Capitol Kia Internet "Pre-Approval" means nothing and they waste your time Austin Texas
I submitted an online credit application with Capitol Kia in Austin and received a response from "Caroline" that I was "pre-approved". Supposedly my credit had already been run by some outfit/program called 'creditjunky' in the e-mail that Caroline sent.
Skeptical still, I decided to stop by and visit the next business day. A nice young salesman greeted me and I said I wanted to talk with the finance person first about the terms of this "pre-approval" before looking at cars.
As all car dealers are in my experience, they wouldn't have that. They wanted me to LOOK at and SELECT a car first. So, I chose a silver 07 Kia Rio SX on the lot. The sales person went in to get the keys and came back saying he could not find them. This happened with the NEXT 4 Rios I chose! "couldn't find the keys"
Now, at this point I asked them point blank if they were just trying to push the two white 07 Spectras they had pointed me to on the lot and if they just were not interested in selling Rios at all. The sales person said he was just trying to get me into a nicer car for the same money.
Eventually, I agreed to test drive the 07 Spectra EX and it was a nice car.
Pretty soon we were in the back room with them asking me to sign this scribble to agree to buy a car if the payments were X, etc. etc. (apparently car dealerships STILL try to use this tactics after my 15 years experience in buying cars!) I asked again what the "pre-approval" e-mail from Caroline meant and they said that was based on my credit score and reported income.
So, why then was I asked to fill out ANOTHER credit application? The pre-approval was bunk!
They came back and told me that my credit score was too low (which, by the way, they were telling the other 3 people in the back room the same thing...I could overhear it!). That was surprising since supposedly I had been "pre-approved" based on my income and credit score before I even walked into the dealership.
So, long story short, they asked for a co-signer. I got my fiance (who is a full-time at-home mom) to co-sign and, no surprise, they came back wanting to find ANOTHER co-signer. (incedently, her credit report did reveal an identity theft situation we are following up on)
They were really trying to keep me on the lot; so much so that the saleperson was following me around while I was on the cell phone with a friend from work and the rest of the people were having a 'sales meeting' in the back yard of the dealership. When I told the 'finance manager' outside as I was leaving that there was NO DEAL and that I was leaving, he said he would contact someone at another lender and they'd call me back.
It's been 2 or 3 days...no call back and NO response from my e-mail to Caroline either.
AVOID the Bill Dickenson owned Kia and Hyundai dealerships; I think this is their mode of scamming people into walking into the door (sending out 'pre-approvals')
Daryl
Leander, Texas
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Anthony
Round Rock,Texas,
U.S.A.
You are exactly right!
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, April 23, 2009
I had the same situation and even had $5000.00 to put down and yet they would not take that. Wow! I guess they just would make as much on that deal. In Sept 2008 Capitol Kia in Austin was revoked by the BBB for so mnay complaints about advertising, sales, and service. What does that tell you!
Daryl
Leander,Texas,
U.S.A.
Capitol Kia - Internet Pre-approvals mean nothing
#8Author of original report
Wed, November 07, 2007
"they didn't profit one iota"
You are right, they didn't profit one iota....because I walked out!
The scam is they say you're pre-approved based on your income and credit score, then pull the switch when you arrive.
A few years ago, banks and especially credit unions offered the best interest rates. Right now, the dealer financing has better rates industry-wide.
If you go to your credit union or bank (as I have done in the past), a "pre-approval" is really pre-approval: ex: "You are pre-approved for a new car loan up to $40,000 or 120% of MSRP, whichever is less."
No VIN required up front for a *real* pre-approval.
John
McKinney,Texas,
U.S.A.
...still don't see how they scammed you
#8Consumer Comment
Wed, November 07, 2007
If they treated you bad, why on earth did you attempt to buy a car from them? Even if they had bent over backward with the niceties, the result would have been the same, a turn down by the banks.
If you dissagree with their business practices, a letter to their parent company might do more good than trying to figure out how you can twist your experience into a "scam". It doesn't sound like much of a scam to me; they didn't profit one iota. All they did was waste their time.
Daryl
Leander,Texas,
U.S.A.
