- Report: #54448
Complaint Review: Rock River Block Kia Motors Of America - Rockford Illinois
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Rock River Block Kia Motors Of America
224 N Alpine Rd Rockford, 61107 Illinois, U.S.A.
Phone:
815-229-0510
Web:
N/A
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good?
Rock River Kia Motors Of America Refuse to Honor Warranty consumer fraud ripoff the business that doesn't give a dam Rockford Illinois
I have a complaint that I would like to make against Rock River Kia located at 224 N Alpine Rd Rockford Illinois 61107 and Kia Motors of America located at 9801 Muirlands Boulevard Irvine, CA 92618-2521. In the spring of 2001 I purchased a new Kia Rio from Rock River Kia in Rockford Illinois.
Though this was not my first choice of car but it was a good price and came with a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty and a 5 year roadside assistance warranty. The salesman really stressed the warranty and I expected the company would honor it. I was to find out different.
When I first purchased this car I noticed at once there were a few minor problems and the quality was not quiet as good as American cars. Nothing that really concerned me a lot. The rear drivers side seat belt was torn in several places, the carpets were of low quality and poorly installed, and the dome light promptly quit. Still, the car seemed reasonably well put together and considering the price and warranty I was happy.
In January of this year my wife and daughter were driving the car across town. While waiting at a light the car made a clunk, my daughter felt the clutch kick back, and the car died. She tried to re-start it but it would not even turn over. They pushed the car to a nearby parking lot and called me. I have worked on cars for years, hold a degree in Mechanical Design, and have worked in engineering departments for local companies.
It was dark, and very cold but I examined the car quickly. I thought that perhaps the clutch cable had snapped. Since it was cold, and I was still recovering from a brain aneurysm I decided now was the time to use the warranty.
I called the roadside assistance number and a wrecker was quickly dispatched to take my car to the nearest Kia dealer, Rock River Kia 43 miles away, where I had purchased the car. Since the car had broken down on a weekend it was the following Monday before I heard from the Kia dealer. I was contacted by the Rock River Ford/Hyundai/Kia service manager Charlie Kasnick.
He wanted to know why the car had been towed in. I explained to him what had happened and he promised to look at it as soon as he could. Later that morning I was again called by Mr Kasnick, he could not locate the car. I described the car and assured him it had been towed there. Later that day he called me and said they found the car and that the clutch was not out, the engine had failed!
I could not believe this, the car only had 43,000 miles on it. He told me that it had been examined carefully and that the engine had indeed failed and that they would repair it for $90.00 an hour plus parts. This car has a 10 year/100,000 miles warranty I told him, I should not have to pay anything! "Well", he said, "you did not change the oil enough so the warranty will not cover it".
I had changed the oil more than enough I replied and told him I would be up the next morning to examine the car myself. The next morning I went to Rockford and examined the car. The cam cover on the top of the engine had been removed, the car's started motor would crank now, and sure enough the cams did not turn. It appeared that the engine had failed.
Charlie Kasnick joined me at the car while I examined it. The cam lobes had a covering of oil, and showed no evidence of excessive wear. I then started asking him again about the warranty. He once again told me the car would not be covered, as the oil had not been changed enough. I asked him what lead him to this conclusion.
He replied, "you can tell". That would not carry much weight in court I told him but he seemed unimpressed. "I've never lost a case", he replied and the asked me if I wanted them to repair it at $90.00 an hour plus parts. "No", I told him, "I want you to honor the warranty". He told me I would have to produce oil change receipts and he would be happy to fix the car.
The car has had garage oil changes but who keeps those receipts. Besides, most oil changes I do myself and have no receipt for. As it happened I thought I had several receipts in the car's glove box but when I searched for them they were gone. He then told me that I had to make arrangements to have the car removed as there was a $25.00 a day storage fee and labor costs for what they had already done, which was remove the cam cover.
Long and short of it, I had to pay better than $300.00 to get my non-running car brought home. The car was towed home and I began searching for oil change receipts. I contacted the garages that we use. One, which uses a computer system, was immediately able to produce a receipt for two oil changes. I faxed these to Charlie Kasnick at Rock River Kia and he acknowledged receiving them.
Another, which does not use a computer system needed to search its files and did produce receipts for three oil changes. These were in addition to oil changes I performed. At any rate, I would not have expected a well engineered and constructed engine to fail at 43,000 miles if it had only had five oil changes.
One mechanic told me that he would not have expected it to fail if it had had no oil changes, provided an adequate volume of oil was maintained. I began copying and faxing the next three receipts to Mr Kasnick at Rock River Kia. He did not acknowledg receiving these. I told him that if they did not honor the warranty I would have no choice but to take Rock River Kia to court. He told me to "go ahead", he had never lost a case.
I also told him that I would write letters for publication in local newspapers, picket their business, and create a web page. He again told me to "go ahead" and do what I thought I had to do. "Besides", he told me, "my problem was with Kia, "they are the ones that are refusing to honor the warranty".
