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Bought a used Kia Optima a couple of weeks ago. Had 107,000 miles and a clean CARFAX, so it looked like a good deal for $3,500. Went to replace the spark plugs last night and found this on the side of the engine:
Are these markings from a junkyard?
Was curious why the plugs looked like OEM plugs, yet the gaps were all in spec. Perhaps they had less miles on them than the chassis...
What part of the Kia are those written upon? If its the engine itself I'd say with 99.999999% certainty they are indeed salvage yard markings.
If this were a salvage title car being repaired/rebilt for registering and licensing donor vehicle VIN's etc have to be documented and follow the rebuilt vehicle through the state inspection.
If that "STK 19026" is what I think it would refer back to the salvage yard where their intake and dismantling of that donor vehicle would also be (mostly) very well documented.
I don't know how CARFAX really works but repairs below a certain price point don't have to be reported anywhere so they might not be in any public record CARFAX uses. Had the donor car been damaged by the owner and they fixed it themselves without reporting it to police could also be the reason the title search shows a clean record.
What part of the Kia are those written upon? If its the engine itself I'd say with 99.999999% certainty they are indeed salvage yard markings.
It's on the timing cover.
Figured it out...myth BUSTED!
Went digging around underneath looking for an engine number. Found this:
Wow...that looks a lot like a VIN number, doesn't it? CARFAX thinks so! See attached....buyer was less than completely truthful to me. Not necessarily a bad thing, I don't see why he tried to hide this from me. The guy is a former master technician for Kia, so he's more than capable of swapping an engine. Looks like the engine has a better recorded maintenance history than the car does.
What year Kia Tom? I think in 2011 Kia and Hyundai switched over to a timing chain and got rid of the belt on certain engines if not all. This could be a nice find, run it till it dies and nothing is lost.
What year Kia Tom? I think in 2011 Kia and Hyundai switched over to a timing chain and got rid of the belt on certain engines if not all. This could be a nice find, run it till it dies and nothing is lost.
Thanks Tim! This one is an '07, and it's the 4-cylinder model that uses a timing chain. The V6 model of that year had a belt. Picked up this one with 107,000 miles on it for $3,500, and it seems to be in excellent condition.
I asked the guy I bought it from about the engine, and he admitted that he put an engine in. Said it was locked up, and he never tore it down to find out why. I'm not worried about it, the engine runs really well with no unusual noises of any kind.
Thanks Tim! This one is an '07, and it's the 4-cylinder model that uses a timing chain. The V6 model of that year had a belt. Picked up this one with 107,000 miles on it for $3,500, and it seems to be in excellent condition.
I asked the guy I bought it from about the engine, and he admitted that he put an engine in. Said it was locked up, and he never tore it down to find out why. I'm not worried about it, the engine runs really well with no unusual noises of any kind.
Is this the new DD? I'd run her to death and never look. Great find Tom.
Is this the new DD? I'd run her to death and never look. Great find Tom.
My wife will probably drive it more, but I'll get plenty of miles in myself. We traded her minivan on a full-size van a few weeks ago, so something fuel efficient to run around in makes good financial sense. Between the two of us we drive about 40,000 miles per year, and I'm hoping the Optima can absorb a healthy amount of that.
My wife will probably drive it more, but I'll get plenty of miles in myself. We traded her minivan on a full-size van a few weeks ago, so something fuel efficient to run around in makes good financial sense. Between the two of us we drive about 40,000 miles per year, and I'm hoping the Optima can absorb a healthy amount of that.
Makes total sense. We're looking at getting my wife a Focus or similar to add to the duties of her Expedition for in tow errands and such. Hell, I may get her an Escape and dump the Expy altogether.
I asked the guy I bought it from about the engine, and he admitted that he put an engine in. Said it was locked up, and he never tore it down to find out why. I'm not worried about it, the engine runs really well with no unusual noises of any kind.
These days there's not too many vehicles I'd be afraid to buy new and run at least 250K miles, no real fear I'd bought a lemon or have massive reliability problems. Kia, Hyndai, Chevy & of course Ford etc etc---all seem to have a ton of life in 'em, drive trains especially.
05-01-2016, 07:37 AM
