Lumberton KIA Dishonest Business Practices/Use Strong Caution When Dealing With Salesmen/Staff Lumberton North Carolina

I went to Lumberton KIA on Saturday, October 4, 2008 looking to purchase a new car. When the salesman approached me for the first time, he asked was I looking to buy a new or used car. I told him i'd get whatever I could with my credit rating.

We had looked at a few used cars when he told me he could put me in a new 2008 KIA Sorrento for the same payments I would be making on a used vehicle. At that point we went in the dealership and he took down my information to run a credit check. I had told him previously that, as far as i knew, I had bad credit or no credit at all. His response was that they would check it out.

When he came back to me that day he told me I would have to get a co-signer to help me out with the loan. At that point I told him I would see what I could do and get back to him and I left the dealership.

After I arrived home, I called my grandmother and she agreed to co-sign with me so I could get the car. I called the salesman back and told him what I had found and he called her to get her information to process the credit application.

About 2 hours later the salesman called me back and said everything looked fine, just bring her by so she could sign the papers. My grandmother wasn't available to go to the dealership that day so the salesman and I agreed that it would be fine for her to come by the dealership the following Tuesday to sign the papers. I asked him if I could get the car that day (still Saturday) and he said sure.

So I went to the dealership and signed what I needed to and took delivery of the vehicle. At that point everything seemed fine. According to information from the salesman and the finance manager, I could finance the vehicle with my grandmother co-signing and take delivery of the vehicle that day (Saturday).

Everything went well until my grandmother and I went back to the dealership the following Tuesday for her to sign the paperwork. When we arrived, we were told there was a problem. We were informed that the credit application would not complete processing with her as the co-signer. When it was all over that day, my grandmother ended up completing the paperwork with her as the primary buyer and I was nowhere on the contract.

After a week had gone by, I received a phone call from the salesman stating the contract had to be re-signed because there was an error. Every week for a month there was a new error on the contract and it had to be re-signed.

After having the vehicle for two weeks, I was informed by a friend of the family that there should have been a paper signed stating Lumberton KIA's return agreement. That if for any reason I was unsatisfied with the vehicle or the financing arrangement, that I could return the vehicle within 5 business days. This "Return Agreement" was never presented to myself or my grandmother. Nobody even mentioned it the day we were told the financing wouldn't go through on the original arrangement. This made it look to me like the dealership was going to make that sale no matter what. At any cost, they were going to make that deal.

After the first month of owning the vehicle, the temporary 30 day tag was about to go dead and I hadn't received my permanent plate yet so I needed another temporary tag. I needed to speak to the finance manager at that time so I asked to speak to him. I was informed he no longer worked for the company. The salesman told me the finance manager had made so many mistakes and had cost the dealership so much money, he had to be released. This makes me wonder how many other people he had put in the same situation as my grandmother and myself.

This whole situation caused so many family issues its just unreal. One simple solution could have prevented all this headache/heartache, but Lumberton KIA just wanted to make that sale. Nobody ever mentioned the "Return Agreement". Not even their new finance manager.

Its now January 2009 and from what I hear, there is a new finance manager every week. I no longer have posession of the vehicle, my grandfather made me park it in his yard and now my grandmother has a vehicle and extra payment that's stuck with her for 7 years.

Rlg
Tar Heel, North Carolina
U.S.A.