Bad Ron Tonkin Portland, OR

[Vanstealth]

I also purchased from Ron Tonkin Kia at end of Jan. and worked with Doug during the pre-sale and negotiation of a 2020 GT1 Panthera metal. Doug was very responsive and communicated well through our negotiation process. We had a few hiccups on numbers and let Doug know that they needed to be fixed before I would come in to finalize the deal. Doug cleaned things up and we agreed on a final number and kept our appointment for delivery. I arrived at the dealership and met Doug who then introduced me a kid (21 y/o) that would be taking over the sales process and paperwork. This is when the deal was beginning to go sideways. I was given a new document that had different numbers than what Doug and I agreed upon and was told by this kid that a licensing fee was not included and this is the new final number. I told him I had a finalized number with Doug and showed my paperwork. Anyway, I was ready to walk after the kid said with an attitude you would walk away over $30 some dollars after I drove 12 hours bringing this car over from another dealership for you. Now, I was fuming as the kid told me it was ok to walk and I asked him to get Doug before I do. Doug apologized and told the kid that I was the customer and their guest and said he would get the fee taken care of. There is a lot more to this story that I'm still dealing with as I did end up going through with the purchase. Now I'm in contact with Kia on warranty claim for paint issue that Ron Tonkin wouldn't take responsibility for and even wanted to look at. Bottomline, horrible customer experience once I step foot in dealership, bring a maginfy glass to go over every inch of interior and exterior if your looking at a dark or black color and only pick up on a dry sunny day to be able to see what they missed on their car inspection.

 

[MerlintheMad]

That's a sad tale. I hope that your car is completely satisfying. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Vanstealth]

That's a sad tale. I hope that your car is completely satisfying. Welcome to the forum.

Thank you Merlin, it's a great car...just part of the pain one unfortunately has to go through to enjoy what they bought. Cheers!

 

[namja]

Sucks. As you may know, at least a couple of people had great experience at that dealership. Sounds like the adamant and overzealous 21 year old made the apple rotten

 

[ItsStingaHere]

I won't go there based on this, they were one of the dealers I was looking at. The negative press is way more important than the good press they get.

 

[David Mullenix]

I also purchased from Ron Tonkin Kia at end of Jan. and worked with Doug during the pre-sale and negotiation of a 2020 GT1 Panthera metal. Doug was very responsive and communicated well through our negotiation process. We had a few hiccups on numbers and let Doug know that they needed to be fixed before I would come in to finalize the deal. Doug cleaned things up and we agreed on a final number and kept our appointment for delivery. I arrived at the dealership and met Doug who then introduced me a kid (21 y/o) that would be taking over the sales process and paperwork. This is when the deal was beginning to go sideways. I was given a new document that had different numbers than what Doug and I agreed upon and was told by this kid that a licensing fee was not included and this is the new final number. I told him I had a finalized number with Doug and showed my paperwork. Anyway, I was ready to walk after the kid said with an attitude you would walk away over $30 some dollars after I drove 12 hours bringing this car over from another dealership for you. Now, I was fuming as the kid told me it was ok to walk and I asked him to get Doug before I do. Doug apologized and told the kid that I was the customer and their guest and said he would get the fee taken care of. There is a lot more to this story that I'm still dealing with as I did end up going through with the purchase. Now I'm in contact with Kia on warranty claim for paint issue that Ron Tonkin wouldn't take responsibility for and even wanted to look at. Bottomline, horrible customer experience once I step foot in dealership, bring a maginfy glass to go over every inch of interior and exterior if your looking at a dark or black color and only pick up on a dry sunny day to be able to see what they missed on their car inspection.

