Our journey to Kia of Anderson began on June 25, 2023, although we never knew it. Their motto is captured on the South Carolina Temporary Tag, -- "We'll beat any deal, anywhere, anytime. "We put that motto to the test, and Jesse, our salesman, certainly earned our business. Most Yelp® or Google® reviews I read strike me as either a leisurely stroll through a thesaurus or something akin to a quick comment in a going away card for a fellow co-worker or supervisor you barely knew, but you're being polite writing down 'something.' My daughter's car purchase is much more. It involved car theft by the Kia Boyz, traveling by plane from Philadelphia, Pa. to Columbia, S.C., traversing the Palmetto State and beyond, visiting six Kia Dealerships, and receiving six separate, and distinct Kia sales' experiences. During the night of June 25, 2023, near King of Prussia, Pa., my daughter's 2020 Hyundai Elantra was stolen. Apparently, the engineers at Hyundai saved a few dollars and designed an ignition set-up which allows a simple USB cable and maybe a minute or so to steal a car. There are YouTube® videos on it. Look them up. Amazing. So simple a child can steal a car, and they do. Many thanks to local law enforcement who found the car a few days later. After three full weeks dealing with my insurance company of 29-years, a settlement was reached. My daughter flew from Philadelphia, Pa to Columbia, S.C. last Thursday. This is where the epic journey begins with six Kia dealerships. Looking back, it was not the theft, the insurance company, the flight, or the driving around for four days, which made me appreciate Jesse at Kia of Anderson. It was the Kia dealerships and how they try to sell a car. One dealer had us drive round-trip four hours for cars which did not exist on their lot, although they assured us they did. We went to a different dealer to look at trim levels not in our budget, but we gave it a shot since we were assured the price "out-the-door" would be at our price point. It was not even close. And a few dealers gave us "the speech" on how the price cannot possibly go lower. But here's the tricky part. We got the absolute possible lowest price in the universe, but after a few minutes of chatting, that price magically went down. One salesperson said he sold his significant other the same exact vehicle my daughter wanted to buy for only $5 dollars less than his "absolute" best possible offer. At that moment, I figured what is a $5 dollar price premium for a 2024 SUV. Well, my daughter's gut instinct kicked in and she indicated it is time to try one more place. I agreed because it was only around 30 to 45 minutes down the road. That last leg of the epic journey led us to Kia of Anderson and our salesperson Jesse. Jesse is a superb salesperson. Superb is defined as not pushy, genuine, very forthright, and he strikes me as a person who truly understands the balance between a buyer's desire to pay the lowest price yet keeping his employer with some profit margin. However, when a salesperson tells you the overall net profit on a possible car sale is only $58 and there's no "back-end", you know that cannot be true. Assume 1,000 cars sold in a year with that little nugget, that means the dealer's profit is only $58,000. Would any savvy businessperson really take all that risk for such low returns to run a dealership. Or I just sold my significant other the same car for only $5 less .... So, for those sales folks out there with comments like that, I would say stop, pause, and call Jesse at Kia of Anderson to get a lesson or two in sales. Jesse strikes me as a very nice guy who is willing to help others along the way. Jesse sold my daughter a 2024 Seltos EX at her price point. We drove and traveled collectively at least 1,600 miles, invested about a solid week of time, and drove over the course of the last four days just south of 500 miles. Jesse of Kia of Anderson earned our business. Jesse sold my daughter her car in around five minutes. If that is not the definition of a superb salesman, then nothing is. My advice to the buying community: If you know you want to buy a Kia, then traveling to Kia of Anderson is well worth the mileage. Looking back, an airline ticket from the northeast to the Palmetto state saved well over $3,000 for the same exact vehicle, same trim level, et cet., because prices in the northeast are much higher. And, driving to six separate dealers, covering at least 475 roundtrip miles was well worth the drive to visit Jesse at Kia of Anderson. Jesse and the last 45-minute trip was well worth every inch traveled. And what a deal in our favor -- $1,000 savings. Even if you do not reach a deal, you can go to the Smoking Pig BBQ which is right across the road. Jesse is a former Marine like myself, and my son is also named Jesse. Almost as if fate and subtle coincidences guided this sale. read more
