Kia Motors Of America Ripoff Dishonest horrible customer service horrible mechanics Nationwide

I was told by friends and family to buy a new car. They said "Jen, you're a widow and you still have three children to take care of, don't bother with a used car. It will only wind up in the shop all the time and you'll have expenses you can't afford and no car." What a joke. So instead I purchased a brand new Kia Optima for $16,000 (car payments are $456.00 per month and because I reside in NJ I pay absorb anent amount for car insurance) and the car is a hunk of junk!

The car was in for service only a month after I purchased it. The "check engine light" came on 2 or 3 times within the first 3 months I owned the car and I had it in for service for days at a time. They even tried to tell me it was because squirrels had climbed into my engine and chewed my wires while the car was still on the lot. Since I've purchased this car I've had the car in for service several other times for engine repair and at one point the power locks went. They had to rip my car door off and then I had to drive around without a car door interior until one came in.

About 9 months after I purchased the car it stopped starting. I brought it in to the Newark, DE dealership and they claimed the clutch needed an adjustment. Well this was still under warranty. So once again I left my car with them and was unable to drive the car I was paying $456.20 per month for. Fast-forward to the following winter. Same thing. Car won't start unless I crank anywhere from 50-100 times. But here's where things get really ugly. I had originally purchased the car in DE. The salesmen, John Justice, told me all about their wonderful Roadside assistance. He also told me about "car rental coverage" which is exactly what he termed it as. He assured me that as long as the car was under warranty that I was covered by Kia Roadside Assistance and Car rental. Well this was a REALLY big lie. Apparently there is no "car rental assistance" having anything to do with Kia Roadside Assistance. All it was is that this particular dealership gave you a loaner car, that is if one was available and that wasn't very often, little did I know what kind of nightmare it would be for me when I moved back to good ol' NJ.

So back to the car not starting last winter. I take it into Global Kia on Rt. 22 in North Plainfield, NJ and I leave the car there. Then they call me and say, "well it needs a clutch adjustment because the weather is changing but its starting right now so we can't adjust it until it stops working" I was furious! I told them they were crazy I had a clutch adjustment already the previous year! On top of that, the clutch was no longer under warranty and it would have cost me $50 to do this "clutch adjustment". So I'm thinking I'm supposed to have to shell out $50 every spring and fall for a clutch adjustment??

Meanwhile, I have mechanic friends who said they never heard of such a thing with a new car like that. So the car acts up all winter and then it just stops acting up. Now here we go again in the spring of this year. Last week I am stranded at work. Car won't start. I am a widow and have very little to no resources. My dad is in a sling from rotator cuff surgery and cannot pick me up. I am begging Kia Roadside to honor what John Justice told me and give me a car rental. NOTHING DOING. All they kept saying is "sorry, we can tow the car to the nearest dealer but we have no way to get you home." I had to take a taxi which cost me $45! Now I'm missing work because I have no ride and I'm not getting paid for days off.


So now I'm without a car, missing work and paying off a piece of crap car. The car gets towed to Brunswick Kia. They keep the car for 3 days waiting on a "clutch switch". Finally I get my car back and I start it and its making this grinding noise. The service department, which has banker hours btw, has left for the day. The noise stops after a few times starting it and I'm just fed up at this point. But for one week the car seemed to run fine.

Today I get in my car...I have to pick up my daughter from work, get groceries because there is no food in the house and run other errands and I get in this piece of crap car and here we F-ING go again! I call Brunswick Kia irate, of course 2pm on Saturday, can you imagine mechanics being on duty at a dealership?? I start telling Jason (the person reception gave to me when I asked who was in charge there) and I give Jason a good what for. Conveniently Jason is no longer the person in charge. Now I get this incompetent person named John who sounded and spoke like the janitor of the place. Immediately I got attitude from him like HE WAS BEING INCONVENIENCED! I just went off I couldn't help it anymore. He hung up on me. When I called back he told me he would call the police on me if I called there again. Of course I knew the cops would do nothing and I just pretty much told him to go to hell.

So I'm now on the phone with Delaware where I purchased the car. And I'm talking to Stephanie who is usually the one who helps me all the numerous times I've had to bring the car down to Delaware. I am crying at this point, literally in tears sobbing, telling her what is going on. And all she can say is "I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do" she managed to tell me to get under the hood and check the battery wires but I know nothing of these new cars and battery wires looked fine. Then I asked for John Justice the original salesman that sold me the car and he was in but he conveniently was not available. So at this point I know I'm going to start a major consumer campaign against Kia and so I want the main corporate address to make my first of many formal written complaints and fist they send me to a Honda manager.

Then he sends me to Matt a Kia manager. I tell him everything that has gone on and all he can say is, "sorry, there is nothing I can do, you'll have to call Henry (I guess another manager in charge) on Monday morning. So here I am...my daughter is stranded at work, I have no groceries and no stores in walking distance. I have no way to work on Monday. I just barely get by with rent and bills each month and I live paycheck to paycheck. This incident can cause a chain reaction that puts my family at horrible risk. If I can't get to work on Monday and probably Tuesday and more than likely Wednesday (knowing the pattern of this situation) how do I pay my rent on the first when I'm missing half a week of pay? I have no milk in the house. My father is still in a sling and can't drive. I literally have no one else, now that my husband is gone, to help me. Imagine, I bought a new Kia off the lot so I had reliable and safe transportation. I never asked to be a single mom. I have a huge burden to carry. I am struggling in one of the most expensive states in the union to feed my kids and keep the lights on. I have incredible stress in my life that caused my asthma to flare up and causes me to experience anxiety attacks. I have no health insurance. I cannot afford to get on pills or to make sure that I'm in good health. I cannot imagine that the stress I am constantly under is very healthy. I had heart palpitations and trouble breathing this afternoon. I was hysterical. I just can't take this anymore.

Not one person offered ANY type of solution to my crisis. But I will say this, I am going to embark upon a campaign like they and the likes of them have never seen in their professional careers. I'm going to start at the top and work my way down to every community bulletin board in every town I pass through, every internet message board and group I have a platform in and I am going to make sure that as many people as possible know to NEVER EVER DO BUSINESS WITH KIA MOTORS OF AMERICA!

At the end of the day this is approximately the 8th (could be a few more, I've lost count at this point) time the car has been serviced since I bought it in October of 2004.

I will find a way hopefully to sell this piece of crap and get the payoff amount on this car and go buy a used Honda. I will feel safer in a '95 Honda than a brand new Kia. I think I'd feel safer in a '85 Honda than a brand new Kia.

KIA SUCKS!!

Jen
Somerset, New Jersey
U.S.A.

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Washington Mutual

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on KIA