Scammed by KIA of Clermont
 

On March 1st around 9am my wife and I arrived at KIA of Clermont to look and possibly buy a Kia Telluride SX Prestige X-Line (referred to as car). Mike was assigned to me as the sales person After hours of haggling with him and some of his bosses we made a deal for the car purchase.

While we were waiting for my credit to unfreeze, Mike sat me down in the car and sold me a theft package that he said the sales people were allowed to sell this for a little extra money. He then took out an ultraviolet flashlight and shined it on the headliner and showed me where he said the theft ID should be. We saw nothing on the headliner. Mike said they must have put the ID somewhere else. I then asked Mike to make sure it was installed before I left. Mike said no problem.

For the next three months 5 or 6 different times I asked Mike where is the theft id. I never received an answer from Mike.

On May 30th, I texted him “Please call me”. NO REPLY from Mike.
On June 3rd I texted “Could you please find where they placed then etching/ultraviolet theft deterrent on my Telluride. Please text info.” Again, NO REPLY from Mike.
On June 5th I texted “I will be there Saturday morning for someone to show me where the anti- theft/ultraviolet etching was done.”
On Jun 5th Mike texted back “OK you can speak to the manager.”
On June 5th I texted back “It amazes me that NO one knows where its installed.”

On June 7th, around 9am, my wife and I arrived at KIA of Clermont. We were sent to John the finance manager. We told John the problem that Mike avoided answering me for over 3 months of where the theft ID was installed. We also told him how disappointed we were with Mike. John informed us he was one of the best salesmen. (GOD Help them).

John came out to the car with us. I took out my ultra violet flashlight and asked where it was installed. John then informed us that the theft ID was not installed and Ultra Violet was not even used by the dealership. John also stated nothing had to be done and the warranty would still be valid even if they didn’t install the theft ID. However, the theft contract clearly states “THE AUTHORIZED DEALER/DEALERSHIP MUST INSTALL THE ANTI-THEFT PROTECTION THEFT DETERRENT SYSTEM FOR YOU TO RECEIVE THE BENEFIT OF THE AGREEMENT.”

John then offered have someone install it immediately. My response was that I wanted my money back. John said no it was part of the sale. I informed John that since it wasn’t installed at delivery and now its 4 months later, I want my money back and John agreed. It’s now 6 months later no refund.

Kia of Clermont is owned by the Morgan Auto Group. On August 18th, we sent two certified return receipt letters, one to the president Larry Morgan and one to the CEO Brett Morgan of Morgan Auto Group. The letters were received and signed for on Aug 22nd. It is now 3 weeks later and I have still not received a response. Obviously, they couldn’t care less that their Clermont KIA dealer is scamming me.

I wonder how many other customers of KIA of Clermont has not installed the ID protection and has scammed. In the 60 years that I have bought cars I have never had an out and out scam done to me except by KIA of Clermont.

If you have been scammed by Kia of Clermont or any other Morgan Auto Group owned dealership, please comment back.

There is more dealer malfeasance by Kia of Clermont. When I have a chance, I will post it later to show the horrendous actions they have done.

NO AUTO DEALER HAS EVER TREATED ME THIS WAY. I WAS ALWAYS TREATED AS A VALUED CUSTOMER EVERYWHERE. NOT AT KIA OF CLERMONT.

IMO, every auto dealer has probably treated you this way, they've just been better at hiding it. Upselling is standard practice in that realm. UpNorth, rustproofing used to be a common upsell that was implied to be sprayed on but was often never installed, all you were buying was an insurance policy against rust that had so many loopholes, almost no one could collect. And that's the new car dealers; used car salesmen, well, you know the reputation. Just below politicians.

You never did say how much your theft deterrent cost? I would never buy a new vehicle for this reason. I never understood the car haggling thing anyhow. You don’t go to Lowes and haggle the price of the lumber? The time you spent typing this and posting on this site should close the dealership soon, LOL. BTW, a lot of one stars.
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I hate buying new cars now. Not that many years ago you worked out a price based on the MSRP of the car, the most they would try to get you for was undercoating. Now they tack on thousands of dollars worth of stuff that no one really wants. I bought my last car in 2024, the dealer had already added a GPS system, ceramic coating, mud flaps, pin stripes, and something else that I can't remember. When I figured out what I was willing to pay I reverted back to the old days and made my offer based on the true MSRP of the car. I advised that I would not have bought any of the extras on the car nor did I even want them. They said they would give me the extras at their cost which I rejected. Before leaving I told them you have my phone number if you change your mind before I find one at another dealership call me. I didn't get out of the parking lot before they sent someone out to bring me back in and they sold it to me for my original offer. When I make an offer I don't try to skin them as they and the salesman need to make a living but I don't like being skinned either.

