Bad Dealer Dealings - List Your Bad Dealer Experience

[ucinn]

Long post sorry , just wanted to share our experience

So we just bought our telluride yesterday.

we live in Lexington KY, so we had to drive an hour and a half up to Cincinnati OH , we checked online and they had a color, model and trim that we really liked. so we reached out via their website Monday, someone called and left a message said the car was out being test driven by a friend of the GM and theyll let us know when its back, we called back, they never responded. so we figured someone bought it

in the meantime a local dealer finally got some Tellurides in, they had one on their site that fit our description so we called they said it was there and to come in, we went later that afternoon, and whattya know, it was "sold a few minutes ago,....but heres what we can do", the ol bait and switch. So we listened, talked numbers, they were too high so we said ill bring my EX Optima we want to trade and see what you can offer,

on the way home we called the Cincy dealer just to check and its like they had no record of our web inquiry or phone call from before, they said yes the car is here its MSRP is $40275.00. I said we want to come see it Thursday she said great and we schedule to be there at 5pm

the next day my wife brought the car in to the local dealer, they offered us $3800 for it ( not bad about what i expected, the interior is great and it runs great, just a few dings and scratches though) They were couldnt get down to the price we we wanted so my wife walked and off to cincy we were going, till the dealer call us and said yeah the car wont be ready Thursday , they had to do some prep work to it ( whatever that meant) so we said oh ok, well let us know. later that day they texted us saying we could come in Friday at 5. we were like yup well be there. But the said they close at 6 instead of 8pm( maybe corona mandated i dont know)

So off we went, we got there at 5 sharp, we asked for the lady that had been in touch with us and the young man that greeted us said oh ok let me go get her. he comes back 10 min later and was like yeah Pennie is our internet liason and she said i could assist you. we were like ummm ok. No granted i dont like judging a book by its cover but it happens. this kid is prolly in his mid 20s tops and he just didnt have a sales person mentality about him, he wasnt un-friendly but he wasnt like pushy or over the top friendy . he was just kinda there ya know

so we test drive the car, and we really enjoy it , i asked about the "work being done" and he was clueless and spouted off some random " well when the cars come off the truck we have to inspect them etc". i said well this car has been on the log for awhile according to your website, he was like uhhh well i can check on it for you" Not a big deal

So we get back and hes like ok well you guys have seat and her brings over 2 luke warm cups of water over and was like well do you have any questions and it was just awkward like we had to initiate every step of the process , we asked about our trade and he was like oh yeah well ill have someone go look at it, comes back and my wife was asking about finance rate specials and again he wasnt knowledgeable. its like every question we asked he had to "go check with someone"

So we finally start negotiating price , of course here comes the Dealer add ons, pinstriping, and some kinda Valugard, interior /exterior and undercoating snake oil. so the car we wanted now jumped up from $40275.00 to $42675.00 sell price and hers the kicker. The say my car is only worth $750.00 for trade needless to say it was a slap in the face. i questioned him on the $24900 markup for the "protectant and pinstriping" and he kinda didnt have much to say other than well its already on the car and it adds a great value to protect your investment blah blah blah. so he leaves comes back and says well i can take off $499, but we cant budge on your trade in. so at this point were ready to leave, the dealership is closed, the only people that are there were my wife and my son, the young sales rep, another rep and the finance guy ( all prolly sticking around just in case we buy)

So the Senior sales guy comes over finally , i mention my displeasure with the trade in ( now i know its had some dings but the inside was cherry and the car still runs great) i know its worth more than $750 and i also mention in the $2490 addendum to the MSRP. he was like well we cant come down off that, its value added and its already been done to the car, im like well im not paying $2500 for some scotchguard and pinstriping. We tell him that another dealer back in KY offered us $3800 for my car and he was like oh well you should prolly take it to them and have them buy it because wed have to put that much in to make your care re-sellable at auction. i also mention in the $2490 addendum to the MSRP. he was like well we cant come down off that, its value added and its already been done to the car, im like well im not paying $2500 for some scotchguard and pinstriping. I said if you guys can take off that markup we can talk and that we needed to his Out the Door price with tax tag, title, fees etc

