Kia of St. Cloud

Just like many other reviews, they said they felt a little pressured into buying the Kia as soon as possible. At 5,000 miles, it was due for an oil change. In that first 5,000 miles, they noticed the mileage was between 17 and 22 miles per gallon. It idled rough and there was a bad road/wind noise in the top of the driver's door. They said they would look into it. There ended up being a recall on the bad idling and we were told it would be in Wednesday. That's all he said. The noise coming from the driver's was found to be normal, but you can even hear it from the passenger's side. As far as the mileage, we were told it was normal.

I find it hard to believe that a small four cylinder should be getting just a tad better mileage than our full size eight cylinder trucks. When they bought the new Kia, they said the mileage should get better over 5,000 miles. Well it didn't. We brought it back in and we were then told once it gets 10,000 miles on, the mileage should go up. Well now as it's reaching close to 10,000 miles and no signs of improvement, we are now told 15,000 miles. Looking in the manual, break in shows between 600 and 1,200 miles. That allows everything to seat right and the engine is officially broke in around that 1,000 to 1,200 mile mark. Not real sure where they're pulling the 5,000, 10,000 and now 15,000 mile numbers from, but they are totally inaccurate.

The one day we had it in there talking to a salesman about the mileage, he wanted us to wait and he wanted to take it for a drive. When he got back, he showed us a video he recorded on his phone. He turned the info center to average fuel economy and started driving. Once he was up to speed, he reset the system and shut the radio off, the fan off, all the options he could off. I was carefully watching the speedometer and I could clearly see he wasn't using the brakes at all when he was slowing down, obviously increasing the mileage because the engine was coasting. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how to rig that system. I can make it show anywhere from 13 to 50. That proves nothing. I also wondered why we couldn't go with. He insisted he go by himself. After watching the video, I figured out why.

They treat you very badly and like you are very unintelligent. We have also been thrown the excuse of not getting as good of mileage in the winter. So strange considering I can get 18 with my full size GMC Yukon XL in the winter and it doesn't vary at all, whether it's -30 or 100 degrees out. Nine weeks after being told the recalled part would be in Wednesday, we decided to call the Kia plant in Georgia. After a phone call from them in Georgia to Kia of St. Cloud, we had an appointment because the recalled part had come. Keep in mind, a recalled part. Wouldn't you keep a bunch in stock? No, make the customer wait over two months after they bought a $32,000 car from you. What ever happened to "The customer is always right?" Not here. Once they have your signature and your money, you're screwed.

They're stuck with a small four banger that gets mileage like a full size truck. The vehicle itself is not that bad, but between the mileage and the poor customer service Kia of St. Cloud offers, it was something we would have never done. We just took the warranty off and are planning on going back to a genuine Chevrolet that has never failed us. As far as the reimbursement Kia is offering, with almost 9,000 miles on it, we are getting a check for a lousy $71. We're averaging around 20 miles per gallon. With the old ratings that were a complete lie, we should be averaging around 26. That's a six mpg difference. That's a huge percentage. At 9,000 miles, if we were averaging 26mpg, we should have burned about 350 gallons. At $4 a gallon, that's $1,400 in gas. Now we're getting 20mpg. We have burned roughly 450 gallons. At $4 a gallon yet again, that's $1,800 we have spent in gas already. According to my calculations, that's a $400 difference and not $71.

Kia tried making it right, but I'm smarter than that. $71 doesn't cut it. When you tell the people at Kia of St. Cloud, they say "I'm really sorry, but there's nothing I can do" and carry on like nothing happened. It doesn't affect them that they're screwing their customers over. My next story is about my vehicle. Since my grandparents bought a new vehicle from there, I thought I'd give them a try. Worst decision in my life. Fortunately I was spending $12.95 instead of $30,000. I got an oil change in my 2002 GMC Yukon XL. A few days later and I was very lucky I was in it and paying attention. The oil pressure gauge read zero and my info center said "check engine oil pressure." I heard knocking coming from the engine so I stopped. We towed it to a heated garage and once it was warmed up, it was fine.

A few days later again, it did the exact same thing. We decided to drain the oil. What came out was not oil. Kia put something in there that could have potentially ruined my engine. If I was inside letting it warm up and it ran without oil for 15 minutes, I would have a lot different situation on my hands. What came out looked like chocolate milk. I put a different filter on it and good oil in it. Luckily my truck has been fine. I finally had the chance to bring it in. A few guys looked at it, shrugged their shoulders and said, "Condensation. It was flooded. Short trips. We don't know what it is. We can show you what we have in the back. What do you want us to do about it?" That's how they take care of their customers. They don't care!

