I'm really disappointed in Kia Autosport in Columbus, GA. From what I've seen and heard from current and former employees, the work environment is very toxic. According to multiple posts on job sites, there is no real job security, management is poor, and favoritism is just assumed. People talk about how management treats "their favorites" well, while others are publicly belittled or ignored. Some employees have walked out (at least 3 in 3 weeks), which says a lot. Also, the general manager (Melanie Lee) is listed on their website, but there's a serious disconnect between the polished "meet the team" page and what people are experiencing. Melanie Lee has a daycare for her son only and a doggy daycare for her dog Conner, but Conner may be in any office in the building. Let me remind you that Melanie Lee told a past employee whether it's her job or her kids and the employee chose to take care of her kids. Kia as a company claims to have a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and bullying. But if that's truly the case, it's not being enforced here, or at least not in a way that protects everyone. It's so bad that Melanie Lee will talk bad about her employees, threatened to terminate her Human Resource Manager ass as she said, but changed her mind when the said person showed up to work. Melanie Lee often speaks of a certain employee who she says smells very bad, instead of voicing her concern to the said employee, she has other employees to speak to them. A great general manager would take the time to speak to the employee herself. At the end of the day: if Melanie Lee cares about how workers are treated, I don't think this is the place to work. It's not just a bad job; it's management and majority of the employees that's still working there often complain about the treatment of fairness. It's a management-level problem, and I hope they seriously rethink how they run things. There are multiple reviews online describing concerns about inconsistent management, high turnover, and an overall lack of support for staff. Several employees have reported feeling undervalued or unheard, and some have mentioned situations where team members became frustrated enough to walk out and did. A dealership's success depends heavily on employee satisfaction, and when workers don't feel respected or supported, it affects the entire customer experience. Customers have witnessed Melanie Lee degrading her employees. I truly hope leadership takes these concerns seriously and makes improvements to communication, professionalism, and internal culture. Employees deserve a place where they feel respected, fairly treated, and appreciated for the work they do. With better management practices and stronger attention to staff well-being, this location could operate at a much higher level. The employees work hard and genuinely care about the customers, but the overall environment is very challenging. read more

Worst customer service I've ever experienced. They seriously need to be trained on how to treat people they expect to sell something to. They don't answer their phones and get mad at you when you don't have an appointment for service. UM I WOULD HAVE HAD ONE IF YOU ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE! I will never do business with this shitty dealership again. read more

I really should have listened to reviews and advice from others and not come to this dealership. While the two salesmen I worked with were very nice, I am not happy with the service all the way around. I have a vehicle with high miles, but it's still in great condition, and I still owe money on it. While I (somewhat) understand that they can't give me what it's actually worth because of the mileage, I am still very annoyed with the fact that they refuse to give me more than a certain amount. That being said, I was offered 5K for said vehicle and when I went back the next day to talk terms, I brought a true car estimate because they were trying to charge 20k for a 15k soul, bottom of the line, no frills. Because I brought this estimate they dropped my trade in value by $1500. That is wrong. Honor the price of the car, don't low-ball your customers to make a buck. In fact, while we're at it, I'm not coming in here to make you money, I'm coming in because I genuinely need a car and my needs need to be met, not the dealership's. That night, their customer survey person called me and was rude to me about taking the survey. First of all, you called me at 7:30 at night, second, I told you I wasn't interested in taking your survey, and third, yes, you got hung up on after you got a snide remark in about my current vehicle. This dealership needs to learn a LOT about customer service and less about just making the sale. I feel sorry for the two gentlemen I worked with because they seemed genuinely nice and this review is not about them. I never even saw a sales manager, they never even bothered to introduce themselves. No wonder they still have brand new stock from over 2 years ago still needing to be sold. read more

This place will rip you off on repair prices. I brought my Kia soul in for a mileage maintenance and the tire light being on. I had to bring the car back in due to the tire light coming back on and they found a small pin hole with a very slow leak in the tire. The labor fee for changing the tire was ridiculous. I asked if they could cut me a small break due to the fact that the car was already brought in the weekend before. The guy who claimed to be the MRG on duty was extremely rude and accused me of trying to get everything for free. I went across the street to Walmart and got a tire with similar rating/mileage and the labor charge was a fraction of the cost. The Kia in Lagrange Ga is much much better. read more

