Lost my order !!

[MurlinatoR]

Quick update on my "lost" order status. No explanation of what happened. I have completely given up on getting a GT1 with the cheaper (better) windshield and manual linked shifter (my preference) and have defaulted to a GT2 which is the only thing available. If we can arrange a dealer swap, the Kia rep said they could get a new one sometime in March and will call with delivery date tomorrow. Still not happy to have to pay another $3,900 over the GT1 I spec'd out but I'll do it, I guess. No help from Kia for losing and cancelling my original order and not telling anyone they canned it. They will get an ear full once this saga ends. I tend to keep my cars for a decade or more and I know, as a former service manager that complexity is the enemy of reliability.

Hey [MENTION=456]mldavis2[/MENTION]. Glad to hear that youre making headway on your car!

As for the order with Kia corporate, they do NOT delete orders. Ever. They will either report that the car is not available or find one. Misinformation is being given here...

Now, regarding your unicorn, the factory did open production (make available) to the GT1 AWD ADAS build code with the 19" wheels less than 3 weeks ago.

This does not mean that any have been built for the US, just that the factory now officially has the ability to do so. I'm hoping to hear tomorrow if Korea can confirm if they have received an build requests from the US regions for such a vehicle.

So, it sounds like a customer can NOT request directly from the factory. At least one of the US regions has to request a batch of X number of vehicles with a specific build. The factory makes that batch of vehicles and ships them to us.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

 

[Deep Chroma Blue]

First, I believe [MENTION=291]MurlinatoR[/MENTION] is a real gem on this forum, and for the Kia North America brand in general. You're on another level of customer service, sir. Definitely not even close to my experience with nationwide Kia agents across the board.

That said, with [MENTION=456]mldavis2[/MENTION] story shaking things up yesterday here, I began digging a little deeper into the Kia Dealership experience track record today and stumbled upon this article that summed up what friends, family, and forums have all been hinting at during my avid Stinger search the past several weeks:

Kia Will Have a Hard Time Selling the Stinger GT Unless It Fixes Its Antiquated Dealerships

Also relevant for some very real commentary throughout the article:

Here Are The Used Sport Sedan Deals You Can Get For The Price Of A Kia Stinger GT

takeaway quote "Also, if the Stinger suffers the same depreciation rate as most other high-end Korean cars, that could mean some dangerous financial situations for buyers that financed them brand new and didn?t use a massive down payment to maintain positive equity. That steep depreciation means the Stinger will be the car to buy in two or three years, but someone has to be willing to shell out new car money if the rest of us cheapskates hope to catch a value down the road."

 

[Pavel]

Quick update on my "lost" order status. No explanation of what happened. I have completely given up on getting a GT1 with the cheaper (better) windshield and manual linked shifter (my preference) and have defaulted to a GT2 which is the only thing available. If we can arrange a dealer swap, the Kia rep said they could get a new one sometime in March and will call with delivery date tomorrow. Still not happy to have to pay another $3,900 over the GT1 I spec'd out but I'll do it, I guess. No help from Kia for losing and cancelling my original order and not telling anyone they canned it. They will get an ear full once this saga ends. I tend to keep my cars for a decade or more and I know, as a former service manager that complexity is the enemy of reliability.

Glad to hear you're giving the Stinger another opportunity, hopefully this whole fiasco will be a distant memory soon and the car will bring you decades of joy in the future.

 

[kamauxx]

What is this "special windshield" talk, exactly?

I've owned cars in the past with HUD and have never heard of the car needing a special HUD windshield. Take your cell phone, turn the brightness all the way up, and sit it on the dash against the windshield. The reflection you see is how HUD works. The image isn't being electronically circulated through some kind of special high-tech windshield. It's just a reflection on the glass. The HUD is in the dashboard.

Again, regarding the lost order. You didn't lose it. You never had it. Kia doesn't accept customer's special orders. Your dealer took a $1k deposit to search the internet/Kia's databases for you.

 

[mldavis2]

I'll respond to all of these.

First, I concur that [MENTION=291]MurlinatoR[/MENTION] is a great asset to us here on the forum. His willingness to check my VIN for me saved me perhaps another month of waiting which would have ended with no car and no order after 8 weeks, so he saved me some valuable time. I still believe that the VIN given to my dealer that I forwarded to [MENTION=291]MurlinatoR[/MENTION] was the VIN he believed was my order. If he erred anywhere it was that he did not check the VIN for a match to the spec sheet. I hope people anywhere close to Davenport, Iowa will give him a shot at an order.

