Team Kia of El Cajon

I recently took my car in for an engine replacement and it was the worst experience ever. I accidently left some valuable items in my center console (Apple Watch and Tiffany’s pendant) by mistake and when it was the worst experience ever. I accidently left some valuable items in my center console (Apple Watch and Tiffany’s pendant) by mistake and when i returned the items they were stolen. I have since reached out to the team and no one wants to help me or acknowledge this. Dennis the “manager’ at the service department is not returning my calls or assisting in this matter. Chaz, a service advisor, was no help either in this entire process and was “sick” or “not in” everytime we wanted to speak to her regarding our car not running correctly after pick up and the stolen items The worst part is that these incompetent mechanics couldn’t even take the extra minute to make sure they tightened everything back into place when putting in the new engine causing wear on my turbo now which is going to be replaced soon. This dealership wants to take zero responsibility and accountability for everything they have messed up on. I will NEVER give this place my business again. Beware. More

I will never again purchase a car from this dealership. You are forced to pay for services that you do not want Even after stating you do not need nor want them. They could care less about you or anything You are forced to pay for services that you do not want Even after stating you do not need nor want them. They could care less about you or anything after the fact of the paperwork being signed. They have your money so you mean nothing to them any longer. More

DONT BUY from Kia of El Cajon! !! They were SOOOOO DECEITFUL!!! I explained first thing, I had my own financing and how much I wanted to spend. I wanted to leave several times. !! They were SOOOOO DECEITFUL!!! I explained first thing, I had my own financing and how much I wanted to spend. I wanted to leave several times.. they had my keys. Nobody heard my words! I went back 3 days in a row trying to get them to help me so that I could turn my car in for a less expensive car that I could actually afford and that I wasn't forced into . I've been there for 7 hours they said oh let's make this happen for you today it's a great car it's in your price range . No one ever said the price of the car I asked several times they never answered they just said it's in your price range and it clearly was not . THEY wanted to charge me $10,000 over by adding unnecessary extras that I didn't want!!! Aren't you supposed to love the car that you buy? I only got to look at two cars and I told them I wanted to look at other cars and that I wanted to leave . Don't Buy there. They are horrible!!!!!! Sales, (Mike), Manager (Jake) and Finance (Jerald) were all horrible and extremely pushy. When I went back to the dealership and asked to speak with Jake. I said would you treat your mother or your grandmother like this and he looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language or a deer in the Headlights. No one helped me More

Service department is disorganized, unprofessional and not customer oriented. You walk into their building and they do not assist or ask if you’ve been helped. They don’t have the paperwork and are asking not customer oriented. You walk into their building and they do not assist or ask if you’ve been helped. They don’t have the paperwork and are asking me multiple times the kind of service I needed which was incorrect. Called me about one service that was completed but then I received no calls about the completion of the next service I needed. The service advisor is asking me if they called me. I had to call and go back to the dealership to find out the status of my vehicle. Service departments in dealerships supposed to be a gold standard. I might as well go to my neighborhood garage and get more specialized service. More

This dealership charges a $240 fee for a diagnostic when the other Kia dealerships in the county charge $190. Their diagnostic showed one catalytic converter failed and quoted me $4,100 to fix. Competitive the other Kia dealerships in the county charge $190. Their diagnostic showed one catalytic converter failed and quoted me $4,100 to fix. Competitive quotes received later were half that amount. I then inquired with Kia of El Cajon whether this quote was for one or two catalytic converter replacements. They confirmed it was indeed for TWO (even though only one had failed, and the other was still fine). There was no indication on the estimate that this repair was to replace both. This was intentionally deceptive upselling. I called on other Kia dealerships in the area to do the actual repair, because I lost trust in this one. But the other dealerships only saw the diagnostic and immediately contacted Kia of El Cajon, who then contacted me back. Then the other dealerships refused to call me back so I was stuck. If you must go to a San Diego Kia dealership, start first with a different one than El Cajon. My 2016 Kia Soul's catalytic converter failed. It had a 2019 recall for this. Kia claimed that since the catalytic converter had not yet failed when I responded to the recall in 2019, they merely did a system reset to the car's computer and that fulfilled their recall requirements. Now when it did fail in 2024, they claimed they could not honor the recall because I had responded to the initial recall and received the computer reset. Isn't a recall usually to fix the actual problem part that tends to fail?? My car was still under the mileage for the warranty on the catalytic converter, but I had just surpassed the 8 year mark. Kia's warranty fine print reads that it is good for the 80,000 miles OR 8 years, whichever is FIRST. Even though I was still under the miles and this was a known issue with a recall, Kia would not do a "goodwill" repair. Service Adviser Laura Ayala at Kia of El Cajon said they best they could do is provide an estimate for repair, and then they provided a grossly inflated one. If anyone is considering purchasing a Kia, I highly recommend researching the issues going on with the catalytic converters and engines in these vehicles and pay attention to the online forum discussions from current owners' experiences with Kia. The warranty sold me initially, but Kia's customer service did not deliver. More

