Service Department - Technicians - Attention to Detail

[MerlintheMad]

My dealer experience in eleven months (including installing an aftermarket rear sway bar) is without issues. I call it the prolonged "honeymoon" phase. People being imperfect, it can't last forever. But I've always received my car back without any damage or dirt/grime, etc.

I think the poll is going to trend toward positive, but probably not get anywhere near the two out of three Kia dealerships are satisfactory. That would be because unafflicted owners mostly don't notice or care and won't bother with participating in the poll.

 

[GRStinger]

The poll should have had a "Not sure" option. Jury is still out. Not overly impressed by the service manager, but the asst service manager has a Stinger 2.0 and seems interested in my car. I've seen no obvious problems far after 1/2 dozen visits, oil changes, scheduled service, wiring recall. Most of staff I've encountered seem like pros. Also I learned that the owner of my dealership has several Stingers in his family, and they have experience with/fixing some of the common problems.

 

[GenesisG70]

I have had Zero problems with my wife's Sedona and she have been using that stealer for years. Agreed things needs to improve but some of that is bad luck if you got a crappy technician that day.

 

[GenesisG70]

I also remember that last year i took my porsche 981 and they scuffed the paint on the front bumper, damaged the leader of the steering wheel and damaged the door sill all in one service, after weeks of arguing back and forth i made them replace the steering wheel the door sill and polish the scuff on the front bumper paint. So i guess can happen to amyone anywhere...nightmarish experience from a PORSCHE dealership, i feel ya pain.

 

[NismoDPB]

I also remember that last year i took my porsche 981 and they scuffed the paint on the front bumper, damaged the leader of the steering wheel and damaged the door sill all in one service, after weeks of arguing back and forth i made them replace the steering wheel the door sill and polish yhe scuff on the front bumper paint. So i guess can happen to amyone anywhere...

Even premium brand dealerships are still run by humans so I dont think every one is perfect just because there's a certain badge on front of your car. It's just with those brands a certain expectation is established to uphold a reputation so there just appears to be more accountability. I think it's definitely one of the reasons one might consider an established luxury brand over a Kia.

 

[Kamauxx]

I just scheduled my car for the wire harness recall next week. I wanted to verify that the parts department had what's needed in stock so I gave them a call to ask. After telling me he had the part needed I said: "okay, thanks..." CLICK. Before I could get my other question out of my mouth the guy hangs up the phone without saying a word.

The customer service from people that work at Kia dealerships is laughable. I mean, I really laughed! Who just hangs up the phone on a customer without saying anything? No "can I help you with anything else?" No "is that all you needed?" Not even a "bye bitch!" Lol.

Man, they are shit!

 

[MerlintheMad]

Man, they are shit!

Yes, he was a shit. And I haven't had the slightest indicator that "he" works for my dealer. These guys and gals are merely human and do a job at the level they are held up to, which includes decent phone etiquette and treating customers with full attention.

 

[morphrider]

After reading bad reviews from others, I have to say our previous KIA dealer here in Longmont, CO was outstanding. We bought our 2013 Sportage from them and then returned religiously for oil changes, never any issues. Last fall we trade in the Sportage for the 2.0 Stinger at a dealer in Windsor, CO. Time will tell if this dealer is as impressive as the other, we bring it in this Friday for the wiring recall and its first oil change. We will pay special attention to the results after the fixes. Currently she sits at a body shop getting minor hail damage taken care of that hit us 1 week after ownership last fall.

 

[robz32]

Wow!!....scary stories indeed and completely understand the feeling. I have always tried to do as much service as I can to my vehicles for fear of having someone else mess something up. However the Kia dealer that has performed all recalls and services thus far on my Stinger has been excellent and accommodating of my requests.

 

[ZyroXZ2]

Ohhhh don't even get me started... Let's just say I immediately and firmly clicked "no".

 

[Ruturaj]

I usually buy my own oil and pay to do oil change. This time I went to local kia dealer, technician put all 8 quarts of oil, it went above max limit on the stick. They had to take it back in. Spent 2 hours of Saturday.

Mostly "technicians" are joke.

 

[Kamauxx]

I usually buy my own oil and pay to do oil change. This time I went to local kia dealer, technician put all 8 quarts of oil, it went above max limit on the stick. They had to take it back in. Spent 2 hours of Saturday.

Mostly "technicians" are joke.

Which dealership was this? I have an appointment at the Cary dealership at 9 tomorrow. I can't afford to spend too long there. I really don't like the Raleigh or Durham locations though.

 

[Callum]

I've got a few warranty issues, and a service coming up in the next week or so. I am pretty hesitant. Techs don't seem to read the tickets, and don't want to micromanage them. I just had my paint corrected to the tune of $2,500+ and worried they will run it through their carwash, which destroyed the paint prior, I asked them not to do this. They did it anyways.