He comes back with an out the door price of $44750. my wife and i looked at eachother and were like lets get out of here. we said we have a number and thats not close. we wanted Out the doorno more that 41500 (cuz we were putting $2500 down) and he was like " nope we they cant do it, he kept talking about the "valugard package and how that was a "fair add on" i declined to respond after i had already told him how i felt about overcharging us for some pinstriping and fabric/undercarriage protector. So we said no thanks and headed for the door,

They took their sweet time giving us our car keys back and when the did they stopped us and said ok we can do 42750 we said no thank you, they stopped us again at the door and said ok we will do it for $ 41800 again we were like no, our number is $41500. they said ok we cant help you and let us walk out, all the while my wife and i were like if they were wiling to go to $41800 why not just go to 41500 like we were asking. we were loading up our 4 year old in his car seat, the young sales rep came running out and said ok, we'll do it for your price of $41500.


I think we did ok, there were some things we left on the table, in that price they got us for $299 etching fee, my wife was doing the financing while i attended to my son, she did the right thing and declined all the extra warranty non-sense, but didnt think to question the bogs etching fee... its still not as great of a deal as we wanted, i wanted to pay about $1000 less, but my wife said this was the color/trim we wanted without the accessories we didnt want i.e. tow package, cross bars etc.

The experience was just so weird and awkwardoverall Im glad they came down to what we asked, i dont know if it was because the time of the sale, coronavirus stuff going on, the sales team there just seem like they were angry at us for talking them down on the price. i dont know it was just weird. at no point did i ever hear them same thank you for your business or try to cater to us in any way? im not asking for them to be sucking up to me. but we just drop 40k with you, the least you could do is be somewhat more gracious/excited.

The young sales guy, was a nice kid dont get me wrong, but i really feel like he didnt do a whole lot and like this was his first sale, but he had reviews on some dealer review site so hes done this before. By far this is my worst experience ever it wasnt horrible but it just felt awkward by the whole team involved, just wasnt a great experience for us . we love the car and thats what matters but just really wasnt an enjoyable time there


We actually had to drive back up there this morning as we forgot the title to my old car and they promised to wash our new one. so the young kid was there we made some small talk he took our new car to get it cleaned while we signed over the title etc. The "senior sales guy" that approved our deal saw us in the sitting area and it was like seeing a 1 night stand the next day at a party. He was like "welcome back" under his breath as he passed by .

like i said we got the car we wanted at a decent price, but im not sure if i would buy another car from this dealer. especially not from the team that helped us yesterday

Let me guess, either Wyler Kia or Superior Kia.

 

[pinoyeer]

Let me guess, either Wyler Kia or Superior Kia.

good guess. Superior

 

[ucinn]

Superior tried the ol bait and switch on me for a Stinger, needless to say, I left a bad review on their FB page and will never go back.

 

[badpewterz]

So I read that Kia of Attleboro (MA) was one of the good dealers who sel at MSRP so I went in yesterday. Ryan Walkden greeted me at the door and I found him to he one of the most dishonest salesmen I have ever dealt with.

I told him I was interested in a SX trim in black/brown. First he tried to sell me the EX on the lot and then a silver SX coming next month. I told him I don’t need the car until end of June and would be open to ordering one. He said that ordering one could take up to 6 months and he also told me that they are only able to see what cars are coming in about one month out. So I was going to leave and then he goes to the back and says they actually have 2 black/brown SX (no prestige) models coming in at the end of June. I said great and start the process of putting down a deposit. The price he shows me is about $46k after $1k rebate for financing. I asked him if that’s sticker price and he says yes. I asked him to see the window sticker and he says that’s not available. I pull out my phone, build a SX without P and MSRP with destination included is about $45k. I ask him where the $2k difference is coming from and he says mats, destination, and other accessories. I say there is no way that adds up to $2k as destination is included in the $45k MSRP. I tell him to go find out what else is included in the car. He goes to the back and returns saying there is a $2k markup. He tells me this now after saying that the price I was going to sign for was sticker. Immediately walked out. What a dishonest salesman. There is no way he didn’t know about the markup from the beginning and the entire time he insisted prices were sticker price . Maybe others are okay to deal with but by my experience Kia of Attleboro had gone from good to bad.

