PREMIER Kia of Carlsbad

Even when you call corporate about a issues they lie to corporate and state they provided services. Which they didn’t! They sell used cars but be very wary of buying one, once it hits 60,000 miles even with extended warranty, they will do what they can you turn you away and treat you like your in the wrong place. I complained to management and in return my wife received a call from the employee complaining about being comforted by management it made her so uncomfortable that we now get oil changes outside of Kia Premire. Only call when it’s a major issue and still it’s a struggle to reach out. All to emotionally trying and frustrating!

I went to this dealership to buy car with check in hand. But they will only sell you a car with options that they want to put that raise the cost of car 10-15%. The sales manager told me that they are using EXTORTION to sell cars. I asked him if he really said EXTORTION and he said yes. When I tried to tell him that their website had a best price offer and I would be glad to pay that he told me to LEAVE. Please do not go to this dealership!!!

I would give negative stars if I could. We have taken our 2014 Soul to their service department 3 times now for the same issue (knocking, shaking at startup, CEL, heavy smell of gas and unusual oil consumption). Every time they claim to have found the problem and fixed it. The First trip they claimed it was a bad coil on one of the cylinders. They repaired it and charged us for it. After about 4-6 weeks the issue arose again. Took it back and they claimed that it was a different coil, on a different cylinder, this time... They also told us that they had opened a "Techline" ticket with Kia corporate to check if there was a recall for the issue. A simple google search showed that there actually was an active recall for a very similar issue (Recall #20V750000). However, they claimed that the recall did not include our VIN. I questioned how likely it is that a 2nd coil would fail in such a short period of time on a car with less than 80k miles, when they typically have a lifespan of about 125k miles. The could not answer and magically the 2nd coil was now "under warranty" and would be no charge for the repair.... No mention of the fact that we were charged for the same repair on our previous visit. I spoke to the Service Manager and expressed that I had ZERO confidence that they fixed the issue. He assured us that the problem was resolved, but said that if we received a recall notification, to bring the car back. A couple days ago, we took it back AGAIN. Same issue (CEL, shaking, gas smell). This time though, we had the recall notice in hand, with our VIN # on it. They had the car a full day before anyone called to let us know what was going on. We only received a call AFTER leaving a message for a status update, the next day. This time they told us that the CEL was for a bad Inhibitor switch. We have never experienced any issue shifting in or out of Park or starting the car. Which would be evidence of a bad inhibitor switch. Again they assured us that the car checked out fine after their inspection and the repair would be covered under warranty and no charge. Their suggestion for the fuel smell was to change the cabin air filter, apparently not covered under warranty?? When we picked up the vehicle, it was immediately apparent that the issue was not resolved and may actually be worse now. The shaking at startup was still present, along with the fuel smell. In addition, the car just felt sluggish overall and the knocking was getting louder. We also started getting notifications that the system is not charging the battery, even when the engine is running. The car was driven about 30 miles total the day it was picked up. When we stopped, we noticed the fan was running pretty hard. I investigated and found that it is now overheating, which it never had before. Woke up the next morning to a puddle of oil under it, on a previously clean driveway. Pulled the car back a few feet to take a look and in less than 5 minutes had a even bigger puddle. I called the dealer to speak with someone in Management. I was cutoff while trying to explain my issue and dumped into a voicemail. I left a message and am still waiting for a call back.... At no time did we feel that they were addressing our concerns. It seems like they would just find a random issue to fix and send us on our way. As it stands today, our "fixed" car is sitting in our driveway, undrivable. COMPLETE GARBAGE!

