Halleen Kia

Having purchased a car from Jay as a wedding gift to my wife, I was happy to return to him when she had an unfortunate accident a few years later. However, my second experience was vastly different from th wife, I was happy to return to him when she had an unfortunate accident a few years later. However, my second experience was vastly different from the first, and lead me to conclude that Jay was indeed not a "different" type of car salesman, as I had first thought. Instead, I hope that I never have as bad a customer service experience as I had with Jay. He took advantage of my time, my trust, and my loyalty to him as a salesman. He lied repeatedly about countless aspects of the sale, and when all was said and done I was left with an inferior vehicle and a simple shrug of the shoulders and an "oh well!" from Jay and one of the owners. While Jay is a very nice guy and is very personable, don't be fooled. He's a caricature of your typical used car salesman. My wife wrecked her car during our move from Ohio to Georgia and, seeing that car prices were much more expensive down here, I flew back to Ohio to purchase a car for her. I flew up on Monday, planned to shop on Tuesday and Wednesday, and have the car ready to go on Thursday morning for the 12 hour drive home. After searching for a while, I eventually found myself back at Halleen Kia on Wednesday morning speaking with Jay about what turned out to be an identical vehicle to the one that had been totaled. When he went to get the vehicle so I could check it out, buy it, and be on my way, we found that the car had been sent out to be detailed. I was reassured by Jay, however, that the car was "clean, absolutely perfect inside and out" and that "everything has already been checked and rechecked and this car is perfect!" Since I had had such a great experience with Jay before (you can actually read my glowing review from Jan 2010 if you look for it), I trusted that he was telling the truth. I was told that the car would be ready by the following morning at 11am. I returned the next day at 9:30am, hoping to start on paperwork so I could get through things quickly so I wouldn't have to be driving late into the night. After numerous run-arounds that included being deceived as to why Jay would be late (the day before he had said he would have to watch his kids, but it turned out he was waiting on the mailman to deliver some new rims for his car), and being lied to by their finance department about "free" GAPP coverage (which I later had to call and have the $500 charge cancelled), I finally finished paperwork at almost 4pm. Already frustrated that I wouldn't be getting back to Georgia until almost sunrise, I went outside to the car, only to be surprised again. The car was disgusting. There was dirt and spots on the outside of the car, and a nice long scratch on the passengers side. The inside of the car was what took the cake, though. The car REEKED of smoke, had dirt and grime on the interior, bleach spots on the floor, and even had leftover ashes in the ashtray! I told Jay I wasn't happy at all, especially since he had repeatedly referred to the car as "clean". It was quite obvious that I had been lied to and that this car had not been out to be detailed. It hadn't even been wiped down! Jay called one of the owners of the dealership out to look at the car, but the focus wasn't on my disappointment in the product, it was on how disappointed they were in the company they had the car "detailed" by! They assured me that they would never use that company again (gee, thanks?). When I asked what could be done to rectify the situation, I was told that they would be willing to detail the car by another company at a later date. When I told them that wasn't an option since the car was going to be spending it's life in Georgia, I got a shrug of the shoulders and an "oh, that's too bad, I'm sorry about that." That was it!!! Livid and already hours behind schedule with no other options, I begrudgingly took the car and began the trip to Georgia. Besides the cosmetic problems, I later found that the radio malfunctioned (turn the volume knob faster than a snails pace and it turns all the way up!) and that the license plate light on the back of the car was burned out. So, when all was said and done I arrived back to Georgia around 5am (did I mention I had a 10-hour shift the next day starting at 9am? I told Jay but it didn't seem to matter). Over the next couple of weeks, I had to pay to have the interior of the car detailed ($80, but it still smells like smoke), get the light fixed ($20), and to install a new head unit for the radio ($150). I understand that I trusted Jay and bought the car blindly, and for that I take full responsibility. However, the number of lies I dealt with, coupled with the total lack of customer service he provided, just made me feel used. I took a risk, and I was taken advantage of. I have never been more disappointed in a salesperson in my life than I am of Jay Vicario and the team at Halleen Kia. I have told numerous people that I still speak to back in NE Ohio to avoid them at all costs and have made a concerted effort to make sure my friends and family members warn everyone they know as well. More