Step One Kia Fort Walton Beach

Step One Automotive messed me over. The entire experience from start to finish was a nightmare. We were struggling to drive my car away from the dealership upon getting it back. Orig The entire experience from start to finish was a nightmare. We were struggling to drive my car away from the dealership upon getting it back. Originally, my engine locked up in the middle of an intersection. Thankfully there was a motor recall due to metal shavings in the oil compartment from the manufacturer, and the motor was still under warranty for 7 days. I called Kia and found out that I could get my engine replaced for free. It should have gone a lot better than it did taking it to a dealership. At the start they told me it would take 48 hours for them to get to it to look at it, and to send the info to Kia to halt the warranty running out of time. They didn't get around to it until the end of the first week. I received three phone calls/ emails from the technician explaining to me the same thing over the course of 3-4 weeks they had my car. It was a script, telling me the same thing over and over. I've spoke with many different people who experienced this. No new information, the technician would just tell me the same drawn out things, reassuring me that it was being handled. Their mechanics finally replaced my engine after that third week, and put it together in an UNBELIEVABLE manner. I was genuinely afraid for the first week I drove the car, I'm a mother and I'm driving with my one year old baby. I felt like the car was going to fall apart beneath me driving down the road. As we drove it back home, my friend was having to put it in neutral at stop lights, amidst other issues. They could not have cared less that this was my one warranty replacement, and that it needed to be done correctly as you'd expect would be done by a dealership. It was not safe to drive! Not only did the mechanic just slap the engine in there, he broke pieces under my hood! And left off covers, flaps, bolts, screws. They did not have the bolts and screws to give back to me either. I still can't imagine what's missing on the sides and underneath my motor. The mechanic really could not have cared less about our safety and well-being with this job that he did. They also killed my battery. We took the battery to be tested, but there wasn't enough time for it to recharge. We had to get back home, it was storming and we had a long drive. They had had my car for a month and I needed to get back to work. I had to come out of pocket $190 that day. We have a video where they had left the lights on in other customer's vehicles out in their parking lot, probably to try and charge more people for dead batteries that they'll refuse to be accountable for. I had a friend go back up to talk to them about a refund on the battery, the technician tried telling us that it was the car/ battery at fault, when simply the mechanic probably left a door ajar or a light on. That battery was from November 2024. As my friend went to talk to them about a refund, they treated him very poorly. He also let them know that they gave the car back to us a quart low on oil! The service manager stated he would send me a check in the mail for a QUART of oil. I was not actually looking forward to it, but they didn't even keep their word. It's been a month and I've not received it. They are petty and scammy. It was all unprofessional and embarrassing. This has been such a poor experience with a Kia dealership. I would love to see them get shut down. I cannot believe that they would do anyone this way. I had ONE warranty engine replacement, I made the GREAT mistake of bringing my car to them to do the job. I'm not the only one who has had a ragged experience with Step One. We were struggling to drive my car away from the dealership. I cannot stress how unbelievable they did me and my car. I implore others to mark and avoid Step One at all costs. Find a different dealership, More

I bought a 2023 Kia K5 process was smooth the purchase. but I now have had a gas cap locked and couldn't add gas to the vehicle and I live an hour away and work Monday thru Friday. They do not offer loaner but I now have had a gas cap locked and couldn't add gas to the vehicle and I live an hour away and work Monday thru Friday. They do not offer loaner cars or do service on Saturday or so I was told for over 6 months. So I had road side assist call me to make sure I was in a safe area since I did not have enough gas to drive to the dealership, So I paid a local person to get the cap open to be able to get gas but now it does not latch. I will need to take vacation from work to get it fixed even though after numerous calls I was told it was under recall. Again not my fault! But if I didn't make my payment I am sure i would get calls all day every day!! this dealership is horrible for recalls no email or letter in the mail until Numerous at least 50 calls from me. But I sure get notices when they think I need maintenance service so wrong. I will never buy from this dealership again! More

