Hi, my name's Isaac, and I own a Kia. I hate my life, and I think this car perfectly embodies that ideal.
Just kidding about that last part.

Backstory - My 95 Civic EX had a jacked up frame, blown engine, and destroyed suspension. I realized it was totally outside my budget to fix that car in the time I had to work with. I had no real credit history since I'd paid cash for every car up to that point. Thus, I found myself at a Kia dealership buying a 2008 Kia Spectra LX with 22000 miles on it and a 100k mile warranty. It has a 2.0L DOHC engine that makes 14X HP. I have no power locks, no power windows, no keyless, etc. It was ****ing cheap, but I do miss my keyless entry and sunroof.

I want to keep the car mostly stock or easily reverted before I can sell it. Anything you guys would recommend?

 

..........its a Kia. A Kia Spectra to be more specific. People dont do stuff thats "kool" to Kias. The only way thatit could be remotly okay is if it were the 5 door hatch model. Those arent that bad and i personally kind of like them. So i say in your case just trade it in for a Forte Koupe Its a wana-be Civic and its cheaper (if im not mistaken), plus it doesnt look half bad.

Was j/k but i truthfully dont know of anything that you could do to a Kia that'd be worthwhile. Maybe power a power windows from another Spectra thats wrecked or something? Idk, maybe an aftermarket keyless entry/alarm ??? Keep the Forte Koupe in mind though...they're prety bad @$$ in my book.

 

Nah, I'm keeping this car either until I pay it off and can sell it, or a local dealership runs one of those "if you'll buy a car from us, we'll pay off your trade in" specials. If I trade it in, it sure as hell isn't going to be for another one of these things. If I trade it in for a new car, it's probably going to be a Civic SI or a VW GTI. If I pay it off, then I'm selling it and getting a 98-00 Prelude.

 

soooo, why did you buy the thing in the first place? Seems like you hate it.

 

I don't exactly hate the car. I just don't see hardly any improvements over my previous car, and that was 13 years older. I think it speaks a lot about Honda's engines that their engine of the same size as mine makes almost 60 more HP. Really, the car isn't all that bad, but I do only have it because the Kia dealership here was the only place that had a first time buyers program.

 

Boost it.

 

I considered it. God knows there's enough room in my engine bay for a second engine, so working in there will be a breeze. I'm more concerned that that little 2.0 won't be able to handle more than 2 psi of boost or something.

 

If it isn't the car you really want then just drive it take care of it & do ONLY maintenance on it. Why screw with a car that isn't really what you want. Save your money so you can fix up the car you really want when you get it.

 

Your best bet is to just ty to make it sound fast. Maybe a 50 shot of NOS?

 

NOS is never recommended...