I purchased my 2020 from George Gee Kia in Spokane, same ownership. Awful experience and they did the exact same thing with the numbers that you stated, only with my deal it ended up being $2k higher than I was told! It’s a long story but I purchased a used vehicle from them that was awful, I tried to get them to unwind the deal and they said I made a bad decision and it wasn’t their problem. After making plenty of noise to the owners and managers I was contacted by Kevin, their GM for all George Gee’s in the Spokane area and he agreed to allow me to bring the car back as long as I purchased something else from one of their dealerships. He told me the discounts he could get me and when I came in to sign I decided I wanted my red GT instead of the blue one we’d talked about on the phone. They were upset and told me they probably wouldn’t be able to get me approved and I’d have to pay the difference. I’m not stupid and know damn well what I’d qualify for and told them, when the deal was ready to sign the price was $2k more and I was told it was because I changed vehicles and this one didn’t qualify for the same discount, they wouldn’t budge and Kevin was gone, I ended up being stuck with the deal they wrote up as my only option otherwise was to keep the awful used car I had initially purchased. They also didn’t show me anything about the car, they didn’t introduce me to service department or set up my first service...nothing they just handed me the keys, which I figured I could just read and figure it all out, which I have. When I got home I noticed a small scratch on the front bumper and adhesive left from the protective film they removed in several places on the doors. I reported this all to Kia in the survey they sent me and Kia said the dealer would get in touch with me to make things right, and it never happened, not even a phone call. I’m glad the car is so awesome because the buying experience sucked!!! Sorry for the long story.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I’m glad the car is so awesome because the buying experience sucked!!! Sorry for the long story.

Don't be, we welcome stories because they inform people. Thanks for sharing. And sorry you had such a crap buying experience. I'm thinking that at least two out of three Kia dealerships are good enough to get the customer to respond favorably to surveys. That's not nearly enough for Kia to change their rather tainted reputation of the past. People will only get over that impression when Kia's dealerships are overwhelmingly, say at least four out of five, good places to buy and service cars.

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

Mine is indifferent and goes to KIA--long story short--I am on my 2nd tire rim on a brand new month old car.Since I bought my car the back tires were a little low.I have a electronic pump at my house.One rim was damaged and after a week long effort--they finally put a new rim on.I asked the dealer to check all the tires because all were different pressures.I went on a business trip for 3 days and came back and found one tire flat.I took the car to a dealer close to me--they finally took the tire off after seeing no damage and found a piece of plastic--looks like a cup holder piece from another KIA in the tire.KIA did nothing and again had me battle the dealership--anyway--I had to spring for a new 300 dollar tire on a brand new car.I also found a rental agreement and found my car was also used as a rental--KIA claims they let someone who wanted to buy it before me have it.Well that person put their DL license and they live 120 miles away--meaning they put a few hundred miles on my car.I was quoted as buying a car with 14 miles--and I did not realize till a few days after purchase when I discovered the rim damage and then looked at the computer and the car had 494 miles on a car that I had drove to my house about 12 miles from the dealer.Because the initial dealer did not look at the other rear wheel--which I requested--or maybe they did and just sent me on my way--not happy with this shiot.I gave KIA a check and KIA corporate is useless--even though the damage --especially the rim--appears to have been done in loading transport of the car.I have also had to spring for 2 rental cars--so a month old car--1 rim--1 new tire and 400 dollars worth of rental cars--I have spent more in repairs and nonsense then on my last car that was 10 years old.

I purchased my 2020 from George Gee Kia in Spokane, same ownership. Awful experience and they did the exact same thing with the numbers that you stated, only with my deal it ended up being $2k higher than I was told! It’s a long story but I purchased a used vehicle from them that was awful, I tried to get them to unwind the deal and they said I made a bad decision and it wasn’t their problem. After making plenty of noise to the owners and managers I was contacted by Kevin, their GM for all George Gee’s in the Spokane area and he agreed to allow me to bring the car back as long as I purchased something else from one of their dealerships. He told me the discounts he could get me and when I came in to sign I decided I wanted my red GT instead of the blue one we’d talked about on the phone. They were upset and told me they probably wouldn’t be able to get me approved and I’d have to pay the difference. I’m not stupid and know damn well what I’d qualify for and told them, when the deal was ready to sign the price was $2k more and I was told it was because I changed vehicles and this one didn’t qualify for the same discount, they wouldn’t budge and Kevin was gone, I ended up being stuck with the deal they wrote up as my only option otherwise was to keep the awful used car I had initially purchased. They also didn’t show me anything about the car, they didn’t introduce me to service department or set up my first service...nothing they just handed me the keys, which I figured I could just read and figure it all out, which I have. When I got home I noticed a small scratch on the front bumper and adhesive left from the protective film they removed in several places on the doors. I reported this all to Kia in the survey they sent me and Kia said the dealer would get in touch with me to make things right, and it never happened, not even a phone call. I’m glad the car is so awesome because the buying experience sucked!!! Sorry for the long story.