this is a shame as they treated me great but ive been dealing with them for years and know not to try and pull one over on me. and they were at sticker at the end of December when we got ours. i dealt with Luis and the FI manager Doug.

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[BangarangRufio]

Calling around my local Georgia Kia dealerships for vins that match my order. Recently talked to Kia Atlanta South in Morrow, GA. They wanted $7k over MSRP for an in-stock stock Telly. Laughed and said no thanks, I'd rather wait for the my custom order @ MSRP from the dealer down the street.

 

[Chief]

I’ve been shopping for an SX w/P for about a week now and Jim Ellis Kia of Kennesaw said they may have one inbound. I had to visit the VW dealer next door, so I said what the heck and told them I’d stop by.
One employee followed me around when I arrived, presumably since we had said hello to one time prior as we were window shopping. Then I sat down with Natasha, one of the managers. She had a $48k SX worked up with ~$1500 in market adjustment on the paperwork. I figured I would give her a minute to give the pitch... then as she’s going over the numbers she excuses herself and comes back with the same paper and $5k of market adjustment. I thanked her for time and said I was no longer interested.
I understand supply and demand but this just rubbed me the wrong way. Oh well, I’ll buy from someone else.

I really think Kia has outsmarted themselves by not releasing the tellurides to the dealers like normal. People are tired of having these dealers jack the MSRP up 5-10K just because they can. What I see happening now, many are just purchasing the Palisade, VW, Ford or Toyoda. They have about the same amount of room. We will see what happens when they start getting the 2021 models in on top of the leftover 2020's. Good luck.

 

[Chief]

Yes. Kia of Irvine was adding $7k market adjustment. I suppose they are trying to feast while they can. IMHO it really turns people off to the brand. I’m sure many people who are looking at the Telluride are customers who have never set foot in a Kia dealership (I know I haven’t) and it’s almost like going back in time and experiencing the shady practices of days gone by. Corporate needs to completely re-educate the dealer network!!!

I had written to KIA USAS about how these dealers are trying to stick it to the buyer. Let us see what happens.

 

[Lucas & Craig]

I really think Kia has outsmarted themselves by not releasing the tellurides to the dealers like normal. People are tired of having these dealers jack the MSRP up 5-10K just because they can. What I see happening now, many are just purchasing the Palisade, VW, Ford or Toyoda. They have about the same amount of room. We will see what happens when they start getting the 2021 models in on top of the leftover 2020's. Good luck.

What do you call "like normal"?

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[Chief]

What do you call "like normal"?

Normal is more than 1-3 deliveries a month.

 

[Lucas & Craig]

Normal is more than 1-3 deliveries a month.

Unfortunately it's still that hot of a vehicle. Even with the issues in the world the Telluride is looking to be recession proof. Demand has not slowed. KIA simply can't keep up and they are already pretty much sold as they roll out of Georgia.

