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I have owned my Blue Spectra5 for just over a year now....it turned 1 on january 13th...
Although I love Hyundai/KIA products, I know that they are basically the same cars,but the customer service between hyundai and KIA is like black and white...
Being a former owner of Hyundai Tiburons, I was used to absoutely outstanding service at any hyundai dealer I went to here in british columbia....especially Don Quast Hyundai in Abbotsford..
I thought I would buy a Kia Spectra5 because I wanted something more roomy, and the only car Hyundai offered in that class was the elantra gt, and I didn't like the look of it..
So I went with the KIA....Why not??? Afterall, it has the same warranty right??? Well, I now realize that a warranty is only as good as the company that stands behind it...
Any small warranty claim I try to bring to KIA's attention, dealership or KIA CANADA directly brings nothing but a headache....They either just don't care in any way, or they try to argue that what I`m saying is broken is fine.....Yeah, right....
As it is right now, I have been waiting 2.5 months for a new power door lock motor that was backordered.....I finally now have an appointment next week to have it replaced, but only because I litirally had to threaten the service manager at the local dealer...I told him that I was not going to wait any longer for the part, so he could either take one out of an '06 on the lot, or I can park the car in his showroom, via the front window....He promtly booked me in....
I have tried several dealers here in the area, and they all have the same bad service.....Either that or they close down within 6 months.....
Here's an example...
1-2 Fraser Valley KIA-closed, then reopened as Chilliwack KIA, which then shut it's doors..
Abbotsford KIA-Closed, then reopened as KIA ONE..
Pacific KIA-closed for good
Brian Jessels MY KIA- closed after approx 10 months...
Knighthill KIA, sold and reopened as Richmond kia I beleive, then I think it was sold again and is now part of destination auto group.....Though I am not 100% sure if this is exactly how it worked..
The only dealership we have around that is still original is applewood KIA, and again, their service department leaves much to be desired...
I know that I am not just being picky, as I work in a service department for a Mazda dealer. Our warranty claims are quite simple, just like KIA's should be..........It goes a little something like this............*example* Customer comes in with a check engine light, we bring the car in the shop, check it out, fix if needed........Then bill it all to Mazda Warranty...done....
I also spoke to our old service manager, who worked at a KIA dealer for about a year.....He said although he loves their cars, KIA CANADA is VERY hard to deal with, and proccessing warranty claims is a big pain in the behind...To the point where he couldnt handle arguing with them on a daily basis anymore and ended up getting anther job in a different dealership.. When I told him about my problems, he chuckled, told me he knows what I`m talking about and said "have fun"!!
Furthermore, I am not the only person with problems at local dealers....My mother has a 2001 Magentis lxv6, great car....but she hates to think about having to take it in for warranty work... My grandparents have a 2004 sorento ex which they love, but have had problems getting service on it at the same dealer I now use.. Finally, a good friend of mine has a 2002 spectra base model that I recommended she buy, but she hates KIA's service too..
To make a long story short... I absolutely love KIA's products, but simply cannot even enjoy my car anymore after having such a terrible after sales experience.....
It seems that British Columbia's Lower Mainland KIA dealers are filled with nothing but incompitent service staff that represent KIA's crap Canadian division.
Who knows, maybe service from KIA USA is better????
Not trying to bash any of KIA's cars here, so please nobody be offended by this post....
Anybody else have the same problems here in Canada???
I have had the opposite experiences with my 2 kia dealerships here in Ottawa. My last experience came when I walked into my Kia dealership 417 Kia, and they took my car right in without an appointment and had the recall for the passenger airbag done in 15 min fromthe time I walked in. This is why Kia sends out theier client satisfaction surverys every 6 months... fill it in, vent your frustrations.
I have had superior service with my respective kia garages, and this is saying alot from me who will never, EVER buy a GM product again because of their lack of customer service and GM corperates' in-intrest of serving their customers with respect.
Regular oil changes etc are done efficiently and they always wash it for me...
I had one issue that had to be addressed via warranty. I scheduled an appt. took it in, they analyzed it pretty fast and ordered the parts. Called me when they came in and scheduled another appt. Took it in, and a few hours later they were done.
No complaints, no questions asked, quite simply they took care of me.
Same thing with my Sorento, only one or two warranty issues and they were taken care of without a hassle.
I hate kia service also.. One of my big playing factors that I will NEVER buy another kia..... Also half of the service people dont have a clue of what they are doing either.
__________________ My Poor Mustang At Least I Get A Carbon Fiber Hood Out Of The Deal
In my experinece, it is heavily depending on dealership individuals.
Recently I had a problem on my new Hyundai Elantra with the back seat not folding down when I wanted to lay down the backseat for the first time. I took the car to a dealer and they said a Hyundai Motor Corp rep has to look at it. So, I waited a week or two. The rep finally came and looked at it and said I broke the latch inside the backseat. What?! How could have I, when I never used it?! Of course, the dealer was on the rep side (they were like buddy-buddy). So, next day I called Hyundai Customer Services dept. A lady who answered my call says the same thing, "the rep determined that you broke the latch and can't be repaired under warranty". My blood was boiling to say the least. The dealer told me they need to cut open the backseat fabric to get to latch and the fabric would not look the same - and I have to pay for all the cost. A few weeks later I took it to another H dealer and they fixed in 30 minutes without asking me any question. Somehow the latch was jammed FROM THE FACTORY according to the dealer technician who fixed it, and did not have to cut open the backseat.
Just like ievery where else, there are some bad ones and good ones. And the burden is on our side to find out.
No issues here. Whenever I take a vehicle in they get it fixed very quickly with no questions asked. They will even call the next day to see how everything is going. I have taken the Spectra in for two oil changes and havnt paid for either of them.
thanks for all the reply's........and also thanks for respecting the fact that I am simply seeking others opinions, and not just trying to be an arse!
In response to the comment made about the rear seat in a Hyundai Elantra.........That is absolutely ridiculous....First of all because a dealership gets pad by the hour for warranty work, so by fixing it they would have been generating income for their service department....and secondly, because I do upholstery as a side business, the fact that they said they have to *cut* the upholstery to fix the latch is stupid, the covers on elantra's simply slip on and off and are held on by a few simple hog rings....
thanks again everybody!
Josh
P.S, even though the service around here sucks.....I still absolutely love the car.......Maybe I`ll just mod the heck out of it, eh??? it should make it all better..
I feel sorry for you to have such bad experiences with your dealer.
I am glad to hear you still like your Kia.
Why don't you try some other dealers? There must be another one somewher near you?!
At Least I Get A Carbon Fiber Hood Out Of The Deal
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