It may be the end of the road for the Rondo.

Everyone knows how much I love my 2009 Kia Rondo, and justifiably so, it was just named the #3 most important car ever made behind the Model T and VW Beetle.  Lewis Hamilton drives one, it has lap records at Silverstone and The Nurburgring, it saves baby seals, reverses global warming...but I don't have to tell you guys how amazing they are. To quote Bob Lutz: "If the world could only have one car, it should be the 2008 Kia Rondo." 

So, as much as I love it, I did not get the third row option. This summer, I have several reasons that a third row would really be a good thing for me.  I looked at renting minivans for each trip, but that adds up.  How much? Well, about as much as a used Kia Sedona!  I am looking at the same generation (2006 - 2014) Kia Sedona, and if I can find one in similar condition with less miles on it, I'll snatch it up.  Then I can finally get the Peterson Museum off my back about acquiring the Rondo for their prestige collection.  

Can the 3rd row be junkyard swapped in?  

Although, when the 3rd row is present there is no room for cargo, unless you go to a rooftop box.  

Even if your Rondo had the third row option, I can't imagine fitting 6 people with the normal complement of arms and legs and everything in one.

Unless (being a Rondo) the third row exists in N-space and those passengers can simultaneously comingle electrons with the seatback in front of them.

Have you considered importing a Dacia Sandero?

Funny thing, the Rondo has the airbags for the third row already so a retrofit might be feasible. 

Also funny, this is a stop in, pay with cash, leave a trade-in you will make money on, and drive away kinda deal. Despite that, not one dealership has bothered to return my calls or emails. Why advertise on Craigslist and have a website and a phone number and be in business if you don't want to, you know, do business? You're a little corner car lot, don't you want to sell cars to people with money? 

Love is irrational.

I added the 3rd row to our rendezvous shortly before my wife totaled it, so we never got to try it, but if kia is anything like buick you’re a junkyard trip away from everything you need for like $50.  You love the rondo, quite obviously, so it would be a shame to let it go to a museum just yet.  

Which auction show will this be on, Mecum or Barrett-Jackson? Speculators may wish to know.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

I heard Discovery was being pitched "pimp my Rondo" by disgruntled former hoonigan staff upon hearing that pinchvalve's was available

Rond-NOOOOOOOOOO!

Why must you mock me?  For months my wife has been searching for the perfect car, one with enough character to replace her beloved Fiat.  Now two weeks after settling on a Jeep there’s a legendary Kia Rondo for sale.  Why Lord Why!?!?!?

If you have questions about the '06-'14 Sedona, ask.  We've had them non-stop since 2007 and put 200,000 combined miles on them.  A 2010 is my daily driver right now...queue the sad trombones.

Duke said:

Even if your Rondo had the third row option, I can't imagine fitting 6 people with the normal complement of arms and legs and everything in one.

Unless (being a Rondo) the third row exists in N-space and those passengers can simultaneously comingle electrons with the seatback in front of them.

Time Lord science. It's bigger on the inside.

In reply to Klayfish :

I will do that.  Currently looking at an '06, and while order than most, it has the lowest miles by a long shot.  I see a lot with 150,000 - 200,000 miles on them, so they must be reliable.  

As for the fate of the Rondo, the Smithsonian has also expressed an interest in adding it to their collection, apparently, the moon lander will go into storage to make space. I have to weigh that against the Saudi Billionaire who wants it for his collection as well.  Money or fame, the age-old question.  

Our first one was an '06.  I actually liked it better than our current '10 simply because it had 3 zone climate control where the current one is only 2 zone.  The rest of the van is identical. 

Yes, they're reliable as an anvil.  We beat the ever living E36 M3 out of the '06.  We bought it when my wife was pregnant with our twins, and we already had a 3 year old at the time.  It was used to haul the kids around, and driven often by live in au pairs.  We put a trailer hitch on it and I used it constantly to tow everything from mulch to small cars on a dolly.  I even towed my children around...we had an 8x10 trailer with high sides and lived on 3.5 acres, I used to put my kids in the trailer and tow them around the property.  It never once left us stranded in the roughly 125k miles we put on it.  Needed only routine maintenance.

We bought our '10 back in 2014.  It only had 17k miles at the time.  To the best we can tell, it belonged to an old man in a retirement home who became to elderly to drive it and it sat unused for two years.  It currently has 106k miles and only repairs we had done were idler pulley (our '06 had the same whine at the end but we didn't fix it) and the ABS pump...found an LKQ one...I also suspect that may have been from sitting as one of the seals had dry rotted. 