 

[SXP TX]

I wanted to share my poor experience with Classic Kia of Carrollton, TX

On Apr 8, I put down a deposit on a Telluride, they already had the vin# and it was being delivered no later than April 15. April 15 comes, and the wrong cars were shipped to them. They said they would have it no later than 22nd guaranteed. Apr 22nd comes and goes, now due to covid all shipments are being delayed, the car is built but they can’t find someone to deliver it. On May 1st, they said they received the invoice for the car and that means it will be here soon (not sure why they guaranteed it 2-weeks earlier without having the invoice). I tell them I’m out of town for a week starting the following Wednesday. They said they hope to have it by Tuesday. Tuesday morning, I find out my income is dropping $700/mo due to Covid. I express my desire to postpone my purchase. They say they can defer payments for 45-days. I tell them ok, when the car comes in, I’ll come look at it. Of course, it comes in once I’m out of town. They ask if I still want it, I said they can open it up for sale and if it’s still there Monday or Tuesday I’ll come look at it. Well, congratulations for them they sold I within an hour. I was still leaning towards buying the car with the deferred payment, but I figure it’s a win-win and everyone would be happy. Well, I’m not happy. They won’t refund my $500 deposit. Nothing was said about me losing my deposit if they sell it to someone else. I understand if I walked away from the deal completely, they would keep my deposit. But I couldn’t buy the car before Monday no matter what, and they sold it in an hour. I’m very disappointed in the customer service at Classic Kia of Carrolton. At some point soon, I will be buying this car, but it won’t be at this dealership. Anyone company this petty over $500, where they lost nothing, is not a company I would recommended doing business with. They say they held up their end of the bargain, but I passed on an opportunity to buy this car elsewhere because of their 'guarantee'.

 

[Schlegel]

I wanted to share my poor experience with Classic Kia of Carrollton, TX

On Apr 8, I put down a deposit on a Telluride, they already had the vin# and it was being delivered no later than April 15. April 15 comes, and the wrong cars were shipped to them. They said they would have it no later than 22nd guaranteed. Apr 22nd comes and goes, now due to covid all shipments are being delayed, the car is built but they can’t find someone to deliver it. On May 1st, they said they received the invoice for the car and that means it will be here soon (not sure why they guaranteed it 2-weeks earlier without having the invoice). I tell them I’m out of town for a week starting the following Wednesday. They said they hope to have it by Tuesday. Tuesday morning, I find out my income is dropping $700/mo due to Covid. I express my desire to postpone my purchase. They say they can defer payments for 45-days. I tell them ok, when the car comes in, I’ll come look at it. Of course, it comes in once I’m out of town. They ask if I still want it, I said they can open it up for sale and if it’s still there Monday or Tuesday I’ll come look at it. Well, congratulations for them they sold I within an hour. I was still leaning towards buying the car with the deferred payment, but I figure it’s a win-win and everyone would be happy. Well, I’m not happy. They won’t refund my $500 deposit. Nothing was said about me losing my deposit if they sell it to someone else. I understand if I walked away from the deal completely, they would keep my deposit. But I couldn’t buy the car before Monday no matter what, and they sold it in an hour. I’m very disappointed in the customer service at Classic Kia of Carrolton. At some point soon, I will be buying this car, but it won’t be at this dealership. Anyone company this petty over $500, where they lost nothing, is not a company I would recommended doing business with. They say they held up their end of the bargain, but I passed on an opportunity to buy this car elsewhere because of their 'guarantee'.

You ABSOLUTELY should get your DEPOSIT back! Social Media can help or you can threaten them with bad reviews on Yelp, etc. Dealers hate bad reviews. Don't take this lying down!

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[BadRabbit]

