I rarely write reviews, but my experience buying a new vehicle from Foundation Kia in CO was so frustrating that I feel obligated to share it.
I negotiated hard and so did they -- I had other options so there was no reason not to. I was direct through the negotiations but not unkind in any way
I negotiated removing the rear entertainment screens from the vehicle, as I didn't need them. They were ok with removing them, but weren't willing to remove the add on from sticker price. We agreed they would remove the entertainment system and throw in a pair of crossbars along with a small discount. Fair enough, or so I thought. These parts of the transaction weren't written into the contract, and I put trust in a handshake.
Before taking delivery, I asked to remove the GAP insurance (several times the normal cost and financed to boot) and LoJack, which was just a duplicate service as Kia Access for an extra $1500. They agreed to remove the GAP but not LoJack. Fair enough, so far no real issues, or so I thought.
When I arrived to take delivery, there was no walkthrough or vehicle orientation at all. It felt like they just wanted me gone. Inside, there were scratches on the seat controls and other interior areas, and the vehicle clearly hadn't been detailed properly. Worse, the rear entertainment system removal had left one seatback popped out and not secured -- it wouldn't even latch. It's amazing to me this vehicle left service and they presented it to me like this. The salesperson puts his number in my phone and says "contact me anytime, I always have my phone with me. We'll get you back here to fix it asap."
I reached out to that salesperson 3 times via text and voicemail over the next few days, with no response at all. Ghosted me. I then called the dealership a couple times, trying to get a service appointment without success. I also contacted them to retrieve the Express Toll transponder from my trade-in, and never received a response. Finally, one of the salespeople I originally interacted with "set an appointment" that never entered their books -- service had no record of it. I also asked her about the crossbars that were supposed to be included. She said, "yeah, you can purchase them -- we have a used set for $250." (I wasn't supposed to pay for them.) Once I finally got in touch with the service department myself, I scheduled directly.
IMPORTANT:
I show up for the service appointment to get my seatback fixed, and possibly purchase a $250 set of Kia roof bars (which were supposed to be included in the sale). The advisor at the desk said she wasn't sure the bars were in stock. I told her to just fix the seatback and I'll be on my way. I'd already had such a bad experience purchasing the vehicle, I figured I'd just concede the bars, source them myself, and call it a day. A couple of hours later, they pull my car around -- with premium $500 Yakima crossbars installed -- and hand me a bill for over $1,000, including 1.8 HOURS OF LABOR (almost $500) to INSTALL the crossbars. I approved none of this. I saw that advisor walking around checking in with service customers the whole time I was there, and she never came over to ask me if I wanted those bars, or quote me a price or anything. Also, installing roof bars is a 15-minute job any non-mechanic could do, I've done it many times. 1.8 hours was an intentional overcharge, and they never asked for authorization. So I paid over 1K for a service visit that was supposed to be $0.00. At that point, I didn't even argue -- I just paid and left. Couldn't wait to get out of there.
BOTTOM LINE:
Avoid Foundation Kia. The way they operated was very manipulative. Both the sales and service departments demonstrated a lack of professionalism and integrity. read more