Bad Southwest Kia - Austin (Capital Kia) - Bad Experience

[jeffsquared]

I'll keep this brief. We were lied to multiple times. They sold the specific Stinger we were interested in (and test drove) out from underneath us. We expected to haggle and do a deal the next day. We suspect the Stinger was sold before we even test drove it, as that evening it was marked as sold online. After we test drove, they tried to haggle with us to determine if we were more lucrative customers with a bigger down payment so they could sell the car to us instead.

While we were waiting at the dealership for news that the car was sold (the next day, we noticed it was missing but didn't learn it was sold yet) they did the old "phone off the hook" trick to listen in on me and my wife's conversation while alone.

This is not the first time I've heard of issues with Southwest, upon further research the reviews in google indicate more of the same. I reached out to my extended network of car friends, and it turns out that my network knows one of the people I was working with specifically and the reputation is not good.

I got the sense the entire time that they thought we were gullible, potential customers unsure of a purchase who would ultimately sign up for a 10% interest rate. The reality was that we were ready to purchase the car, but needed time to crunch the numbers at home first. I wanted a more upmarket buying experience, instead I got the $12k Mitsubishi Mirage buying experience.

 

[noogahz]

I used to work at SouthWest KIA back in the day and their business practices are shady. I actually don't recommend any of the SouthWest KIA dealerships because of the terrible customer service. Their dealership is shoddy at best, and they overcharge their services. I prefer going to a local mechanic shop as you will get honest pricing, and a lot better customer service.

Just the other day, I only needed 2 things done -- 30k mileage package and AFLS (adaptive fog lights during steerinng) replacement. They took almost 3 hours and didn't even do the AFLS replacement. I was livid.

I promised myself I would never go back to a SouthWest KIA dealership unless I have no other choice.

 

[adam1991]

The reality was that we were ready to purchase the car, but needed time to crunch the numbers at home first.

I prepare a spreadsheet at home first and run my own numbers (based on what I know of Costco pricing); I carry the laptop in and am ready to plug their numbers directly in.

It's work to create the spreadsheet up front. I even include tabs with interest rates calculations, and I link all the cells together so that I can stay on one tab and simply plug numbers in. At the bottom are cells showing the final purchase price, the monthly payment, the total amount of interest paid, and the total "here's how much money will leave my household overall" number.

And those all calculate right away based on things like selling price, cash on the hood, additional accessories, trade-in, interest rate, etc. They can throw any number at me on any of those things and I can see right away the impact it has on my life.

I actually create two sheets in the book: one using a trade-in (which impacts sales tax), and one not using a trade-in but includes me selling the car to Carvana or Vroom or Carmax. That's another piece of homework you do before stepping into the dealer: get a "we'll buy your car from you" number from any or all of those places. Carvana and Vroom do it instantly, and Carmax takes about an hour. But it's well, well worth your effort.

Also on each sheet I have two setups: one using the promotional factory finance rate, and one using money I buy elsewhere. The difference is the cash on the hood that's available. For example, I was looking at the new Mazda3 Turbo; they offered a 0.9 rate OR $1000 mfr to dealer cash. Take your pick. As I ran the numbers, it became obvious that even at interest rates as high as 2.59%, taking the $1000 extra cash beat out taking the 0.9% financing rate. And the deal got better as I hit the 1.99%, 1.89% levels (easily attained).

Do all that and know what your budget is going in. It's a lot of work to create all of that going in, but it gives you power and the ability to crunch the numbers while you're sitting there. And your presence in front of the sales manager or F&I guy is significantly more meaningful than "I'll have to go home and think about it". Once you're gone, you're gone for good as far as they're concerned. But if you're sitting there, you have more power than you know. They think they can wrangle you into a deal, and they're used to people walking in unprepared and buying on emotion instead of facts--a veritable petri dish for them to cultivate to their benefit. But if you're sitting there completely prepared with a firm budget and with the ability instantly to calculate the effect of their proposals on your budget, you've taken away much if not all of their power.

And you retain the power to walk away--that's the ultimate tool. You don't have to take them up on their proposal. And you'll know when to do that when you've pushed them as far as they're willing to go but their numbers still don't calculate to meet up with your firmly held budget.