I wanted to share my poor experience with Classic Kia of Carrollton, TX

On Apr 8, I put down a deposit on a Telluride, they already had the vin# and it was being delivered no later than April 15. April 15 comes, and the wrong cars were shipped to them. They said they would have it no later than 22nd guaranteed. Apr 22nd comes and goes, now due to covid all shipments are being delayed, the car is built but they can’t find someone to deliver it. On May 1st, they said they received the invoice for the car and that means it will be here soon (not sure why they guaranteed it 2-weeks earlier without having the invoice). I tell them I’m out of town for a week starting the following Wednesday. They said they hope to have it by Tuesday. Tuesday morning, I find out my income is dropping $700/mo due to Covid. I express my desire to postpone my purchase. They say they can defer payments for 45-days. I tell them ok, when the car comes in, I’ll come look at it. Of course, it comes in once I’m out of town. They ask if I still want it, I said they can open it up for sale and if it’s still there Monday or Tuesday I’ll come look at it. Well, congratulations for them they sold I within an hour. I was still leaning towards buying the car with the deferred payment, but I figure it’s a win-win and everyone would be happy. Well, I’m not happy. They won’t refund my $500 deposit. Nothing was said about me losing my deposit if they sell it to someone else. I understand if I walked away from the deal completely, they would keep my deposit. But I couldn’t buy the car before Monday no matter what, and they sold it in an hour. I’m very disappointed in the customer service at Classic Kia of Carrolton. At some point soon, I will be buying this car, but it won’t be at this dealership. Anyone company this petty over $500, where they lost nothing, is not a company I would recommended doing business with. They say they held up their end of the bargain, but I passed on an opportunity to buy this car elsewhere because of their 'guarantee'.

File a complaint with BBB, usually solves issue like this pretty quick, they don't want their rating to go down.

 

[Schlegel]

File a complaint with BBB, usually solves issue like this pretty quick, they don't want their rating to go down.

BBB doesn't mean / have an impact like it used to. My two cents.

 

[MarcinTexas]

I wanted to share my poor experience with Classic Kia of Carrollton, TX

On Apr 8, I put down a deposit on a Telluride, they already had the vin# and it was being delivered no later than April 15. April 15 comes, and the wrong cars were shipped to them. They said they would have it no later than 22nd guaranteed. Apr 22nd comes and goes, now due to covid all shipments are being delayed, the car is built but they can’t find someone to deliver it. On May 1st, they said they received the invoice for the car and that means it will be here soon (not sure why they guaranteed it 2-weeks earlier without having the invoice). I tell them I’m out of town for a week starting the following Wednesday. They said they hope to have it by Tuesday. Tuesday morning, I find out my income is dropping $700/mo due to Covid. I express my desire to postpone my purchase. They say they can defer payments for 45-days. I tell them ok, when the car comes in, I’ll come look at it. Of course, it comes in once I’m out of town. They ask if I still want it, I said they can open it up for sale and if it’s still there Monday or Tuesday I’ll come look at it. Well, congratulations for them they sold I within an hour. I was still leaning towards buying the car with the deferred payment, but I figure it’s a win-win and everyone would be happy. Well, I’m not happy. They won’t refund my $500 deposit. Nothing was said about me losing my deposit if they sell it to someone else. I understand if I walked away from the deal completely, they would keep my deposit. But I couldn’t buy the car before Monday no matter what, and they sold it in an hour. I’m very disappointed in the customer service at Classic Kia of Carrolton. At some point soon, I will be buying this car, but it won’t be at this dealership. Anyone company this petty over $500, where they lost nothing, is not a company I would recommended doing business with. They say they held up their end of the bargain, but I passed on an opportunity to buy this car elsewhere because of their 'guarantee'.

This really surprises me. I have been dealing with @StephenCantrelle at this dealership and he has been wonderful. I have a deposit on an order and was told my $500 was refundable. If they sold it to another buyer - I see no reason why they wouldn't give your money back. I would reach out to Stephen to see if he can help.

 

[Lucas & Craig]

BBB doesn't mean / have an impact like it used to. My two cents.

Google world we live in

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[jw_tx21]

