Good Dealer Dealings - List Your Good Dealer Experience

[StephenCantrelle]

Sorry, yes...thanks for the correction. I guess I'm more concerned around estimated vs actual delivery from this dealership but gave my specs in case it's helpful.

I figured, just wanted to make sure they didn't mention that color combo to you and after the long wait be disappointed. I know many here have used Lev Kia. Hopefully a few will respond to you on recent turnaround times.

 

[Biff]

I bought my 2023 from Liberty Kia in Ramsey, NJ just recently. No pressure, nice salesperson who was very knowledgeable about the car and carried himself in a very professional manner. The deal got done very quickly. Even the business manager was nice to work with. No bait and switch like I experienced elsewhere, no BS. No insane markup (yes, some markup). No salesperson who tells you false information and when you correct him, haughtily tells you that they're correct.

I've learned that when the party with the least leverage knows it and accepts it, negotiations tend to go well. I knew I wanted to buy the car and they knew they had a scarce commodity. The folks at Liberty were gracious nonetheless and gave me a very fair amount for my trade. If this was 3 years ago, a few days before Jan 1 and they have a good amount of inventory, I'm sure I would have been in the opposite position, but you win some, you lose some and these guys were gracious winners. I'd like to think I was a gracious loser.

 

[rnick1976]

Anyone here recently get theirs from Lev Kia in Framingham, MA? I ordered mine in Feb 2022 (at MSRP) and was told 8-10 months. Got a call a few weeks ago about how I'll be updated to the 2023 model (X-Line, SX-P with Mahogany Interior) and Dec to Feb 2023 was the timeframe.

I'm wondering if in the next month or two is realistic or have others waited much longer than anticipated?

I ordered mine from Lev at MSRP in June, and was told 10-12 months. I've checked in twice (every 3 months) and that estimate has not changed.

I've heard almost nothing but great things about Lev; in my experience the communication has been subpar. Before I placed the order, I'd emailed them a few questions about their ordering process and never heard anything back. Re-sends, cc'ing the sales manager... nothing. I finally just showed up one day and they were like "Oh, hi... yeah, we meant to get back to you." Placing the order once I was there was super straight-forward, but getting responses since the order has also been a challenge. I've been looking elsewhere in MA for MSRP to see if I could get it sooner or have a better experience, but everyone else is still charging market adjustments and I'm just not in a practical rush (my current car WORKS, I just want a new one).

 

[cs97jb]

I ordered mine from Lev at MSRP in June, and was told 10-12 months. I've checked in twice (every 3 months) and that estimate has not changed.

I've heard almost nothing but great things about Lev; in my experience the communication has been subpar. Before I placed the order, I'd emailed them a few questions about their ordering process and never heard anything back. Re-sends, cc'ing the sales manager... nothing. I finally just showed up one day and they were like "Oh, hi... yeah, we meant to get back to you." Placing the order once I was there was super straight-forward, but getting responses since the order has also been a challenge. I've been looking elsewhere in MA for MSRP to see if I could get it sooner or have a better experience, but everyone else is still charging market adjustments and I'm just not in a practical rush (my current car WORKS, I just want a new one).

Thanks. I'm seeing the same communication experience but like you, in no major rush to get it (the 6th and 7th seats are only going to be needed in the Summer when parents visit from FL). Fingers crossed that it's sooner rather than later.

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[Sellyourride]

We had a great experience at Luther Nissan Kia in Inver Grove Heights, MN. We drove from out of town and they had everything ready for us so things went quickly. Kevin P was very responsive to questions. Paid MSRP too with no required add ons and low doc fee. Highly recommended! They said they’re not selling to out of state customers anymore though but if you’re in MN I’d recommend them.

 

[Johnwhite]

All the dealers in SoCal want $5k-$10k mark-up. I think I called almost every dealer in the West Coast except Washington. So I purchased from United Kia in Imperial Ca close to the border. They had an incoming unit that we liked (Everlasting Silver with terracotta SX-P X-Pro) I inquired few week ago and the sales person said he would reach out when it arrived. He reached out We’d and they wanted $6k over down from $10k and I said No. they had declined an offer for $5k over he told me.

I called again yesterday and I told the sales person that I want the car but not at $5k over. I would do $2k, they came back at $4k over and I said No again. Then they came back at $3k mark-up plus their $3500 extended warranty and I said No again. I told him $2500 and no extended warranty. They came back at $3k without any extras.

I then started dealing with the (Ramon Lozano JR) sales manager that oversees all the sales guys and he was very straight forward and made me feel like he wanted my business.

Ultimately after some final negotiations I paid $2800 over and they delivered the car to me and we signed paper towel in my dining room. Very happy and satisfied with the purchase. I’m about 150 miles from them so it was well worth it. I don’t know if you will be able to get the same deal again but it’s worth a shot.

FWIW I had an order from Fowler Kia incoming mid Feb but we needed a car ASAP since we sold out Model X few weeks ago. I paid shy of $1k more versus dealing with Fowler with their “dealer fees” and shipping to California. So I’m very happy with the outcome.

 

[asianslaw]

We had a great experience at Luther Nissan Kia in Inver Grove Heights, MN. We drove from out of town and they had everything ready for us so things went quickly. Kevin P was very responsive to questions. Paid MSRP too with no required add ons and low doc fee. Highly recommended! They said they’re not selling to out of state customers anymore though but if you’re in MN I’d recommend them.

Did you have an order or picked up an unallocated inventory?

