Poor overall service from Kia Centurion and Kia SA

<p>I have been driving the new spec Kia Sorento since it was launched in 2013, I was excited about this 7 seater vehicle as it had all the bells and whistles. I drove it for about 4 months and there was this noise on the rear Passenger side wheel, took it into Kia, but there was no noise, I took it in about 2 or 3 times after that, but still they were not able to find out what was wrong.</p> <p> </p> <p>Then my wife complained that while she drove the vehicle, she “lost” steering capability. So I decided to take it to the Kia in Centurion (Lazarus), on my way there I experienced what she mentioned, I was trying to steer to the left but the vehicle just went straight, although the steering wheel turned left. After almost driving into the bridge, I managed to gain control of the steering wheel. I went ranting and raving into the dealership. I was then told that the steering column was faulty and needed to be replaced. During this period they arranged a vehicle for me to use, a Kia Picanto. From owning one of the largest vehicles the dealership had, they gave me the smallest car as a courtesy car. WOW, that is service and overall customer satisfaction. After about 3 ½ weeks, I got my vehicle back. The communication and service from the dealership was very poor, just barely s****ing the bottom of the barrel with regards to service. However we continued to take the vehicle back to Kia Centurion for a service as it is very close to where we stay and that is the dealership from which we purchased the vehicle.</p> <p> </p> <p>Just more than a year later, we started having issues again. We took the vehicle into Kia Centurion on the 10 October, at this point I was told that there was an issue with the rear diff, a week later after inspection, I was told it was the transfer case, then the gearbox and then the front diff, then there was something else wrong. Almost 6 weeks later they still have my vehicle. I had this escalated to the workshop manager (Kobus), Dealer Principle (George) and then to Kia SA (Anthony), after realising that the dealership was doing the minimum possible just to keep me quiet and repair my vehicle. It seemed as if they just did not give a damn. I would get a response once a week if I was lucky. If I wanted more information, I would need to call. Think about it, you have my 7 seater vehicle and you loan me a Kia Rio, while I am still paying for the instalments and insurance on my larger vehicle, without being able to use it. This is absolutely ridiculous. If it was for a day or 2 different story, but not for more than a month.</p> <p> </p> <p>I then spoke to Anthony from Kia SA and explained all this to him, at first he was very eager to assist. Our last conversation was Friday 4th November and he was supposed to get back to me by latest the following Tuesday, He did not bother calling me back, responding to any of my calls or emails. For more than 10 days I have been trying to contact him via email and telephone and there has been absolutely no response. Wow, that is just excellent customer service.</p> <p> </p> <p>I called last week Thursday (17th November) confirming my vehicle was repaired and I could collect it. Upon collection, I was treated with the same level of deteriorating service and courtesy that I have come to expect from Kia Centurion over the last few years.</p> <p> </p> <p>At this point I am very disappointed with the aftersales service (apologies there is none) from KIA SA as well as from Kia Centurion.</p> <p> </p> <p>I will do everything in my capacity to let others know about the experiences I have had regarding my Kia, the reliability of their (Kia) vehicles and especially their (Kia) after sales service.</p> <p> </p> <p>After all; if you receive this level of service after buying their luxury range of vehicles what type of after sales service is to be expected with their entry level vehicles ?</p> <p> </p> <p>I have the paperwork, emails and call history to back the information above.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>