Ewald Kia of Oconomowoc

Beware hidden fees, fine print, add on sales Our transaction started well. Our sales associate, John Brugger, was laid back, informative and courteous. The price quoted on the 2017 Kia Forte was Our transaction started well. Our sales associate, John Brugger, was laid back, informative and courteous. The price quoted on the 2017 Kia Forte was fair given its low miles, clean condition and the price of similar vehicles in the market. Everything pointed to a smooth and pleasant car buying experience. Then we went to sign paperwork with the business manager, Rachelle Busse. Anyone who has purchased a vehicle knows the final close includes a pitch for extended warranties, pre-paid maintenance and other insurance style products. Some can be valuable depending on each customer’s personal situation. But at Ewald Kia, the offerings were downright obnoxious. First of all, our quoted price went up from $13,700 to $13,949, the difference of $249 labeled as a dealer fee of some sort. I had to catch it as the business manager conveniently passed over it. But she did spend an enormous amount of time on “protection packages” and warranties, all quoted as a bundled monthly payment with financing, increasing our payments from $229 per month to $368 per month on a 60 month loan. THAT IS $8,340 MORE OF “PROTECTION” AND ADDITIONAL INTEREST COST ON A $14,000 VEHICLE. All on a car with 5 yr/60k bumper-to-bumper and 10 yr/100k Kia powertrain warranty already included in the sales price. The kicker was her constant emphasis on “gap” insurance. This is very expensive and meant to cover “upside down” loans where the vehicle has depreciated below the remaining loan balance and only pays out if the car is totaled in an accident. It is common with “0 down financing” on new cars and over-financed used cars. We put down $2,500 on a $14,000 low mileage used car that 1 year ago sold new for $18,000. I think we are safe from the dangers of “gap”. This was a good learning experience for my 18 year old son who sat with me during the close. Even he picked up on the disingenuous tone and “sell him anything you can” tactics that clearly were not in our best interest. She even told us not to pay off our loan too quickly, because opening credit accounts and immediately closing them it is not good for my credit. I have a 870+ credit score. I’m sure her advice had nothing to do with the fact that her loan commission being reversed if I pay off the loan too quickly. You can be sure I will finance elsewhere or just pay off the loan before the first payment is due. In summary, be sure to add $249 to whatever price Ewald Kia quotes you for a vehicle, be prepared to say “no” during the lengthy close and sign a ton of paperwork, 50%+ of which is useless internal Ewald paperwork that has nothing to do with financing or vehicle title. Oh, I almost forgot, after the close they will ask you what accessories you want to buy. More

Awesome dealership! We had a great experience! John was helpful and knowledgeable. They worked with us to find exactly what I wanted. The Sorento I drove away with had al We had a great experience! John was helpful and knowledgeable. They worked with us to find exactly what I wanted. The Sorento I drove away with had all of the features I wanted and more! More

Good experience Pleasant to work with. Persisted and was able to find the color in the trim I wanted and didn't have to settle for a different option. Pleasant to work with. Persisted and was able to find the color in the trim I wanted and didn't have to settle for a different option. More

Great deal! Held the car til I got my tax return. Easy to deal with. Paperwork took 10 mins. I would buy from them again. Thanks again! Held the car til I got my tax return. Easy to deal with. Paperwork took 10 mins. I would buy from them again. Thanks again! More

Working to please and not pushy. Good experience, no "dickering" and they assisted in accepting a trade that needed minor body work that had been scheduled after the sale. Great finan Good experience, no "dickering" and they assisted in accepting a trade that needed minor body work that had been scheduled after the sale. Great financing and delivery experience. More

Great Service Department My window fell down while driving and wouldn’t go back up. Of course it’s winter and snow is in coming. I called and they got me right in to help. I h My window fell down while driving and wouldn’t go back up. Of course it’s winter and snow is in coming. I called and they got me right in to help. I have never had an issue with service or getting an appointment with a day or so with this dealership! More

Small Town "Olden Days" Customer Service We stopped in 15 minutes before close on a Saturday intending to do nothing more than a drive-through the lot...looking for the cars that we investiga We stopped in 15 minutes before close on a Saturday intending to do nothing more than a drive-through the lot...looking for the cars that we investigated on-line. Greg Kasper approached us and introduced himself with a pleasant and engaging manner. There was no pressure, and no sense of disappointment that we had arrived so close to closing time. In fact, he quickly located the vehicle's keys and sent us off on a test ride! This dealership runs like the small town trusting dealerships of the past! It's wonderful. Based on our experience with Greg, we brought in another vehicle for service and worked with Chuck Frami in the service department. Once again we were pleasantly surprised at how customer focused, honest and patient he was in order to meet our needs. We'll be back! More

let's add get a car to the list today. since life has become totally busy with a daughter having a stroke, i wasn't thrilled when Paul showed me a car online and said t since life has become totally busy with a daughter having a stroke, i wasn't thrilled when Paul showed me a car online and said take a look when you take our granddaughter to the doctor.So i did, and it was a sportage, the one we wanted years ago. mr. B showed us the car, and checked out ours and we did the deal. He was efficient and pleasant and now that i think about it...he made it not seem painful, yep he was a nice guy! actually the entire staff seemed to work together very well, and gave off a great impression. I would not hesitate to come and ask for him and recommend him to friends and family in the years to come! More

A surprisingly pleasant and satisfying experience I can't say enough about the Kia Ewald team that helped us with the purchase of our new 2018 Kia Sorento. Our salesman Gregg Kasper was very professio I can't say enough about the Kia Ewald team that helped us with the purchase of our new 2018 Kia Sorento. Our salesman Gregg Kasper was very professional and genuinely honest, polite and considerate of our needs. Pete Espinosa made us very happy with our trade in value and Tom Sobieski made closing the deal pleasant and painless not to mention he stayed late to complete the closing. Just a side note. Initially we intended on a 2.4L 4-cylinder engine. We were so impressed with the out the door price that we upgraded to a 3.3L V-6 engine. We will absolutely tell friends and family of our experience and will be back for our next new car purchase. More

Great Dealership 5 months ago I bought a Kia Sorento from John at Ewald. I absolutely loved my car. I took it into the service department a couple of times and always 5 months ago I bought a Kia Sorento from John at Ewald. I absolutely loved my car. I took it into the service department a couple of times and always had outstanding service. 2 weeks ago my car got totaled out. John found me another Sorento and I just bought that one. Thank you to everyone for making my experience such a great one. Thank you too Kia for building safe reliable vehicles. I know my Sorento saved my life. More