Smithtown Kia

This was the worst car buying experience ever. Everyone in this dealership was a piece of garbage. They were all typical sleazy salesmen and managers; Charlie was the worst. I put a down payment on an Optima on July 6th, Peter was my salesman at first. He promised the car within a few days and said they just had to locate the model and color I wanted from another dealer. I waited and waited. Nothing. The worst part was that Peter said he was going to be in the office the next day working on locating my car. Funny thing is, I bumped into him the next day at DMV when I was returning my plates during lunch. He was off that day. No calls, no car yet.

I called the next day, no response. I couldn't find the car yet. I had to drop off a registration the next day to "validate" my incentive for going from a Honda to a Kia. When I went to the office, Peter was there but never acknowledged me or said a word. He was helping a new customer, so what the **, just ignore your previous customer? I called everyday to see where my car was. Nothing. I got so bad that Peter would not even take my calls. I was put on hold, switched to his phone and when my caller ID number came up, he would see it and immediately place me back on hold. I finally had to speak to the manager Tony --another piece of garbage.

He, too, promised me next week. NOTHING! Charlie then got involved and he told me: Don't talk to anyone but me, I am handling your deal now. Great, I thought. Then I got the runaround from him every single day. The car was coming in soon, it's on the truck, should be here today. I'd call and hear another excuse everyday! This went on for two weeks. I finally asked for my money back. Charlie said, I promise you the car is coming in on Monday, you have to be patient. I said I had been more than patient in the last 3 weeks. Monday came and went with no car. Tuesday, he said it was scheduled to be delivered but the truck must have been delayed. Wednesday, I called again and he told me that the car they needed to swap with was deliver that day; now all he needed to do was send his driver to "swap" the dark gray car for the light gray I wanted. That would be tomorrow, Thursday. He told me to call in the morning and he would personally handle the transaction.

I called again Thursday morning but I was told that Charlie was on vacation! Now I had to talk to Tony again. Tony said, I don't know what you're talking about, we didn't get any cars delivered yesterday! Unbelievable, lie after lie after lie with this Smithtown Kia dealer. I asked Tony that day to cancel my deal. He said fine and would refund my deposit. It has been two weeks and I still do not have this refund. The best part of all this, I went to Lindenhurst Kia the same day I canceled my deal and they had the exact same model I wanted. I put the deposit down and had my car the next morning. No one should go to this Kia. They are the worst dealer ever. Not even the other KIA dealers in the area will work with them that is why they have such a hard time getting cars in. I was the third person in less than one month who left Kia Smithtown having the same problems and went to Lindenhurst and got a car within days!

I was in contact with a Sales person named John M, who gave me a fair price on the car I most desired. The Optima Hybrid in pearl white. I saw this car at the NYC car show at the Jacob Javits Center and wanted the exact same thing. I understand the color of my choice was not available so John and I worked together to get as close to my choice as possible.

When I finally compromised on a color I was not completely satisfied with and we came down to the financing processes and I was approved for a loan immediately. Being a business man by trade, I figured my payments out based on the price; loan length; tax; and loan rate of 1.99%. This should have come to $151.00 per month. Denis, the finance manager at that dealership called me into his office and quoted me a price of $225.00 per month. When I questioned this number Denis said this includes the extended warrantees which is mandatory to take with a Hybrid. This was not explained to me until that day of closing, and I later found out this is inaccurate information.

I was also offered a "deal"by a man named Tony, a sales manager as well, on the warrantee if I gave them $700.00 up front I would not have to pay $ 1550.00 plus tax throughout the length of the loan. So I skeptically gave them my debit card because I was in a vulnerable situation, I had sold my car and had no vehicle. The man in charge of finance department, Charlie passed a comment that it's no big deal I have a lot of money. I found that a complete insult. Not to mention a scam in the works. How ever due to my vulnerability I signed my life away.

When I called to get my warrantee moneys back, I was put off in the rudest way. So I went to the dealership and Denise, the finance manager, ran out and refused to discuss this with me in person. I am still trying to get my money back. Charlie, the Sales manager, keeps telling me to call back another day. This has been going on for too long. I am aware I am entitled to cancel within 60 days. I also realize they conveniently neglected to give me a copy of these warrantee policy regulations.

Thank you in advance for listening to my unsatisfactory experience. I was treated unfairly and it will not go unnoticed.

