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Business Profile

New Car Dealers

Kia of Chattanooga

Complaints

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Complaint Details

Note that complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. See details.

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  • Complaint Type:
    Product Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    On Aug 8th 2022, I went to Kia of Chattanooga to purchase a brand new 2023 Kia Sportage. When it came to working with the finance offer **** ***********, I think he saw a young woman by herself and took the opportunity to take advantage. He padded my contract with several unwanted warranties without disclosing them to me and purposely covering the paper and only leaving where I need to sign shown. When I told him I did NOT want Gap coverage, he told me it was required by ******* *** who was financing my loan. I called ******* *** afterwards and found out this was untrue. I had to go back two days later to the dealership because **** did not provide me with a contract. When I finally looked over my contract at home I saw there were several warranties added. I immediately called him and asked him to cancel the warranties and gap coverage. He was not very happy about that and said he would email me a form before hanging up on me. I filled out the form and faxed it back to him immediately after he sent it to me. This was just 4 days after I bought the car. I have not received my refund for any of the warranties or gap coverage. I have called and went to the dealership several times and they agree I should have been refunded. They continue to give me the run around that **** is on the phone or the woman who deals with the warranty refunds is sick, on vacation or had quit. I have added documentation to show when I signed the form and emailed it to ****. I’ve also included my contact that shows the several unwanted warranties. I would like to receive my refund for the products I have asked to be canceled since 2022 and have now had to pay interest on.

    Business response

    09/27/2024

    I have pulled the deal and reviewed everything. We will be issuing a full refund for the service contract, total loss protection and maintenance plan on this deal. The amount of $3,844.00 will be sent to the original lienholder of ******* *** Auto Finance so they can apply to your loan balance. I will have the check ready to be sent out on 09/30/2024 and provide a copy to the customer showing the amount sent if they would like one. 
  • Complaint Type:
    Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    On 6-12-24 I took my Kia Sorento in for a scheduled oil change and tire rotation. The 2 back tires have been a low for a month or so. Not losing pressure. The driver side 34-35 psi and the passenger 32-34. There is a display on the dashboard. I did not mention this as checking tire pressure is part of their advertised inspection. While driving home I noticed the tire pressures were still reading as listed above. I checked my receipt and there was a charge for $22 for tire rotation. I assume given the readings that the tires were not rotated. I called Kia when I arrived home, and they persistly assured me the tires had been rotated and did not offer to correct the issue or refund the $22. I have since verified the pressure in the tires, so this is not a sensor issue.

    Business response

    06/14/2024

    I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that you experienced.  Please reach out to me at your earliest opportunity and we will happily process a refund amount you have requested.  I will try and reach you by phone as well in the mean time.

    ***** ***** ************

    Customer response

    06/17/2024

     
    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Sincerely,
    **** *****
  • Complaint Type:
    Sales and Advertising Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Drove over an hour to get here specifically for the TWO offers they gave me online for them to act like they couldn't use the offers and like they came from a different dealership, and not honor the original offer. Left work early to be able to get there and wasted my day to be lied to and treated like an idiot. This is a very dishonest dealership and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

    Business response

    06/03/2024

    The guest calculated multiple payments on the website using the estimated trade value.  However, it appears on some of them the payoff was not used when the guest calculated the payment.  Providing the lender approved the loan, these payments would be correct.  The offers the guest is referring to being incorrect are the offers where the trade payoff was not included.  This substantially lowered the amount of equity being used in the payment calculation and resulted in a higher payment.

    Customer response

    06/04/2024


    Complaint: ********

    I am rejecting this response because:

    The payoff amount was entered into their system.

    Sincerely,
    ******** *****

    Business response

    06/05/2024

    When looking at the screen shot where the guest has the payoff highlighted, it appears the payoff was not added back in to the amount financed.  If you take the following breakdown, the Amount Financed is missing the payoff.
    MSRP                            $28,560
    Discount                       $1,500
    Taxes & Fees                $2,788
    Applied Trade               $10,218
    Down Payment             $0.00
    Total Down Payment   $10,218.00
    Amount Financed        $19,630

    It is clear in the description above as well as the screenshots provided by the customer that the $6340 trade in payoff is not added in the financed amount.  We have tested our system on several occasions and as long as the payoff is put in correctly, it is added into the amount financed.  When the payoff amount is put in correctly the amount financed is $25970.  We have no control over how the payoff amount is entered.  However, in our opinion and based on the testing of our system, the payoff was not input correctly.   Using the correct amount financed the estimated payments the customer were quoted at the dealership are correct, providing the lender approves the loan.
    As a gesture of good will and desiring a resolution, Kia of Chattanooga would like to offer $12500 for the trade value.  Depending on exact payoff and an applicable tax this would make the amount financed approximately $22850.  If the lender approved the loan for the desired term of 84 months at 6.75%, the payment would be $344 using $22850 as the amount to be financed.
    If the guest would like to explore this option, we would be happy to reach out and get an online credit application to submit for loan approval. 
  • Complaint Type:
    Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Our Kia Optima broke down on 11/23/22 and we had the car towed to Kia of On Friday 11/25 we received a call from the service tech stating they ran the codes which indicated misfirings on cylinders 1 and 3 as well as pressure issues with other cylinders. They asked permission before running 2 hours of diagnostics. We expressed our concerns about the known engine issues with this model car. We called for an update later in the day and were told verbally that a spark plug had snapped and damaged the cylinders and that we would need a new engine. We inquired about kia covering the cost of repair and how to initiate that process. The service tech ensured us he filed a tech ticket on our behalf. Later that day he stated it was denied. Upon arriving to the dealership on Saturday 11/26 we paid our bill (about $350 for 2 hours of diagnostics plus tax). They provided us with 2 sheets of paper that only stated that 2 hours of diagnostics were performed plus our original complaint ('the engine seemed to seize up while driving'). We asked for all of the records that indicated specifically what the diagnostics indicated and what codes were found. We were told they could not make a copy for us if any further documentation. The lead tech pointed to the note on our document stating 'the engine seems to have seized up' as their findings, despite this being the complaint we gave them when dropping the Kia off. We inquired about the tech ticket and getting a copy of it. The service tech on that date told us that corporate Kia was closed on Friday and that we wouldn't know anything for 2-3 business days, a direct contradiction to the original tech who told us it had been denied. When we confronted the service tech (kindly) about the discrepancy and asked how to get evidence that it was actually submitted. At that point the service tech walked away. He also told us there was no documentation on what diagnostics were run and what the issue was.