When I was in and waiting for my oil to be changed, they came back with a list full of things wrong with my Yukon and basically told me it's unreliable. The tires are bad, the wipers are bad, the ball joints are bad, the brakes are bad, the belt is bad, the cabin filter is bad, yet I haven't touched a thing on it and it's still going strong just like any GM car or truck out there. The prices for what they wanted to change at the time were beyond ridiculous. $120 for a belt that costs $17 at a store? With all the bad reviews this dealer has, the crappy customer service and the pushy salesman, something has to change. They're screwing people over and they think it's perfectly fine.

In a few years they won't be around. Enough people will get sick of the way they're running their business and do something about it. That time is now. They got my grandparents' money, sold one of my cousins a lemon and wouldn't do anything about it, and just about cooked my engine. Time to put an end to this mess. After looking at all of the reviews about other local businesses, this is the only one that is having major issues. They put the blame on "a few people" and "we can't make everyone happy," but at this rate I'm not sure they're making anyone happy.

After the paperwork was done, we went outside and I was shown my new car that I didn't even know I bought. It was the car that I test-drove which didn't have cruise control or sunroof, so they wanted me to go back in a week later for them to add it. I was furious and yet felt stupid so I didn't say anything. Well, I did mention that I didn't know this was that car I was getting (the car I test drove that had some kind of decal on the side). A couple of weeks later, I brought in my car to add the stuff (I would have rather bought a car that already had it). When I came to pick up the car, my seat covers were missing and my gas tank was empty. I brought it in with a full tank. When I told them that I brought my car in with a full tank and now it is nearly empty, the reply I got was, "We don't fill gas tanks. If we do, it is only about $5 to get the car where it needs to be. We had to bring your car to the cities to get the add-ons."

I also left my ID in the rental car, which I filled the gas tank up more than halfway and washed and vacuumed it to be nice. I pulled out pop cans and other garbage that must have been from previous renters. When I called to ask about my ID, they said someone else has the car and I have to wait until they return it. That tells me that they don't clean or maintain their rental cars in between renters. Several days later, I called back again asking for my ID and was able to get it back. I am glad I got a new car but I felt like I was getting bent over and spanked with the service I got. I'm definitely going to be doing a lot of research next time I do anything.

I purchased a used Ford Expedition from Kia of St. Cloud in July 2011. The salesman involved in the sale, Michael **, lied to me from the moment I walked into the business. I was told (verbally and written) that the vehicle I purchased would be 100% to my liking when it was delivered to me, or I could void the sale and get my trade-in back.

When the vehicle arrived, the power mirrors and power windows did not work. I was told by the salesman that Kia would fix it or reimburse me for the cost if I had it fixed elsewhere. I had the truck approximately 30 hours and drove it approximately 16 miles. Then the check engine came on, indicating the emission system was not working correctly.

The truck was also shaking like a diesel at this point. I called Kia immediately and was told by the salesman and the manager that Kia would absolutely fix this. I was told to bring the truck in. I brought it in on my next day off (Saturday) and was told they would look at it Monday and probably have it fixed by Wednesday.

On Tuesday, I called and the service department knew nothing about the fact that Kia was supposed to pay for the repairs. They acted like they were doing me a favor by shopping for cheap parts for me. I reminded them that they were paying for it, not me. At that point, they said they would have to check with sales.

They never did check with sales. They never ordered any parts and they never called me back. A few days later, I was told by an employee that the parts were in and the truck would be done that day. 3 days later, I find out that was a complete lie. Nothing had been ordered and nothing was done.

This is 10 days that they have had the truck by now. I requested to void the sale. The manager never calls me back. When he does call me back, he informs me that they have "satisfied their agreement with me" I ask, “How? You haven't done anything." He informs me that the 100% guarantee I was given does not exist in my file (and when I look in the sealed envelope I was given on purchase day, it is missing there as well).

I try to talk to the salesman (Michael **) and am told "I don't care what you do with the piece of crap, it's yours, you are stuck with it". After many, many calls (I requested to void the sale at least 4 times) and much effort on my part and the one decent employee that exists there (Clifford in service), the manager does agree to fix the catalytic converters on the truck, which are causing the emission problems.