I went in to purchase a Kia Forte and got this great sales pitch on how they can save me so much money. I left $100 deposit. The next day, I called to find out what deals they got me and told me to come in at 3:30 that they couldn't discuss it over the phone. When I get there, they told me they got me approved for a Kia Optima not the forte as I requested. Then they called me into the finance dept and gave me a ridiculous monthly payment amount and told them no way refund my money. Two weeks later after a lot of *** from them on how they had to go to Toyota to do a refund and all this stuff they never refunded my money. I am still waiting for a refund. Smithtown Kia is a rip off who needs your deposit money because no one in their right mind would purchase a car from these thieves.

On Monday I received a call telling me not to come because of the holiday (Memorial Day) and the people that could put the paperwork through would not be there, and to stop by Tuesday after work. The salesperson assured me he will be there until 9pm. I called Tuesday after work at about 6pm and to my surprise the salesman left for the day, I decided I needed to stop by and get some answers. This is when I dealt with the manager Charlie. They didn't tell me anything they couldn't have told me Friday or Saturday the latest. I basically couldn't get the car because the interest charge would have been extremely high. These people wasted my time for three days with my money in their pocket.

The next day I decided to go a Nissan dealer and it was the best choice, they actually want to sell cars. The people at Nissan went above and beyond my expectations. I left with a Nissan Altima the same day. I needed to call Charlie to let him know I needed my down payment back, at first they kept giving me the run around. They kept me waiting on the phone, then the line got disconnected or so I want to believe, not that they deliberately hung up the phone. When I finally got through to Charlie he informed me he would have to put the paper work through home office and then they will reverse the payment, and depending on the bank I will see my money early next week. I want you to keep in mind one little detail, Nissan had to reverse a payment in error, made with my debit card and they were able to do it right then and there with no need to get in touch with "home office" as I was told by Charlie. Nissan's reversal cleared within 2 business days on my bank account.

On Thursday (6/10), after a week of my conversation with Charlie I still did not see the reversal of the $500. I then decided to call and find out what was going on, the salesperson I had originally dealt with told me he will find out from the manager and to call back the next day (Friday). On Friday (6/11), two weeks after the first time I walked into KIA and left my $500 with them, I talk to Charlie and he tells me that they have been waiting for me to come with my debit card because they needed my card number in order to process the reversal. At this point Ive had it with them and completely lost my cool, I demanded an explanation to why they did not contact me telling me they needed my card and why Charlie did not informed me of this when I spoke to him the week prior.

I requested they put my reversal through immediately and Charlie had the audacity to tell me he will do it when he has time, if not he will do it Monday. I decided to call KIA's customer service and put forward a formal complaint, at that moment the customer service representative got in touch with Charlie and made him put my money back instantly. Needless to say the money cleared in two business days on my bank account. I was so appalled by Charlie's actions that I made it my goal to let as many people know about his nasty tactics and to stay away from KIA OF SMITHTOWN.

I am a 38-year old single mother and this is my first time ever buying a car, new or used. I had a check in my hand for over $27,000 made out to Smithtown Kia. I had this check for one week, waiting to get into my new car. On Saturday, March 13th, I signed a sales agreement with Salesman Harold ** (with the help of General Manager Charlie) for a 2011 EX V6 Sorento. They did not have the exact car I wanted in stock, but Charlie found one at a dealer in New Jersey that according to him, "We do dealer swaps all the time. I can have the car here by Monday". I agreed, signed a sales contract and put a $500 deposit down on the car.

Harold called me on Monday and said it would be ready for pick up on Thursday and that he would call me on Wednesday to set up an appointment. He never called. I called on Thursday and Harold said it was delayed but on it's way now and would be ready for me to pick up on Saturday morning. He would call me Friday to set up an appointment. I was not called again. I called Friday afternoon and this time, I spoke directly with the General Manager Charlie. He said the car hadn't even left New Jersey. He also said, "You know, if you had just bought a car from the lot, you would be driving it right now" (implying it was my fault that I was unhappy with what was going on). He promised that his guys would be picking up the car on Monday morning and everything would be settled Tuesday afternoon (the 22nd, a week after he had originally promised to be able to get the car!).

Saturday morning, I received a call from Harold, someone who had blatantly lied to me twice and not follow through on promised phone calls to me. He said to me in a completely fake concerned voice "Kim, what happened?". By this time, I never wanted to hear his voice again and I let him know it. Monday the 22nd, once again, I was not called. When I finally broke down and called the dealership, Charlie had already left and no one knew of any car being delivered. I had someone in my corner who stood up for me (kind of Consumer Advocate). Charlie called me Tuesday, March 23rd. I told him to refund my deposit. He took my credit card number and said my account would be credited in a couple of days. I don't believe him so I put a dispute on the charge with my credit card company. This is my first and last car buying experience with Smithtown Kia and probably Kia in general.