    Business response

    01/02/2023

    The vehicle was brought in not running well, we advised the customer of the diagnosis charge prior to the start. We followed Kia’s process on the engine warranty extension. It passed the test and the issue was with spark plugs which are not covered this was explained to the customer. The vehicle had not been here before and the customer also explained she had her vehicle at several kia dealers and no would replace her engine. We advised her to contact consumer affairs with kia. 

    Customer response

    01/03/2023


    Complaint: ********

    I am rejecting this response because:

    Incorrect information listed in response from business. This was the first Kia dealership our car was brought to for mechanical issues. 

    Original complaint was not addressed: We understand the car was not running and we understand that corporate will not cover the cost of engine replacement. Our complaint is that Kia of Chattanooga refused to provide documentation re: what was diagnosed and what tests were run. We have no documentation that the spark plugs caused mechanical failure. We had to pay a second Kia dealership to run diagnostics again due to the lack of documentation from Kia of Chattanooga. The second Kia dealership was able to provide detailed records of what they did/found. 

    Per request in original complaint, we would like documentation from the diagnostics completed at Kia of Chattanooga. If no documentation can be provided we would like a partial refund given that their lack of supportive documentation resulted in us having to pay for diagnostics a second time. 

    Sincerely,

    **** **********

    Business response

    01/04/2023

    Please excuse our lack of documentation on your repair order. Your service advisor is new and closed the work order before he put the notes in. I have attached a copy of the notes that were written by the tech working on your vehicle. The technician indicated he was told by the advisor which was informed by you that the spark plugs had been replaced at the end of October. The vehicle was brought into us on 11/25/22, our technician performed basic diagnostic and then performed a compression test and found that cylinder 1 and cylinder 3 had little to no compression. We then used a borescope to see the inside of the cylinder and found scaring on cylinder 3 and also broken valve on cylinder 3. After this we spoke with technical assistance from kia to see if kia would offer any help. Kia declined to help as it was not a result of the warranty extension that covers the connecting rod. Caleb advised me that he explained all of this to you, however with him being still new at this maybe he wasn’t clear about it, and we apologize for that. I have attached a copy of the file for your review.

    The engine would need to be replaced to correct the issue and the cost of that would be around 6k parts and labor. 
  • Complaint Type:
    Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    My 2015 kia has had a factory recall on the windshield. The dealer nor corporate can tell me how long they will have the car or when a windshield will he available to make the repair. They got us a rental for 5 days but refuse to get us a rental or loaner for any longer than that and there is still no time frame of when I'll get my car back. Spoke to both the dealer and kia of America and both provided the worst customer service I've experienced. The car had water enter in thru the windshield and then the air went out in it. It is sitting outside in the rain daily just getting ruined. I need some help with this asap please. I'm at *** *** ****

    Business response

    08/08/2022

    The customer brought their vehicle in on 7-30-22 for a leaking windshield and ac not cooling also there was water pooling up in pass side floorboard.
    The technician found that the ac drain was clogged and that is why the water was setting in the floor. We cleaned the ac drain and got it to drain out to correct this issue.
    The ac not cooling is the ac compressor control switch, we are replacing that part now.
    The Windshield that is loose just needs to be removed and resealed, there was some communication errors on our part the tech explained to the advisor the windshield would need to be replaced. Then the service advisor ordered a windshield which was on back order with kia. The customer was very aggravated that we could not just use an after-market part to repair her vehicle. Our service manager Kevin W******* got involved on Friday the 5th and seen where we had ordered the glass he spoke with the customer and advised her we could just have the windshield resealed and that would correct her issue. The customer has been in a vehicle since they dropped it off and kia will be taking care of the rental bill. The customer also contacted Consumer Affairs with Kia and they had no good answers either which made the customer even more aggravated.
  • Complaint Type:
    Delivery Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    I purchased a Kia Telluride on November 29, 2021 and was supposed to receive a $400 military rebate. I’ve contacted the dealership multiple times and was asked to submit my paperwork. Each time I told them that I had provided it at signing, I was told that they did, in fact have it and would resubmit. Despite numerous calls to Jeff in finance, I have not received a rebate and now my calls are not being returned.

    Business response

    03/30/2022

    I apologize for the delay I finally received all the necessary paperwork for the military rebate and it has been processed by Kia. We will have a check sent out the first of the week to the address on file.

    Customer response

    03/30/2022

     
    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Sincerely,

    ****** ********

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