Bad Kia Downtown Los Angeles, CA

[awhattup]

They have the largest inventory in my area so I went to check out a few Stingers.
My visit didn't last long. I just couldn't bear it.

A hairy guy with questionable hygiene approached me and started to mumble nonsensical things like
"Hey my friend, yes, we have Stingers. We got V4s and V6s." - V4??!?! I corrected him but he insisted.
"They go 360 MPH!!" - WTF?
"This car is faster than those Porsches." - There is a Porsche dealership right across the street and the Porsches he was pointing at were 911s.
"You not buying today? why not?" - I told him more than a few times that I'm just shopping around at the moment. He kept on trying to pressure me but it was rather harassing.
He couldn't explain the start/stop procedure on the car.
He turned up the A/C to supermax without warning and ended up blowing all over my face.
He turned up the volume so loud without warning, hurt my ears.
Other dealers didn't seem so professional either.

Now.. let's talk about the cars.
One of the Stingers I sat in had service port exposed. I think they forgot to put the cover back on.
Some of the Stingers were covered with oil stains. Seriously... they are the most prized products you have on the lot and that's how you display them? Kind of shows how they treat the cars here.
"No sir, I don't want to test drive today. Stop asking me." at least not from here.

How about the site?
The lobby had an ad posted with the brand logo on top of it. It was missing the letter "K"
It was the very first thing I noticed when I walked in. They apparently care less about it.
It might have been the customers there but it smelled bad. LA downtown is pretty nasty in general but come on.

These are the a**holes give the brand bad names. Many say "Kia dealership experience sucks" I mean how bad could it be? Now I know and it could be pretty darn bad.

 

[Eugene Onegin]

Oil stains, I believe it ,I've been to one dealer and the car had bird crap on it .

 

[scharn]

sounds similar to my experience when i visited there
Bad - Kia of Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

Out of all the dealerships in SoCal, and I called everyone; by far the best one was Galpin. That being said the Kia dealership isn't massive so inventory selection wasn't amazing.

 

[awhattup]

sounds similar to my experience when i visited there

Out of all the dealerships in SoCal, and I called everyone; by far the best one was Galpin. That being said the Kia dealership isn't massive so inventory selection wasn't amazing.

Haha I believe your story. I too got the dealer's number just not to call him.
I'm still deciding on my next car and kind of want to see the G70 before I decide. So far I've been to the DTLA and the Alhambra dealer. The one I talked to at the Alhambra dealership was probably the best car dealer I've come across so far regardless of brands. He knew his cars like a car guy would and knew how to explain everything professionally. No pressure what so ever. Type of a person I want to work with.

 

[scharn]

Haha I believe your story. I too got the dealer's number just not to call him.
I'm still deciding on my next car and kind of want to see the G70 before I decide. So far I've been to the DTLA and the Alhambra dealer. The one I talked to at the Alhambra dealership was probably the best car dealer I've come across so far regardless of brands. He knew his cars like a car guy would and knew how to explain everything professionally. No pressure what so ever. Type of a person I want to work with.

Alhambra seemed ok but they didn't have the one I wanted, and showed zero desire to try and get me one either. I guess they were upfront so I can't faulty. It also turned out that what I wanted didn't exist on the western half of this country so that might have played a role.

I've bought other cars from Galpin and they have a great reputation in the car community. They do not allow shady stuff there.

 

[trancemode]

Alhambra seemed ok but they didn't have the one I wanted, and showed zero desire to try and get me one either. I guess they were upfront so I can't faulty. It also turned out that what I wanted didn't exist on the western half of this country so that might have played a role.

I've bought other cars from Galpin and they have a great reputation in the car community. They do not allow shady stuff there.

I live close to the Alhambra one too. I don't see the GT2 trim at all.

Anyways, didn't notice there are some people close to my local dealership.. we can setup a meet LOL if I decide to get a Stinger that is

 

[eljay]

I'm a little late to this thread, having bought mine in late December. Two phone conversations with Kia DTLA convinced me not to bother going there—both people I talked to insulted my intelligence, even if they'd had the color/trim I wanted. They finally called me back when I'd had my car for two months to tell me they had what I wanted.

The sales rep I was "assigned" to at Alhambra called to tell me he had a GT for me to test drive. I cancelled a trip to the LA Auto Show, where I was going to drive a GT2 AWD, to go there, he wasted 30 minutes of my time while I schooled him on the car's features, and only then did he tell me he actually didn't have a car prepped for me to drive. Only as I was walking out did I find out that another salesman there, a sharp young guy, was the only one who'd had Stinger training, so why wasn't I assigned to him? Not a class operation.

 

[Joseph Spiegel]

I had a short shopping experience. I first test drove at Galpin and Jessica was a sweetheart. No hard sell but I wasn’t ready just starting the process. I did floor it on an on ramp to the freeway. OK that was fun. They’re working out of a big tent like structure as they are building a beautiful dealership, model was on display. No pressure and minimal talk on pricing other than they don’t markup the cars.

I did more research here on this forum. I was already more familiar with the car as I learned more about pricing and the lease rebate, here. After a little bit I decided to get my car evaluated at CarMax and do a Costco request. CarMax offered a number no dealer would match and Costco sent me to Glendale and I talked with Elias. I arranged to meet on the coming Friday. Glendale is an older dealership and obviously is older than Kia so it’s been a car place for a long time. I wanted a red/red but it was in San Diego and while getable it would be driven up and there’s a cost. He had a red/black and offered a sweetened deal if I would take that one. It’s not like the combo is ugly but I settled on the black interior and worked out the deal. Overall I saved $9,100 off the sticker and he helped me bring the car to CarMax the next day. It was a painless experience and nice people that I dealt with.
I wish the paint chip on the hood was handled better but I’ll deal with Kia later if more happens. I’m taking counter measures, ClearBra and Ceramic and hopefully nip that in the bud. I see no other issues as of now. But I am still finding protective tape. I saw the car in the lot covered stem to stern in tape and stuff. I was the only non-Kia driver. 8 miles in the lot, 12 delivered.
So yes, I’d say give Glendale a shot. Galpin too.

No one I dealt with smelled funny or fast talked me.

 

[DDYES]

Hey guys .....

I work at a Kia store In OC.. been selling cars for 10+ years ...

Anyone who wants a stinger or any Kia.... I will give them a straight family and friends pricing...

NO BS... genuine and honest and very loyal guy here ....

So hit me up.. lmk!