And when you get up to leave, you may be surprised at what happens. In 1988, I sat with my dad at the Toyota dealer while he talked with the guy. Dad wanted the car, the guy proposed a number, but dad didn't like it. They were $3000 apart. Finally, the voice of reason, I got up and started to put my coat on. My dad asked me what I was doing; I said, "Come on, dad, we're too far apart. Besides, you don't NEED a car." All of that was true. Dad got up, and immediately the salesguy's tone changed. "Um, hold on..." Next thing you know we're not $3000 apart; we're $300 apart. Being able to walk away is a powerful tool.

Remember, they present their proposals and don't care if you understand them or not--and their proposals are designed to maximize their revenue. Of course they are; it's a business negotiation. Be prepared similarly to minimize your outlay while meeting your goals, and to deal with it on a business level, and to do so without the "I have to leave now so I can think about it" bit.

If you really want it, establish the financial parameters around which you will accept it and walk in being prepared to slice and dice their proposals in a manner that makes sense to you and your financial parameters and be prepared to tell them yes or no. If you don't want to do the work up front to be fully prepared, don't be surprised when they treat you like that petri dish for their financial experiments.

Oh--and don't be surprised or offended when they try to pull crap. You aren't surprised when a lion takes down a gazelle; don't be surprised at dealers being dealers. Know that they'll try to maneuver the discussion toward their desired end goals. It doesn't matter. You simply keep the discussion on your desired end goals. They won't take offense. It's just a business transaction.

 

[stoopid]

For the first time ever I did a pre-approved car loan with my local credit union, which ended up saving me big time as well as having all the finances worked out prior to arrival. This also forces you and the dealer to work on the bottom line details of the deal. The only two numbers they need to meet, and you'll know ahead of time work/don't work for you, are the trade-in if you have one and the sale price of the vehicle. That's it, everything else is fluff.

Key is to not indicate exactly how you're paying until you're ready to close the deal. Get numbers as if you'll finance with them [they will usually have wiggle room in the form of kick backs on financing], then provide your own financing before they run a credit check. Most dealers will not have financing that will beat what you'll get elsewhere before walking in the door. Special financing deals, if you can even qualify, are the exception (but are unreliable). I had the dealer try to beat the 2.50% I got from the credit union and of course they could not (I didn't mind the credit pull, I hadn't had any in quite a while prior to the two for the car).

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

This is 100% why I do all of my negotiations over the phone and then finalize through email. I do not show up to the dealership until I am given a final OTD price. I only make the trip to the dealer when I am ready to test-drive the car and make a decision that day. Often they are able to give an even better price than quoted via email once we are there in person. I am sorry to hear about your experience, but, I am not surprised that it happened at a Kia dealership. You should have seen the amazing treatment I experienced when I went to Audi, BMW, or Lexus. I genuinely felt bad choosing the Stinger over the S4, 340i, or IS350 simply of my experience with the people at the luxury brands. Oh well.

 

[punkfs]

This is 100% why I do all of my negotiations over the phone and then finalize through email. I do not show up to the dealership until I am given a final OTD price. I only make the trip to the dealer when I am ready to test-drive the car and make a decision that day. Often they are able to give an even better price than quoted via email once we are there in person. I am sorry to hear about your experience, but, I am not surprised that it happened at a Kia dealership. You should have seen the amazing treatment I experienced when I went to Audi, BMW, or Lexus. I genuinely felt bad choosing the Stinger over the S4, 340i, or IS350 simply of my experience with the people at the luxury brands. Oh well.

Yeah I feel you on that! I totally had my heart set on the stinger but the dealerships here are beyond awful. really makes me want to choose something else Markups new 4k+, even cpos marked up. they refuse to negotiate at all... tried on a cpo and refused to move from asking price... 36k for a '18 stinger gt1 rwd w/ 30k miles. I just dont get it, it turns me off to the brand completely... nissan, mercedes, honda were so great when i negotiated with them in the past. Disappointing. Not paying over sticker or over market value for a stinger. i just dont understand them