Second, the depreciation of Kia vehicles is largely one of customer perception, not because the used vehicles are less reliable than other brands. I think the Stinger will gradually help raise that awareness level. It is a brand stigma that the Stinger should help erase if too many of the hooligans don't destroy them with their mods and driving habits. It doesn't really affect me all that much because I tend to keep my vehicles for a decade or so and a couple hundred thousand miles, so my cars are worth very little "on the books" based on age and mileage. I buy them and maintain them meticulously for my own use, not as a target for trading up to the latest and greatest thing on wheels every time something new appears. Give me a brand new car and a warranty period to assure there are no bugs, and I can keep a car alive forever with little or no repairs. I was a service manager for 10 years and as the Farmer's ad says "I've seen a thing or two" and I know how to keep a car alive and well.

Finally, I don't think my dealer was jerking me around searching for my spec'd car. I have been treated fairly by the dealer. It has been the district rep who has been less than transparent on this mess and who should have advised that my very simple combination of options simply did not exist in any Stinger database. It was the district rep who told my dealer on the phone while I stood there, that delivery would be first week of March. The dealer didn't know that and I don't believe he pulled that out of thin air. It was a reasonable combination that simply had apparently never been built (HiChroma red GT1 AWD DriveWise). Nothing special, just a very cost-efficient compromise $3,900 less than a GT2.

So it got fixed quickly when I threatened to ask for my "non-refundable" deposit back and agreed to cough up the extra bucks for the GT2 which is probably what Kia wanted anyway. I'm just surprised the district rep didn't explain that order couldn't be filled.

EDIT: Dealer called before 11:00AM as he promised. I have the Monroney label, VIN and delivery date of March 5. No dealers willing to trade cars or the cars all had too many miles on them, so this slides into March and risks losing the rebate cash. So now this car is about $4,000 higher priced than the GT1 originally ordered, and if I don't get the $7,000 rebate, I'm $11,000 short of where I should have been a week ago. No papers signed, so if that falls through and Kia jerks the rebate, I may still bail on it. I can't tell you how much I HATE buying cars....

 

[BriTay]

Totally feel bad for your situation. I hope everything in the end works out for you.

 

[punchdrunkboost]

Wow I've read through seven pages, sorry about your saga and I'm glad you're getting another one.

 

[Stingin' Away]

Quick update on my "lost" order status. No explanation of what happened. I have completely given up on getting a GT1 with the cheaper (better) windshield and manual linked shifter (my preference) and have defaulted to a GT2 which is the only thing available. If we can arrange a dealer swap, the Kia rep said they could get a new one sometime in March and will call with delivery date tomorrow. Still not happy to have to pay another $3,900 over the GT1 I spec'd out but I'll do it, I guess. No help from Kia for losing and cancelling my original order and not telling anyone they canned it. They will get an ear full once this saga ends. I tend to keep my cars for a decade or more and I know, as a former service manager that complexity is the enemy of reliability.

Get a Genesis lol Kia is bad at customer service overall. Wait for CPO's to come out for $30-$35k. In the meantime, keep your head up, we've all had that bad car buying experience

 

[mldavis2]

I don't fault my dealer for this, I think it was at the district rep level or higher. As soon as I get my hands on my Stinger, I will begin sending letters and e-mails out to see if I can determine fault. I'm not after revenge -- don't care as long as I get my car -- but I think Kia needs the feedback to fix holes in their system and avoid similar problems in the future. I don't "need" a new car, but if I did, it would be very tempting to jump ship to another brand based on this experience. Dealer has been good. It is the pipeline and order handling that needs some serious attention, and they need to know what happened so they can fix it. I'm probably the only person that has ever happened to, so who knows .... but they sure need a better followup system.

 

[Stingin' Away]

I don't fault my dealer for this.... Dealer has been good. It is the pipeline and order handling that needs some serious attention, and they need to know what happened so they can fix it. I'm probably the only person that has ever happened to, so who knows .... but they sure need a better followup system.

Understandable. I wasn't throwing KIA as a whole down the drain, just the customer service aspect from which I've dealt with. The sales guy I was working with here was a big help, as he should have been since selling is his job. But he did go above and beyond to keep me updated.