Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  01/28/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a new 2024 Kia ********* from Auffenberg Kia in ******, ** on Monday June 3, 2024. During the purchase process, my wife and I were taken into the office of **** *********** to go over and sign all of the paperwork. One section of the paperwork process covered extended vehicle warranty options, and **** provided a contract specifying cost, duration, and what was covered. My wife and I signed that contract and have a copy, but I discovered a few weeks ago that the contract terms that we signed are not on file with the 3rd party warranty company. So in reality, Auffenberg provided us with a contract, we signed it, the dealership signed it, then they provided different terms to the warranty company. Specifically, the warranty contract we signed covered the vehicle for ******* miles and the warranty on file with the 3rd party company is for ******* miles. I spoke to the warranty company and they stated the problem was with what the dealership provided.I have emailed this to **** at Auffenberg with copies of my signed contract, and the dealership will not respond. I am seeking assistance from the BBB to reconcile a signed contract that is not being honored, as well as alerting the BBB of a company that could be making a practice of fraudulently offering contracts that cannot be honored by the company they represent.

  Business response

  02/04/2025

  Hello ***** ******,

  I just received word from ***** the contract has been updated.

  Respectfully, 

  **** *******

  General Manager

• Initial Complaint

  01/09/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 18 dec we took our 2007 *** spectra to auffenberg kia service department for an oil leak issue. We were billed $1200 for the repair and picked up the car on 2 jan 25. We immediately noticed that the car wouldnt go into park without an inordinate amount of force. And then wouldnt come out of park without just as much force. The area was then hit with a severe winter storm and we experienced family illness, both of which delayed returning it util 9 jan. . . Upon return they called us and immediately began trying to verbally bully us by not letting me speak or reason with them, denying our request to fix what was obviously their fault. The car didnt have this issue when brought to them and did when it was picked up.

  Business response

  01/13/2025

  Dear BBB,
  
       I am sorry to hear that Mr. ****** is upset with our ****************** at Auffenberg Kia. We strive to please every customer during every visit but obviously there are situations that you cannot predict what will occur after our repairs are performed. 
       Mr ****** brought his 2007 *** ******* with ******* miles to our facility on December 12th 2024 wanting us to diagnose a large oil leak. That was his only concern. Our technician diagnosed the issue and repaired the oil leak after Mr. ****** agreed to the repair. He paid for these repairs and picked up his *** from us. 
       Mr. ****** reached out to us recently complaining the shifter in his *** was hard to engage and stating it wasn't an issue until after we worked on it. I invited him to bring his *** back to our facility and I would look at it at no charge. I stated to him at that point that if the shifter issue was related to our engine repair, I would correct the issue at no charge. If the situation was not caused by our recent engine repair, I would at least let him know what the shifting issue was and what it would take to repair this issue. 
       Mr. ****** returned with his *** on the afternoon of January 9th, 2025. Our technician pulled his car into our shop the next morning and diagnosed the shifter issue. The shifter area is covered in debris and spilled beverages. This causes the working shifter parts to gum up and seize.  A permanent repair for this issue would consist of someone disassembling the entire shifter mechanism and cleaning off the debris. I would think this would be a 5-6 hour repair. I would not be opposed to this repair, but it would be prohibitively expensive to do at a dealer. There are detail shops locally that would be a better fit economically. We were able to get it to work better, but this is not a permanent repair. I am enclosing pics of this vehicle as well. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any further questions. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
   **** *****
   Service Manager
   Auffenberg Kia
   ************
   ext. 1862

  Customer response

  01/13/2025

  Complaint: 22791494
  
  I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because:
  
  I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because:
  
  Several aspects are not true or misrepresented. 
  I invited him to bring his *** back to our facility and I would look at it at no charge.
  Response:  the car was dropped off and left at the dealership on 9 Jan 25 at approximately 3 pm.  We received a call about 1 hour later and he said it would be $400 to look at the problem .
  when i rejected that offer he got sarcastic and said Do YOU know ANYTHING about cars? When i tried to continue the conversation he became beligerante and refused to stop talking while I was trying to answer the question.  He ended the call by telling us to come pick up the car. I was unable to do so at that time Or on the next day, Friday, and had to leave it for the weekend.
  
  
  With regards to the sodas and food spilled on or around the gearshift. That situation has been unchanged for years. Unless they spilled something into that themselves. Nothing changed to make the stick shift cease working the way it did before they were given the car on 18 Dec
  
  
  So it has gotten stranger because when we took the car back today it easily came out of park, and easily went back into park on arrival home. HOWEVER, now there is a new problem that wasnt there previously. Now when the tachometer gets above around 1500 The car starts running, very roughly, and when turned hard to the left, it dies. And has to be restarted.
  
