The dealership is sleazy and anti-customer. I spoke with a salesman named Shawn. Like most buyers I was checking a few vehicles and comparing make, model, mileage, and so on using the labels then checking the prices on their website.
None of the used cars have prices on them because they don't value transparency and they don't want informed customers. They want the creepy salesman to dominate the transaction like that bad Alec Baldwin movie from the 1980s where he proclaims, "always be closing!" to a group of stressed out middle-age white guys who just need to put down the phone and take a vacation.
This hard sell attitude breeds a unique breed of late stage capitalist sociopaths who don't care about their buyers. In the age of Carvana and Tesla, where buying a car is easy and transparent, this is akin to renting VHS tapes at Blockbuster as Netflix rolls into homes. KIAS sell because they are pretty and cheap. They don't sell due to the salespeople.
You don't find Shawn, he finds you. Salesmen hound you at dealerships like moths to a flame and crowd my husband to share a big guy handshake. This is tolerable if they actually helped....but...
I asked Shawn about a sheet on a used car which said no warranty and he basically tried to scare me (probably to some higher value new or certified option), saying "if you drive off the lot and the car dies, we do nothing," and "they only check the tires, and whether turn signals work, what's required under the law."
Great...so they have mechanics but are too greedy to check their used cars out before selling them to you. Unless it's something they can get in legal trouble over. Cars can kill you if they don't work. Guess it's better to know their values now.
Ok...so like any person who has a brain and doesn't want to throw down twenty grand on something that could fail out of the lot, I asked if Kia could show a car to their mechanic to ensure it was in working condition if I wanted to buy it. He responded condescendingly that that was a very unusual request but maybe he could talk to his manager.
Did you get that, people? You're buying something for ten or twenty grand and they don't even check it out before selling it to your family. Get it inspected - if they'll let you. Or better yet check out a dealer who makes it standard practice to inspect what they sell to you.
It gets better. I walked around a few cars, barely read two or three labels, then Shawn loudly pronounced that we're not going to look at a lot of cars and compare prices today and waste time. Umm...I'll choose how to spend my money thank you. Like I said...they hate educated customers.
Ok Shawn...so I get no info on the price, I don't get the experience I want, I don't get to research and look at the cars I like, you're telling me how to handle my money on cars that aren't checked for anything beyond what your business is required to do to avoid a government probe...and you don't want to waste your time to show me more than perhaps one or two cars to make that sweet commission. I'm just supposed to throw you the down payment on a starter home for something that could crack five miles off the lot. Because you shook my hand in an uber masculine confident way.
Ok Shawn.
At that point we had enough. We left without trying out any of the cars I liked.
Late stage capitalism is like a cannibalistic beast that runs out of things to consume so it finally just eats itself. The buyer is treated in the worst possible way.
Dear we the people, you are worth more than this and you deserve transparent prices and BS-free sales. Go elsewhere.
Dear Kia, I was very interested in buying one of your vehicles. In fact, I reserved a vehicle at another dealership the same day. I was so offended by your sleazy salesperson, and your tactics, that I felt it was more important that I spend my money at an ethical shop that values buyers. In fact, I'd probably pay extra to buy a car directly online with Carvana so I don't have to interact with people like Shawn. And you guys have mechanics - use them to check your cars you lazy snakes. A faulty vehicle could hurt someone's family.
KIA has all the spin and none of the substance. It didn't matter that KIA had this nice little hotdog cookout by the front door. It didn't matter that they have these little streamers from the tops of their fences. It didn't matter that the lady I spoke with on the phone was nice because at the end of the day I have to make a transaction with Shawn who just wants to close while all I want to do is buy a car that works for me. read more