Car Dealership experience
 

I recently had issues at Kia Richmond regarding getting my deposit back from the dealership. I am just wondering if any of you had a simliar case, I am trying to make a story of it through a local newspaper. so that others don't suffer the same mistake that I've made.

if you are interested in getting your story out
you can write me at mingookwon@hotmail.com or call me at 604.619.3819

Thanks.

Full story
We have walked into Kia Richmond on Mar 18, 2009 to lease a Kia Soul. After having our vehicle appraised for trade in, we didn’t like our appraisal value and decided to make cash down on the lease. After the vehicle that we wanted was figured out, we were led to their Finance manager, Lenore Stratton. She quoted us on the price of the vehicle for the lease. After reviewing the numbers, we were about to leave thinking it was a bit too high for us to purchase. As we were planning to leave, Dion Allen, the service manager, pulled us aside and asked us what price would make us drive out the car. He told us to give him some time to work on the deal, and came back with a number that we were happy with and we made a deposit of $1000 on that day.

We get a call couple of days later from Lenore telling us that the lease can’t be approved under the company name, and would have to be co-signed. We first had my associate Injae Chang co-sign the lease and it was turned down, then I co-signed for the lease and was turned down again. However, she told us that we would be approved for financing for around $320/month, which was $40 dollars higher than the monthly lease payment with taxes included. Being confused, we went down to the dealership to get the deposit refunded, and Dion Allen pulled us off to the side again and asked to give him a couple of more days. We weren’t feeling very secure at this moment. Before anything more could be said, Dion drove off the lot.

The next day Mar 28, 2009, we didn’t want to continue the business relationship with Kia Richmond and wanted to get deposit refunded. I called and left message twice and never got a phone call back as he was busy helping another customer. On Sunday Mar 29, 2009, I finally get through to the finance manager Lenore, and she tells me that the deposit will be refunded within 10 business days. I get a call from Max a short while later, asking why I don’t want the vehicle. I told him I do not want the vehicle because I don’t feel comfortable with the whole business practice. He told me that he will check back with his service manager Dion and call me back, which he never did.

On Monday Mar 30, 2009, I called back to confirm the return of the deposit. Dion, the service manager, tells me that the deposit can’t be refunded because of the extra work he put in to bring the car over to his dealership and I get the same message from Max, the manager. However, we never special ordered our vehicle, as the vehicle we wanted was a black 2009 Kia Soul 4u.

Don't give up! get your deposit back! Hate it when the stealership tries to rip people off like this. How would you know the financing wasn't going to go through in the beginning. So it is not your fault

i know nothing about how to handle this, but maybe this site might be of help to find someone who can or at least advise?

http://www.ara.bc.ca/contact.php

Do not give up!
 

Do not give up; It may take some time and but don't back down. Take them to the small claims court if you have too. It's a matter of principal.

Good luck

Are you sure you were dealing with the service manager and not the sales manager? The service department doesn't usually have anything to do with selling cars. Maybe it's different with a smaller dealer like Kia, I dunno.

Richmond KIA and Vancouver KIA have the same owner, amongst Richmond Subaru and Richmond Suzuki, last I heard atleast.

It's not a whole lot of hassle to bring KIA from their Vancouver store over to Richmond.
This "Max" guy, is he a pretty big fellow?

in anycase, do not give up. I believe unless it's explicitly noted on any finance paperwork or application that deposits are not refundable and you signed off on it, you are entitled to get it back.

For KIA there are a couple more dealerships that you may take your business to, Bay City KIA, APPLEWOOD KIA also JIM Pattison KIA comes to mind.

I've heard of this happening at Richmond Subaru too,
Deposit was taken because dealer gave him a good deal, when the car arrives after a couple of months, Dealer ignores discount, and since buyer has waited so long he buys the car anyways at MSRP.

How come in todays bureaucratic society, price is subject to change without notice...

Good luck getting your money back. That might be difficult... richmond kia is going bankrupt along with richmond suzuki.. A couple of months earlier their vancouver kia dealership lost a few million dollar from a lawsuit... Actually, the entire Cosmo Auto Group is going bankrupt...

seriously? wow. i never realize the economy is this bad.

Um...Are you living under a fucking rock?

no need to be rude. :rolleyes:

my company is still doing ok and I still need to work OT.

Thanks for the support!

Well, Current situation is not going very good.
I've talked to VSA and they seemed to be not following up on any of their promises. So beaware for you all.

VSA does not have any legal authority to force dealership to do anything.
furthermore, they will try their best to sneak their way out of things.

I am trying all of the channel I can.
I will be sending a mail to the CEO of Kia canada directly to explore our options too.

Thanks again all

as an fyi, it's always best to negotiate the price of the vehicle you want to buy first... then when that's all on paper, then negotiate the price of the trade-in.

if you did not sign anything saying non-refundable deposit, they have to give it back to you. I would tell them that you are going to seek legal counsel regarding your deposit and I would file a report against them with the BBB if they are part of it.

Try the Motor Vehicle Sales Authority!

call the better business bereau(cant spell) that happnd to my GF also at middle gate honda and she put a deposit on a civic and she didnt want it anymore the next day because they never explained the interested would be so high. she emailed BBB and the "owner" of middle gate honda and when she got in there they still tryed to make her buy the car but in the end they cant do anything but refund your money. it took about 2 weeks for them to actually write the cheque though.

CTV Olsen On Your Side is your friend :thumbsup:

or maybe Zack Spencer? he as that tv show and the radio talk show on the weekends and i think is also involved with http://www.driving.ca?

my GF signed a paper saying if shes approved for finance thers no turning back but she still got her money.

Zack spencer won't bad mouth kia or any dealership...

Then don't be surprised when you get hit with a wholesale value for your trade because there isn't any gross left in the deal.

If you disclose everything from the begining, it makes the whole process a lot easier. If you try to lie or "beat" the salesmen, you just wind up making things more tense and most likely will not be able to make a deal, and therefore having wasted your time, and that of the salesperson.

In regards to Kia, they are legally required to return your deposit. Unless the written contract specifically declares that the deposit is non-refundable, the deposit must always be returned if the customer requests it. If a customer leaves a deposit, but the agreed upon terms cannot be met because the customer was not approved for finance, they MUST give back your deposit. If they dealer-traded the car before you were approved, that is THEIR mistake. My store does not pull the trigger on a dealertrade until the customer is approved for the agreed finance or lease terms.

If you paid the depost it with Credit Card, they should be able to reverse it, or you can dispute it with Visa/Mastercard. If you paid by cash/debit/moneyorder, they will probably mail you a cheque which could take up to 10 business day, as their finance manager told you. You need to be 100% clear and adamant that you want to cancel the deal and get your money back, otherwise they might try to keep finding ways to keep the deal alive.

true. but then it gives you the option of having gotten the best deal for the new car and the option (if you don't like the offer they're making you on the trade-in) to go sell the car privately.

if you tell them that you're trading in your old car up front, then you'd think that they'd have that trade-in value in mind when they give you a price for the new car... and if you refuse their trade-in value, then you'll be paying a bit more.

no?

[back on topic]