Customer ReviewsforKia of Clarksville

I bought this car in December of last year at 101k miles and it’s now at 126k. The engine started to have a problem in July. Upon taking it to two local shops (I prefer them over dealerships) I was informed by both to have it taken to Kia for a recalled engine fix. Kia denied that my engine fell under recall. Also, it was diagnosed 45 minutes after drop off with hydrolock, needing a new engine entirely estimated around 13,000$ total. I called Kia customer support, they contacted the Kia store and Kia store completely denied that diagnostic and stated they have not called me with an estimate or diagnostic result. They told her they would get to it quickly and get back with her to inform me of it. My engine falls under the class action lawsuit, but that’s now being denied. I have a full warranty, but the hydrolock claim would make it not applicable to cover a new engine. Neither of the first two shops came up with hydrolock. I have not drove this car since July. How can a dealership feel comfortable calling a customer with a 13,000 dollar quote 45 minutes after dropping it off? Just for them to deny it? I’ve got a lemon law personal attorney and have contacted the attorney general and filed a complaint. DO NOT GO HERE!

My husband and I got a vehicle from Kia Clarksville. They messed up on paperwork and needed us to come in to sign some additional forms so they could process. We wanted to go through another lender with a better rate and had the loan ready to go. They lied to us saying this specific lender would be 20% while we had the lady sending them everything stating they were giving us 6%. Kia said that we had to keep the lending through them or return the car. Our new lender told us that they should not be able to do this because we had the money to pay. I told them what the lender said and got a response saying that we needed to return our new vehicle. I have never heard of such a thing and the way we were treated through the whole process was terrible. On top of that they had a new salesman who my husband and I thought did amazing but they just bad mouthed the salesman to us on multiple accounts putting all blame on him. I feel they are the most rude and unprofessional, shady business I have seen in a long time. Do NOT go to them.

My name is Robert *****. My situation is unique. I was just released from prison after serving 19 yrs. I went to Kia of Clarksville to try and buy a vehicle. I had a **** Cherokee paid off to trade. They told me they would give me 5300 for the trade. But said they only had one vehicle to put me in. Which I didn’t understand. I owed no money on trade, but it was important that I start to build my credit. The vehicle I bought was a Kia Soul for 21,000. After they deducted my trade and added all this extra stuff I didn’t understand I ended up financing more than the asking price. I wasn’t given a choice to not buy the extra stuff they were including. They knew I was in a particular situation and they used that against me. I’m so disappointed with the way I was treated and in the vehicle. I’ve had it one month and it already needs brakes. I’m a pretty passive individual and hate confrontation so I just went along with it because I had to have something and wanted to start building my credit. But they definitely used that against me. I hate the vehicle and hate the way I was treated. How can one get 5300 for a free and clear trade and still finance more than the asking price? They took advantage of me. And they will to anyone that lets them

I want to share something that transpired this week in hopes that others will learn from and hopefully not make the same mistake I did. 4 Years ago in April of 2017 my husband and I were preparing for the birth of our second child and at the time shared an older family vehicle. We have always been a one vehicle household as this is what we were able to afford. We decided it was time to take a big leap and purchase a new or newer vehicle. Neither of us had ever purchased a vehicle on our own before but his father drove a KIA Soul and went on and on about he much he loved it. I've always been a fan of rather "quirky" vehicles so I was on board and my husband as well. We decided to purchase the vehicle from the Clarksville Indiana KIA dealership as they had a 2016 KIA Soul that was only a year old. We were both really excited. A gently used very low mileage vehicle that we could afford and they took care of the financing for us?!! I admit, I am not the most astute when it comes to purchasing a vehicle but I had done what I thought was enough research and thought I understood enough to make informed decisions. I had in fact not. I was so concerned about getting a good deal I had not done enough warranty research. If I had some major red flags about KIA and their warranty policies would have come up. However I was young and naive and honestly just excited to be purchasing my first newish car. I purchased an extended warranty at the insistence of the pushy car salesman but talked the difference off the