 98% of the dealers in the US would not do.
You should be allowed to take a car you are considering to a mechanic you trust before you buy it. That is your protection if you want to take advantage of it.
That said
That gen Sedona had an issue with the coolant pipes rubbing to the rear heater of the van. They would rust and break dumping all the coolant. Problem was the temp gauge reads coolant temp, so no coolant no temp reading. So the motor would overheat and blow. Just something else to check. How many miles in the van??
A 9-10 year old Kia Sedona should have had its timing belt replaced at least once already. When a timing belt is replaced, it is economically preferable to also replace the water pump at the same time, along with the serpentine belt and all belt tensioners.
Do you know for a fact that the timing belt, water pump, serpentine belt, and all belt tensioners were replaced sometime over the past few years, prior to purchase? If not, you should have avoided buying this vehicle.
So–if you did not verify through documentation that this vehicle had been maintained properly, then–unfortunately–you shot yourself in the foot when you bought this as-is vehicle. No matter what a salesman might have told you, it is VERY naive to believe everything that you are told when buying a used car. I hate to shock you, but a lot of lies are told when selling used cars. That reality, coupled with the fact that most car salesmen are not very well-informed about mechanical issues, makes a salesman’s statements regarding the condition or maintenance of a vehicle…suspect.
If someone goes ahead and buys a vehicle that does not come with documentation of its maintenance, then it is necessary to assume that none of that maintenance has been done, and the buyer then needs to spend the money to have ALL of the listed maintenance in the mfrs’ maintenance schedule performed a.s.a.p.
Yes, you can ask the dealership for assistance, but–since you are dealing with a 9-10 year old vehicle that was sold as-is, the dealership would be completely within their rights to refuse to help you. I’m sorry, but I think that the OP has to bear the brunt of the blame in this case for failure to exercise due diligence in the purchase of this vehicle. I know that this is not what you want to hear, but at least you will be more knowledgeable when you purchase your next vehicle.
You might as well contact the selling dealer and see if there is anything they will do for you. Your Sedona has an interference engine. If the timing belt breaks, you need another engine, or at least a rebuilt engine. If the damage is not too bad. You might see if they will put a rebuilt engine in. The most you might hope for is free labor, but you might as well start with the parts for free, too.
This is not the dealer’s fault at all. This all falls back onto doing homework on a vehicle before buying it along with having an inspection performed, although an inspection would not likely reveal a timing belt problem.
The timing belt job is a normal maintenance procedure and there’s a good chance the original owner, being cheap, discovered that particular job was due and chose to trade the car rather than spend money. The car makes it way through the channels, someone buys it, and the new owner is the one holding the bag for the original owner’s neglect when things go south.
Unless it can be proven with paperwork that the T-belt job has been done at the proper intervals it should always be assumed that it hasn’t and is due right then and there.
Unfortunately for you, the dealer did nothing wrong and are not obligated to help you (although it doesn’t hurt to ask). These things can happen on a ten year old vehicle, and preventive replacement of the timing belt and water pump could have prevented this, although few people want to do that since the job is expensive (several hundred dollars), but the gamble is possibly having to spend even more money (closer to several thousand dollars) if you postpone the job too long, allowing the belt to fail, or the pump to fail and take out the belt. Unfortunately, if your mechanic is right, and he probably is, you will be looking at either replacing the engine or dismantling the existing one to replace bent valves and hoping there was no damage done to pistons, connecting rods, or main/rod bearings, all of which can occur when this happens. This is why it is generally most economical to replace the entire engine when this happens, and if you go with a used one, make sure to replace the timing belt, water pump, and tensioner/idlers before it goes into the van so this won’t happen again, and replace them at the recommended intervals.