He then told me that since I was suing them he could no longer talk with me and hung up. Having worked in manufacturing myself, I know that a dealer generally pays a portion of any warranty work. In the case of one company I worked for the dealer paid 50% of the warranty. I was never able to confirm it but I would expect that something similar exists between Rock River Kia and Kia motor company.
Additionally, the dealer is also paying the mechanics who do the actual work and this keeps them from performing other paid work. I called the Kia Motors of America customer service number and voiced my complaint with them. They told me that Kia had a representative in the area and that they followed his recommendation.
They refused to provide me with this person's name or contact information so I was unable to confirm if they had actually examined the car themselves or were just taking the word of the service manager at Rock River Kia. I suspect that the Kia representative probably just took the word of Charlie Kasnick the service manager.
I also question if they examined the car enough to really determine what the problem is. They removed the cam cover on the top of the engine and were somehow able to make the starter motor crank. Other than that I see no evidence that they did anything else.
Mike
Dixon, Illinois
USA
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on KIA
Though this was not my first choice of car but it was a good price and came with a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty and a 5 year roadside assistance warranty. The salesman really stressed the warranty and I expected the company would honor it. I was to find out different.
When I first purchased this car I noticed at once there were a few minor problems and the quality was not quiet as good as American cars. Nothing that really concerned me a lot. The rear drivers side seat belt was torn in several places, the carpets were of low quality and poorly installed, and the dome light promptly quit. Still, the car seemed reasonably well put together and considering the price and warranty I was happy.
In January of this year my wife and daughter were driving the car across town. While waiting at a light the car made a clunk, my daughter felt the clutch kick back, and the car died. She tried to re-start it but it would not even turn over. They pushed the car to a nearby parking lot and called me. I have worked on cars for years, hold a degree in Mechanical Design, and have worked in engineering departments for local companies.
It was dark, and very cold but I examined the car quickly. I thought that perhaps the clutch cable had snapped. Since it was cold, and I was still recovering from a brain aneurysm I decided now was the time to use the warranty.
I called the roadside assistance number and a wrecker was quickly dispatched to take my car to the nearest Kia dealer, Rock River Kia 43 miles away, where I had purchased the car. Since the car had broken down on a weekend it was the following Monday before I heard from the Kia dealer. I was contacted by the Rock River Ford/Hyundai/Kia service manager Charlie Kasnick.
He wanted to know why the car had been towed in. I explained to him what had happened and he promised to look at it as soon as he could. Later that morning I was again called by Mr Kasnick, he could not locate the car. I described the car and assured him it had been towed there. Later that day he called me and said they found the car and that the clutch was not out, the engine had failed!
I could not believe this, the car only had 43,000 miles on it. He told me that it had been examined carefully and that the engine had indeed failed and that they would repair it for $90.00 an hour plus parts. This car has a 10 year/100,000 miles warranty I told him, I should not have to pay anything! "Well", he said, "you did not change the oil enough so the warranty will not cover it".
I had changed the oil more than enough I replied and told him I would be up the next morning to examine the car myself. The next morning I went to Rockford and examined the car. The cam cover on the top of the engine had been removed, the car's started motor would crank now, and sure enough the cams did not turn. It appeared that the engine had failed.
Charlie Kasnick joined me at the car while I examined it. The cam lobes had a covering of oil, and showed no evidence of excessive wear. I then started asking him again about the warranty. He once again told me the car would not be covered, as the oil had not been changed enough. I asked him what lead him to this conclusion.
He replied, "you can tell". That would not carry much weight in court I told him but he seemed unimpressed. "I've never lost a case", he replied and the asked me if I wanted them to repair it at $90.00 an hour plus parts. "No", I told him, "I want you to honor the warranty". He told me I would have to produce oil change receipts and he would be happy to fix the car.
The car has had garage oil changes but who keeps those receipts. Besides, most oil changes I do myself and have no receipt for. As it happened I thought I had several receipts in the car's glove box but when I searched for them they were gone. He then told me that I had to make arrangements to have the car removed as there was a $25.00 a day storage fee and labor costs for what they had already done, which was remove the cam cover.
Long and short of it, I had to pay better than $300.00 to get my non-running car brought home. The car was towed home and I began searching for oil change receipts. I contacted the garages that we use. One, which uses a computer system, was immediately able to produce a receipt for two oil changes. I faxed these to Charlie Kasnick at Rock River Kia and he acknowledged receiving them.
Another, which does not use a computer system needed to search its files and did produce receipts for three oil changes. These were in addition to oil changes I performed. At any rate, I would not have expected a well engineered and constructed engine to fail at 43,000 miles if it had only had five oil changes.
One mechanic told me that he would not have expected it to fail if it had had no oil changes, provided an adequate volume of oil was maintained. I began copying and faxing the next three receipts to Mr Kasnick at Rock River Kia. He did not acknowledg receiving these. I told him that if they did not honor the warranty I would have no choice but to take Rock River Kia to court. He told me to "go ahead", he had never lost a case.
I also told him that I would write letters for publication in local newspapers, picket their business, and create a web page. He again told me to "go ahead" and do what I thought I had to do. "Besides", he told me, "my problem was with Kia, "they are the ones that are refusing to honor the warranty".
