I must sincerely advise people to stay away from Folger Kia in Charlotte NC. Although the reasons are many, I would like to highlight and shed light some of their devious practices .
First and foremost, Folger Kia utilizes the widely accepted practice of “spotting” a car to a potential buyer, but only as hedge while gambling on those buyers with poor credit getting a loan. It is dirty and underhanded to the extreme. The dealer will lure buyers with poor credit in with the promise of a “credit rehabilitation” program that only they offer. They will write a contract at the state maximum interest rate, take the down payment from the client, take their trade and put the now “happy” buyer into a new car off their lot and send them on their way.
Within 1-2 weeks, the dealership will begin to shop the loan to as many banks as possible in an effort to find the lowest rate possible and pocket the difference. If they can’t get a bank to agree or cant get the terms the dealership wants, they will then call the customer to bring the car back. This is where the dealership will make another attempt to profit from the now embarrassed customer, either demanding a co-signer with better credit, lowering the rate of the loan to the dealership, while keeping the rate high for the borrower, bringing in more profit, or financing a used car from their lot at a high rate with an obscene markup telling the customer this is the only chance to get financed anywhere else, take it or leave it.
The dealership also charges an enormous $599 basic documentation fee for simply selling the car, with other fees tacked on for other services like title work. This is extraordinarily high for any dealership.
Another complaint is in the fine print for the deals they advertise. They often run an add for Kia Optima’s for $9,999.. Quite a deal.. But, that deal requires $4,000 down! That is a whopping 40% over the advertised price! Add the dealer charges and fees and you are approaching sticker quickly.
Again, if you are a low/no credit buyer, BEWARE of Folger Kia.
