Bad Dealer Dealings - List Your Bad Dealer Experience

[Castle]

Jenkins Kia of Ocala FL: We were shopping for a mid size SUV back in August and happened to walk into this dealer...Never saw the Telluride before and fell in love with it. Sales person takes us into his office after showing us a used 2019 model which was the only one in the lot. I'm asking questions like what trims do you have, what is the price for a new model, what colors are available....mean time, he never gives me a price and just talks about how great the car is. Asks for my keys to the Kia Soul my wife wants to trade in and disappears. Comes back after 10 minutes without the keys, gets behind his desk and asks for my Social Security #. I got upset and asked him how he can possibly be checking my credit if he has not even told me the price or trim details of a vehicle....He gave me some bull shit story about how they needed to check credit first.....guess he thought he was dealing with idiots....We walked out of his office and went and got our Kia Soul key form their manager and walked out the dealer....meanwhile they are literally chasing us even as we drove away.

We got a call from the sales person a few days later letting us know that several new Tellurides had arrived. We went to the dealership as we were very interested in seeing a 2021 model. By then we had done research and knew the MSRP of all trim levels. Before even looking at the inside of the car, we see the window sticker and it has a 7K markup. So, I asked the sales person why the price so much higher than we see at Kia's site and he mumbles about how they are in high demand and blah blah blah......we walked out again without even looking at the car. A few weeks later we ordered a Wolf Grey SX/P at MSRP from a dealership in South Miami and should arrive in February.

 

[Schlegel]

I haven’t had a good experience with Midwest Kia in Wichita,KS. I’d be eyeballing the telluride and Hyundai palisade for over 6 month trying to decided between which I wanted. I finally decide it was time to pull the trigger. After calling other dealerships with 3-4 hours away and checking into cars for sale on lots I decided I need to test drive one here to confirm I wanted it before driving far away to purchase it. Called the dealership, they insisted I set up an appointment so I could meet with them and test drive the car and wouldn’t have to wait. They had messaged me in the day asking if I could come soon. So we rearranged our schedules and were able to come in earlier. When we got there all their clients were busy and they said they had someone looking at the car and were going to test drive it first. After waiting 20 minutes they set us up with a young girl would apologized that she didn’t know much about the car. She had to ask other employees questions constantly. We swore this was her first experience selling cars. After leaving despite how bad our experience was, I called to put an order in and $1,000 down. The guy that does the ordering wasn’t very nice. Talked down to me, made me feel like I was bothering him. He went on about how popular the Tellurides are and that they are only letting people that live in Wichita put orders in. He said since I lived in Cheney(small town 15 miles from Wichita) that he would make an exception . He said my order would in around November, Christmas at the very latest. 60-90 days. I put my order in on September 2, 2020 for a black AWD S. It’s Dec 26th....they are telling me February now. That’s more than double the initial 60-90days they told me. I’ve tried emailing the guy that ordered it for me for updates, still never received a reply and it’s been 6 weeks with no reply. They say to not call and they will call me when it gets allocated. After getting into it via text with the “Telluride specialist” that was very rude. He had a superior call me sense I was upset about the date being delayed, I asked about getting my $1,000 because I had another dealership offering me one next month they are getting in. He said no and wasted 30 minutes of my life talking BS and I never got anywhere with him. So it looks like I’m waiting till February or later, or lose $1,000. I understand things are backed up, but they are being assholes. Meanwhile Hyundai keeps calling me every few weeks asking if I got my Telluride. They’ve been trying to get me to buy a Palisade from they. Everything about them is better, love that dealership. I bought a new Sant Fe from them in 2013 and have had a great experience with them since. Tempted to give up and go with them. Their customer service is much better. Not looking forward to years of dealing with Mid West Kia.

Sooo many people with so many bad experiences. The "exception" to allowing you to order is totally absurd. KIA needs to know about the vrap these dealers are pulling. Life is hard enough.

 

[TellyTubby]

JD Power rated Kia as one of the worst brands for shopping experience, which is no surprise if you follow this thread. Worst car shopping experiences

 

[Schlegel]

#29 out of 32 = piss poor. It's like we are stepping back in time dealing with these folks. Made me feel like I was dealing with a shady/sleazy used car salesman or WORSE. These same experiences at ANY ATLANTA Metro KIA dealers. Been dealing with them 12-13 years and it was much "nicer" when they were really trying to get customers to believe in and purchase their vehicles. Makes me not believe in the brand as strongly as I once did...

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[YAH DEF]

#29 out of 32 = piss poor. It's like we are stepping back in time dealing with these folks. Made me feel like I was dealing with a shady/sleazy used car salesman or WORSE. These same experiences at ANY ATLANTA Metro KIA dealers. Been dealing with them 12-13 years and it was much "nicer" when they were really trying to get customers to believe in and purchase their vehicles. Makes me not believe in the brand as strongly as I once did...