I purchased a brand new Kia Optima from KIA Autosport in February 2019...right from the show room floor. The buying experience wasn't bad, actually somewhat pleasant...but that is where the pleasant experience ends! I bought the car for my daughter to drive back and forth to college. One of the benefits of purchasing the Kia is the 10-yr, 100,000 mile warranty. Also, 'free tires for life' also seemed like a great benefit. Unfortunately, to get the tires, you have to take your Kia to the dealership for service. In my opinion, there basic service is overpriced...but I could live with it. About two to three weeks after taking it in for the first service, my daughter had to pull over in Albany, GA because the oil light was blinking. The Kia dealership in Albany came over to check on it and found the oil plug had come completely out...and the car didn't have a drop of oil remaining. It was a Friday afternoon and the great service department at KIA Autosport left us stranded. Fortunately, we have friends in Albany who came to pick my daughter up. On Saturday, the dealership did send a truck to Albany to pick it up. Only after many calls to the service dept. on that Saturday, and several unpleasant interactions with a 'Ms Brenda' there, did they finally say it was ok, and ready to be picked up. I am leaving out many unpleasant details but suffice it to say the service was horrendous, especially from Brenda! Fast forward a couple more months and it is time to get it serviced again. Now, When I call the service department, the young lady who answers is very pleasant. She tells me however that Ms Brenda will call me back to make arrangements...well, guess who hasn't returned the call...that's right, Brenda. I don't know who she is or what her position is but between them not being able to correctly replace the oil plug and Ms Brenda's hateful attitude...I WILL NEVER purchase anything form Kia again:-((( read more

I had the worst experience ever at this dealership. They tried a bait and switch with auto's. They miraculously sold all cars online in 3 hours. I had special circumstances and they did try and work with these but tried to pawn off autos with high mileage after showing us some nice vehicles in the past. I will never trust this dealership. read more

We bought two Kias because of the Lifetime tires. We got our service done like clockwork every time it was due. So what happened when the tires needed to be changed. They said we missed an alignment. Well if they didn't tell us we needed one we wouldn't have known that we needed it. Then just when we came in for an oil change the mechanics changed the station on our satellite radio. Tell me why would the service tech need to change the channels on a radio for an oil change? read more

I'm truly convinced that Derrick Riley is an angel. He was beyond helpful and very attentive, and really made us feel comfortable. He listened to what we wanted and helped us find the best deal for us. I am sending all my friends there and and told them to ask for him specifically! read more

We first worked with a very impolite, older salesman, then a younger female, but we decided to go straight to the sales manager, Bob. Bob was fantastic and set us up with John Hood, who was also phenomenal. John was very professional, knowledgeable, and friendly. He got us exactly what we wanted, and even when we decided to go with a 5 speed (which I had not driven in years, and which my husband can't drive), he drove around with us and helped me remember. Bob did miracles to make the numbers work for us. John even got me free detail and 2 gas cards! Amazing customer service! I highly recommend Kia, John Hood, Bob the Sales Manager, and even Royce the paperwork guy. read more

I was referred by a friend who works at the Kia Plant. I watched the commercials and felt I was in the guidelines. I wanted a used vehicle, they never showed me one instead they wanted me to purchase a new one. I told them my budget, they didnt listen, I told them how much of a deposit I had, they didn't listen. When I was told no bank would touch me I left and decided to try AutoNation down the street....SO GLAD I DID....THEY WERE AWESOME read more

Went in with a paid off SantaFe to trade. Told sales person what i wanted for the suv. He went to the sales manager and i could see the manager throw the papers back at the salesperson. It must be horrible to work at a place where you are treated like this. Told the ssaleperson i would not buy from them under any circunstances. just imagine if you had a service issue. read more