  
  What Im saying, is that, none of these problems existed when it was given to them, and only started after it was received from them 
  
  
  Since the car is as unreliable, as when we gave it to them for the initial problem, the only resolution is for them to refund 50% of the $1200. We paid to have it fixed. The car is going to be used as a trade-in On buying a new used car. Since we havent had use of a car for two weeks in December and it has been unreliable since they fixed we think a partial refund is only fair.  We understand. Labor was applied and parts were used, so we are not asking for a full refund.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ******

  Business response

  01/14/2025

  Mr ************************** are sorry to hear of your newly developed issues with your car, We stand by our previous response and will not be offering any form of reimbursement.  
  
  
  Sincerely,
   **** *****
   Service Manager
   Auffenberg Kia
   ************
   ext. 1862

  Customer response

  01/16/2025

  Complaint: 22791494
  
  I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because:
  
  There are only two possible explanations:

  The first is that these two mysterious problems (the shifting problem, and the card dying during turns), which had never been encountered before, suddenly appeared after it was in their sole posession for two weeks by meer coincidence over the life of the car of the last 18 years. 
  

  The second is that they purposely sabotage the car to make it have to come back for more repairs.
  

  Those are the only two possible explanations.  
  

  I cannot prove which one is true. 

  Every interaction we had with them was rude, intolerant, and dismissive.  For the reasons I gave previously. I am not satisfied with their response.

  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ******

• Initial Complaint

  08/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We drove six hours round trip to buy a 2019 ******* Accent from salesman ******** **** on 6-8-24. The sale went OK. but after the sale I was confused. As I had rolled the cars $1,033.33 tax into the loan and never left the dealer with a check. So, we returned to our Missouri home and go to have the car licensed a few days later. Having to come up with all the tax our-self. Today is 8-5-24, and still no sales tax check. I have turned the dealer into the *** and multiple other agencies to date. If your looking for "service after the sale", I recommend going somewhere else. I allege that their finance manager ******* ******* must be a DEI hire, as there is no way she could have gotten her position on merit alone. I hope they get our check to us soon, before I see her in ******** small claims court. Oh she keeps telling me that ****** car dealers were hacked, and that is why it took over a month and a half to even get our car financed. How would that have stopped her from mailing a paper copy of the bill of sale that we both have to the financing credit union? There is "NO" excuse on waiting almost two months for a sales tax check, that was rolled into the price of the car when purchased!

  Business response

  09/19/2024

  This dispute has been resolved. A check was mailed and confirmed recieved.

  Thank you,

  **** *******

• Initial Complaint

  01/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Bought car 12/2023 and am having problems with it. Battery died 2 weeks later and about 4 weeks later computer totally died. Yes it was used but it should last longer than this

  Business response

  02/13/2024

  Dear BBB,
       I am sorry to hear this customer is upset with us. Ms. ********* purchased a 2018 Kia Soul from us with 117xxx miles on it on December 11 2023. At that time we recommended that she purchase an extended mechanical coverage contract due to the high mileage of this vehicle. Ms. ********* declined this option.  On January 22, 2024 she brought her vehicle back to our Service Department with a check engine light on. We diagnosed the fault as a faulty ECM on board computer. A new computer would be prohibitively expensive so we were able to locate a used one in another state. I reached out to this customer to let her know the results of our diagnostic test and she was obviously upset. She let me know at that time that she had already had to purchase a battery for this vehicle during a recent cold snap we experienced. In an effort to placate her, I agreed to drop the diagnostic charge ($170.00) and was also able to convince our sales department to contribute $100.00 towards the repair. This left a balance of $450.00 to complete this repair. We are still awaiting shipment of this used ECM and hope to have it installed by the end of this week. Again, I am sorry to hear that Ms. ********* is upset with us but I hope you feel as I do that we have made a good faith effort to repair her car at a significantly reduced rate.  It was not our intention to upset this customer but her decision to decline the extended warranty is the reason behind her having a cost on this repair and not having a loaner vehicle during the repair. Please feel free to reach out me if you have any further questions. 