Can you simply order a car at the dealer and eliminate the extras they put on after it gets off the truck? Also, from another recent discussion like this one I think it’s better to buy online now?

You can actually do better than that. I ordered a Tesla via the Tesla app; took about 10 minutes. The exact price and what would be on the car was spelled out on the app. It took about 4 weeks to build the car and ship from Austin to Claremont. I was notified via the app when the car had arrived. I scheduled the pickup time and paid for it via a bank transfer directly on the Tesla app. Drove to Claremont and signed some papers and was out of there in 15 minutes as the car was ready at my appointment time. I'm pretty sure I will never set foot in a traditional dealership again.

You should do the following when you feel you have not been treated fairly at a franchised auto dealership.

1. Call in your case contact Kia customer relations ask them where you should submit in writing exactly what has happened to you at the dealership. Any franchised dealership hates it when the manufacture is contacted by an unhappy customer. The manufacture tracks customer complaints against dealerships. Kia's phone number is in your owner's manual.

2. Contact your Florida State representative and ask them what division of the state deals with auto dealer complaints.

If you want to try one more time to work this out with the dealership let them know that if this is not resolved to you satisfaction that the above is your next move. If you do contact the dealership again talk only to the General Manager.

I am retired from the automobile business after 35 years. The above are your best options.

lol… …. PT Barnum was right

That same KIA dealer had a used Mini Cooper that I wanted to buy.
We agreed on their asking price. After traveling down there the paper work showed an additional 2k in dealer add on profit.

I walked out and posted it on Google reviews.

Shady dealer I am surprised stays in business

I did 1 better than you buying your Tesla. I knew exactly what I wanted in a car and sent an email to over 40 dealers telling them to give me their best price out the door for what I was looking at. Every dealer responded and there was over a $5000 price difference between low to high offers. The last 3 dealers I wrote them back to tell them they were equal to 2 other dealers, so if they could better their price, let me know. I went with the lowest price dealer. This was less than 2 years ago.
Just over a month ago I did the same thing and while my new car was being transported from 1 dealer to my local dealer, I had 2 dealers offering me multiple $1000 discounts to go with them. I went with the local dealer but he had to come down in price $2500 from the day before, and that was still $500 more than what the other non-local dealer quoted me.

You never buy a car for msrp, same goes for a used house, and outside of the villages, you never pay lusting price

The dealer said they would make it right by installing the system, the OP should have let the dealer install it since they initially wanted it, and then report the incident of paying for something that was not installed, this is criminal

time to contact a local news station
 

You may want to consider contacting a news station. Once the wrong doing is aired you will be amazed at how FAST they will contact you to resolve the problem!

Kia
 

problem.

For the next three months 5 or 6 different times I asked Mike where is the theft id. I never received an answer from Mike.

On May 30th, I texted him “Please call me”. NO REPLY from Mike.
On June 3rd I texted “Could you please find where they placed then etching/ultraviolet theft deterrent on my Telluride. Please text info.” Again, NO REPLY from Mike.
On June 5th I texted “I will be there Saturday morning for someone to show me where the anti- theft/ultraviolet etching was done.”
On Jun 5th Mike texted back “OK you can speak to the manager.”
On June 5th I texted back “It amazes me that NO one knows where its installed.”

On June 7th, around 9am, my wife and I arrived at KIA of Clermont. We were sent to John the finance manager. We told John the problem that Mike avoided answering me for over 3 months of where the theft ID was installed. We also told him how disappointed we were with Mike. John informed us he was one of the best salesmen. (GOD Help them).

John came out to the car with us. I took out my ultra violet flashlight and asked where it was installed. John then informed us that the theft ID was not installed and Ultra Violet was not even used by the dealership. John also stated nothing had to be done and the warranty would still be valid even if they didn’t install the theft ID. However, the theft contract clearly states “THE AUTHORIZED DEALER/DEALERSHIP MUST INSTALL THE ANTI-THEFT PROTECTION THEFT DETERRENT SYSTEM FOR YOU TO RECEIVE THE BENEFIT OF THE AGREEMENT.”

John then offered have someone install it immediately. My response was that I wanted my money back. John said no it was part of the sale. I informed John that since it wasn’t installed at delivery and now its 4 months later, I want my money back and John agreed. It’s now 6 months later no refund.

Kia of Clermont is owned by the Morgan Auto Group. On August 18th, we sent two certified return receipt letters, one to the president Larry Morgan and one to the CEO Brett Morgan of Morgan Auto Group. The letters were received and signed for on Aug 22nd. It is now 3 weeks later and I have still not received a response. Obviously, they couldn’t care less that their Clermont KIA dealer is scamming me.

I wonder how many other customers of KIA of Clermont has not installed the ID protection and has scammed. In the 60 years that I have bought cars I have never had an out and out scam done to me except by KIA of Clermont.