I had one Kia dealership experience that felt exactly like this - like I was stepping back in time into some cliched shady/hard sell world that I hadn't experienced in decades. Then the second dealership was just fine - nice, normal, informative folks. It was night and day.

 

[bruehlt]

Jenkins Kia of Ocala FL: We were shopping for a mid size SUV back in August and happened to walk into this dealer...Never saw the Telluride before and fell in love with it. Sales person takes us into his office after showing us a used 2019 model which was the only one in the lot. I'm asking questions like what trims do you have, what is the price for a new model, what colors are available....mean time, he never gives me a price and just talks about how great the car is. Asks for my keys to the Kia Soul my wife wants to trade in and disappears. Comes back after 10 minutes without the keys, gets behind his desk and asks for my Social Security #. I got upset and asked him how he can possibly be checking my credit if he has not even told me the price or trim details of a vehicle....He gave me some bull shit story about how they needed to check credit first.....guess he thought he was dealing with idiots....We walked out of his office and went and got our Kia Soul key form their manager and walked out the dealer....meanwhile they are literally chasing us even as we drove away.

We got a call from the sales person a few days later letting us know that several new Tellurides had arrived. We went to the dealership as we were very interested in seeing a 2021 model. By then we had done research and knew the MSRP of all trim levels. Before even looking at the inside of the car, we see the window sticker and it has a 7K markup. So, I asked the sales person why the price so much higher than we see at Kia's site and he mumbles about how they are in high demand and blah blah blah......we walked out again without even looking at the car. A few weeks later we ordered a Wolf Grey SX/P at MSRP from a dealership in South Miami and should arrive in February.

Which FL dealer was it?

 

[Rendon2429]

Napelton Kia in Carmel, IN and fishers have $5k+ markups. I didn’t know any better so I put the deposit down so they’d start looking for the car. After a few days of waiting and calling around to other dealers, I realized that two others in Indy were selling at msrp. I told napelton to either order me the one I wanted and sell it to me at msrp or give me back my deposit. They chose to give me back my deposit. I felt bad for the sales guy because he was great and spent two days selling me on it.

 

[Castle]

Which FL dealer was it?

Bad dealer was Jenkins Kia of Ocala
Good dealer we ordered is South Dade Kia in Miami

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[The Headhunter]

Galeana Kia in Columbia SC quoted me approx 2500 markup. Said they are one of the lowest when most dealers are marking up 10K.

 

[knightsfan2020]

Galeana Kia in Columbia SC quoted me approx 2500 markup. Said they are one of the lowest when most dealers are marking up 10K.

Which is about right. They were doing you a favor. LOL

 

[ksamples]

FYI, the Sipala dealerships in West Chester PA and Coatesville PA are charging minimum $5K above sticker. Guy told me that with a straight face and gave me the "take it or leave it" shrug off. Very smug and very slimy. Not a good look for Kia if they're trying to go a little more up-market.

 

[ICanTellYouRide]

Galeana Kia in Columbia SC quoted me approx 2500 markup. Said they are one of the lowest when most dealers are marking up 10K.

I just put a reserve from this location. For our area they are priced properly. I searched within a 100 miles radius of Charlotte and this was the absolute lowest with current inventory. Kia of Greer tried to charge 8999 plus some other BS charges. If you're still in the market GO BACK! The other dealerships called to check on me and I told them the price I secured. Some like Union Kia matched my price, but I still kept the car with Galeana.

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[The Headhunter]

I just put a reserve from this location. For our area they are priced properly. I searched within a 100 miles radius of Charlotte and this was the absolute lowest with current inventory. Kia of Greer tried to charge 8999 plus some other BS charges. If you're still in the market GO BACK! The other dealerships called to check on me and I told them the price I secured. Some like Union Kia matched my price, but I still kept the car with Galeana.

I actually just made a road trip to OH and paid MSRP. Got home yesterday with our new ride.

 

[ICanTellYouRide]

Kia of Greer (South Carolina)
The sales person was nice enough, but the sales tactics were just the slimiest. Definitely had shady vibes the moment we stepped in. We were just in constant waiting limbo with them. Wait while I find your salesman, the keys, can't locate they keys look at this sorento, four different convos with the managers, and let me make some copies for you. I was being sold on the car service department and saying how I need to meet the team before we got our price. We were even paraded around the dealership to meet department people even though I told him we will not be using them for maintenance as lived 50 miles away. I was given bottle water I expressly said I didn't want. I learned about the history of how the Telluride was designed. I could give a rat's a$$ about that detail. The mark up was $8,999 above MSRP. It was all really gimmicky and it completely turned us off to do business with them.
5/10 Would not recommend

Union Kia (North Carolina)
This only speaks to the sales person and their phone sales game. It was just terrible and I felt like I was being talked down to. I kept asking for a breakdown of the additional installed equipment. So they proceeded to read every detail on the monroney label. Asked politely to please specify the add-ons but I was told, "wait I'm getting their", "oh I understand", and "uh huh". They finally stopped when someone walked by them and asked them what they were doing. I asked for a picture of the monroney sticker. I was sent 15 pictures of the vehicle. I was called, texted, and emailed several times with an hour. Telling me I had to get the vehicle people were swarming the car as it arrived off the trailer. I had already secured a price at another dealer and they were able to match it, but I honestly just wasn't having it and my reserve car came with a tow package and interior lights so it wasn't an apples to apples price match. Hopefully, this not everyone, but this my experience on phone dealings.
4/10 Would not recommend

 

[ICanTellYouRide]

I actually just made a road trip to OH and paid MSRP. Got home yesterday with our new ride.