I went to the dealer to have my 2012 soul 60k mile service.. the service manager was great.. Although I really think this shelf tool supplies charge is ridiculous when you are paying over 500 for a service... but while I was there I was going to explore the possibility of trading in my current car for a new one.. mind yo this is a long service 3 plus hrs... the sales manager, Chase, kept telling me he would make me a great deal.. He proceeded to wait on every other customer but me... m car was ready and they finally came back with numbers on the wrong car... and for a 7 year loan... ridiculous and at over 100 more then what I was currently paying and with a terrible trade in value since another dealer had offered me a lot more.. via a mail offer no matter what on my current 2012 soul... I walked out... they never even called back... the next day we got a call from a competitor Kia dealer begging us for our trade and invited me to their big sale.. we went.. I called auto sport again and asked if that was the final offer and they offered to get back to me... Once again on the wrong car.. by this time we were at the other dealer..... he finally called me back and it was too late. I was signing papers... This dealer needs to learn how to deal with customers. make the best deal offer and listen to what the customer is asking for... this shelf tool fee is also ridiculous.. read more

Worse place ever! Bought our car there, sales people are great and nice but end of changing prices, terms and warranties they try to sell you. One person says one thing and when you are with the finance manger it is something completely different. Make sure you get everything in writing. The service department is even worse, we had a flat tire that needed to be repaired, so the car was towed in. We got there before the car did at 5:15 pm and right off the bat the woman at the service department tells us "they go home at 6", she seemed in a rush to get our information. The car arrived about 5:30 pm, after that the woman was more interested in collecting her stuff to go home, she was rude and did not help us at all.....everything had to be put on hold because she goes home at 6pm. These people are more interested in going home rather than doing their job which is customer service. Worse experience ever, never coming back to this place. read more

This has to be the worst dealership around went in to purchase a kia soul they treated me like I was a nobody I had a trade in a 2006 toyota tundra Darrell waltrip edition in very good condition I looked at trade in value it was right at 12000 they offered me 6000 and I had a down payment of $2000.00 with an almost 700 credit score they wouldn't help me and kept lying about different things so I talked to justin at kia of Lagrange and I drove home in a 2016 Forte ex he and the rest of the staff treated me like I was a king GREAT JOB KIA OF LAGRANGE read more

FIRST... DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH SALESMAN GILL OR MANAGER BILL...... I will try to be brief in my explanation of extreme disappointment in those two. First off we saw a car online we wanted to purchase and called to see if it was available to come see. It was so we drove two hours from Atlanta to arrive and find out the manager drove it home and to come back tomorrow. Long story short, we ended up liking the car enough to go through the purchase. In reviewing the numbers we saw that a couple thousand dollars were "snuck in" with no explanation. We caught this and discussed it with Gil, the salesman. He proceeded to lie to us and tell us it was a fee from the bank because it was a certified used. When we questioned it, he then backed out and said it was a pre paid maintenance plan from Kia. We never agreed to adding that and he tried to sneak it in. We also mentioned that one key was provided and we needed the second one. Gill, again lied to us and said once they receive confirmation of payment the second key will be sent to us. We took his word (MISTAKE) and purchased the car. After several weeks of waiting on the second key, we called and checked on the status and apparently they were never going to send the second key. When asked to talk to the manager, Bill, we were told he could do nothing about it and never actually apologized to us. He ignored my calls and texts and never got back to me to explain himself. Bottom line is that some of these items are smaller price items but the dishonesty, sneakiness and lack of professionalism is enough for us to never do business with them again and hope others are tricked and lied to as well. read more