They've been fabulous.  Only quirks I've noticed with both of them were the above mentioned idler pulley, and they both developed a click when on/off the brakes at very low speed...under about 3mph.  It's coming from the center console, at the shifter.  I suspect it's got something to do with a neutral safety switch.  It only does it if creeping forward at a light.  If you hit the brakes enough to activate the brake lights, it'll click and then click again when you release the brakes.  Doesn't have any effect on driving, but is a bit annoying.

Say hello to The Donut. (SEDONA, thedonut, get it?).  $3500, under 70k miles, drove 2 hours home with no issues.  

 There are of course a few small issues at this price point. The rear tires are badly dry rotted, so I’ll be putting four new tires on it quickly. The inside is filthy dirty, so it’s due for a good scrubbing and shampoo. And the AC is not working. I had the system recharged  but the compressor still won’t kick on. I’ll give it the basic once over and if I can’t solve it, it’ll go to the dealer. 

 The airbag light is on, it seems to be connected to a recently replaced battery or a seat sensor. Should be able to fix that.  The check engine light is also on, the code is that an oxygen sensor is under reporting. Will have to look into that but it doesn’t affect anything at the moment. 

 The only concerning mechanical item is the transmission. The shift from 2nd to 3rd produces quite a lurch under load. I can shift it manually and lift off the gas a hair and it will shift fine.  I’ve convinced myself this means that the transmission is fine, and a $5 electrical component is to blame. We shall see. 

As for the Rondo, let’s just say it’s on its way to a new owner who will treat it with the love and respect it is due.  

So any used car is going to need some work, and this one is no different.  The A/C compressor is shot, so that sucks, but not totally unexpected.  Not going to deal with that, letting the shop fix it. Waiting on a report about the transmission. Fingers crossed, wish me luck!   

But does Martin brundle like it?

pinchvalve said:

Also funny, this is a stop in, pay with cash, leave a trade-in you will make money on, and drive away kinda deal. Despite that, not one dealership has bothered to return my calls or emails. Why advertise on Craigslist and have a website and a phone number and be in business if you don't want to, you know, do business? You're a little corner car lot, don't you want to sell cars to people with money? 

No, they want to sell cars to people who don't have money. 

Sounds like you bought a real gem. 

Knurled. said:

No, they want to sell cars to people who don't have money. 

I was at the auction yesterday looking at potential buys. A Chrysler Minivan still had the purchase paperwork in the glove box. 

2011 T&C, cloth but otherwise well equipped.  At Salvage auction for crack in bumper, dent on both r fender and r front door.

In  2017 (2 years ago) it was bought with SIGNIFICANT hail damage for $12,215 w/68k miles. I'm really not sure if that is high priced but...

It was then financed for 6 years at 17.8‰

$277.22 payment x 72 = $19,959.84 or $7,744. 84 in finance charges.  That's more that 50% of the purchase price! 

Link to the auction. 

https://www.iaai.com/Vehicle?itemID=29962876&RowNumber=12&loadRecent=True

It's already bid up pretty high. There is no mention in the listing of the previous hail damage that is significant.  If someone buys this for big money, site unseen, they will be sorely surprised! 

I went to the U Pull place locally to score some small bits for The Donut. I am a always amazed at what people leave in their cars when they scrap them. 

Oddly enough, my wife was not interested in junkyard shoes. The van I pulled stuff from was an EX and I was very jealous of all the power doors and pedals and such. I think an upgrade is in my future.

It took a minute, but I got the beast waxed, much more surface area than the Fiesta!

But the little man loves it, and it has been shuttling the neighborhood kids around already, so mission accomplished there.  Next stop is the transmission shop to see how much this $3500 minivan is really going to cost me. 

You know, there was a philosopher (can't remember his name off the top of my head), who said that if someone sat in a cave and stared at the wall their whole life, they would think the world consisted of the shadows and drawings on the wall.

If, someday, they turned around and saw the people making those shadows and drawings, their worldview would expand exponentially with all the new information and realization of how many more wonderous things there are in the world.

If, after talking with the people in the cave, they realize the drawings are based on animals and places outside the cave, they then walk out and see the sun for the first time, and all the colors and plants, their world again expands almost infinitely.   

Anyway, the point of all this is you should buy a Honda Odyssey.  Not sure where you are on your personal journey, but its definitrly the next step towards leaving the cave