Several months ago, I took my in my 2005 Kia Sportage for a used Kia Spectra during the gas crunch. Although I WANTED a used Spectra 5, the 2007 ones on the lot were in poor condition. The savvy salesman kept pushing me towards the new Kia Spectra sedans saying they were on sale with a $1,500 rebate and that I'd have a $500 discount for being a "loyal Kia customer". And then we went for a test drive and got into negotiations. She wouldn't let me back near the used cars.
The MSRP on the car was $17,145, and there was another sticker beside it in BARELY READABLE letters which I couldn't see and couldn't read.in front of me now in broad daylight, (as I kept the window sticker) there are two extra charges "Appearance Safety Package/Paramount Preferred Customer Club" $588 and "Market Adjustment $1,170 (or a total of an extra $1,750 they pushed into the sale price, thereby removing all the cash incentives.)
A good credit rating of 720 left me with manageable payments and they gave me a decent market price on my trade in. But that's where it ended. After several hours of bouncing me around, haggling and negotiating and when I THOUGHT I was getting all my discounts, they handed me the final tally near closing and I was encouraged to sign it. Not understanding all their fees or how they arrived at the price, I should have walked out but it was the end of the month and they promised me I was getting a good deal. "Total price of the unit was $20,178 less the $1,500 rebate for a total of $18,678.
I wonder now why I ever signed it. They all seemed so honorable.
By the end of the week, unsatisfied with the car, it's price and the treatment, I went online to Paramount Kia to see the trade-in value of my new car so I could trade it back in for a new Kia Spectra 5 (a crossover) and was SHOCKED to see that my new car had DROPPED $5,000 since I drove it off the lot! I could have bought the same car with 500 miles on it for only $13,000! So I called the dealership and spoke with the manager, Tom Ellis to complain and all I got was silence. When I called to cancel the extended warranty on the car that they charged me $850 for, it wasn't even in the computer! And nowhere could I find the $500 "Kia customer loyalty" rebate.
I am furious that I was so brazenly taken advantage of and I want everyone to know about the deceptive tactics they use to lure customers in. Not only did they offer these $1,500 "rebates", but also 0% financing. What you don't know is that only 1% of all customers who apply get into that category.
I have called KIA Motors and complained and got their Consumer Affairs Dept. But they say I have to take it up with the dealership. I called the bank and told them they are holding a loan on a car whose value is nowhere near it's loan price, and they have no department that handles this. I am thinking of contacting a lawyer to pressure them to re-negotiate.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm sure I'm not the only one who has ever been taken by unscrupulous dealers.
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