From purchasing my car a year ago to warranty service today, this dealership is an absolute waste of time and doesn't care about their customers. (March 2025) I had a service appointment for my car t today, this dealership is an absolute waste of time and doesn't care about their customers. (March 2025) I had a service appointment for my car today. I drove from Crestview to FWB just before rush hour traffic, only to be told they could not do the work on it if I planned to wait. They've "only had two technicians" for about a month now and apparently schedule more appointments than they are able to complete in a day. This is my last few days off of work before June, and since they don't have Saturday service appointments, I said I would have to reschedule the service for June. To this, they said they would probably have to send the part back before then. I wasted my time and gas to go to an appointment only to have to turn around go back home anyway. I will not be returning to Step One FWB for service again and will be making the trip to Pensacola instead. This place loves to waste people's time. I would NOT recommend them to anyone. ----------------- (May 2024) I purchased a beautiful car from Kia Fort Walton just this week. The experience started out ok but really just got worse as the appointment went on. To begin, my dad had spoken with Chris the Friday prior, during which our appointment for Monday was made. The salesman promised to send his contact information in case we had any questions, but my dad never heard from him. Upon arriving on Monday, we chose a car to check out and went for a drive. Chris knew little about the features of the car, most of which I ended up figuring out myself once I brought it home. Through the purchasing process, the salesman developed an attitude over our questions about the numbers, to the point of turning his body away from my dad and myself, lounging back in his chair, and mumbling responses to our questions as he clicked away on his computer. He made it clear he was irritated when returning to his manager to check numbers. I was ready to request a new salesman, even that far into the process. Finally, we were sent to the waiting area to wait for finance. There were very few other people there, but we ended up waiting around an hour and a half to get into finance. During this time, I was advised to go ahead and switch my belongings from the trade-in car to the new one, and when we asked the salesman if the car would be detailed, he said yes. In the end, we discovered that the car was taken through a car wash and that was it. Kia Fort Walton does not have a detailing department and sends cars to another dealership for detailing needs. We were told they only detail used cars when sold, not new cars; however, there was dirt on the floors in my new car and marks on the driver's side door that would have been removed with detailing. My dad told them this was ridiculous, that the car needed to be detailed, so they relented and said they'd take it to the other dealership. After another twenty minutes of waiting (after finance was completed and we should've been on our way home,) the manager said he didn't know how long the car would take and didn't seem to care much about the issue. We decided to just take it and go as it was, having already been there for more than three hours. At this point, the manager apologized and offered floor mats to make up for it. Meanwhile, the salesman still hadn't walked me through the features of the car. Through another half hour at least of him coming and going, working with other people while we were simply waiting to get the keys and go, he finally gave a vague explanation of the features and we were on our way. We were told that the dealership is understaffed, which is understandable. But we were also told that the coming and going and being ignored by that particular salesman was common for him. And to purchase a new car without having it cleaned up and made shiny inside is absolutely ridiculous and really an unacceptable method of business. More

Communicating with Jaramieh was a challenge. It would take him days to respond. When we have an appointment to see him, he told me that he wasn't going to be in and we ended up talking to someon It would take him days to respond. When we have an appointment to see him, he told me that he wasn't going to be in and we ended up talking to someone else. When we finally went in, ready to put a down payment, they decided to up the sales price by 2600 after we were promised sticker price. Not even to mention the $990 doc fee on top of the $750 government fee. They don't want your business unless they're able to rip you off. More

Just worked with Eddie Gilchrist to purchase our new vehicle! Not pushy and definitely great to work with! vehicle! Not pushy and definitely great to work with! More

Shout out to my sales rep Denzel. . Thank you for seeing my car buying experience a success. Dude u came through for my son and i in a pinch. Thank u again bro. . Thank you for seeing my car buying experience a success. Dude u came through for my son and i in a pinch. Thank u again bro. More

I had a great experience with Denzel Applewhite he was amazing. He was very knowledgeable and patient from start to finish, I will refer him to anyone. amazing. He was very knowledgeable and patient from start to finish, I will refer him to anyone. More