The KIA corporate is absolutely awful and once you buy the car--they say they have no control over the dealer.I too after buying and then detailing my car for the first time--found a damaged rim--low tire pressure--dirt on the tail lip that(I believe the dirt was actually pretape that ingrained the dirt into the paint) I had to wax to get off--but can still see part of it.Only reason I believe I got the rim replaced is because I had to switch titles and held up the title to my trade in.Also whenever you buy premium cars--usually it has an inspection where someone looks at it in detail.This trust issue is bad--I should be able to buy a brand new 40k car without finding all sorts of stuff wrong within the first few weeks of ownership--that is their job to take 10 minutes and do an inspection.I bought my car at the height of coronavirus and did the best visual inspection I could while at the dealer.I am very worried that if I have any warranty issue the dealer does not want to be bothered with--that it will be another battle or they will deny it--like on the tire that I just had to buy that had low pressure since the day I bought it and had a slow leak because of it and they never spotted it--so now I am paying.Also the dmage you describe--like my rim--could have been dealt by transport--like my paint issue--the dealer even said KIA would not give a new rim--even if damaged in transport--what type of shiot is that.KIA is a major billion dollar company--has its own steel and manufacturers its own part and would not swap a damaged rim out on a new car.These issues do not cost the company even close to retail and are minor things--have no idea why the dealers with the sales negotiations and minor issues battle folks and treat folks like that.I left Ford years ago because of what you folks describe and have never gone back.

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

I also purchased from Ron Tonkin Kia at end of Jan. and worked with Doug during the pre-sale and negotiation of a 2020 GT1 Panthera metal. Doug was very responsive and communicated well through our negotiation process. We had a few hiccups on numbers and let Doug know that they needed to be fixed before I would come in to finalize the deal. Doug cleaned things up and we agreed on a final number and kept our appointment for delivery. I arrived at the dealership and met Doug who then introduced me a kid (21 y/o) that would be taking over the sales process and paperwork. This is when the deal was beginning to go sideways. I was given a new document that had different numbers than what Doug and I agreed upon and was told by this kid that a licensing fee was not included and this is the new final number. I told him I had a finalized number with Doug and showed my paperwork. Anyway, I was ready to walk after the kid said with an attitude you would walk away over $30 some dollars after I drove 12 hours bringing this car over from another dealership for you. Now, I was fuming as the kid told me it was ok to walk and I asked him to get Doug before I do. Doug apologized and told the kid that I was the customer and their guest and said he would get the fee taken care of. There is a lot more to this story that I'm still dealing with as I did end up going through with the purchase. Now I'm in contact with Kia on warranty claim for paint issue that Ron Tonkin wouldn't take responsibility for and even wanted to look at. Bottomline, horrible customer experience once I step foot in dealership, bring a maginfy glass to go over every inch of interior and exterior if your looking at a dark or black color and only pick up on a dry sunny day to be able to see what they missed on their car inspection.

KIA corporate will not do dogshiot for you--we need to get together.I am decently wealthy and tempted to hire a lawyer--but the issues are minor right now.BUT I cringe thinking about 2 5 8 yers from now my check engine light comes on and some major part is broken and they do not honor the warranty.This unfortunately is the vibe I am getting on a month old new car.If they can not handle the minor crap--what about the major ones.The dealers have pros that can fix issues and can solve these things cheap--do not have a clue why dealerships do this to folks.I also found a scuffed rim a week after I got the car and after a battle got them to put a new rim on-they acted like I was a common criminal.They should be inspecting the cars and YES folks--if you got buy a new stinger--bring a magnifying glass because I also had minor stuff I found that was not due to anything I did.I am also a driver for athletes and drive Ferraris--lambos and other high end cars--I have never wrecked or damaged a car--and have not had any ticket since my first year in college 20 years ago.

