Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromMichelle V

  Date: 05/03/2025

  1 star
  Does this matter to the owners of this business?? I had been to 4 previous dealerships and each one wanted to do in-house financing. All giving me a 19.9 with a 750 credit score. I finally just decided to get financing through a credit union because my credit card company did not report to the company thr dealerships used. I was told that KIA of El Cajon was a dealerships that would work with this credit union. Upon finding the vehicle I wanted to purchase I got the same runaround from this dealership as the others to do in-house financing. I wasn't haggling the price and I had my approval letter. Negotiations with the financing manager was pressure to in-house finance. 2hrs into Negotiations and told someone online was trying to buy the same vehicle, and also being told I am first because I was there prior to this inquiry. Needless to say they kept saying things like I'd need to as my bank to agree to the make model and milage before I would actually be approved. I said I call my bank and after talking to my bank representative that said she didn't understand why they were threatening me like this that I only needed a "purchase order " to move forward. I went to give the financial manager the phone to speak with my bank representative and he just gathered all the paperwork up and said The vehicle has been sold. 2hrs of my time and I'm already pre-approved! Even the young gentleman that was helping me that just started working fir then was baffled. The car was listed the next day on the website fir $1,000 less and the following day as well. When 8 called to speak with a General Manager I got the runaround. I managed to call a corporate hub that files a complaint against the business... How can you not care about the way your employees and managers operate your company. To receive a tarnished name...

• Review fromJaqui J

  Date: 01/13/2025

  1 star
  Good luck. When the warranty expires the engine will seize and then they'll replace your engine with a remanufactured engine then try to charge you 4 thousand dollars for oil dripping into the turbo. If your turbo goes out it takes 4 months to get a new ecu because they are on back hold from so many of their vehicle turbos going out. This is my current situation. We had to get the transmission replaced because they forgot to put the oil cap back on. I don't know if other *** locations are better but you should steer clear of Kia of El Cajon. They also own ***** of El Cajon so wonder if it's any better over there. It's a 250 dollar diagnostic fee too...for them to tell us they want 4 grand to fix the issues they created in the first place.

• Review fromHedy M

  Date: 10/28/2024

  1 star
  DONT BUY from Kia of El Cajon!!!They were SOOOOO DECEITFUL!!! I explained first thing, I had my own financing and how much I wanted to spend. THEY wanted to charge me $10,000 over by adding unnecessary extras!!! *****% financing!! My credit union was going to give me 6% and now they won't even Finance me because I'm ***ide down because of all the charges from **** I went back three times and talked to the manager ****, finance *** ****** and the salesman ****. they listened but refused to help me. I said can I trade the car in for something that I can actually afford? they didn't help me. I asked them several times how much is the car? A price wasn't listed anywhere and they never told me.. they just said oh, it's in your budget. I should have walked out but they had my car keys since 9am. They kept saying oh we're assessing your car . It doesn't take 4 to 5 hours to assess somebody's car . The finance guy was talking about his wife that had cancer stage 4 and his children that were supporting them and his dog, while I'm trying to sign papers. Distraction tactics. I was signing papers because I thought the car was in my budget like I had asked them several times. The price was at one location in the very back there was the final amount of the car and I didn't even see it. I saw an amount that was $4,000 less than what I thought it was paying. I've been so sick over this whole thing . If they're doing that to me, they've got to be doing that to many other people. it's disgusting ! I tried to get them to help me and they refused . They are horrible!!!!!! Sales, Managers and Finance were all horrible and extremely pushy. This car's MSRP was 17 to ****** it's a 22 Kia ****** and the final price was around $29,600. I need help! I asked **** if he would let someone treat his mother this way and he looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. Also the car has pits in the windshield and paint touch-*** all over. It's a disaster! No stars here!