They were supposed to do what?
#8Author of original report
Tue, November 06, 2007
To answer the question: I went to another Kia dealership nearby, got treated with more respect, was explained more about my financing options EXACTLY, and the entire experience was better. Capitol Kia operates like a 90s era "boiler room" on the sales floor.
By the way, the dealership matters. 4 years ago I was treated like this at a dealership in California, drove down the street to another dealership and they custom ordered my car and I had it within a week. The first dealership was more concerned with their Spiffs for the day...the other guys wanted a repeat customer.
John
McKinney,Texas,
U.S.A.
...and they were supposed to do what exactly?
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, November 06, 2007
A pre-approval is pretty much meaningless when it comes to a car loan, the reason being, anybody quallifies to buy a car if certain conditions are met. With enough cash down, risk factors can always be lowered, reguardless of your credit history. In effect, everyone on Earth is "pre-quallified".
That Kia dealership could not submit a loan request to any bank on your behalf until you selected a car for them to submit you on. After they got you to select a car, I'm sure they hit you up for as much downpayment money as possible. They then hit you up for a co-signer, probably because you had nothing, or close to nothing as a down payment. After putting the deal together as best they could, it was obviously rejected by their lending institutions as it was, so they asked you for a different co-signer.
Their goal was to get you in, land you on a car, put together the most buyable deal possible, and take a shot at it. Throwing a bunch of poop against the wall to see if anything sticks, if you will. As it was, yours did not stick.
I would imagine this practice is pretty common in any Kia dealership, as it is the cheapest car available, but I do not see how they wronged you. It's not the Kia dealership that turned your loan request down, it was the banks. I'm pretty sure that Kia dealer did the best they could do with what they had to work with.
John
McKinney,Texas,
U.S.A.
...and they were supposed to do what exactly?
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, November 06, 2007
A pre-approval is pretty much meaningless when it comes to a car loan, the reason being, anybody quallifies to buy a car if certain conditions are met. With enough cash down, risk factors can always be lowered, reguardless of your credit history. In effect, everyone on Earth is "pre-quallified".
That Kia dealership could not submit a loan request to any bank on your behalf until you selected a car for them to submit you on. After they got you to select a car, I'm sure they hit you up for as much downpayment money as possible. They then hit you up for a co-signer, probably because you had nothing, or close to nothing as a down payment. After putting the deal together as best they could, it was obviously rejected by their lending institutions as it was, so they asked you for a different co-signer.
Their goal was to get you in, land you on a car, put together the most buyable deal possible, and take a shot at it. Throwing a bunch of poop against the wall to see if anything sticks, if you will. As it was, yours did not stick.
I would imagine this practice is pretty common in any Kia dealership, as it is the cheapest car available, but I do not see how they wronged you. It's not the Kia dealership that turned your loan request down, it was the banks. I'm pretty sure that Kia dealer did the best they could do with what they had to work with.
John
McKinney,Texas,
U.S.A.
...and they were supposed to do what exactly?
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, November 06, 2007
A pre-approval is pretty much meaningless when it comes to a car loan, the reason being, anybody quallifies to buy a car if certain conditions are met. With enough cash down, risk factors can always be lowered, reguardless of your credit history. In effect, everyone on Earth is "pre-quallified".
That Kia dealership could not submit a loan request to any bank on your behalf until you selected a car for them to submit you on. After they got you to select a car, I'm sure they hit you up for as much downpayment money as possible. They then hit you up for a co-signer, probably because you had nothing, or close to nothing as a down payment. After putting the deal together as best they could, it was obviously rejected by their lending institutions as it was, so they asked you for a different co-signer.
Their goal was to get you in, land you on a car, put together the most buyable deal possible, and take a shot at it. Throwing a bunch of poop against the wall to see if anything sticks, if you will. As it was, yours did not stick.
I would imagine this practice is pretty common in any Kia dealership, as it is the cheapest car available, but I do not see how they wronged you. It's not the Kia dealership that turned your loan request down, it was the banks. I'm pretty sure that Kia dealer did the best they could do with what they had to work with.