 

[David Mullenix]

Mine is indifferent and goes to KIA--long story short--I am on my 2nd tire rim on a brand new month old car.Since I bought my car the back tires were a little low.I have a electronic pump at my house.One rim was damaged and after a week long effort--they finally put a new rim on.I asked the dealer to check all the tires because all were different pressures.I went on a business trip for 3 days and came back and found one tire flat.I took the car to a dealer close to me--they finally took the tire off after seeing no damage and found a piece of plastic--looks like a cup holder piece from another KIA in the tire.KIA did nothing and again had me battle the dealership--anyway--I had to spring for a new 300 dollar tire on a brand new car.I also found a rental agreement and found my car was also used as a rental--KIA claims they let someone who wanted to buy it before me have it.Well that person put their DL license and they live 120 miles away--meaning they put a few hundred miles on my car.I was quoted as buying a car with 14 miles--and I did not realize till a few days after purchase when I discovered the rim damage and then looked at the computer and the car had 494 miles on a car that I had drove to my house about 12 miles from the dealer.Because the initial dealer did not look at the other rear wheel--which I requested--or maybe they did and just sent me on my way--not happy with this shiot.I gave KIA a check and KIA corporate is useless--even though the damage --especially the rim--appears to have been done in loading transport of the car.I have also had to spring for 2 rental cars--so a month old car--1 rim--1 new tire and 400 dollars worth of rental cars--I have spent more in repairs and nonsense then on my last car that was 10 years old.

The KIA corporate is absolutely awful and once you buy the car--they say they have no control over the dealer.I too after buying and then detailing my car for the first time--found a damaged rim--low tire pressure--dirt on the tail lip that(I believe the dirt was actually pretape that ingrained the dirt into the paint) I had to wax to get off--but can still see part of it.Only reason I believe I got the rim replaced is because I had to switch titles and held up the title to my trade in.Also whenever you buy premium cars--usually it has an inspection where someone looks at it in detail.This trust issue is bad--I should be able to buy a brand new 40k car without finding all sorts of stuff wrong within the first few weeks of ownership--that is their job to take 10 minutes and do an inspection.I bought my car at the height of coronavirus and did the best visual inspection I could while at the dealer.I am very worried that if I have any warranty issue the dealer does not want to be bothered with--that it will be another battle or they will deny it--like on the tire that I just had to buy that had low pressure since the day I bought it and had a slow leak because of it and they never spotted it--so now I am paying.Also the dmage you describe--like my rim--could have been dealt by transport--like my paint issue--the dealer even said KIA would not give a new rim--even if damaged in transport--what type of shiot is that.KIA is a major billion dollar company--has its own steel and manufacturers its own part and would not swap a damaged rim out on a new car.These issues do not cost the company even close to retail and are minor things--have no idea why the dealers with the sales negotiations and minor issues battle folks and treat folks like that.I left Ford years ago because of what you folks describe and have never gone back.

Wow! My issues seem minor in comparison, but I am just blown away that I could purchase a $40k car and be treated this way. Kia’s response was that they’re sure the dealer will do their best to make things right, what a joke, I never even got a response from the dealer. I don’t understand how this works as I’ve seen dealers respond on this site that Kia corporate would never let this crap go yet here we are. I too am concerned about future issues. When I refused their awful $4k additional warranty was when they were done with me, told me to wait outside till my car was “detailed”. And handed me the keys without going over absolutely anything about the car, what an experience.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I've pointed this out before: c. two-thirds of Kia's dealerships/service centers provide satisfying customer experiences (this according to customer responses for Consumer Reports). That leaves a yooge number of Kia dealerships that are less than satisfying. So, if you have options (more than one Kia dealership within a reasonable distance), find a good one.

The reason why Kia Corp. will assure us that the dealers will stand behind the warranty and treat us right is because Kia is upping their game. But raising the bar does not produce instantaneous results, so, the time when three out of four, and then four out of five Kia dealerships being satisfactory is yet future.

(edit to add: and none of this is guaranteed; because we have Kia Corp. relationships that are less than stellar as well: so, trouble near the top spells trouble further down the line where we find ourselves dealing with any issues)

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

I've pointed this out before: c. two-thirds of Kia's dealerships/service centers provide satisfying customer experiences (this according to customer responses for Consumer Reports). That leaves a yooge number of Kia dealerships that are less than satisfying. So, if you have options (more than one Kia dealership within a reasonable distance), find a good one.

The reason why Kia Corp. will assure us that the dealers will stand behind the warranty and treat us right is because Kia is upping their game. But raising the bar does not produce instantaneous results, so, the time when three out of four, and then four out of five Kia dealerships being satisfactory is yet future.