 

[Sellyourride]

Did you have an order or picked up an unallocated inventory?

Uh, well I told him what we were looking for and he called when one was available and put a deposit down. It came a few months later. So unallocated I guess?

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[asianslaw]

Uh, well I told him what we were looking for and he called when one was available and put a deposit down. It came a few months later. So unallocated I guess?

Very nice. We have a deposit for 1k over MSRP at Lupient and I haven't called to cancel since we just put a nonrefundable deposit on an unallocated at Arapahoe in CO. I'm tilting on our decision because that means we are getting rid of the prestige option we initially ordered.

 

[Sellyourride]

Very nice. We have a deposit for 1k over MSRP at Lupient and I haven't called to cancel since we just put a nonrefundable deposit on an unallocated at Arapahoe in CO. I'm tilting on our decision because that means we are getting rid of the prestige option we initially ordered.

Ah I did talk to Lupient too but was really shooting for MSRP. Non refundable deposit is risky! I hope it works out for you. I also talked to Kia St. Cloud which was pretty promising other than their dealer add on BS that ran 900 bucks. Luther didn’t push any of that at all.

 

[asianslaw]

Ah I did talk to Lupient too but was really shooting for MSRP. Non refundable deposit is risky! I hope it works out for you. I also talked to Kia St. Cloud which was pretty promising other than their dealer add on BS that ran 900 bucks. Luther didn’t push any of that at all.

Yeah we've had our order with Lupient since May. They told us Kia had picked up our order in Dec. Just don't really want to pay 1k over. The nonrefundable is for an unallocated, on the way to the dealer. And I think I found the VIN on failcat today. So hopefully I get a call this week that it's ours.

700 doc fee is bleh but if that's the only thing I'm paying I don't mind a road trip from CO back home.

 

[Sellyourride]

Yeah we've had our order with Lupient since May. They told us Kia had picked up our order in Dec. Just don't really want to pay 1k over. The nonrefundable is for an unallocated, on the way to the dealer. And I think I found the VIN on failcat today. So hopefully I get a call this week that it's ours.

700 doc fee is bleh but if that's the only thing I'm paying I don't mind a road trip from CO back home.

Hm depending on Lupients fees I’d be tempted to pay the 1k over 700 doc fee. Another nice thing about Luther was doc fee was only 125.

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[kopstar77]

6 week wait. Couldn’t be happier with Arapahoe. We had RaymondView attachment 28497

is that wolf gray?

 

[asianslaw]

What are people's thought on forcing in house financing? Arapahoe is not allowing outside financing besides Navy Fed or USAA. I already put 500 non refundable deposit on a VIN coming mid Feb. Should I eat the 500 and bail?

 

[ksyrah]

What are people's thought on forcing in house financing? Arapahoe is not allowing outside financing besides Navy Fed or USAA. I already put 500 non refundable deposit on a VIN coming mid Feb. Should I eat the 500 and bail?

Finance in-house and immediately refinance. The one month's rate difference will be less than $500. Just make sure that there is no early pre-payment penalty.

 

[Johnwhite]

What are people's thought on forcing in house financing? Arapahoe is not allowing outside financing besides Navy Fed or USAA. I already put 500 non refundable deposit on a VIN coming mid Feb. Should I eat the 500 and bail?

Fowler doesn’t force in house financing, reach out to them

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[sirlantzalot]

If you can get a loan from the same lender and the dealer is charging you a higher APR that is straight up fraud and should be reported to the States AG, BBB, and Kia. The dealer is not part of the financing decision unless their name is on the loan, sure they bank kickbacks but that should never impact the APR you qualify for. I have an incoming order at Arapahoe and live out-of-state and so far all the conversations have been great and I know what APR I can get from nationwide banks like BoA and several local CO banks before going in. I'll report back how it goes when I take delivery in a ~month.

 

[asianslaw]

If you can get a loan from the same lender and the dealer is charging you a higher APR that is straight up fraud and should be reported to the States AG, BBB, and Kia. The dealer is not part of the financing decision unless their name is on the loan, sure they bank kickbacks but that should never impact the APR you qualify for. I have an incoming order at Arapahoe and live out-of-state and so far all the conversations have been great and I know what APR I can get from nationwide banks like BoA and several local CO banks before going in. I'll report back how it goes when I take delivery in a ~month.

Have you been in contact with them to see if they would take your out of house financing? Any recommendations on CO banks that are a decent rate I should look at?

 

[dcreno]

I am in the same boat. I was not informed that they dont take outside financing. This is ridiculous. I am going to try credit unions. They usually provide (at least in past two experience with me) a check payable to the dealer that is overnighted to you. This way it is effectively a cash sale for Arapahoe even though it is considered financing by the credit union.
I am curious to know about your dealings -Asianslaw and sirlan - if you can inform us oh what happened it will be much appreciated. I am supposed to take ownership in March.

 

[SaddieTaz]

What are people's thought on forcing in house financing? Arapahoe is not allowing outside financing besides Navy Fed or USAA. I already put 500 non refundable deposit on a VIN coming mid Feb. Should I eat the 500 and bail?

The loophole is accepting the dealer-arranged financing, then refinance elsewhere at a lower rate. Dealers lose out on their commission for financing if the loan is paid off within 90 days. Before you go this route, confirm with your prospective lender that the same rate you were preapproved for would still apply to a refinance. You’ll also want to read your dealer-arranged loan agreement carefully and understand any penalties, such as an early termination fee.