My wife and I bought a Kia Sorento last year, and we are
very happy with it. I think Kia is a great value and it is getting better
resale reviews lately (according to my Qatari students). I have driven it
to and from the UAE a few times now and it handled great. I tested the
Sportage, but prefered the feel and power of the Sorento, but the Sportage was
still a nice ride.
Now to the down side. The Kia service centre is the
most inept and unprofessional I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.
First of all, it is located deep in the heart of the industrial
area, and there is no shuttle service, so if you drop it off you need to
arrange for your own way out, and taxi reservations are tough to get. It is almost guaranteed that it will be at
least 24hrs, minimum, no matter what the service is. On my very first scheduled service (500km)
they returned my car in an absolutely filthy state. There were mud streaks on the carpet and
seats. I don’t necessarily need my car
to come back detailed, but at least as clean as I took it in! On closer inspection, I saw that they had
actually put a huge scrape in the front wheel well, like they had rubbed it up
against a wall as they pulled into a parking spot or something. I brought it up to the service manager and his
first response was “relax!” Then, he
asked me what I wanted him to do. I told
him (facetiously) what I wanted was a new car, like the one I brought in, but I
would settle for a professional paintjob on the whole panel. He agreed, and told me it would take 3
days. I asked what he could give me to
drive in the meantime, and he said, sorry, can’t do that! I went on and on, trying to point out that
this was not a normal case, but he was unwavering. I elevated the situation to the Kia general
manager, and he was kind enough to offer me his own Sorento to use… but wait, I
had to come pick it up at the service centre each morning, and return it at the
end of the working day! I know we’re in
the Gulf, but COME ON! I have been her a
long time, but this was a new one for me. I gave up on a car and made my own
arrangements. When I came to drop it off
for painting, I was informed that the scrape (about a foot long) was not big
enough to warrant a full paintjob, and it would be done with touch up paint, by
hand! They seemed to think this was
acceptable and that was their final offer.
Since then, there has been no improvement in service, and I
dread each 5000km reminder of this. We
are at 20,000 now, and every tune up brings with it new nonsense to deal with. Scratches on the door sill and dashboard from
service done, and once, a very odd odour that required open window driving for
the better part of the day. What good is
2 years of free service and a 5 year warranty if you can’t trust the service
centre and you are not allowed to take it elsewhere?
My wife and I bought a Kia Sorento last year, and we are
very happy with it. I think Kia is a great value and it is getting better
resale reviews lately (according to my Qatari students). I have driven it
to and from the UAE a few times now and it handled great. I tested the
Sportage, but prefered the feel and power of the Sorento, but the Sportage was
still a nice ride.
Now to the down side. The Kia service centre is the
most inept and unprofessional I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.
First of all, it is located deep in the heart of the industrial
area, and there is no shuttle service, so if you drop it off you need to
arrange for your own way out, and taxi reservations are tough to get. It is almost guaranteed that it will be at
least 24hrs, minimum, no matter what the service is. On my very first scheduled service (500km)
they returned my car in an absolutely filthy state. There were mud streaks on the carpet and
seats. I don’t necessarily need my car
to come back detailed, but at least as clean as I took it in! On closer inspection, I saw that they had
actually put a huge scrape in the front wheel well, like they had rubbed it up
against a wall as they pulled into a parking spot or something. I brought it up to the service manager and his
first response was “relax!” Then, he
asked me what I wanted him to do. I told
him (facetiously) what I wanted was a new car, like the one I brought in, but I
would settle for a professional paintjob on the whole panel. He agreed, and told me it would take 3
days. I asked what he could give me to
drive in the meantime, and he said, sorry, can’t do that! I went on and on, trying to point out that
this was not a normal case, but he was unwavering. I elevated the situation to the Kia general
manager, and he was kind enough to offer me his own Sorento to use… but wait, I
had to come pick it up at the service centre each morning, and return it at the
end of the working day! I know we’re in
the Gulf, but COME ON! I have been her a
long time, but this was a new one for me. I gave up on a car and made my own
arrangements. When I came to drop it off
for painting, I was informed that the scrape (about a foot long) was not big
enough to warrant a full paintjob, and it would be done with touch up paint, by
hand! They seemed to think this was
acceptable and that was their final offer.
Since then, there has been no improvement in service, and I
dread each 5000km reminder of this. We
are at 20,000 now, and every tune up brings with it new nonsense to deal with. Scratches on the door sill and dashboard from
service done, and once, a very odd odour that required open window driving for
the better part of the day. What good is
2 years of free service and a 5 year warranty if you can’t trust the service
centre and you are not allowed to take it elsewhere?
Love the car, hate the service!