  Hedy M

  Date: 11/04/2024

  I went down to the dealership again yesterday to see if I could help talk some kindness into the manager. Again he refused to help me. I don't understand how people can sleep at night when they know that they're treating people like me so unjustly and deceitful. The **** was 17 to ****** for the car which I found out later. Why would they show me a car that was already more expensive than what I could afford? They know that they're going to charge $5,000 in ridiculous fees such as paint and fabric for say 1400 pulse which is to help them locate a car if it's stolen I've never had a car stolen in my life so why would I need that? Tire and Wheels is another one and then stargard for another 1400 anyway the totals were $5,000 and then you had taxes and fees and all that other stuff and it came out to $29,600. If I came in there saying I could spend $20,000 out the door why would you show me a car full well knowing that you were going to add another $5,000 to it for all these extras they should have been showing me a car for $14,000 not what they did and then adding what they did. I'm absolutely appalled at what they've done. They put me in a huge bind and I had gone back there four days in a row after I purchased the car trying to get them to help me and they wouldn't do it. How are these people okay with the way they're treating people taking advantage of people charging me 11% when I said I have my own financing? How are these people still in business when they're trying to take advantage of people they should be horribly ashamed of themselves. Just to check, I got on the Kia of El Cajon website to see how much I could trade the car in for that I got nearly a month ago. 2022 ****** they said I could get 12 to ****** for it as a trade in. Are you kidding me? How is this okay? Please can somebody help me find some sort of resolution in this mess? it's not absolutely not okay the way people are being treated there!!!

• Review fromEricson K

  Date: 10/23/2024

  1 star
  I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the service I received during my recent experience at your dealership. Initially, I was impressed with the professionalism and attention from your staff when I purchased my vehicle. However, it soon became clear that this level of service was superficial and primarily focused on getting my trade-in.After finalizing my purchase, I was assured that my traded car would be paid off within 10 days. It has now been much longer, and I have been unable to reach anyone for updates. I am now left with an extremely high financed vehicle while my traded car, which was supposed to be paid off, is still outstanding. I have even been threatened with repossession from the dealership, adding significant stress to an already frustrating situation.Additionally, I was invited to complete a survey about my experience, during which your staff was overly eager to assist. I was promised gifts for my participation, but I have yet to receive anything. This lack of follow-through feels misleading and unprofessional.Overall, I expected a more genuine commitment to customer service. I hope you can address these issues to improve the experience for future customers.

• Review fromShalamar H

  Date: 08/02/2024

  1 star
  I visited Team Kia of El Cajon and dropped off my vehicle at 8:00 AM for an 8:50 AM appointment. I received a text message at 11:18 AM stating that my vehicle was ready. I called for a Lyft, which cost $20, to pick up my car. Upon arrival, my vehicle was not parked in the usual spot for ready vehicles. An employee took approximately 10 minutes to retrieve my car from the back.Due to a prior engagement, I drove home immediately. Once home, I noticed that my seats and dashboard were dirty. I called and spoke with *****, who was pleasant and attempted to resolve the issue by asking me to return for the cleaning. While I appreciated her efforts, I was disappointed that my time and money were wasted. It appeared that an attempt was made to clean my vehicle, but it was not completed properly, suggesting that someone was aware it needed detailing but did not finish the job.I am disappointed that I had to return to the dealership and was not offered any compensation for my wasted time and money. I only came in for the detailing service, as my oil change was not necessary but was done to get the inspection covered. This was the worst experience I have had, and I feel it is important to note that had I been more confrontational, I might have been offered something in return. Instead, I remained calm, received my entitled refund, and now have to wait to receive my money back. This situation was both inconvenient and disrespectful of my time.

