Kia Forte 1.6 SX For Sale - How are Fortes doing in the used lots?

Haha, nope, not mine but surfing through the classifieds, there have been a few used Fortes on sale over the months; mainly thru personal sales while a couple thru used car dealers. Most of these are from owners going overseas for work/returning home and I referred the adverts to my colleague whom was looking for a Forte too. And upon his queries and test drives, it looked as though most of the Forte sellers going off are foreigners.

Generally, I dare say that Fortes are holding their prices well. There was a 1-owner 1.6 SX no. plated WTJ 5501 selling at a used car dealer in Jalan 222 selling at RM68k.

 
That's about 18% depreciation over a year; not a bad figure considering that used cars normally depreciate more over the first 5 years and would reduce over time thereafter. Even the Proton cars are having depreciation values of around 10% - 15% during the earlier years; so for a non-national car, I believe that the Forte's depreciation value is quite good already.

I inquired with the car dealer how much can they trade-in mine for if I wanna go for the Harrier in the picture. Mine is also a 1-owner 1.6 SX but with additional works done such as Kia emblems (RM180), Ray Barrier (RM2,000) and SierraGlow paint nano-protection (RM800). The trade-in value is about RM66k on overtrade (must purchase the Harrier, not plain sale); not bad either IMHO but am too pleased with the Forte and plan to use the car for many more years to come.

I asked them why are they so keen to take in the Forte as I have seem much reluctance from used car dealers when it comes to foreign cars, especially certain makes and models. I was informed that Fortes can move from the showrooms easily, so they have no fear on taking in Fortes under trade-in. Moreover, the parts are easy-to-get and affordable now that Naza is the franchisee for Kia in Malaysia; so the brand has been elevated from the cold list to the hot list. In fact, even banks are more eager to finance these makes compared to other cars.

So there you have it- you can now choose to have a Kia Forte and still enjoy good resale value and after-sales support in years to come. It's like getting a Proton Inspira, but with much more goodies packaged therein and with better branding all over the world! Well, the latter thanks to Peter Schreyer's reputation!