KIA of Portland, OR, Ken Cornelison GM.
LIARS, CHEATS, THIEVES!
https://www.kiaofportland.com/
Sold me(68 year old, fixed-income woman) a 2016 KIA SOUL EV under false pretenses. Sales staff finance manager all lied to me...and then blamed me for their errors, saying that I was ignorant.
(see excerpt attached) from Ken C's first response to my laying out of the issues and my concerns. As you'll read, not only was well-informed, I spent a whole lot of time at KofP, laying out exactly what my needs were/are)
It seems there is nothing 'illegal' going on - though I question how the eventual Data Analysis (10/25/23) re: resetting the BMS BEFORE doing the test.....resulting in a pretty near statistically impossible high degree of SOH, high enough so that the 70% threshold at which the Warranty goes into effect is avoided.
Yes, I was naive, and obviously not 100% knowledgeable about every aspect of the car. Yes I had thus far avoided falling into the Nastiness Abyss of the Used Car Sales Industry, so was open and still maintained a degree of trust that these folks would not CHEAT me.
KofP/Ken C. (GM)COMPLETELY UPHOLD THE NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES OF USED CAR DEALERS, goingeven further.....When informed of what I thought was their error boththe dealership itself, and its' 'parent' company Boyland (Auto Group)attempted to defend what they had done, instead of just saying - asmorals and ethics might dictate - that I was correct, and agree toeither refund my purchase price in full OR apply that purchase priceto another vehicle I purchase from them.
Every effort I made, every suggestion I offered, every plea for justice, fairness anddoing the 'right thing' was met with more defense of KoP's shadybusiness practices.
I REPEAT: Sold me a 2016 KIA SOUL EV underfalse pretenses, sales staff and (the no-longer-employed) financemanager all lied to me...and then blamed me for their errors, sayingthat I was ignorant.....that they were allowed to do what theydid.
This 68-year woman old spent more than 4 hours there, atthe beginning of September. Laid out exactly what I needed in my nextcar, comfort, range, reliability and battery health being key.
4Hours...certainly enough time to ascertain what my needs were,especially as I was very, very clear.
Ken C. writes that 'theydidn't have enough time to ascertain my needs'........
When I asked for the car's Data Analysis I was told that KofP had not yet done one, and their equipment was not working at the time....
Asked many questions, stressing that I was living on a fixed income. And was extremely clear about what I would be using the car for, and why reliability was key: I am a designated driver for some of my neighborhood Honored Elders, do pick up and drop of food and suppliesto organizations working with our Houseless/Homeless Population, and taking the occasional 100 mile trip to Astoria or Lincoln City,
Was assured that the advertised range of 93 miles was accurate, by first the salesperson (R) and the resident EV expert, whose name I do not remember).
By the time I went for the test drive (with Salesperson R) I was exhausted and kind of excited about thiscar.....so I didn't even question R's not knowing why there were two chargers in the car, and when I he said that the 44 mile range on the screen was at 50% charge I didn't even think to look at the EV screen(samples attached), I just 'trusted that he was not lying to me, given what I had told him I needed and wanted from the car.
I jumped...too quickly, I suppose. Again, this level of betrayal was not on my radar at that time, so I was still 'trusting'. Shouldn't you be able to trust your car dealer?
Turns out that the car range showed 73 at 100% Charge.
I knew that I need to'retrain' the car to get the most out of it, aka achieve the advertised and validated-by-salesperson 93 mile range.
I drovethe car for over a month - Temperate September/October - according tothe instructions from and guidance by an experienced/long term EVowner. Photo-documented the EV Screen.
Have been incommunication with first David the head of the Service Department(who may or may not still be employed there), then Ken C (GM), thenDorian B...and have all communication in writing, which I am so gladto share with you.
KofP did NO due diligence....absolutelynothing to inspect the car, prepare it for sale, advertise ithonestly and transparently...basically they bought a car which anyonewith the least knowledge of the expected Battery Degradation/Range Reduction over-time would know was NOT AS ADVERTISED. AND, the same anyone would know that unless this car had been properly maintained -charged and driven on a regular basis according to KIA 2016 EV Specifications/Recommendations - said degradation and reduction would be more extreme.
You'll notice that KofP is not currently selling older model KIA Soul EV's, and have not been doing so for a few months now.
AND....since my issues with our interaction have been documented - early October - KIA of Portland has added a disclaimer to each of its web-advertised vehicles, basically absolving them of any claims of fraud, even for brand new cars.
And changed their on-line advertising to further abdicate responsibility/accountability for their actions.
This was not there when I saw the ad for my car, back in Late August/Early September. I didn't take a screen shot of the actual ad, at that time, but I am sure that if I needed to I could contact the web-master and ask for a date-timestamped screen-shot of the original ad.
Other changes too...all to cover themselves for their scurrilous behavior.
STEAR CLEAR OF KofP/Ken C.
BuffMedb
