Towbin Kia

Towbin Kia responded

Hey so sorry to hear about this experience you had here at our dealership. Please let us have an opportunity to give a better feeling regarding the experience. :-)

J.MARTICELLO responded

On August 25, 2021, my wife Jamie and myself went to KIA TOWBIN in Henderson, NV to explore the vehicles and to possibly purchase one. Out Sales Consultant was Mr. Paul Petrel. Mr. Petrel introduced us to a Used 2012 Sorento with less than 59k miles. We were unable to make a deal. We left. The following day, we realized Mr. Petrel had not given us back our Driver’s Licenses (2). Although I suspected it was done on purpose to draw us back to the dealership, I had no evidence. Therefore, I proceeded with the assumption that it had been an accident. I sent a text message to Mr. Petrel regarding the Driver’s Licenses (2) and that I would come over after work to get them around 4pm. I also followed up with our previous negotiation by texting that if he (KIA TOWBIN) would be willing to comply with what I was asking for, we would have a deal! I also specified (see copy of text) to “have maintenance touch up the scratches on the trunk and buff out the body and tires to have it nice and shiny”. Mr. Petrel responded (see copy of text), “Sounds good.” When returning to KIA TOWBIN to pick up the Driver’s Licenses (2), Mr. Petrel made a final offer and I declined it. As I was backing out to go to another dealership, he followed me on foot with a counteroffer. I agreed to return inside to hear more of what he was offering and to see if the Sales Manager would approve it. Since there was only one key & key fob, we asked for another one since getting 2-keys is expected when purchasing a vehicle from a dealership. KIA TOWBIN said, “No!”. Mr. Petrel gave me some wishy-washy excuse that they called the previous owner and was told he had lost the 2nd set 10-years ago. I was a little confused why they would bother a previous owner who no longer had anything to do with the Auto. I suspected it was a lie, but I moved on. I asked for new tires. KIA TOWBIN said, “No!” stating the current ones were fine and legal. Once again, I moved on. Although many requests of mine were declined, we eventually were able to make a deal. We were happy that the scratches on the trunk were going to be touched up (see copy of text) and also that Mr. Petrel stated we would get a free tank of fuel when picking up the DMV-form to get the registration and plates. While we were preparing to sign the final paperwork, Mr. Petrel stated the car was being touched up and cleaned. I responded positively and asked him to verbally confirm the scratches on the trunk were being touched up too as he had promised verbally, and in his text. He said, “It is getting done right now!” After signing the paperwork and being given the 1-key and 1-key fob, we went outside to see our purchased vehicle. Surprisingly, I immediately noticed the 3-scratched on the trunk had not been addressed. I mentioned it to Mr. Petrel and he gave me another wishy-washy excuse that the shop was closed and that the scratches were too deep anyways. I WAS FURIOUS! I told him he purposely lied to us so that he could get the sale. He did not seem bothered by my accusation. We left with the purchased auto. I went home and explored the price of touch-up paint and a new Key & Key Fob. I was surprised when noticing on Amazon, that the touchup paint was only about $10 and the Key & Key Fob would be about $30 to $40. I decided to settle this professionally by sending in an e-mail on their company website. A Mr. Dezreail Davis responded on e-mail stating he had left a voicemail following up on the e-mail I had sent. I e-mailed him back letting him know that he must have sent it to the wrong phone number. Turns out, he had left it on the voicemail of my wife instead of simply seeing the contact# I left on my complaint. Instead of simply calling me, he told me he called the number on the sale. I was disappointed with his laziness to simply call me directly. I told him I was coming in to drop off the title to the auto we traded in and to pick up my old License Plate from Mr. Petrel. I stated that if he was willing to talk to me regarding my bad experience, to please have Mr. Petrel bring me to him. He complied. Sadly, when I came by to drop off the Title and get my other plate, Mr. Petrel did not say a word. I was not going to beg Management to speak with me. They chose to allow me to leave disappointed. Mr. Dezreail Davis never followed up with us. That was a surprise too because he seemed like he was willing to hear me out. My wife and I were hoping there were no more disappointments and we would simply never again go to any TOWBIN dealership. Today, we received a call from KIA TOWBIN informing us that our DMV-form to get the registration and plates was ready to be picked up. While we were agreeing to come over, we reminded the caller that we were looking forward to our free fuel fill-up, which Mr. Petrel had personally promised us. After I entered the building to get the paperwork, I asked how we would get the free fill-up. They asked me the year on the Auto. I reminded them it was a 2012-Sorento. They told me due to the age of the auto, we were not eligible for the free fill-up. I WAS FURIOUS! I explained my feelings to the associate and her co-worker that this was yet another lie told to us by Mr. Petrel in order to sell the auto. This was unacceptable and has FRAUD written all over it! If Customer Service and Honesty was something they cared about, why did not go above and beyond to please us? They could have offered a discount towards purchasing a key & key fob. They could have offered a discount on touching up the scratches. When telling me the fuel fill-up was not available, why did not they not offer a car wash or something to have us leaving with a smile? NOTHING WAS DONE to encourage us to advocate for them, not to encourage us to return in the future. I have attached (3) supporting documents which you explained would remain confidential: Text from the Sales Consultant agreeing to touch up the scratches, Receipt from tonight when we had to purchase the fuel ourselves, and finally the DMV form showing the Sale of the Auto. We are seeing compensation of $60.35 for the fuel fill-up, which we had to pay for when leaving. We are also asking for the promised service to touch up the scratched on the trunk, which were promised to us. We have proof of this broken promise. This is no longer about the money. It is about KIA TOWBIN admitting they performed fraudulently and unprofessional to their customer. Thank you, James & Jamie