I wanted to share my poor experience with Classic Kia of Carrollton, TX

On Apr 8, I put down a deposit on a Telluride, they already had the vin# and it was being delivered no later than April 15. April 15 comes, and the wrong cars were shipped to them. They said they would have it no later than 22nd guaranteed. Apr 22nd comes and goes, now due to covid all shipments are being delayed, the car is built but they can’t find someone to deliver it. On May 1st, they said they received the invoice for the car and that means it will be here soon (not sure why they guaranteed it 2-weeks earlier without having the invoice). I tell them I’m out of town for a week starting the following Wednesday. They said they hope to have it by Tuesday. Tuesday morning, I find out my income is dropping $700/mo due to Covid. I express my desire to postpone my purchase. They say they can defer payments for 45-days. I tell them ok, when the car comes in, I’ll come look at it. Of course, it comes in once I’m out of town. They ask if I still want it, I said they can open it up for sale and if it’s still there Monday or Tuesday I’ll come look at it. Well, congratulations for them they sold I within an hour. I was still leaning towards buying the car with the deferred payment, but I figure it’s a win-win and everyone would be happy. Well, I’m not happy. They won’t refund my $500 deposit. Nothing was said about me losing my deposit if they sell it to someone else. I understand if I walked away from the deal completely, they would keep my deposit. But I couldn’t buy the car before Monday no matter what, and they sold it in an hour. I’m very disappointed in the customer service at Classic Kia of Carrolton. At some point soon, I will be buying this car, but it won’t be at this dealership. Anyone company this petty over $500, where they lost nothing, is not a company I would recommended doing business with. They say they held up their end of the bargain, but I passed on an opportunity to buy this car elsewhere because of their 'guarantee'.

Vehicle deposits are not necessarily refundable in Texas unless agreed to in writing when the deposit is made. You chose to not purchase the vehicle. You should have asked about the deposit being refundable and gotten that in writing. Just do a Google search on vehicle deposits and you'll see the same information.

That being said, many dealerships will refund the deposit especially for popular vehicles like the Telluride that they can easily sell to someone else. So, you're welcome to voice your frustration, but don't expect much of a result. Also, someone else had the same problem with that dealership a while back - they posted about it here. You can search and try to reach out to that person. I don't know if that was ever resolved to the customer's satisfaction.

 

[jw_tx21]

This really surprises me. I have been dealing with @StephenCantrelle at this dealership and he has been wonderful. I have a deposit on an order and was told my $500 was refundable. If they sold it to another buyer - I see no reason why they wouldn't give your money back. I would reach out to Stephen to see if he can help.

If he didn't purchase the vehicle through Stephen, he may not be able to help. Someone else had same issue at that dealership. Always need to have everything clear up front. Vehicle deposits are risky if buyer backs out.

 

[SXP TX]

Hey Guys, all I'm doing is sharing my frustration here and elsewhere, I don't expect results. I'm probably not entitled to my money back on a legal basis, but I never backed out of the deal, I just said if they can sell it then go for it. It seems reasonable that they lost nothing on this deal. Heck, they may have even sold it for more than they were selling it to me for. As a side note, they said the black interior on an SXP comes with the charcoal headliner. I've since learned on this site that it doesn't, it's the light gray. I pointed that out to them and they sent me a video of the car and are saying that the light gray IS Charcoal. Anyways, I told them I would share my side of the story on every review site I could. I tried to be detailed and honest with my statement and to not embellish anything. No one is every 100% correct in a situation. But I will not recommend this dealership, and when I do get my SXP, maybe in a couple of months, it will not be from this dealership.

 

[MarcinTexas]

Hey Guys, all I'm doing is sharing my frustration here and elsewhere, I don't expect results. I'm probably not entitled to my money back on a legal basis, but I never backed out of the deal, I just said if they can sell it then go for it. It seems reasonable that they lost nothing on this deal. Heck, they may have even sold it for more than they were selling it to me for. As a side note, they said the black interior on an SXP comes with the charcoal headliner. I've since learned on this site that it doesn't, it's the light gray. I pointed that out to them and they sent me a video of the car and are saying that the light gray IS Charcoal. Anyways, I told them I would share my side of the story on every review site I could. I tried to be detailed and honest with my statement and to not embellish anything. No one is every 100% correct in a situation. But I will not recommend this dealership, and when I do get my SXP, maybe in a couple of months, it will not be from this dealership.

I have never seen nor heard on any site or KIA's build page for the Telluride that the black interior comes with a charcoal headliner.