• Review fromSara Y

  Date: 07/14/2023

  1 star
  I am writing to express my concern regarding a recent experience I had with ********. On July 14, 2023, I brought my ********** 2021 to your dealership for service. My car had turned off twice by itself, and I wanted to have it checked to ensure my safety while driving. I arrived at your dealership at 10 am and was assisted by your service advisor, *********.********* helped me with all the paperwork and informed me that I would not have to pay anything since my car is still under warranty and low mileage. She also mentioned that the diagnostic fee would be waived. I left the dealership, confident that my car was in good hands.At 2 pm, I received a call from *********, informing me that my car was running on low oil level. The diagnostic technician, *****, had discovered this. I was surprised to hear this since I had recently changed the oil in a trusted shop that I have been dealing with for a long time. ********* informed me that the dealership had added oil to my car without my permission and charged me $112 for it.Furthermore, when I got my car back ,********* informed me that there was no sticker indicating when or where the last oil change was done, although I was certain there was a sticker, which someone had taken off purposely. This was unacceptable to me, and I was disappointed that ******** had not been honest with me. I have a picture as a proof of somebody toke off the sticker from the windshield. I would like to request that you investigate this matter and take the necessary steps to ensure that this does not happen to anyone else. I also request that you refund the whatever you charged me without given me a notice and not giving me for the unauthorized oil added.I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to hearing from you soon.

• Review fromDanny S

  Date: 05/22/2023

  3 stars
  Bought a car here and was not told about a faulty defect when I bought it. My car was stolen because of the issue and the dealership had done nothing to resolve the issue. There is a factory recall that went out months ago regarding an anti-theft device that I received after my car was already stolen. I do not recommend buying a car from here because the finance company keeps you legally responsible for the loan, the dealership did nothing to help me, and the only saving ***** is my insurance company. Never buying a car here again and they breached their contract with me which is in pending litigation. Go somewhere else to buy a car. And the service department has bad customer service as well.

• Review fromLance R

  Date: 05/10/2023

  1 star
  Negative five stars. No surprise that the dealership is unaccredited by the BBB. These people are criminals. Tons of handshake promises and lies. Their finance liar asked me about numerous add-ons (service plan, key replacement, etc.) all of which I declined. He still stuck them in the contract and told me that he was able to get his supervisor to "throw them in." Sadly, I missed that he had added them in and charged me. The salesperson promised to have a few "freebies," (trunk liner, window shade, etc.) available for pick-up the following weekend, when they would take care of a flaw in the upholstery. The sales manager, "*****," denied that any extras had been offered while refusing to bring in the salesperson from the previous weekend. He claimed that the salesperson was unavailable, and that we were out of luck. To add insult to injury, the service department rectified the upholstery flaw by scribbling over it with a Sharpie or Magic Marker, rather than repairing it. Their ************************* ****, insisted during my next visit that he lacked the authority to help me. When I asked to be referred to someone who COULD help me, he admitted that he had lied and that he did, in fact, have the authority. He then lied AGAIN, pretending to place orders on his computer while telling me that I would be contacted when I could return to have everything taken care of. That was two months ago. It's been three months since we bought the car and we've still not received our plates. The message board on their website is of no use, as they do not respond to requests to be contacted. I cannot imagine a more crooked and unethical operation. DO NOT GIVE THESE CRIMINALS YOUR BUSINESS!!!!

• Review fromKinfe G

  Date: 02/06/2023

  1 star
  My wife came to kia of el cajon for a recall repair on 1/30/2023 and after the repair was completed my wife got her *** **** with a leaking fuel pump back. After we took it back to *** to fix their mistake they declined the repair and said it was a coincidence. The one thing the dealer didn't realize I work on cars also and know their mistake is Not coincidence because my wife's was not leaking any fuel at all before we took it to *** and no where on there's repair order say anything about fuel leaking and the first time my wife took the car back they wouldn't help here and sent her off driving with a leaking fuel car. But when I took the car to the dealership they still declined breaking my car and also said they would not release the car to me because of the leaking fuel and wanted me to tow car or sign a release of liability Wow such a hypocrite. They service manager had a quote for a fuel pump assembly for me and I couldn't believe the type of service I was getting and I've never taken my wife car to any delership but **********

• Review fromArien D

  Date: 01/20/2023

  1 star
  It was brought to our attention while shopping at this dealership that they are adding mandatory "features" (security and protectant) for up to $3995 to the price of the car, but not including it in their posted price. We asked if it can be removed and they declined. They did show that it is on their site, smooshed into a paragraph of other mumbo jumbo, stating this added price, but it is a sleazy business practice. They also tried to charge us higher sales tax, more than 10% when it is ****% in El Cajon. I felt like they were trying to ******* my husband and me into buying a vehicle.