total we had agreed upon on the vehicle. Feeling like I had done a very good thing I left satisfied that I had gotten a good deal. Fast forward 4 years to this week. My family and I have had, like many, a pretty rough year and half since the start of COVID. My husband lost his job in August and I had been working 2 to support the family. It had been almost 5 years since we had taken a family vacation and we were eager to get away.So we packed up the family in the KIA Soul and headed to Chicago. We had a great trip until the drive home. On our way home, about 30 miles from our exit, I thought I heard an engine noise. I looked down at the speedometer and realized we were going 60 mph and steadily dropping in speed. I heard the noise again and then realized I could not get the vehicle to accelerate and that the Oil Light, Check Engine Light, and Battery Light were all lit on the dash and we were having a major issue. I pulled over to the side of the road and my husband popped the hood. Immediately we noticed smoke. Not big plumes of smoke but the scary sort as if something is on fire. My husband said that it seemed like wiring was on fire but he couldn't tell for sure. It was scary to be on the side of the road with the Semis wizzing by with the kids in the car but soon we coughed up the $250 towing fee and had the car towed home. This was on Sunday. I felt confident from the start that it was engine related and was scared but felt relief that at least we had warranties and that I knew some KIA Souls had received recalls lately. This was going to be covered. There was no way a 5 year old vehicle with only 72,000 miles on it wouldn't be covered for Engine issues. On Monday I had the vehicle towed to Clarksville, $200 more in towing. My husband called the Clarksville KIA store and let them know the vehicle was on its way. By 3 oclock when we had heard nothing from them I called to confirm that they had received the vehicle. The rep that I spoke with in the service department, Brittany, told me that it had been received but that they weren't going to have time to look at it Monday. She told me that she would call me Tuesday morning and let me know what was going on. I expressed that I was without any vehicle and needed to get to work and she reassured me that once they confirmed this was recall related that she could rent me a vehicle Tuesday Morning at no cost to me. Tuesday morning came and went without a phone call. I called at 12 and was told no one else could help me but Brittany and she was at lunch. I left my information for a return call and 2 hours later when I had still not received a call I called back. Brittany's tone had changed from pleasant enough on Monday to very annoyed. She told me they had not had time to look at my vehicle, had no idea when they would look at my vehicle and "would let me know when she knew". I expressed that she had promised me a phone call Tuesday morning with information and she replied "they are very busy". "I need a vehicle to get to work." I told her. "I'm a healthcare worker and I can't miss work. I've already missed 2 days." "Well I can't just pay for a vehicle for you" She responded. " They have to look at it and see what's wrong with it. Maybe you didn't put oil in it and that's why the engine locked up. I don't see you have any oil changes on file with us." She was hateful at this point. I was upset that she suggested I hadn't taken good care of my vehicle. I told her I had documentation of all of my oil changes which I had elected to have done locally instead of driving the hour and a half to the dealership everytime. I asked when I would know something her response was "when they get to it" I had no clue when to tell my boss to expect me back at work. No clue how to get to work and no idea when my vehicle would be assessed. I called the service manager Erin who was dry and didn't seem to care one way or another when I expressed my frustration with the situation and her service lady Brittany suggesting I hadn't done oil changes. She was able to tell me that the car was actually being assessed and would be done Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday afternoon came and went and finally I called and left a message for Brittany asking what the status was. Erin the service manager called me back 2 hours later. The entire engine would need replaced due to it having no cylinder pressure and it would not be covered under any of the multitude of engine recalls KIA vehicles are having at the moment. Also she let me know that my only hope for any sort of coverage was the extended warranty I had purchased. WAIT WHAT???? The vehicle is only 5 years old with 70,000 miles??? What about the 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty??? VOIDED the moment I bought the vehicle she educated me. KIA does not transfer the bumper to bumper or powertrain warranty to the next owner for 100,000 miles. It becomes 5 year 60,0000 and you must purchase the extended warranty. How can a vehicle as young as mine, which has always had maintenance and oil changes on