I own a 2018 Kia Soul. The vehicle has 99,250 miles on it. I purchased it used in 2020 from an extremely "reputable" dealership in East Syracuse, NY. This dealership advertises about its impeccable customer service and 200K mile warranty. This was the sole reason I purchased my vehicle through them. At the time of sale, the warranty was explained in extremely vague detail leading me to believe that they stood behind their product 100%. At the time, I felt extremely cared for and valued.
While driving down the highway 3 weeks ago, the engine started to knock uncontrollably and stalled 3 times. Thankfully, I was able to make it home. We had the car towed to the dealership where I purchased it from fully expecting the repairs to be honored and taken care of under this amazing "warranty". Nothing could have been further from the truth. The warranty was not honored due to fact that we did not comply with one of the recalls that was not performed on the vehicle. Now mind you, I was advised of one of the 3 recalls (the anti theft recall) and complied with it, but the other 2 I was not advised of. When picking up the car I was told that the warranty was voided because of non-compliance of the PI2107 ECU Update and the SC226 update. I was told that this non compliance voided out the warranty.
When I went into the Financial office and expressed my frustration about this I was met with pure indifference. I went on to ask if Kia owned this particular 200K mile warranty and was told they did not. That said to me right there that this dealership does not care about their product or their customers. I was told that the car needed a new engine due to this non compliance. You can only imagine my disappointment and pure shock at this statement. A new engine with installation by them would be well over $6000! I had the car towed to another Kia dealership nearby and was told the very same thing. The car sits at my home now with an engine that does not work and I am beside myself as to what to do next.
I am writing to you in the hopes that you become aware that there are Kia dealerships within your network that are not doing the right thing. Had I known of these particular recalls, I would have made sure I had the vehicle serviced. I feel duped and misled and because of this will never purchase another vehicle associated with Kia ever again.
Dealerships like this should be monitored and called out about their deceptive and misleading practices. I realize it is probably too late for me to have a different outcome, but I feel people should be warned about these types of practices within your network that are ruining the reputation of your company.
Claimed loss: Loss of an entire engine
Desired outcome: Replacement of an engine or compensation for my lost time at work and personal distress caused by this dealership
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