1997 Kia Sportage

SUV

4 Cylinder 2.0 Liter

Automatic

KNDJA7238V5541745

4 Wheel Drive

Gasoline

Power Windows

1997 Kia Sportage 4x4 Why are you selling it? Where to begin with the story of this Kia? My daughter bought it at the end of January and figured Dad would just do all the work that it might need. Frankly, I think it needs more than I willing to do. But it was too late, she bought it and we went to pick it up. First, the lot we bought it from had a problem with the title. The car says 105,000 miles but the last yard that had the vehicle "accidentally" put down 150,000 miles. The car lot says they will get the title fixed and mail it to us. Then on the way home we immediately discover the heater does not work and other issues (listed below). After some back and forth with the lot over four weeks of the car sitting they agree to get the heater fixed. I take the car back to them for the repairs (end of Feb). Fast forward another five weeks and they say the car is done and to come get it (end of March). And then they add that they were never able to get the title corrected so it reads "Not actual mileage." I go get the vehicle and the title and after driving about 2 miles all the coolant is on the ground from a loose connection so I turn around and drop it back off to them. Calls back and forth and they finally let me know end of April that it is all done. It has been sitting at my house since then. I have not driven it at but back and forth to the used car lot I got it from (about 35 miles each way). Issues with the vehicle: It has a rough idle. It drives fine down the road but the idle fluctuates. See the video and I think you can hear the issue with the idle. It has never stalled on me though. The brakes seem weak. I have not looked into the problem. It does stop but I would not count on a panic stop. Thankfully I have not had to test this but I am not happy with the way they feel. The rear end howls. I think this is due to it sitting and the pinion gears probably got a build up of rust. It is louder than it should be but I am not worried about it. The A/C doesn't seem to work. I have not looked into the issue at all. Based on the history of the vehicle title and what I noticed about the car, it looks like it sat somewhere basically unused for 3-4 years. Doors were creaky and it took some effort with WD-40 and working them to get them normal. The right rear window does not go up by the switch. I believe it is related to the master window switch. When I got the car the front driver's window did not work. I took the switch apart and moved the contacts around and got the front window working but the rear one stopped working. If you accidentally roll it down, you can get it back up by jumpering the wires at the switch. The body is less than perfect. See the pictures. There are dents and dings, chipped and worn paint. The battery in it is way too small of amps for the vehicle. If I were keeping it, I would get a new battery for it. I had to jump start it a few days ago, but I cleaned the terminals and it seems to kick it over right now. The tires are all mismatched. The radio is locked out. I called Kia and got the code, but you have to leave the key on for an hour to get it to reset and then enter the code and I have not tried it. What is good: During the month I had it in Febraury, we had those big snow storms and I had to move the car around to shovel. I locked the 4x4 in and plowed right threw some pretty tall drifts and banks. It drove right over things my heavier Jeep struggled with. The interior while it has a few stain spots is still in reasonable good shape. The transmission shifts nice and smooth. The vehicle drives well down the road. Again, I have not even put 200 miles on it driving back and forth to the lot where I bought it, but I did not notice a pull or anything. As far as I know everything else seems to work. Kia allows you to register on their website for free access to the factory service manuals. As I said, I have not really spent anytime looking in to it. I really just want it out of my life and try to recover as much as I can of what my daughter paid for it. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message. I have been on eBay for 11 years and try to be as open and honest in my description. Obviously, with the issues listed above this vehicle is being sold AS-IS. It could have issues that I have not determined or discovered. It has not been professionally inspected or evaluated. Please understand what you are buying. TITLE ISSUE: As noted above - the title is noted as not actual mileage. The odometer reads about 105,000 miles - the title says 150,000. Let's just say 150,000 then. For this car I don't think it matters much. YOU MUST RETRIEVE THE VEHICLE WITHIN 7 DAYS OF AUCTION CLOSE! $200 Deposit within 24-hours of auction close. Please let me know if this is an issue and we may be able to make an arrangement. This vehicle is located in Matawan, NJ. You will need to pick it up here. I cannot arrange shipping or anything related on your behalf. Please plan on coming here to retrieve the vehicle. As mentioned above the brakes feel weak and if you drive it home please use extreme caution. The best bet would to be to tow it home. Here is a video I made of starting up the car and rev'ing the engine a few times so you can hear it does run. After I put it into gear, listen for the flucuation on the idle. On May-20-10 at 12:19:22 PDT, seller added the following information:One other issue I failed to mention. The temperature gauge on the dash does not read correctly. Notice in it in the video almost being to the middle level. I had just started this car cold, so it starts up like 1/3 of the way up. Just to be sure that it isn't really overheating, I dropped a thermometer in the radiator after the thermostat opened up and it read a constant 175-180.