time not be covered in some way for catastrophic engine failure??!!!! I simply couldn't believe what I was hearing. I asked how this could be happening on such a young vehicle that was well maintained. Her response "Well it could be a timing belt or a bunch of other issues. Without stripping down the engine we don't know." Wait what??? KIA engines are everywhere right now for having tons of recalls and your telling me that this is somehow normal and after an engine as young as mine has this issue you wont investigate further? "No because the computer didn't flag any recall codes" she tells me. Unbelievable. A 5 year old well maintained vehicle, which flagged no check engine light until the point of engine failure has no coverage, no recall, no warranty. She then informed me that my only option was to pay KIA $1,500 to stip down the engine. At that point the extended warranty company would come in and inspect it to decide if they would pay out the claim. "If they don't pay out the claim how much is the total engine repair?" I asked. "We won't know until we strip it down. But if they pay the claim they will reimburse you the $1500" was her response. So KIA expects me to gamble $1500 with some warranty company without knowing the total cost I could be out??!! It's a gamble and one that's not in my favor and I knew that immediately. Wednesday night my husband and I spoke and consulted with one of our good friends who knows more about all this than us. He advised us, as I also suspected, not to gamble. My husband arranged for a tow home Thursday morning ($700 in towing fees now for a vehicle that wont run) and called the KIA Dealership to tell them our decision. Brittany called me at work within minutes. "I'm just calling because I want to confirm that you are having the vehicle taken??!!" She asked in a once again hateful voice. "Any garage that does the work will have to have it stripped down and it's going to cost you $1500." OH!!! I suddenly figured out she wasn't calling to confirm the decision. She was calling to try to sell her services. I FELT SICK. After holding my patience with this absolutely arrogant and hateful service woman after she had repeatedly not gotten back with me and was repeatedly rude on the phone. I had finally had enough of her bullying. "Yea Brittany" I responded "but it would be pretty naive of me to think that this service company is going to pay out a claim for a new engine. Warranty companies aren't staying in business because they pay out claims." She began angrily speaking over me "They are very reputable we work with them all the time but whatever" she scoffed " it's your vehicle." "Yep its my piece of crap vehicle that you all sold me and I'm having it towed. By the way what's the total cost of having it repaired after the $1500 strip down of the engine?" I asked angry at this point. "$100" she said. "No not my warranty deductible which you have incorrect its actually $200 but the total WHEN your warranty company doesn't pay??!!" WOW this woman has no clue what she is talking about. "$8000" She responded. At this point I just laughed. "Nope" was all I could say and hung up on her. The car sits in my driveway now. After $700 in towing fees and a week worth of stress and chasing down answers and technicians and managers and people who work for KIA. I am no farther than where I started. I have no one who will help me from a company that clearly doesn't care about its consumer. I attempted to write to KIA corporately but good luck finding contact info for anyone outside of a dealership. Their website intentionally takes you around and around through a chat feature that is garbage disguised as customer service. I owe $7,200 on a loan towards a 5 year old vehicle with 70,000 miles which will not run. I was told I could spend $8000 more to get it to run. Thats $15,200 towards a vehicle that blue books now for $10,000 at most. I don't see the value in putting in anything more towards the vehicle and am now stuck trying find a new vehicle which I cannot afford while I finish paying out the loan on a vehicle that will not run on my one income while supporting myself and 3 others. Yes its bad timing that this all happened in the middle of a pandemic while I am the only one working but I honestly wonder in these times how many families have an extra $8000 laying around to replace an engine. And is it just me or does $8000 seem pretty crazy for an engine replacement?? So here's the lesson. First don't buy from KIA. Honestly they just don't care about their consumers. Probably like most car companies but honestly this one seems particularly bad. Second, don't trust that every vehicle has a bumper to bumper powertrain 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. Upon further research it seems numerous companies cut this coverage short, penalizing used car buyers. I hope this helps someone. I wish I had read something like this prior to trying to "adult" and buy my first big girl vehicle because now this mother of 2 working alone to support her family has no way to get to work.