Congrats to you. Some markets just aren't as lucky I've been at this on and off since September trying to find the best deal. It's not ideal but I'm happy with it, I'll get my car, and I'll move on.

 

[ICanTellYouRide]

Stopped by Paramount KIA in Asheville today. One Telluride in stock, an EX FWD model. Dealer premium of $9,000, but it did include nitrogen in tires.


OK, thanks, I'm out....

Hey you're in my area. Don't know if you've found your ride yet, but I had the best experience at Kia Galeana in Rock Hill, SC. Called looking for models on the lot and schedule an appointment. They knew I had already done my homework. So they did not beat around the bush and within 10 minutes of stepping on the lot I had their price. Which was the same price they quoted to me over text (minus the tax, tag, and fee). Honestly, I felt weird because I was expecting the gimmicks. I bought mine 2500 over MSRP. Not the best but I'm happy with it and I want my car. Kia of Greer charges $8999 over Dutch Miller in Charlotte $5999

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[Dan M]

I just started down this adventure and I really am not liking what I'm finding. Kia of Cerritos has gone back and forth on their price for an SXP Wolf Grey twice on me. Considering they have 6 on the lot and 2 more coming this week it's crazy to me. Even after I agreed to the $4k over MSRP that they offered they said $6k was the best they could do. That was after they sent an email saying if I came today I could get it at $5k.

Kia of Irvine quoted me $2500 over MSRP for a Glacier White Pearl which after reading through these threads was $500 more than they offered to others for the exact car. The funny thing was the $2k over was what I offered them. Then that Irvine dealer text me saying the car was sold to someone for $6k over sticker and if I wanted that one I would have to offer $6500 over. They literally had a deal with someone else for a large amount of money over MSRP and they were going to go back on their agreement with that person. I realize this is how car dealerships work but it is really souring me to the brand as a whole.

There were a few dealerships that have been great and at least honest upfront and not being jerks. Alhambra, Carson, and North County. They are the only reason why I haven't blown Kia off completely. If anyone has any info that can help please let me know. I'll continue to read through everything in the meantime.

 

[Schlegel]

I just started down this adventure and I really am not liking what I'm finding. Kia of Cerritos has gone back and forth on their price for an SXP Wolf Grey twice on me. Considering they have 6 on the lot and 2 more coming this week it's crazy to me. Even after I agreed to the $4k over MSRP that they offered they said $6k was the best they could do. That was after they sent an email saying if I came today I could get it at $5k.

Kia of Irvine quoted me $2500 over MSRP for a Glacier White Pearl which after reading through these threads was $500 more than they offered to others for the exact car. The funny thing was the $2k over was what I offered them. Then that Irvine dealer text me saying the car was sold to someone for $6k over sticker and if I wanted that one I would have to offer $6500 over. They literally had a deal with someone else for a large amount of money over MSRP and they were going to go back on their agreement with that person. I realize this is how car dealerships work but it is really souring me to the brand as a whole.

There were a few dealerships that have been great and at least honest upfront and not being jerks. Alhambra, Carson, and North County. They are the only reason why I haven't blown Kia off completely. If anyone has any info that can help please let me know. I'll continue to read through everything in the meantime.

Every few days the stories seem to continue. We need a mass email and social media campaign to get corporate to take notice. Some dealers are already pulling this same stunt on the 2021 Sorento. After owing, now my 5th KIA I have definitely “soured” on the brand. Hyundai dealers around North Georgia are pulling the same garbage on the Palisade.

 

[kingfishjohn]

Southwest KIA in Austin is charging a $10k "market adjustment." When I said I would start negotiating when they dropped the $10k fee they encouraged me to look elsewhere.

 

[DarkMossJustin]

Kia Vacaville. $10k "dealer markup" should have been the first red flag. They don't do custom orders and are bad at communication. We left three polite messages with them requesting a call back. We never got a call back until a month later when they offered me a Moss in the wrong trim and a week later the right trim wrong color with Nightfall which I didn't ask for. Were they even listening or noting what we said? Apparently, they're super low volume with Tellurides, mostly sell other Kia models, and they didn't attempt to build any kind of rapport with us. Maybe they're good for buying other Kia models but avoid them if you're shopping for a Telly. Never again.