  Customer response

  02/26/2024

  My name is *** ********* and I am the daughter **** has been referring to in your communication with her. I am the one who purchased the car from Auffenberg Kia on December 11, 2023.  I do not accept the response from this business since they still have my car in their possession. I do not appreciate them saying that it is my fault when I purchased the Powertrain warranty which I was told would cover the majority of repairs when purchasing the vehicle.  I do not recall being told that I needed an extended warranty to receive a loaner car but I also feel some kind of effort could have been made since I told the service manager his deadlines meant that I would go weeks without having a vehicle. They did not call to notify me that they actually received the part after having to reorder it. According to them, they should have received the part at the end of last week and had it installed by Friday. I did not even know that the part had been received and programmed to my car until I called the service manager working on my car this past Monday.  He told me that they put the part in but that did not fix the issue so my car would need to be taken elsewhere to be fixed. He decided after completing repairs that did not solve the issue that they were going to tear the dashboard apart to check all of the wiring since I need this business to fix it.  He once again failed to call me with that result either.  I contacted the general manager of Auffenberg Wednesday of this week to discuss all of this in person. He informed me only by telephone that they dropped the ball on the ordering of the part and that he understood the service manager offering the repairs to me at no cost as a result of all of this inconvenience.  I stressed to him that the main source of my frustration in all of this has been the lack of communication that the service manager has had with me. No one was updating me on what was being done to my car thus far or any progress or lack there of that may have been made.  I was told yesterday after asking for an update that "we still haven't figured it out yet." I am expecting them to repair my car back to the condition that it was in when it left their lot the night I purchased it. I feel that any work that has been done to it thus far or needs to still be done should be completed at no charge.  Why should I have to pay for parts that did not correct the problem? I was told by both the service manager and general manager that this is acceptable for them. My car has been in that service shop for nearly a month now and currently only drives at 35 mph according to one of the latest updates. How am I supposed to take it elsewhere without being towed as a result? Why is the dealership that I purchased it from telling me they can't fix it?? They are a Kia dealer!! As this point they are going to have to get it to a safe working order and driving condition regardless.  Please let me know if I can offer any kind of further assistance. 

  
  

  Thank you for your time, 

  
  

  *** ********* 

  Customer response

  02/26/2024

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  My name is *** ********* and I am the daughter **** has been referring to in your communication with her. I am the one who purchased the car from Auffenberg Kia on December 11, 2023.  I do not accept the response from this business since they still have my car in their possession. I do not appreciate them saying that it is my fault when I purchased the Powertrain warranty which I was told would cover the majority of repairs when purchasing the vehicle.  I do not recall being told that I needed an extended warranty to receive a loaner car but I also feel some kind of effort could have been made since I told the service manager his deadlines meant that I would go weeks without having a vehicle. They did not call to notify me that they actually received the part after having to reorder it. According to them, they should have received the part at the end of last week and had it installed by Friday. I did not even know that the part had been received and programmed to my car until I called the service manager working on my car this past Monday.  He told me that they put the part in but that did not fix the issue so my car would need to be taken elsewhere to be fixed. He decided after completing repairs that did not solve the issue that they were going to tear the dashboard apart to check all of the wiring since I need this business to fix it.  He once again failed to call me with that result either.  I contacted the general manager of Auffenberg Wednesday of this week to discuss all of this in person. He informed me only by telephone that they dropped the ball on the ordering of the part and that he understood the service manager offering the repairs to me at no cost as a result of all of this inconvenience.  I stressed to him that the main source of my frustration in all of this has been the lack of communication that the service manager has had with me. No one was updating me on what was being done to my car thus far or any progress or lack there of that may have been made.  I was told yesterday after asking for an update that "we still haven't figured it out yet." I am expecting them to repair my car back to the condition that it was in when it left their lot the night I purchased it. I feel that any work that has been done to it thus far or needs to still be done should be completed at no charge.  Why should I have to pay for parts that did not correct the problem? I was told by both the service manager and general manager that this is acceptable for them. My car has been in that service shop for nearly a month now and currently only drives at 35 mph according to one of the latest updates. How am I supposed to take it elsewhere without being towed as a result? Why is the dealership that I purchased it from telling me they can't fix it?? They are a Kia dealer!! As this point they are going to have to get it to a safe working order and driving condition regardless.  Please let me know if I can offer any kind of further assistance. 

  
  

  Thank you for your time, 

  
  

  *** ********* 

  
  
  
  

  Business response

  02/27/2024

  Hello ***, 

  We at Auffenberg would again like to apologize that you had such a rough experience with our service department. We didn't mean to upset or offend you in anyway. I also, apologize for the delay in getting your vehicle returned to you as we can't help when some parts arrive. I hope going forward that everything is working with your vehicle and that you have no more issues I was notified that you have since picked up the vehicle and had no complaints at the time. I hope we can service you in the future with no issues and you have a better experience. At this time I would say sine the vehicle is in your possession that this case can be concluded. Please have a great day and Let me know if you have anymore questions or concerns. 

   

• Initial Complaint

  12/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a 2023 KIA K5 Gt Line in Jan '23. The backside of the trunk had a chunk broken out of it. There are scuff marks and visible damage on the vehicle. They told me they would repair the damage. They ordered the wrong part twice. I continue to get the run around. They finally got the correct part but upon installation of the new part, further damage to the area occurred. I have been waiting weeks for them to answer me and complete the job

  Business response

  12/26/2023

  To Whom it may concern. 
   I am sorry to hear that Mr. ***** is unhappy with our service here at Auffenberg Kia. We certainly have had some issues obtaining the correct parts for his Kia but we have succeeded and have his new parts pre painted and ready to install. He has an appointment with us tomorrow (12/27/2023) at 9am to get his new parts installed at no charge. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to making this right with Mr. *****.