I have had an ongoing problem with Smithtown Kia. In January of 2010, I signed a contract with Kia and left a $1,000 check on a 2011 Kia Sorento. I was told at the time of the contract that I would have the Sorento by the end of the week or at the very latest the beginning of the following week. When that time passed I was told to give it another week.

In the beginning of February, I was told that the sales personal I had dealt with had been fired and that in the future I would be dealing with the sales manager Charlie G. Well, he never called and sometime in mid-February, I called Kia's main office to find out what the problem was. I was told that I should have already had the car and that there were several in the Northeast which could have been driven or shipped to NY.

Two weeks ago, I called Charlie to ask him the status of my Sorento. He told me I would have it on Thursday which was only three days away. When I called the following Monday, he told me they had received a total of four Sorentos but they were sold to other clients I was totally baffled by that remark. He assured me my Sorento was coming in within a few days. It did not and still I let yet another week go by giving them the benefit of the doubt.

On Saturday March 6,2010, I went into their store and asked him for my money back. He told me he could not give it to me and that I would have to wait another week. This has created a great deal of stress for me because I am still in need of a car. I would like to file this complaint because they cashed my check in the 3rd week of January with no results. Empty promises are the only thing I have received from this company and I hope that they are forced to return my money and that they are instructed by the BBB and Consumer Affairs that these kinds of practices are not acceptable or are allowed by New York State. All I want is my money back. At this point, I am in the process of purchasing another car from another company and I need my money asap.

we have a 2006 sedona that has defective emergency brakes. thaey fail to hold the van in my driveway which is steep and this has been snce we took delivery of this van. this problem has been ignored and denied by all people until the factory serice rep was brought in. his repair was short lived. also the van has a water leak in the third row seat storage area. the motor has a knock when started in the am and this engine has only had synthetic oil used in it.last visit to smithtown they refused to look at van and my wife got stuck as a result of them not checking the charging starting system.

Loss of vechicle for mutiple failed service attempts . musty smell in van. noisy motor. no tradein value at dealership.

My wife & I stopped by Smithtown KIA one evening, shortly before the dealership was closing to inquire about a used KIA Sedona we'd seen listed online. After speaking with an extremely nice salesman & taking the car around the parking lot for a quick spin, I placed a $500 deposit to hold the used car while we made a final decision. We were told the deposit was fully-refundable. [I did NOT agree to purchase this or any other vehicle during the visit.]

Upon returning home, we saw this same vehicle was listed on KIA's website for several hundred dollars less than it was being offered to us. After a phone call or two, the salesman agreed to offer us the lower advertised price.

My wife returned several days later to look at the Sedona again & give it a real test drive. In the daylight, a fair number of minor dings, scratches, etc. were clearly visible which had obviously not been attended at the dealership. When these were pointed out, an offer to touch them up was made.

The test-drive was satisfactory - not bad in any way, but not overly impressive either. Unconvinced this was the right vehicle, we stopped by several other dealerships & subsequently found a different pre-owned mini-van that was more suitable/right.

This morning my wife called Smithtown KIA & told the salesman we would regrettably not be purchasing the Sedona. He told her to simply bring in the Yellow copy of the slip we were provided originally & the $500 deposit would be refunded. Up to this point, we'd never had a more pleasurable experience with any car dealership - or salesman. [Kudos to Brad!!!]

Shortly thereafter, the Used Car Manager, Rich Milano, called my wife to ask how they might salvage a deal, inquiring about what we were looking for, if we'd found another car, etc.,... He stated he had other vehicles [KIAs, Hondas, Toytas] available. My wife politely explained we'd already made a decision & would not be buying one of their cars & the call ended.

Rich Molina called back a few minutes later [I answered the phone] to now say he would NOT be refunding my money. When I said we'd been less than an hour before & that the deposit was NOT made as part of any purchase agreement, he said the salesman was no longer involved with the sale [?]. His demeanor was unpleasant, if not outright combatative - citing my obligation for 15% of loss or damages resulting from my failure to complete the purchase [which I never agreed to/finalized in the first place]! I asked for the name of the dealership's owner & requested he call me directly.

I have contacted KIA [Corporate] Consumer Relations to register a formal complaint; contacted the Credit Card company & put the charge in dispute; and my wife drove over to the dealership to return our Yellow copy. She received a receipt, but no clear indication any refund has been/is being processed... I await a call from the owner.

In the meantime, I'm gathering Consumer Protection contact information at the County & State level, the Better Business Bureau, etc... I fully expect the Credit Card company will validate my dispute - but am still outraged by having to deal with the stereotypical used car salesman tactics & attitude displayed by Smithtown KIA - and Rich Milano, specifically!