Clifford tells me price is $600 while the manager tells me it is $1,200. Anyway, the manager refuses to fix the power mirrors and windows that were broken when the truck was delivered to me. The truck is sent to an independent muffler shop (I assume to have aftermarket parts welded in, to save money. But even though I requested copies of service orders, I was not given any). The power mirrors were also fixed. Kia wanted me to pay for it, and my husband refused.

I ended up taking the truck back home with the power windows still broken and I have no desire to ever return to Kia of St. Cloud for any reason. I plan to file as many complaint reports as I am able to warn people away from purchasing from this company. I wish I had followed my instincts and walked away immediately (when I met the salesman, I did not like him from the beginning). I know I will never again shop here and I will never again be pressured into a sale. If it sounds too good to be true, then it definitely is!

Jose talked to his boss and said that they would give me $1,000 for my car, which was okay with me. I had them put in the paperwork that it had to be approved by my bother and they were fine with it. I went home and looked how much the Sorento was worth--only $24,000. I called Jose about it and said that I did not want the vehicle. My brother had found me a vehicle and already put the down payment.

Jose kept trying to make other deals with me to have me buy the vehicle. He told me that they would pay $2,000 for my car and that they would lower the price of the vehicle to $24,999 (not a big difference). I said that I would think about it and talk to them on Monday. I looked online today and they have the vehicle, that I signed paperwork online, for a lower price than what they had told me a couple of times.

I brought my vehicle back to them, less than 1 week later, explaining what was going on. They kept my vehicle for 2 days, they test drove it, stated there was a pull but it could be due to the wind that day. No work was done because of 'the wind.'

I returned for the third time to their dealership on January 28, 2010 because my vehicle was still pulling to the left and when going over the speed of 65 there was a terrible shake. They test drove the vehicle and agreed there was a shake and a pull. They also stated that I needed to have my alignment checked and my tires balanced.

From the beginning of my service appointments with them, I asked for an alignment check and they stated that it was not necessary. They have previously ignored me when I asked for that service, and now they recommend it and it is no longer covered under warranty. They also told me that they did recalls on my vehicle that I was never given any paperwork for. When I received my car back after a mere hour it smelled of smoke. I am not a smoker and have never had anyone smoke in my car. All of my radio station settings had been changed as well.

The service manager has always been just plain rude towards me. On that final day (28th), he tossed my keys at me and told me to get out and made me wander the car lot looking for my car. I am very upset with this whole matter. I feel violated and ignored and used. I love my car but going through what I have with this dealership has made me second guess my purchase. I would never recommend they to anyone. Possible problems due the the misalignment and possible unbalanced tires. I am in the process of finding a new dealership.

On 6/17/09, he said it was a done deal. Mike ** called me on 6/18/09, to tell me there is a problem with the title, there was still a lien against the truck, said he's working on getting a clear title. The previous owner had just got a divorce and it wasn't looking good for a bank to help him with lien, so the previous owner would have to bring car he traded back and reacquire the truck.

I did a Carfax report on the truck, obtained the previous owners information, made a call to him, to find out the previous owner is not divorced, does not have a lien against the truck and had no knowledge of this so-called title problem the dealer was lying about. I called Mike ** on 6/15/09, to ask how it was going on the title problem. And he said, at this point they were still working on it, lying through his teeth, that's when I busted him on all title allegations he was making, told him I had talked to the previous owner and there was no problem with the title, that I was getting lied to. By the sound of his voice, he was nervous that I had done this, he didn't really know what to say, he told me he was going to check on this and call me back in 15 minutes, he called back in 30 minutes and said he talked to the GM and he was instructed to tell me that this truck is no longer available to me, great dealer ethics huh! They had sold the truck while I had a verbal agreement and a down payment on truck along with all my personnel info.

This dealer has the world’s worst sales ethics and their treatment of customers, by lying to them is beyond words for a dealer like this. What can I do? I believe this dealer needs to be reprimanded for their actions, so another customer does not need to go through what I just went through, not only that, but I am out time, paying for a loan without a truck and the cost of a Carfax report and all the hardship(stress) this has caused. No dealer should be allowed to treat anyone like this! The trust I have for dealers has been severely damaged, especially Kia of St. Cloud.