If you have been scammed by Kia of Clermont or any other Morgan Auto Group owned dealership, please comment back.

There is more dealer malfeasance by Kia of Clermont. When I have a chance, I will post it later to show the horrendous actions they have done.

NO AUTO DEALER HAS EVER TREATED ME THIS WAY. I WAS ALWAYS TREATED AS A VALUED CUSTOMER EVERYWHERE. NOT AT KIA OF CLERMONT.[/QUOTE]

We just bought that exact model car a month ago , We went to Kia of Clemont but wound up buying from Kia of Wesley Chapel. We weren’t offered and No one mentioned the theft item you are referring to .i hope you get your money back.

I had a similar issue with Greenway Kia East in Orlando. They tried to sneak in an expensive extended warranty which I clearly stated I did not want. Also tried to sneak in a $1000.00 "Luxe" package which they said was installed on the vehicle after I clearly told them I did not want it. I signed the papers on an iPad-type device, and when I asked for my copies I was given a thumb-drive which they told me contained all the papers I had signed. As soon as I got home, I checked and quickly realized I was missing a lot of documents I had signed. There is enough of this story left to write a book, but I will spare you the long version. I called the dealer's general manager, called KIA's customer service and opened a case, I called the Central Florida Auto Dealers Association in Orlando, I emailed KIA's regional manager, and spoke with the actual owner of the dealership (he owns numerous dealerships in several states). In the end, I received full satisfaction and a lot more from the dealership but I still would never buy from them again. By the way, I called and emailed several of the Orlando television stations and not one returned my call. Lesson learned - if you purchase a vehicle and they give you a thumb drive with "your documents", insist on getting a "hard" copy of everything you signed before leaving the dealership. Good luck with your situation.

I got $7500 off on the Tesla plus they were running a deal on a free option and I didn't have to send out 40 e-mails or deal with dealers. I'm still pretty sure I will never deal with a traditional dealer again. I suspect more manufacturers will move to the Tesla model where you deal directly with them instead of a middle man.

And let "seniors against crime" in The Villages know as well

Welcome to Florida. I believe all dealers are the same in this state.

Interesting concept for Tesla to eliminate the middle man and save the potential consumer time and stress, and maybe money. A better option if you know what you want and don't want to deal with upselling vulchers. However, they did just build a hugmoungous "brick and mortar" fancy showroom in Claremont, employing dozens of people. Of course a mega showroom isn't necessary to sit in a car or take a test drive. Seems counter productive, unless they are hoping for impulse buyers to pounce on, and of course it's more convenient than Orlando for repairs.

Car Dealership
 

Entering a car dealership your homework already should be done on the price. Many people get totally screwed because after the price is negotiated which should be done online using many different dealers getting the best price. There are two parts to a car deal, the front end which the initial price and the back end on which is usually done in the finance office they are selling you ridiculous things like anti-theft etching /ceramic coating /fabric protection or extended warranty not to insult anyone but if you purchased anything like that you were ripped off. I have bought many new cars and have gone with a friend to help her after she was quoted a price and renegotiated for her which was $4,500 less than the original price they gave her. If you are not experienced in buying cars, you shouldn't be going into the dealership alone.

I get why you want protection. These cars were a hot commodity in Minneapolis. I would have perhaps got a different car.
***America's Most Stolen Cars in 2024***
While specific numbers vary by year and report, several Kia models have consistently ranked among the most stolen vehicles in the U.S. due to an anti-theft flaw in models with mechanical keys. Vehicles like the Kia Soul, Sportage, Forte, and Optima were….

Yeah but now you’re stuck with a Tesla. I hope it’s a 2nd car for you.

I had an issue with a brand new car I bought from a GMC dealership in New England. Like you I ended up calling and going back several times with no satisfaction. I ended up calling a GMC factory rep and told them about my issue. He and I paid the dealership a visit with my car. He went in and spoke to the owner/manager and surprisingly my issue with the car was resolved. Not sure how Kia operates but if they have a factory reps I would try calling them about your issue. Definitely call crimes against seniors.

Wow, I just bought a new car from Jenkins Hyundai and it was a great experience. They offered all the extra upticks to which I said no. They never pressed the issue. When I signed the papers the finance person went page by page explaining each page I signed. In the end I was handed a hard copy of everything. I had a great experience.

Did you know that you can buy Hyundai cars on Amazon, for fixed price? (Kia cars are the same as Hyundai - same manufacturer, different label/sticker in the front.)

Stand in front of the dealership (on public property) with a large sign clearly stating "This KIA dealership scammed me. Ask me how".

If you're technically capable, make a brief website with your story and add the text "visit www.KIAscammedme.com" to the above sign.

Then watch how fast you get satisfaction. I don't think you will be there more than 1 hour.