I was a previous Kia owner, so I returned when I was looking at trading my vehicle in. Everything went well until I wanted to negotiate the cost of the vehicle i was interested in. I thought I had talked the cost of my vehicle down, so I got financed through my credit union. I already knew that I was expecting a refund from the cancellation of my GAP coverage and warranty from the vehicle I was trading in, and both my sales person, Aaron Dixon, and myself told the finance officer, Royce Townsend, that I did not want to use my canceled Gap & Warranty from the Sorento as a down payment. I wanted to receive that refund separately. I even went home and returned with my original warranty and GAP coverage paper work so that it could be cancelled and for me to receive a refund check for the canceled policies. Well, you guessed it, Royce and the financing department used my warranty and GAP refund as a "deposit" to get my bottom line number for the final cost of my Kia Forte to the quote on the buyer's agreement. Through negotiations, no one said that they were going to use my warranty and GAP refund to lower the cost of the car.... they took that option away from me as the consumer to decide for myself if that is what I wanted to do! I possibly would not have gotten the Forte model with the rear camera if I was told my bottom line dollar amount could not go any lower without using my refund. Again, as you can see, there is no indication on either buyer agreements that the $749 refund that I was expecting would be used as a down payment towards my vehicle purchase. Financing did not notify me that the 3rd offer for the cost of my 2016 Kia Forte was actually the vehicle cost minus the $749 refund that I was supposed to get from canceling my GAP and Warranty package from my previous car. I returned to Kia Autosport today when I received a $49 check in the mail and at the bottom it says it's the refund from my $700 Warranty, Royce Townsed told me that the cost of my vehicle was because of me using that for warranty refund as a down payment. I asked him did he not remember that both I and Aaron Dixon, the salesman told him I did not want that to go as a down payment. I wanted that as a separate refund check. Royce claims he doesn't remember that and pretty much dismissed me. I then went to Aaron, who then got Clay Green, the General Manager to look into the situation. When he looked into the computer today, my trade in vehicle payoff was different and it showed a $700 "deposit" towards my vehicle. The financing department was very underhanded in the cost of my new vehicle. I am very disappointed, even though Aaron Dixon was a great salesman, the conniving tactic of the financing department to get the sale has taken the joy out of my car buying experience. I will never recommend or refer a friend or love one to Kia Autosales on Whittelsly Blvd. in Columbus, Georgia and this is the last Kia that I will purchase. Word of mouth is very effective and goes a long way. I will be sharing this situation with anyone who cares to listen. I have also given my paper work to my uncle, who is an attorney to see if there is any legal action that can be taken concerning this transaction. Again, Aaron Dixon is a wonderful salesman and I don't want him to be penalized in any way with this review. Clay Green, the General Manager worked the numbers and tried to smooth the situation over by offering some "free oil changes", but free oil changes and a $749 refund check are not equal and the level of trust has been lost. I am very disappointed with how my sales experience turned out read more

I was pushed to jump through hoops just to get a price on a used car. We HAD to drive it first before a price could be given. After being assured I would get a price after we drove the vehicle, then I was asked if they gave me a price would I buy it today. We drove the vehicle, I politely jumped through their hoops, gave them all my information then they gave me a sticker price and presented me with payments. I halted and said wait, I didn't agree to this price. The manager came and intimated they gave me these payments on the price I had agreed to. I said no and gave them a price. After a little argument I expressed some irritation and made an offer, which was arragantly and rudely refused and the manager walked away saying no one would tell him how to sell a car! I put in 2 hours jumping through their hoops and never even got a price on the car after offering cash! They are high pressure, high price, and will never see my business again! read more

I bought my 2015 Kia Soul from this dealership on September 12, 2015. Being a previous owner of a 2013 Kia Soul from this dealership, I expected at least the same quality of service that I received before. Well, sadly I haven't. The sales men to begin with were "nice" but they did not explain some of the new features of the Soul that I was purchasing. I am still learning about all of the new features on my car a month later. Furthermore, two days after having the vehicle I noticed that there were these spots that appeared all over my windshield. I called Kia and explained it to them. Four weeks later, I am still having this problem. The service department at Kia Autosport in Columbus Ga, are the rudest people I have ever met in my entire life. They have the stupidest answers when it comes to trying to figure out what is wrong with my windshield. I had to let them clean it 5 times (2 more than what the Georgia Lemon Law) policy states because I wasn't being accommodating enough. I do have a complaint in with Kia's regional office but I am still living the same nightmare over and over again. Kelly, the service manager, is the most arrogant, obnoxious, person that I have ever dealt with. His word is the basis for what they are willing to do for my vehicle. He has claimed from day one that he cannot see the spots when they are being pointed out to him. If he can't see them then he isn't willing to replace my windshield. I have put more miles, more gas, and wear and tear on my new vehicle taking it back to the dealership than driving it for myself. I was also told that having these spots on my windshield isn't a safety concern. I disagree because not being able to see out of your windshield is dangerous. Do yourself a favor, go to the Kia in Auburn, Alabama and buy your vehicle there. It will save you a lot of trouble and you won't have to deal with the worst service department in the history of service departments. If my review, and the others posted here aren't proof enough for you to stay away, then go do a Google review and you can see even more negative feedback. And also beware, the Kia Autosport in Columbus, GA is independently owned and this causes major problems too. read more