KIA Motors Finance: Negative BBB Reviews & Complaints

[SEA Stinger]

For anyone who is considering leasing through KMF or about to start running the gauntlet of buying out your lease, please be forewarned about who you will be dealing with, and what tactics they use. My experience with these ****ers was absolutely disgusting. I am quite relieved to be rid of them.

Tonight I decided to check out what the Better Business Bureau has to say about KMF. What I found looks staggeringly awful:
BBB Business Profile | Kia Motors Finance | Reviews and Complaints

The BBB site shows that 57 reviews of KMF have been posted. Each and every one of the 57 reviews is negative. Thus BBB shows a Customer Negative Review Rating of 100 percent! Scanning through some of the reviews I noticed that other consumers have encountered a number of the same lousy and deceptive practices that I did.

In addition, the BBB site also shows that a total of 272 Customer Complaints have been closed in the last three years. 150 of these are listed as Billing/Collection Issues and 114 are listed as Problems with Product/Service. Out of these 272 Customer Complaints, only 47 were reported by the Complainant as having been resolved to their satisfaction. Scanning through the Customer Complaints further illustrates a disturbing pattern of incompetence and disregard, if not worse, toward KIA lessees.

Amazingly, BBB still manages to show a composite score of 3.68 out of 5 stars, and an A+ rating for KMF. This simply defies logic.

TL;DR: BUYER/LESSEE BEWARE OF KMF!!!

EDIT: For some additional eye-openers, look here:
234 KIA MOTORS FINANCE Reviews and Complaints @ Pissed Consumer

 

[NYLAWBIZ]

Its worth the lease cash. I bought out and it wasn't too bad at all. Got the title within 10 days of their receipt of the buyout money. Saved $7,000 on the purchase. I can't complain.

 

[gilthanis1]

I don't trust the 'public opinion' sites like yelp, BB, 'cnn polls', etc no further than I can throw them. You will always see the negative complaints, but no one shouts it from the roof when they have great experiences, especially with banks and such. My experience with KMF has been stellar, and the Stinger is my 2nd vehicle financed through them.

I hate to hear about people having issues, and hope you got it resolved without too many headaches. It seems like more of the norm nowadays is that everything has to involve a fight/complaint/etc. to get resolved. Why can't people just do their dam jobs and make everything so much smoother.

Off topic, I've gotta call Charter/Spectrum/Evil-Cable-ISP-from-hell and figure out why they still have me at 60Mbps when they are advertising minimums now of 200....... I know it's going to be a 12 round bout just to get what they advertise, but I digress. It just goes to show that most people are only answering a phone to get a paycheck, and they could care less about 'helping the customer'. Good luck to you all!

 

[Dan1028]

I'm financing through KMF and so far no issues except maybe one:

I'm trying to pay the loan off faster by paying more each month than what's due, but it doesn't appear as though KMF is applying it to the principal; it looks like it's being credited to the following month's bill with a reduction in amount owed for the month.

Anyone else been through this with KMF? Any way to have them apply the additional toward the principal?

 

[gilthanis1]

I'm financing through KMF and so far no issues except maybe one:

I'm trying to pay the loan off faster by paying more each month than what's due, but it doesn't appear as though KMF is applying it to the principal; it looks like it's being credited to the following month's bill with a reduction in amount owed for the month.

Anyone else been through this with KMF? Any way to have them apply the additional toward the principal?

You have to call and speak to someone and tell them to apply it to principal and that is what you always want to happen. They apply any extra towards the next months payment by default.

I've called and asked that exact question about a month ago when I setup Auto-Pay and rounded up to the nearest 100 for the same reason.

 

[Dan1028]

You have to call and speak to someone and tell them to apply it to principal and that is what you always want to happen. They apply any extra towards the next months payment by default.

I've called and asked that exact question about a month ago when I setup Auto-Pay and rounded up to the nearest 100 for the same reason.

Thanks for the tip! And, I agree, other than this non-issue, stellar smooth-sailing.

 

[gilthanis1]

Glad to help, and I know you are enjoying the car! I smile every day I get in the driver's seat.

 

[4wheelpilot]

I leased a 2013 Optima SX from 2013-2016. I never had a problem with KMF. But kept my payments simple with monthly autopay and no advance payments. So my positive experience may have been a result of a simple lease situation.
Over the 36 months, the few calls I made to them about straightforward issues were handled professionally.
At lease end, Kia had a printout of what was expected with everything clearly spelled out and I had no problems whatsoever.
I am now leasing my Stinger for 36 months and feel confident that KMF will be as professional as they were in the past.
Best of luck resolving your issues.