I was looking for a new car but not seriously when i stopped at El Cajon Kia. I was interested in a Kia Stinger and they happen to have three to choose from. Kelsey was great, no pressure sales tactics stopped at El Cajon Kia. I was interested in a Kia Stinger and they happen to have three to choose from. Kelsey was great, no pressure sales tactics and polite conversation on the test drive. Negotiating went as expected, dealer add ons were offered and i declined. Paid the sticker price. I came in late and they didnt rush me out of there. I found an issue with the bumper before i left and asked if it could be re-painted. The first attempt was disappointing. Very poor quality with lots of defects. I asked them to paint it again, i liked the car and didnt want to walk away. The second time took a week but a loaner vehicle was provided. When i picked it up it looked fantastic! Very thankful for the Kia Team, Kelsy, Juan, and Tony, for working with me on this. and now i have a car i love! More

Sales: The team was extremely forceful and even bringing multiple salesmen to pressure me to purchase the vehicle they had chosen was the "best" for me. I asked for a specific vehicle with a specific packag multiple salesmen to pressure me to purchase the vehicle they had chosen was the "best" for me. I asked for a specific vehicle with a specific package and once all was said and done, the vehicle I received did not have the package I wanted. My household has purchased 4 vehicles from this dealership and the service on the sales side has gone down the toilet! I would recommend going to Kearny Mesa or Chula Vista for your Kia needs. Service Department: The worst vehicle service I have ever received in terms of customer service. 1) When my vehicle was recalled due to a part, I was contacted through mail because my vehicle VIN fit the model for recall. I called the service department to verify my vehicle fell under the recall and they confirmed it did; to which they then scheduled me an appointment to bring my vehicle in for the recall. I took my vehicle in for the recall only to be told that the appointment was to verify that my vehicle actually fell under the recall!!! This could have, and was confirmed, through the use of my VIN. Yet, they wasted my time. I was told that the part needed to be ordered and I would be contacted when the recall part was in stock with an estimate of 1 week wait. 3 weeks passed and I was not contacted. I had to call them to check up on what happened to the part to which they responded that they forgot to contact me when the piece had arrived about 2 weeks ago! This is just one of many horrible customer service issues I have had with them. From failure of communication from their behalf to incompetence of service related actions on my vehicle. More

THE WORST- inconsiderate, rude, ignorant sales force. They use delay and horrible car sales tricks to break you down. "we use to add 10k , now we only add 5k" to MSRP. they dont reply to calls or tex They use delay and horrible car sales tricks to break you down. "we use to add 10k , now we only add 5k" to MSRP. they dont reply to calls or texts, speak down to you, and provide horrible service. They have poor knowledge of what they sell. a couple next to me stood us and shouted - youve wasted 3 hrs of my life! I felt the same way. DO NOT SUPPORT this dealer please. More

Found the car I wanted at this dealership. Ready to make a deal, they refuse to remove the dealership options. With the additional cost the vehicle is no long a good value. The salesman and Ready to make a deal, they refuse to remove the dealership options. With the additional cost the vehicle is no long a good value. The salesman and management give bs excuses. Total rip off! I left this dealership and found the same vehicle at another dealership for the price I was willing to pay. Stay away from El Cajon Kia, they bait and switch/ add cost with no value. More