HELP!!! Tips for dealing with a lemon car?

[merekc]

I have a 6 month old Kia Sedona that keeps having issues. Last time I was in the dealership, my service guy mentioned contacting corporate for a possible buyback. I also researched my state's lemon law and it appears I may also qualify as an official lemon.

Has anyone ever had the manufacturer buy back a defective car? Has anyone ever had a car declared a lemon by the state? How does this all work? Any tips/tricks I need to know? I want to make sure I am prepared for my negotiations.

One of my biggest concerns is whether they are going to hit me with a huge depreciation, because 1) it's a Kia and 2) I have some minor damage to the vehicle (hail and a small scrape on bumper). This is my huge fear because I don't want to lose money on this vehicle, because were it not a lemon, I wouldn't be trading it in and losing the money.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[dnoyes]

It is a very hard thing to do. You should first contact the factory rep for your dealership. Meet with them and try to work out the problems you are having. They will put you in a loaner car and ride the service mgr butt until he makes them happy or tells the rep the car should be a buyback. The dealership has more to do with this then you think, maybe they are the problem. That's what the factory rep will want to know first.

Any damage to the car (hail and other) is on you, in their eyes you should have insurance to fix hail damage and dents. sorry your having such trouble, hope it get better.

 

[luvdzne]

I actually had GM buy back my mini van a few years back. I was having problems with the automatic sliding door. It had been in for service several times and they could never find a problem. I did have to get a lawyer, but GM had to pay the lawyers fees. Look for a lawyer that deals in the lemon law. The lawyer did for me in less than 2 months what I could not do in over a year. It can be done, but make sure you have everything documented. Every problem, every time you had in for service. The dealership tried to say they didn't have record of all the times I claimed it was in for service, but then I pulled out all the service receipts. Good luck!

ETA: I ended up with enough to pay off the remaining lease payments and put some towards another vehicle (not a GM )

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

Saturn had to buy back our first VUE - a very dangerous transmission problem. Our 2nd is perfectly fine b/c it has a different type of transmission. DH had to become their worst nightmare. They'd never had this problem before so we were blazing a new trail. We were in for service constantly and he called and called and really got to know the dealership manager. They knew our whole family by name.

Document every problem, repair, phone call, etc., etc.

 

[umaangel00]

I wish I could help you but I wanted to say good luck! I have a 2000 Pontiac Bonneville that we swear is a lemon and there is nothing we can do about it. My mother in law bought it used and we have had the transmission rebuilt twice, every windows has broken, the front spring on the suspension broke, the steering wheel and column has broken twice. I wish I could get rid of the car but I cant!!

 

[Dznypal]

had many issuses it was always one thing afer another--

first the starter rely went --that was under warranity so it wasw fixed-no problem

then in 3 years time we went through 2 batteries and 2 starters until our mechanic (not dealership) found it was the altenator

these problems first the battery would go 2 -3 weeks later the starter went
18 months later the same problem started again

then we moved on to the "hard" stuff transmissions

we went though 2 (the first was under warranity) when the second one went we said that was it

I always fought through the dealership then went on to the district office and most of the time had to go to the BBB but when it got to that point I always won with the expection of the last transmission

I hated that car and chrysler in general this was the 2nd and last chrysler I will ever own

my DH said that if chrysler was the only car around we'd be taking the bus!!!

maybe the BBB could help you

hes right

 

[Shagley]

All I can say is good luck dealing with Kia. We had a terrible time trying to deal with Kia when the engine in my Mom's Sedona blew up after only 35,000 miles (and in the middle of Georgia on our way to Florida). My Mom eventually had to contact the Kia President's office, and instead of helping, that only seemed to make it worse (everyone at Kia she contacted after that would be nasty and say "I see you have contacted the President's office" - like they were mad that she tried to go over their heads or something). Our situation only got worked out because the local dealership (where my Mom purchased the Sedona) finally stepped in to help out.

 

[angwill]

I can't tell you how to solve your problem but I can tell you that your not alone with the Kia problems. I have a Kia Sportage that has been in to the dealer several times for weeks each time. Our model is known for wiring problems but KIA will never admit that could possible be what it is. One time we had the main wiring harness go bad causing the car to stop running whenever it felt like it but they had to try to fix all the smaller wire harnesses first since they are less costly and that took 3 weeks to find and fix the cost was over $1000. The second time we brought it in to a local shop because it kept dying out at stops we had it in several times and replaced all sorts of things totaling over $1000. The computer showed codes but Kia refused to tell our mechanic what they meant. So we had to bring it in to the Kia dealer and they had it for 2 weeks and replaced the wrong part for $450. They called us and told us to come pick it up it was all fixed, finally. Yeah right, drove it 3 blocks in heavy traffic and it died out at least 20 times and this time it died out while running so it was worse than when we brought it in. Brought it back in and they acted shocked because their mechanic couldn't have possibly been wrong so they had to drive it to prove it was fixed and it died before they got it out of the shop. This time they had it for another 2 1/2 weeks and they tried taking the part that tells them what is wrong with the car out of another Kia that was in for repair thinking that it might tell them what was wrong with ours since ours kept saying nothing was wrong. Well the morons forgot to write down what codes the other Sportage had wrong and clear it out before they put it in ours and then they had a whole mess of codes of what was wrong and didn't know what car had what wrong with it. They finally replaced the computer in the our car and thank goodness we have not had any problems with it in the last 6 months. Good luck. I hope you have better luck with your car than we had with ours. I laugh when I hear how Kia got a car of the year award last year. I don't know how true it is but our mechanic told us one problem is that the wires and parts are made in Korea and are made for the weather conditions there and not for the conditions here in the US. No more Kia's for me in my lifetime.

 

[ChrisLei]

I would look into the Lemon Laws for your state, but when we lived in NY, if your car goes in for the same problem more than 3 times you are entitled to getting a car of the purchase price value from the dealership. I believe this has to occur within 18 months for a new vehicle....it may be 6 months for used. But I would find out what the laws are for your state.

 

[CathrynRose]

I can't tell you how to solve your problem but I can tell you that your not alone with the Kia problems. I have a Kia Sportage ................ .

I also *had* a Kia Sportage with nothing nothing nothing but problems.

After putting in over $5000 in less than a year, with no satisfaction from KIA what-so-ever, I finally said 'come and get the dang thing' (although I much harsher words )

I did a voluntary reposession - and dont regret it at all. The car was junk.