A FB contact asked me if Kia Forte would make a good car for her as she was keen to trade-in her 10-year old European marque, which demanded for a fair bit of TLC plus the need to make a prayer that it starts in a fuss-free manner everytime before she starts the car. I then asked if she has ever test drove a Forte and she replied in the negative; so I told her that she would best test drive the car before asking any questions as it's her decision at the end of the day.
Buying a car can be a very personal buying experience, not unlike how one may feel when she buys her first piece of Louis Vutton. (I would know, as my better half enjoys her Louis Vutton bags and all her collections are genuine pieces.)
She thus drove to a nearby Kia showroom, brought the EX and SX for a spin and came back looking confused.
"Why the confused look?", I asked.
Still bewildered, she exclaimed, "It wasn't what I expected a Korean car to feel like, and it doesn't feel like the cheap car that I thought it would be!"
I chuckled and thought of how I felt when I first saw and tested the Forte, especially at the prices that it was selling at then (and now). The only thing that I was slightly concerned then during the decision-making process for my purchase of my SX was that the local warranty was inferior compared to overseas' 5-years warranty. But after further considerations, I decided that a good product like the Forte was still way worth its under-priced price tag so I just succumbed to its charms. I have not looked back since.
The SC informed my friend that all Fortes registered after 1st October 2010 would now come with an unlimited mileage 5-years warranty. I smiled upon hearing that as that means that the Forte would inspire a lot more confidence in potential buyers; as the new 5-years warranty will make the decision-making process a lot easier for potential buyers.
It's just simple economics for Naza- not many cars are going to fail within the warranty period and the extension would have little probabilities of being claimed; so the increase in volume from the warranty mentality would outweigh the warranty cost.
Naza probably needs to make Fortes even more competitive now that the Proton Inspira is out and competing in the same C-segment with similar pricing. So it's just a business decision; not a personal one to fault the earlier purchasers.
Put it this way, if I was given to choose whether to have the 1st batch of 500 units of Korean CBU Fortes with 2 years warranty, as opposed to the current "slightly-CKD" Fortes with 5 years warranty, it makes not much difference to me and I would still be okay with the CBU Forte.
Current Forte owners are said to be able to upgrade their 2 years warranty to another 3 years by paying an additional premium of RM600+, provided that their cars are below 1-year old and mileage less than 30,000 at the point of purchase of additional warranty. Still sounds like a fair deal to me, and I'll be glad to fork out that additional premium to gain the extra 3-years of peace of mind.
With the new 5-years warranty in place, it was practically a no-brainer of a purchase decision and there is now another person in queue for the delivery of her Kia Forte SX.
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