Ryan Thomas

Bait and Switch on financing and poor customer care. I had a written deal with a nice salesman Ryan to purchase a new telluride at 1.9% but I had to wait months until it came in, which was fine, but when it arrived the manager told me he would only sell it at 3.9%. When I tried to explain our agreement he threatened to sell the car to someone else. These are HOT cars so he used that to strong arm me. I will just pay off the car, but completely unethical behavior. I tried to work with the dealership directly to resolve this so I didn’t have to write a bad review, but after more than 5 contacts (phone and email) with the guy in charge of handling customer issues, I got nowhere. He kept promising to have the finance director call me but never happened :(. I’m very happy with the car, but I definitely would not do business again with this dealership. I have emails that back all of this up.

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We recently bought a Kia Telluride from Camelbak Kia after extensive research on the model. As a previous Kia owner, we expected a great sales experience. Unfortunately, it was not even close. In our negotiations, we said we were open to whatever method of payment (cash, loan, etc.) that would give us the best price and help the dealership in their metrics. When we reached an agreeable number, we test drove the car and decided to purchase as long as the dealership repaired a tear in one seat. This is when things went downhill. While going over the paperwork with the sales person, we suddenly learned the price required a loan with a nearly 6% interest rate. At no point in our previous negotiations were any stipulations mentioned. We asked for the finance manager. This is when things got ugly. Robert, the finance manager, came in and immediately started arguing with us. He insisted certain stipulations were always included, but it wasn't necessary for him to explain it to the sales person. He also argued that we should take that rate because we were "just going to pay it off right away anyway." He gloated that most people do not come into the dealership as educated as we were about financing. We continued to negotiate, but at one point, Robert threw his hands up and told us we "could just leave." We probably SHOULD have except that we had spent most of the day there with our 3yo and we needed a car because we had just been forced to repatriate from a foreign assignment due to my recent cancer diagnosis. Between COVID-19 and starting chemo, we didn't want to go to multiple dealerships. Finally we came to an agreement and went to sign papers with the finance associate who (although sweet) did not understand an amortization schedule. We agreed to finish the paperwork the next day so we could bring proof of insurance and residence--which she agreed could be an insurance card since we were temporarily staying with my mom. The next day, we arrived to finish the paperwork and pick up our car. The car, supposedly detailed and the seat repaired, was still dirty. The seat appeared to have been "repaired" with white out and was still torn. Plus, we found a cracked panel. They gave us an IOU for the repairs and promised to clean the car while we signed our paperwork. Returning to the finance associate's office, she accepted our proof of address. While going over the Truth in Lending, we asked about the first payment date to avoid interest accrual. She left to find out and Robert stormed in and rudely argued that we could not pay off the loan--even though he knew we were planning to do so-- before 4 months because Kia Camelbak would lose $1k. He again told us we could just leave. We asked that he not be allowed back into the room. A week later, we received a call from Kia Finance asking for our current address. We gave it to them and then received a call from Camelbak Kia saying we needed to provide proof of our old and new addresses. Suddenly the insurance card wasn't enough anymore. We said there wasn't anything we could do because we were staying with my mom while we sorted our our new living situation. Then Robert called back threatening to repossess our car. We said, send us the bill and we will pay the entire thing off right now. He said no, I'm sending a repo man and hung up. Finally, Robert's "boss" called and, surprise, had what she needed and "congrats on our new Kia!" We asked to speak with the owner, Mr. Esposito, to give us reassurance that nothing would happen to our car if we brought it back for repairs. He has not returned our multiple calls. Now, we are stuck--we need repairs owed to us but are afraid to bring our car to a place where the staff threatened us for no cause. A word to the wise--spend your hard-earned money elsewhere.

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Ryan was the best!! He wasn’t pushy he made us feel welcomed & happy on our purchase & if anything I know he’s there to help!

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I recently got into a new Kia lease. Thank you so much Ryan for all the help, You definitely made the dreaded car shopping experience pleasant!

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