 

[DaJackson]

No one posts positive reviews to the BBB.

 

[shaggystinger]

Reading negative reviews on anything can jade anyones opinion if not taken into context. Fact is, of the thousands and thousands of purchases or leases done through KMF, 272 is a drop in the bucket. Personally, I plan on doing a lease buy out. So KMF is just a means to an end

 

[Socalstinga]

For those that went through KMF, is your loan actually with KMF or a subsidiary? I applied through KMF, got their advertised int rate, but my lender is a credit union.

 

[Mach_Tuck]

Its worth the lease cash. I bought out and it wasn't too bad at all. Got the title within 10 days of their receipt of the buyout money. Saved $7,000 on the purchase. I can't complain.

Still waiting on my title...has been 37 days so far. Last response form Kia two days ago was this "its in the mail"

We will see.

 

[Mach_Tuck]

I'm financing through KMF and so far no issues except maybe one:

I'm trying to pay the loan off faster by paying more each month than what's due, but it doesn't appear as though KMF is applying it to the principal; it looks like it's being credited to the following month's bill with a reduction in amount owed for the month.

Anyone else been through this with KMF? Any way to have them apply the additional toward the principal?

Yep, they did this with the $48,000 i sent them as a buyout...WTF Really?? That took 3 calls to get corrected.

 

[gilthanis1]

For those that went through KMF, is your loan actually with KMF or a subsidiary? I applied through KMF, got their advertised int rate, but my lender is a credit union.

Then the dealer swapped the deal to a better lender for them so they get more backend money. Dealers do this all the time. My step-daughter has worked in the office of 3 large dealerships in Illinois, and it happens way more than you would think.

Most people don't care as long as they get the same rate, which is true. I've never had it happen, but I always made sure of the bank, rate, and was very specific that nothing better change. Some lenders are easier to work with for the customer in the long run, but they don't kick back as much to the dealer.

I got the rate through KMF and that's who the loan is through. If yours changed, i would go over my paperwork very carefully just to be thorough.

 

[Socalstinga]

Then the dealer swapped the deal to a better lender for them so they get more backend money. Dealers do this all the time. My step-daughter has worked in the office of 3 large dealerships in Illinois, and it happens way more than you would think.

Most people don't care as long as they get the same rate, which is true. I've never had it happen, but I always made sure of the bank, rate, and was very specific that nothing better change. Some lenders are easier to work with for the customer in the long run, but they don't kick back as much to the dealer.

I got the rate through KMF and that's who the loan is through. If yours changed, i would go over my paperwork very carefully just to be thorough.

I figured as much, in terms of the backend rebate the dealer gets. All payments/rates are the same, plus the added benefits of automatically becoming a member of the credit union. Who doesn't like free checking lol

 

[3dRobT]

I'm financing through KMF and so far no issues except maybe one:

I'm trying to pay the loan off faster by paying more each month than what's due, but it doesn't appear as though KMF is applying it to the principal; it looks like it's being credited to the following month's bill with a reduction in amount owed for the month.

Anyone else been through this with KMF? Any way to have them apply the additional toward the principal?

You may have to tell them to put the "extra" towards the principal specifically. I tried the same a few years back paying down my mazdaspeed 6 and that is what they told me. Separate payment for principal reduction.

 

[Dan1028]

You may have to tell them to put the "extra" towards the principal specifically. I tried the same a few years back paying down my mazdaspeed 6 and that is what they told me. Separate payment for principal reduction.

So, I called and stated my intentions. They said that as long as my payments are on time, the overpayment would go toward the principal and that the software they have doesn't reflect that -- that if I want to see it, I need to call them each time to update it. Sounds a little ridiculous since my credit union never had this issue, but as long as it goes to the principal, I don't care too much.

 

[3dRobT]

So, I called and stated my intentions. They said that as long as my payments are on time, the overpayment would go toward the principal and that the software they have doesn't reflect that -- that if I want to see it, I need to call them each time to update it. Sounds a little ridiculous since my credit union never had this issue, but as long as it goes to the principal, I don't care too much.

 

[3dRobT]

Yeah, that seems weird to me. Do your statements reflect principle reduction?

 

[CO-bound]

KMF's staggering incompetence is rivaled only by the current administration in the whitehouse; it took me over four months to get my title after my lease buyout. After the hell I went through every week trying to get it, I can believe they would have hundreds of other complaints.