He then told me that since I was suing them he could no longer talk with me and hung up. Having worked in manufacturing myself, I know that a dealer generally pays a portion of any warranty work. In the case of one company I worked for the dealer paid 50% of the warranty. I was never able to confirm it but I would expect that something similar exists between Rock River Kia and Kia motor company.
Additionally, the dealer is also paying the mechanics who do the actual work and this keeps them from performing other paid work. I called the Kia Motors of America customer service number and voiced my complaint with them. They told me that Kia had a representative in the area and that they followed his recommendation.
They refused to provide me with this person's name or contact information so I was unable to confirm if they had actually examined the car themselves or were just taking the word of the service manager at Rock River Kia. I suspect that the Kia representative probably just took the word of Charlie Kasnick the service manager.
I also question if they examined the car enough to really determine what the problem is. They removed the cam cover on the top of the engine and were somehow able to make the starter motor crank. Other than that I see no evidence that they did anything else.
Mike
Dixon, Illinois
USA
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on KIA
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Charlie
Rockford,Illinois,
U.S.A.
Customer failed to Change his Oil and filter
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, December 08, 2008
Hi ,I'm Charlie the service advisor featured in Mikes post.His daughters car was towed into our Service Department because it stalled while driving.After getting autherization to tear down and inspect vehical until warranty status could be determined.After inspection we noticed oil had turned to an solid tar substance and locked up camshaft,broke timing belt and engine was not in repairable condition.He would have to get oil change reciepts and have a representative of HIS oil change company look at the damage.Locally if the oil change dealer has a problem with his products they will send someone out to inspect damage and if it was related to their producys will pay for repair!Bob at Lube Pros and I have worked well together due to my honesty. While waiting for Mike to respond we also called Kia Motors to send out an inspecter to independently determine failureafter taking pictures of failed components and taking a sample of tar like substance that was or used to be oil.We allso noted the OIL FILTER WITH OUR DATE AND MECHANICS CLOCK NUMBER ON IT! Kia Motors declined any repairs and reccomended mike have his oil change center get involved to find out why they didnt service vehical as he had paid them to. Kia motors pays for warranty work,the dealer does not contribute.In many jobs the manufacturer pays more than customers. The moral of the storie is that customers need to change the oil every 5,000 miles and inspect their oil periodly,and service their vehical more often than every 20,000 plus miles,and quit blaming others for your lack of attetion.If mike had serviced vehical as claimed ,the repair shops he used would have contacted their insurance to cover their liability. Mike you screwed up should own up to your reponsibility and not blame others. I AM ASKING RIP OFF REPORTS TO TAKE DOWN MIKE FRAUDULANT CLAIMS AND FRAUDULANT DOCUMENTS UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE PART OF THIS FRAUD.
Chris
Joplin,Missouri,
U.S.A.
So how is any of this unusual? You are dealing with Kia!
#3Consumer Comment
Mon, September 29, 2003
We have one of the infamous death trap Kia Sportages. When the pavement is, in the least, wet, it spins around like a top - thus the off the road vehicle reputation! When it is not doing this you can enjoy a ride which is not unlike a wild mule on steroids and met amphetamines which damages the spine of any human. The little go-cart engine sputters, stammers, and stalls, preferably in heavy traffic. In all fairness to any dealership, there is NO WAY they can make an acceptable car out of a Kia! The Kia is just cheap junk! They replace inferior, defective Kia parts with - guess what - more inferior and defective Kia parts - and there is not much unusual about this. Even if they do repair the Kia, most humans just get tired of living in Kia Dealerships and just give up like we did!
This contributes to the absolutely negative resale value of the Kia. Dealerships penalize you brutally for trying to trade a Kia in, and after owning one, we don't really blame them. We have thought of selling ours to a private individual, but we are not big enough liars, nor do we hate anyone badly enough, nor do we wish to kill someone else with our little Kia Sportage Death Trap!
In short, we see NOTHING UNUSUAL about your complaints about Kia Motors, nor Kia Dealerships! That is just standard operating procedure and the way Kia Motors and Kia Dealerships work! Kia warranty is a cruel hoax and a complete rip off!
I am glad the other Kia Dealership posted the rebuttal! It illustrates my point on Kia Motors and Kia Dealerships. Kia Motors and Kia Dealerships operate with this philosophy: Kia Motors and Kia Dealerships can tell more grandiose and expansive lies than anyone can tell the truth about them! Their cover-ups make Watergate look like Disneyland! Sir, sorry to say, but we have been had by Kia Motors and Kia Dealerships, and there is NOTHING UNUSUAL about that!
It has been hypothesized widely that the Kia is the terrorist revenge upon the American People for being in their country in the first place! Kia - made in Korea!
James
Columbus,Georgia,
U.S.A.
Employee of Kia Autosport in Columbus Ga ..things would have gone differently.
#4UPDATE Employee
Mon, April 28, 2003
Sorry about your experience. If it had been in My shop, looks to me like things would have gone differently.
