This Kia dealership will take as much money from you as they can, do questionable work, and then deny any responsibility for it while attempting to siphon more money from you.

Three weeks ago I had $1000 worth of maintenance work done on my four year old Kia Sorento at Terry Reid Kia in Athens, Georgia. The work included them changing all the belts. Ever since I got my car back the A/C has been squealing when I turn it on. It was not malfunctioning before they worked on it and only started malfunctioning as soon as it came back from their shop.

When I brought the car back to them to adjust the belts I was told that it was not the A/C belt that was squealing and that it was just a “coincidence” that the problem began at the exact time they had it and were supposedly doing maintenance on it. This, of course, allowed them to claim it was a different problem and opened the possibility that I would be charged more money to address it. When I balked and suggested that it was not a coincidence and that they should stand behind the previous work I had already paid them $1000 for, they basically said, ‘Sorry, we can’t help you.’

I talked to another local Kia dealership who said that Terry Reid Kia is run by “crooks” (their word), and that they regularly try to overcharge customers for work that should be covered under warranty, they do shoddy work, and that they will charge customers for work that isn’t done right and then charge them again to fix their own mistakes (which is what they tried to do to me). This other dealership said they regularly field complaints from customers who have been ripped off by Terry Reid Kia.

Among the other problems: They were supposed to have cleaned out the fuel injector system but the problems with it still persist, suggesting they may have charged me for work that wasn’t done. When they printed my paperwork out it stated I had a 60, 000 drivetrain warranty (I purchased the car new, and not only does it have a 100, 000 mile warranty, but I also paid for the extra Gold Plus coverage which should extend it beyond that). By “reducing” the warranty information like this it may allow them to charge customers for work 40, 000 miles before the factory warranty actually expires.

Considering that the warranty and service are such a huge part of Kia’s selling point, Terry Reid Kia is not living up to their end of the deal and may be wandering into outright criminal conduct. If you purchase a car from Terry Reid Kia you might as well factor in an extra $3000-4000 the car will cost you over the first five years when the dealership refuses to meet its obligations. And that money will have to come straight out of pocket while you’re still paying on the car and the bogus warranty. You didn’t know that $20, 000 car will actually cost $24, 000 and then some, did you?