Going thru this right now on the purchase of a Tesla Y

Started on the app but since I wanted it delivered before the end of the month when the $7500 credit expires,(the app won't give you a specific date), I went to do the deal at the Claremont store.

they Found the exact car I wanted and got a delivery date shipped to them

The problem has arisen when doing the paperwork for the lease. (I could buy it without financing but it is my first Tesla and am afraid of the depreciation, plus I like new cars every few years and I don't want to shell out $45k in cash)

After submitting the paperwork for approval for the lease got a notice in the app That I was approved, great Right? Not so fast, they changed the terms and now the payment is $48 a month more than I was quoted at Dealership. And the money Factor (Interest rate) is 10.9%!!!!!

I have a credit score of over 800 and am trying to talk to some one about why that is to no avail.

If I ended up getting the original quoted price I will update but at this point it does not seem likely.

Also their details on the numbers is very confusing and I am still off by about $1900 that does not add up.

Couple weeks to straighten it out so we shall see

No. The Claremont facility has 3 areas. There is a small showroom with a couple of models that people can sit in. This area is manned by a couple of people who primarily set people up for 30 minute test drives (they don't go out with them). There aren't any "sales people", sales managers, or finance people. They will help you order one through the Tesla app if you need assistance otherwise you just leave after a test drive. The vast majority of people are ordering the cars from home via the Tesla app. The second area is where you pick up your car. This area is manned by a few people who have you sign the paperwork, get your keys if you are trading in a car, and answer any questions before sending you on your way. Typically, you schedule an appointment time on the Tesla app to pick up your car and it is waiting for you. The third area is service and is the largest. This is manned by some service writers, who also set you up with a loner car. The rest of the folks are mechanics. This is a large area, and the largest of the three areas, as it services a large geography. There is also a waiting area if you are waiting for service as opposed to getting a loaner. If you are waiting in the service area, there aren't any sales people asking if you want to trade in your car.

Kia of Leesburg is also owned by Morgan Group. They got me with warrantees over warrantees. I cancelled one and still waiting on them to rebate my financing. Sleezy company

All of these so called Dealer add-ons are a total ripoff and a huge profit for the Dealership. Jenkins if famous for that stuff. Even if they say it is on the car already my answer is that I will not pay for them. If they don’t remove them I let them know that I will go somewhere else. One of the biggest money makers is the Fake Ceramic Coating. It is not a professional ceramic coating. You can tell the difference immediately. Sorry you fell for a fake security system.

Years ago, I was buying a new GMC Suburban. The dealership wouldn't come down to my price, so I left. I really wanted the truck they had though. I stopped at Sam's Club on the way back to the farm, and saw they had some sort of buy a car deal. I went home, and put the model I wanted in the computer, and the one I had just seen came up for under the price I wanted to spend. Hahahaha. I bought it. I believe Costco has a car buying situation. I would buy through them rather than subject myself to a dealer.

Let me guess, you have never owned a Tesla or even driven one. Uninformed opinions are useless. However, feel free to continue being a troll.

Ditto re purchasing a new Tesla. Totally painless. EVERYTHING UP FRONT on their website. You never have to talk/negotiate with Sales. It is what it is. Delivery is the same. Tesla DOES NOT have DEALERS. They are all part of Tesla. NO MIDDLEMEN. period.
So simple. And Tesla has very few options". All are up front.

We got our 2024 Model 3 delivered to the Clermont Location (built in CA) last year. It was all completely prepped and beautiful No issues. EZPZ It's a GREAT vehicle.

I paid cash so I don't have any leasing experience. I found the messaging feature on the app to be the best way to get information.

All the dealers in the whole country are the same, not just Florida !!!

Love Chevy is another one ! They will take you to the cleaners with add-on's , We walked out, and the salesman followed us into the parking lot making concessions....we kept going....Sleazy dealership.

So unfortunate and unnecessary.
 

I skipped over the closest Genesis Dealership (Leesburg) for the bad vibes that the Reps offered. I instead bought my new Genesis GV70 from the dealership in Clermont (not affiliated with the Clermont Kia Dealership). In fact, they made sure I knew they were not affiliated with the Kia Dealership. I had a no pressure, enjoyable experience there. I purchased my car for the price I wanted to pay with a seamless transaction. 7 Months later and I am still well satisifed following my complimentary service visit.

We've never owned a Tesla and never will unless we win the lottery or one is given away on a drawing set up on a cereal box. That being said, they sound like an exceptional, exciting vehicle and we hope you continue to enjoy the one you are driving.:pepper2:

Thank you for the info. Most dealerships are scammed. I never buy anything extra except the extended warranty (especially seeing there are so many electrical modules and sensors nowadays). All the other extra crap is just that. Crap

The average price for a new car is about $48K. My Tesla Model Y was significantly less than that. While you can spend over $100K for some Tesla models (just like you can spend over $100K for some Chevy models), the most popular models are much less.