(edit to add: and none of this is guaranteed; because we have Kia Corp. relationships that are less than stellar as well: so, trouble near the top spells trouble further down the line where we find ourselves dealing with any issues)

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

A lot of us like me have a You Tube channel.I can post the good along with the bad on there and I made the decision to buy my Stinger because of You tube videos and the reliability--performance and the warranty.I could have bought any car under 60k and chose the Stinger out of all the choices.I mean when you ask someone to check a specific problem--and they do not and it ends up costing is ridiculous.bTW I had to take it to another dealership closer and of course since i did not buy it from them--I had to buy a brand new tire on a brand new car.I was not going to risk driving further away with a bad tire or have it towed so I can blow more money.I cut KIA a check for the entire amount of the car, spotted these problems within the first week and still had to send money with KIA corporate not giving a crud.I wonder if they care if I goto my bank and refund the check over a 300 dollar tire--a tire that costs them wholesale which is probably about 50 to 60 bucks.They did not even negotiate.The stinger is a great car--and there is not that many problems--do not see why they are battleing the few problems mentioned here.It might be frivolous but maybe some of us need to come together and hire a lawyer as a go between till they treat folks right.I planned on buying a 40k car and not having any problems for many years.Because of the way I was treated--even when the road is clear--I do not do any spirited driving--fearful if some major component breaks that will be treated like I dog doo.

 

[tooyika]

That's a sad tale. I hope that your car is completely satisfying. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

KIA gave me a credit at the dealer and I got a new rim.So KIA did solve the problem and although it took a little battle they did come through. I left american car companies because of this nickel and diming and not honoring the warranty.I got spoiled because I had a crosstour for 10 years and not one hiccup or problem--in fact when I traded the crosstour in the dealer thought it was a new car under 5 years old. I had the rotors replaced with geomet cross drilled rotors for better braking.

 

[ecko04]

KIA gave me a credit at the dealer and I got a new rim.So KIA did solve the problem and although it took a little battle they did come through. I left american car companies because of this nickel and diming and not honoring the warranty.I got spoiled because I had a crosstour for 10 years and not one hiccup or problem--in fact when I traded the crosstour in the dealer thought it was a new car under 5 years old. I had the rotors replaced with geomet cross drilled rotors for better braking.

I’m surprised you traded it. One of my friend’s has a Crosstour that he has had for over 10 years. He refuses to let that thing go.

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

I’m surprised you traded it. One of my friend’s has a Crosstour that he has had for over 10 years. He refuses to let that thing go.

Check my channel out under Flaniganskywalker on you tube.I actually had a Crosstour Type R--only one of 5 made. I had a situation where I had 2 cars--and also KIA did the research and gave me 19k for it as a trade.Sticker on stinger was 43k 2020 AWD GT--I got 6k in rebates and 19k for the crosstour--I gave KIA a check for 19k and own the stinger.I was going to run my crosstour in the silver state classic--but never got around to it.The owner of a Honda dealer had it made for him and his wife hated it and wanted the odyssey--the Type R was 52k when new--I got it a from him with 6k miles on it and paid 34k for it in 2011. I also traded in a stage 2 mitsubishi eclipse and wound up only paying 20k for the crosstour. The Stinger is way faster then even my type R crosstour and stage 2 eclipse--eclipse had nothing but problems and I was married at the time and needed a sporty car that could also handle the mountains--hence why I got the crosstour.I was going to get another Type R civic but after driving both--the civic was 3k more and the stinger with AWD is a much better sports car.

 

[nhcowboy28]

Every car dealership/salesmen is the same.

Greedy peckerwoods.

they would f over their own mum for $30.

put them in the mailing list for monthly crap boxes. Poopsenders.com.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Every car dealership/salesmen is the same.

Greedy peckerwoods.

they would f over their own mum for $30.

put them in the mailing list for monthly crap boxes. Poopsenders.com.

Oh do back off a bit. That's like saying "all politicians are bad".

 

[mfenske]

That's a bummer. Other than the guy I'd emailed not being the person I dealt with I had a positive experience at Tonkin Kia. Their service department has been pretty solid-save for saying my sunroof noise is chassis flex.