Complaint Review: Bell Road Kia -

In May of this year I purchased a 2006 Kia Rio from Bell Road Kia. When I purchaed the vehicle I gave James, the Finance Manager, a post-dated check for a down payment of $2500. I am in sales, and as I explained to James, the check needed to be put thought when I received a commission check for a placement I made. I am an Headhunter and work on a base plus commission.

James agreed to hold the check for approximately three weeks, as he fully understood I was waiting for my commission check to come in. My placement ended up falling through at the last minute, and I went to Kia immediately to explain the situation to James. I told him I would need until the end of August to come up with the money to cover the check, and James response was "no problem....just let me know when to put it through." This was in June.

In July I received a call from Shillin, who works in the collections department for the dealership. I advised Shillin about my conversations with James, and she told me I needed to begin making payments to pay off the $2500 down payment. I agreed to a payment plan and gave Shillin my debit visa number for the first payment. Later that same week I brought the car in for some repairs, as the battery kept dying, and the dashboard lights were not working.

I dropped my car off for the repairs, and later that day, Brit, the Director of the Service Department, called to tell me he would not give me my car back unless I gave him $1K towards the down immediately. I told him I had payment arrangements confirmed with Shillin, and he replied "too bad.....you need to come up with the money now or you don't get your car back." The next morning I went in to talk to the General Manager, and he agreed that the dealership should honor the payment arrangements already in place. Due to wrong parts being ordered, I did not get my car back until the following Wednesday.

Right after I picked the car up I realized the blinkers were not working. They were working when I brought the car in to have the dashboard lights fixed. I called Brit who informed me he would not have time to look at the blinker problem for about one week. I scheduled an appointment to take care of this situation. Due to unexpected surgery related to possible breast cancer, I was unable to make that appointment.

WHile home recuperating, I decided to bring my car to the Kia in Scottsdale to see if they could fix the blinkers. They looked at the car and told me it looked complicated, and since it was still under warranty, and the issue was caused by the other Kia, I needed to deal with them. John, the Service Manager at the Scottdale Kia location told me Bell Rd. Kia should rent me a car so I am not left high and dry while the problem was being fixed. At the end of last week I called and left Brit a message to see when I could bring the car in again.

I also let him know the car was making a funny noise, the blinkers still do not work AND something was leaking and leaving puddles on my driveway. It is now Sunday and I have not received a call back from Brit. I feel like I am being jerked around, harassed and not being treated fairly. Help! My next payment for the down payment is due this week, but I have a car that is literally falling apart.

Karyn ****

Scottsdale, Arizona

U.S.A.