I feel compelled to take it in on a Saturday, or take a day off work so I can sit there and watch the technician do the work. I'm uncomfortable about getting it serviced, but it has to be done sooner or later.

 

[Ruturaj]

Which dealership was this? I have an appointment at the Cary dealership at 9 tomorrow. I can't afford to spend too long there. I really don't like the Raleigh or Durham locations though.

fred anderson kia raleigh

 

[Kamauxx]

fred anderson kia raleigh

Fred Anderson repaired my rotors. The service wasn't bad but I hate how cramped their lot is. It's a recipe for door ding/curb rash.

I refuse to go to University Kia for service because their lot is as bad as Fred Anderson.

I've never used Hendrick's for service (my appointment is tomorrow, had my days mixed up). But I've been there a few times to check out their inventory and I like how much bigger it is.

If I don't like my experience in Cary I might give Westgate or Leith a shot. I've never been to either but from the pics I've seen they both look to be modern (for Kia) and spacious enough.

A good thing about owning a Stinger and living in RTP is the amount of Kia dealerships within 20 miles of me. They are almost like McDonald's!

 

[Ruturaj]

Fred Anderson repaired my rotors. The service wasn't bad but I hate how cramped their lot is. It's a recipe for door ding/curb rash.

I refuse to go to University Kia for service because their lot is as bad as Fred Anderson.

I've never used Hendrick's for service (my appointment is tomorrow, had my days mixed up). But I've been there a few times to check out their inventory and I like how much bigger it is.

If I don't like my experience in Cary I might give Westgate or Leith a shot. I've never been to either but from the pics I've seen they both look to be modern (for Kia) and spacious enough.

A good thing about owning a Stinger and living in RTP is the amount of Kia dealerships within 20 miles of me. They are almost like McDonald's!

I bought my car from Leith but it's 40 min drive so never wen't there for service. I got my remote start installed there for which I got a loaner Stinger Gt2. They are pretty specious. Only thing I would be doing at dealer is oil change since mobil is not making filters yet.

 

[MerlintheMad]

They are pretty specious.

Lol. You don't see such a possibly applicable spelling gaff very often. A lot of dealerships are misleading in appearance.

 

[Grewzuff]

I had my wire harness recall done today.... Let's say I have to go back because they did not have all of the parts to do it. I scheduled this a week ago.
After reading more of these post I need to go check the oil in the morning :/

 

[Revvdmedia]

My experience so far is "not bad" but not "stellar." So far the car has been in 3 times - once for installing the negotiated rock guards (mud flaps) which look properly installed, and touch up on the rear of the side skirt with factory paint damage, done as well as I imagine a tech can - not very good. The second trip was due to some kind of interference between the key fob and the door locks/ignition. I think it was localized to a place I parked, but the dealer replaced the batteries and tried to diagnose and gave the car back after. The third and last visit was for scheduled maintenance, to which I wanted them to look at the B pillar ticking, sunroof popping and rough 3 to 4 shifts. They offered a "cannot duplicate" along with "it is very cold and it is normal for cars to make rattles or shift hard when cold." I did explain all of my issues were pre-existing prior to the cold. I plan to take the car back if it ever warms up ever again, to look at the sunroof first and evaluate their findings and supposed repair. From there, it's a toss up whether I bring it in for the rough shift or pillar ticking, or both. I'm hoping the sunroof remediation fixes the pillar ticking as well. I may plug in the OBDII and run some data logging to see if I can find some nuances with the shifting and see if their techs will even look at it to aid in diagnostics.

Long story short, I did get a loaner every time, but they did sluff off my complaints with regular excuses, but haven't wrecked anything so far. Honestly, if this car bugs me to the point of selling it, I don't think I'm ever buying a new car again. My expectations must be too high because I'm never completely satisfied with the new vehicles I have purchased in the last 10 years.

 

[Kamauxx]

I bought my car from Leith but it's 40 min drive so never wen't there for service. I got my remote start installed there for which I got a loaner Stinger Gt2. They are pretty specious. Only thing I would be doing at dealer is oil change since mobil is not making filters yet.

I'm happy to report Hendrick didn't break anything or overfill the oil. They returned appx 3 qts to me. I also had the recall done. All told it took a little over 2 hours.

The only weird thing is that when I was paying the service advisor he started begging me for a positive review on the survey from Kia. He said he's afraid he might be about to lose his job and handed me a template showing exactly how he wanted me to answer Kia's survey.

I don't believe for one second that he thinks he's about to be fired. I'm sure he just says that to get sympathy from people so they won't say anything negative on the survey that would reflect poorly on his service. Ironically, the only negative part of the visit was when he begged me to say there were no negatives.