• Initial Complaint

  12/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Gave dealership $10000 deposit for a car. The loan was denied. I refused to pay higher interest rate. Haggled for over a month. Finally realized that I had to return the car was promise downpayment back once they received the car and did inspection. Dealership refuse to answer or return my downpayment

  Business response

  12/26/2023

  To whom it may concern:
  
  We have sent a check back to the PO BOX provided.  We hope the PO BOX works better than an address to an abandoned building where she claimed to be her place of residence.

• Initial Complaint

  11/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I applied for a vehicle on Auffenberg website. States on the site it is a ***** Blue Book instant cash affiliated dealer. ***** gave me a instant cash offer for my vehicle of ***** and was offer loan through Santander, again done through their website. I go to dealer and they try low balling my car. I was told they dont deal with ***** blue book instant cash offer was there 3 hours just to be told I would need more money down due to the low ball offer they wanted to give me for my car. I looked at a *** and a ***** The **** was cheaper so the dealer tells me to head to **** dealer and speak to **** that he had the Escape I was looking at ready for me there I go there and **** tells me he doesnt know why **** from *** sent me there that he could of done the deal even though the car was at another of their lots. He didnt even know what car I was looking at yet I was told it was all set there for me I find out its not even there. I was auffenberg for for additional 2 hours **** spoke with me a whole two minutes to tell me that I would have to wait till Monday the the finance guy needed to talk to **** rep. **** Monday not a word I called 4 times to reach **** and no response. So I contacted **** at *** and explained to him what happened at **** he said he didnt tell me that. And basically brushed me off like h*** getting someone to return a phone call. Fast I finally get **** asked to try to do original deal and I would put the money down he said I need if I wanted the *** that was Tuesday morning never heard a word back from him. I have had som bad experience over the years with dealers but this has got to be the worst. Auffenberg has The worst customer service I have ever had. This is why dealers get a bad wrap when you have salesmen that straight up lie to your face and a finance guy that hides in an office. If you not a ***** blue book instant cash deal dont put on your site that you are and lie about it to low ball a cars value and be shady

  Business response

  11/03/2023

  Mr. Knights first inquiry for information was on 10/27/2023.

  We contacted *********************** on recorded phone calls 2 times on 10/31/23, 3 times on 10/30/23, and 2 times on the 10/27/23.

  As of 11/2/23 he has responded he will go to a different dealership. 

  Customer response

  11/03/2023

  Complaint: 20812836
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the last communication I receive was from ***** it was a text on Oct 31 in the morning stating that **** was going to get with finance guy and call me back never heard from them with us why I contact them on Thursday telling them I was going elsewhere as I dont like dealing with liars  

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  11/14/2023

  Dear ****************. 

  We apologize things didn't work out. If we can assist in the future in anyway please let us know. 

   

• Initial Complaint

  08/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  8/04/2023. Purchased vehicle with Ceramic Plus A Front applied. Paid $995 for this. Business will not return numerous phone calls to send us a copy of the 5 year warranty that I signed for this and liturature on what they actually did.

  Customer response

  08/23/2023

  Auffenberg Kia has contacted us and sent the information that we had requested.  Please cancel complaint.

   

• Initial Complaint

  08/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a 2016 Kia Soul for my daughter who depends heavily on her car for her employment (visiting nursing homes). After having the car only 10 days it was stolen from her driveway. The car was recovered and is presently at Auffenberg Kia in Shiloh. There was no body damage, but the steering column was severely damaged and needs to be replaced. Since it is well known that Kia vehicles are high theft items, I think the repair of this vehicle should be a high priority. Since this is the case, I think we should at least be given a loaner. I can get no satisfaction from the service manager as to when the vehicle may be repaired. This situation is totally unacceptable.

  Business response

  08/28/2023

  We would like to thank *** **** for his business and apologize for any inconvenience. We will keep him updated on the progress of the vehicle repairs.

• Initial Complaint

  06/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I purchased a 2023 KIA ***** from Auffenberg KIA in mid-February for cash. This month I received a mystery withdrawal from my bank account by Auffenberg KIA in the amount of $29.99 for something called "AUFFENBERG EXPRESS." I have made multiple attempts to contact the dealership about this and have left my contact information each time but have not heard back from them. I did sign up for their car wash service, but that was supposed to be $10/mo for the 12 months. Seeing that the dealership will not return my calls and explain this charge I feel it is now necessary to enlist the help of the BBB. Thank you

  Customer response

  06/07/2023

  Auffenberg KIA has reached out to me and we have resolved the issue to my satisfaction. Thank youfor your help.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