My wife and I went to Smithtown Kia on 7/18 to see about purchasing a 2012 Kia Sedona EX.
The reason I needed the EX instead of the lower-priced LX is because without the power seats, there is not enough leg room for me to safely and comfortably operate the vehicle. A young man named Tony T was our salesperson. We agreed on the price of the car. We agreed on the trade-in allowance. We agreed on the customer cash back and financing incentives. We came up with a monthly payment that sounded reasonable. We shook hands on the deal. Then, while I was filling out the credit application, Tony T informs me that he "made a mistake" in the calculations, and instead of $279 per month for 60 months, the payment would be $396 per month for 60 months. When I asked him to explain where that payment amount was coming from, he responded with "I don't know" and he would get back to me. He called me back much later the next day and informed me there was no way he can sell me the vehicle for the price we had agreed on. Not only that, but when I offered to put down another $1000 cash and extend the loan to 66 months, he still informed me that the payments would be "well into the 300's". When I e-mailed the customer relations person, Alexandra, there, asking the owner or head salesperson to call me, she totally ignored me. This dealership broke a verbal agreement by not selling me the vehicle after the deal had been completed and shook on. They manipulated the numbers, wasted my time, and never had any intention of selling us the vehicle for a realistic and fair price. I have also had lesser but nonetheless bad experiences at Generation Kia in Medford and Riverhead Kia. At this point, even though the Sedona EX is the vehicle I really wanted, I will have to look at the Toyota Sienna instead and hope my buying experience with Toyota is better than that with Kia.
Even though I e-mailed Smithtown Kia and told them I would be filing complaints with Suffolk County Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau unless the manager called me to discuss the situation, they completely ignored me, showing me that they couldn't care less about customer satisfaction and they couldn't care less about making a sale.
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