Lee Johnson Kia

Additional Notes

Complaint: I brought in my car for service on 6/13/2024. I had originally purchased the car from the same dealership on 5/30/2023. When I purchased the car, the dealership as expected upsold the car by talking about how its in a great condition despite being used. Nothing wrong with it. While selling the car the dealer clearly mentioned that the tires on the car were Brand New. Fast forward a year later when I got my car in for servicing on the date mentioned above, I learn that the tires were definitely not brand new and are 7 years old manufactured. I tried to probe more to look into what the condition the tires were when I got the car and they mentioned they were 8 3/4 deep and not brand new. The service rep was absolutely not useful when discussing and kept deflecting the question and had the audacity to tell me They were installed new. Extremely scummy practice by lying when selling a used car, knowing that theyre trying to upsell me. I can understand if I missed something and because the car was sold as-is it is on me to verify facts. But blatantly lying to make a sale is not a good business practice. Please be better by at least not lying when selling cars and please ask your service staff to not deflect and to not be rude.

Desired Settlement: Replacement

Business Response:

We apologize for the inconvenience the customer is currently experiencing in needing new tires due to a road hazard puncture creating a leak in their front tire. It also sounds like there was a misunderstanding when he purchased the vehicle. The tires, at the time of our inspection, measured 7/32 in front, and 8/32 in the rear, both quite a way from needing replacement. The vehicle had ****** miles on it. We rotated the tires at that time, and we also replaced the front pads and machined the rotors. The initial inspection and RO are attached. We do use a system called Auto iPacket that makes this information available to the public through our website so that consumers can verify what we are telling them. We make every effort to be completely transparent.

On 6/13, the customer brought the vehicle to us for service and noted the leaking tire, which we found to be caused by road hazard. The vehicle had ****** miles and the tires were measuring at 6/32 front, 7/32 rear, still far from needing replacement from a tread depth perspective (MPI attached). In speaking to our advisor, they state that they never told him that we installed new tires on it, but rather that the tires on the vehicle had been installed new at some point based on the tread depth measurement and the mileage on the vehicle. The recommendation for replacement of all 4 tires is due to the age of the tires based on the *** stamping, and since we cannot patch anything 7 years or older, replacing only 1 tire could create other issues due to a difference in circumference based on treadwear. 

In an effort to fix the customer concern, since it does sound like there has been some misunderstanding along the way, we would be happy to extend an offer to replace the customer's tires at our cost. We have two options, an OEM replacement that would be $157 plus installation per tire, or an OEM substitute that is slightly more budget friendly at $127 plus installation per tire. 

Additional Notes

Complaint: I initiated a purchase request through TrueCar with Lee Johnson Kia. I was issued a quote and offer for a specific VIN, and accepted it on condition of a test drive. Lee Johnson Kia and specifically *********************** (Internet Sales Manager) responded and acknowledged the test drive.I called the dealer in advance to ensure the vehicle was on site and it was confirmed that it was. However, when i went to the dealer at the scheduled time to complete the test drive and purchase, i was told that the vehicle had already been sold and i could not test drive it. I was also told that there were no other similar models available for consideration.As a result of committing to this offer i canceled an offer for a similar model from another private seller, which has tentatively sold.the fact that *** Johnson advertised a deal, reached out to confirm an offer, and then rescinded on their agreement when i reached the dealership cost me time and money, and also feels like false advertising with the intent of baiting customers to come into the dealership to undergo some high-pressure sales pitch.For damages and lost time under this false advertising claim i'm requesting a similar vehicle for $5K less then the attached agreed upon price due.

Business Response: We're sorry that this consumer feels that he was misled. The first e-mail he received was a standardized e-mail sent by TrueCar, not dealership personnel. TrueCar's availability disclaimer in their offers (attached) states, "This vehicle is subject to prior sale and MAY BECOME UNAVAILABLE AFTER IT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED TO YOU AS AVAILABLE." Two of our sales people did reach out to this customer once we received his inquiry from TrueCar. In the first e-mail, the EV6 models were clearly noted as sold (attached). In the second e-mail (also attached) our sales representative clearly states that we are currently sold out of EV6 inventory. All VDPs and SRPs on our website also fully disclose when an inbound or in-stock vehicle is sold, both in the picture overlay and in the vehicle description (example attached). We made no attempt to deceive anyone and, in fact, very clearly disclose the sold status of all of our inventory on our website. TrueCar simply receives an inventory feed, which does not decipher between sold and available. This is why they have an availability disclaimer, as one should always check actual availability of a vehicle with the dealer.