Garden Grove Kia

Recently purchased a 2020 certified Kia Niro from Garden Grove Kia. About a month prior to buying a vehicle I had test drove several different models of vehicles to confirm the exact vehicle I wanted to pur Grove Kia. About a month prior to buying a vehicle I had test drove several different models of vehicles to confirm the exact vehicle I wanted to purchase. I saw that Kia of Garden Grove that fit my criteria contacted them and want to make a purchase. Overall the place is clean, the vehicles seem nice, and the people are nice enough to talk to. However there are a lot of things that need to be addressed to deserve the rating they currently have. Reasons why I am deducting stars: 1) Add on fees: As is typical dealer process in 2023 when you request a quote the dealer will add unnecessary add ons to increase their margin on sales. This is “disclosed” in the fine print under “dealer added options/accessories” For this purchase the dealer added Platinum Smart Glass – 3 yrs for $1295 and CA Theft Recovery for $1295. After a week or so of negotiating I was able to get these add ons removed but any dealership that does not disclose these on their online pricing will lose 1 star regardless of how good the rest of the experience is. 2) Transaction: When working through financing we had to redo the forms several times as the dealer was adding shipping to the cash price of the vehicle which is a taxable amount. I imagine this is not the first time they have messed this up for someone and that ends up costing people 200+ dollars in excess taxes being paid due to the purchase price being inflated. We ended up fixing this by paying the other fees on credit card but their finance forms likely need to be updated to support this scenario. Dealer also ran a soft credit report on a cash purchase (Cashiers Check). Salesman quoted anti terrorism requirements to verify I am who I am. More just annoyed at this as there is no federal requirement for this likely just dealer policy. But there is no need to lie to me about this. Just run an OFAC check. 3) Requests after sale: As a non CA resident getting the vehicle shipped I requested that the CA HOV stickers get removed as you can get in trouble for driving in CA with HOV stickers with an out of state plate. As we were leaving the salesman requested I document that request via text. I texted the salesman that I did want the stickers removed and he said he would get it taken care of. I assumed that was the end of it. Later that week he texted that the vehicle was shipped and that the stickers were not removed. When I asked him why they were not removed he said “the used car manager didn’t want to risk ruining the paint where the stickers are attached to.” This is a convenient excuse but I do find it opportune that they waited until the car was shipped to let me know that they were not going to remove those stickers. Now I will have to spend time with a heat gun to remove the stickers. I did also request to have the car fully charged when shipped. This was performed. 4) Shipping: When the car was shipped I specifically requested that I get a one day heads up so that I could ensure my family member was going to be around to take delivery. The salesman said he would “relay the information to the used car manager” Surprise surprise the shipper contacted my family member 30 minutes prior to delivery. Luckily he was able to make it home to meet the shipper and take delivery. I blame this 50% on the shipping company and 50% on the dealership as they choose to contract with this company. I don’t think this is that unrealistic of a request for anyone who has a full time Job and needs to be able to take time off work to take delivery of a vehicle. A 30 minute heads up is not enough. In summary: Expect about 3000 in add on fees on used vehicles. Check your finance forms to make sure the purchase price is not getting overinflated and you are getting penalized on taxes. Do not expect great follow through after they have collected your money. More

This was a good experience. I bought my car in Downtown LA and I can tell you the experience was much better at your service center. I do feel the pricing was a little high an I bought my car in Downtown LA and I can tell you the experience was much better at your service center. I do feel the pricing was a little high and the car wash was less than could be desired. More