I would give negative stars if I could. We have taken our 2014 Soul to their service department 3 times now for the same issue (knocking, shaking at startup, CEL, heavy smell of gas and unusual oil consumption). Every time they claim to have found the problem and fixed it. The First trip they claimed it was a bad coil on one of the cylinders. They repaired it and charged us for it. After about 4-6 weeks the issue arose again. Took it back and they claimed that it was a different coil, on a different cylinder, this time... They also told us that they had opened a "Techline" ticket with Kia corporate to check if there was a recall for the issue. A simple google search showed that there actually was an active recall for a very similar issue (Recall #20V750000). However, they claimed that the recall did not include our VIN. I questioned how likely it is that a 2nd coil would fail in such a short period of time on a car with less than 80k miles, when they typically have a lifespan of about 125k miles. The could not answer and magically the 2nd coil was now "under warranty" and would be no charge for the repair.... No mention of the fact that we were charged for the same repair on our previous visit. I spoke to the Service Manager and expressed that I had ZERO confidence that they fixed the issue. He assured us that the problem was resolved, but said that if we received a recall notification, to bring the car back. A couple days ago, we took it back AGAIN. Same issue (CEL, shaking, gas smell). This time though, we had the recall notice in hand, with our VIN # on it. They had the car a full day before anyone called to let us know what was going on. We only received a call AFTER leaving a message for a status update, the next day. This time they told us that the CEL was for a bad Inhibitor switch. We have never experienced any issue shifting in or out of Park or starting the car. Which would be evidence of a bad inhibitor switch. Again they assured us that the car checked out fine after their inspection and the repair would be covered under warranty and no charge. Their suggestion for the fuel smell was to change the cabin air filter, apparently not covered under warranty?? When we picked up the vehicle, it was immediately apparent that the issue was not resolved and may actually be worse now. The shaking at startup was still present, along with the fuel smell. In addition, the car just felt sluggish overall and the knocking was getting louder. We also started getting notifications that the system is not charging the battery, even when the engine is running. The car was driven about 30 miles total the day it was picked up. When we stopped, we noticed the fan was running pretty hard. I investigated and found that it is now overheating, which it never had before. Woke up the next morning to a puddle of oil under it, on a previously clean driveway. Pulled the car back a few feet to take a look and in less than 5 minutes had a even bigger puddle. I called the dealer to speak with someone in Management. I was cutoff while trying to explain my issue and dumped into a voicemail. I left a message and am still waiting for a call back.... At no time did we feel that they were addressing our concerns. It seems like they would just find a random issue to fix and send us on our way. As it stands today, our "fixed" car is sitting in our driveway, undrivable. COMPLETE GARBAGE!

I bought my car at another dealership but their service department turned out to be pretty awful. I have nothing to say about Kia in Carlsbad but great job and I will definitely be taking my Kia there.

I was looking for a mini van and was shopping around. I found Wseloh Kia of Carlsbad and we began the process through their text service. Miles Padberg was my point of contact. He got my information, filled out my app online. I have less than stellar credit and a tricky situation but I needed a van for my family. I let miles know and he assured me that I was approved bc they have lenders that other dealerships don’t. I arrived after work to Kia Carlabad, I spoke with Miles who then handed me off to Francisco Reyes. Miles assured me everything was all set. Francisco mentioned that the black vehicle, which I had already discussed with Miles on price was now $500 more bc of the color. This was the beginning of the downward spiral. So I sign all the paperwork for all the “I’s” and cross all my “t’s” and I’m waiting for an hour. Francisco and his managed (I don’t recall his name, Mike?). They both came up to me and after everything was signed and went to finance and me waiting an hour they finally say that I was not approved. WHY DID THEY NOT CATCH THIS EARLIER DESPITE ME MENTIONING MY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!!. They kept apologizing and said they could fill up my gas tank and give me gift cards for their lack of attention to detail and wasting everyone’s time. It has been almost a month and nothing from Kia. I shouldn’t be surprised.

Out of all the service centers I’ve been to, Weseloh Kia is my favorite. They are friendly, informative and quick. Everything is always explained to me and my car is always clean. They have great customer service, integrity and honesty. I would definitely recommend!

DO NOT lease a Kia if you are active duty military. We leased our Kia from Weseloh Kia last year, and the dealership seemed great at the time. However, recently we moved and needed to switch tags from state to state for the leased vehicle. The national Kia office has been a nightmare to work with as they have a 2-3 day turn around for faxes and a 10 day turnaround to get your title. I reached out to Weseloh Kia in Carlsbad to see if I could get any advice or help, and the lady that answered the phone refused to let me speak to a manager. She transferred me to 3 voicemails, and I didn’t receive any return phone calls for over 24 hours. I called back and demanded to speak to a manager, and she transferred me to the Chevy manager (not Kia 🙄). He said he couldn’t do anything, and there is nothing they can do after a vehicle is sold to help. He said he would transfer me back to the Kia manager because apparently he was actually on site, but he hung up on me!!!!! I cannot begin to explain the level of disappointment I have with Kia customer service nationally and locally. If you are serving in the military or move frequently, do NOT lease a vehicle from Kia. Their finance department has the WORST customer service that I have ever dealt with in my life and apparently it runs throughout the corporation. I cannot understand how it takes a business 3 days to fax a document in 2018?!? I called to try to confirm that they received my fax for the request to even send the document, and they said it also takes a few days to receive my fax in their system!!! So it takes a few days to receive a fax and 3 days to fax a document.... so 5-6 days to completes task that takes most individuals 2-3 minutes!?! Kia runs an extremely inefficient business model. I cannot stress enough... please do NOT lease a vehicle from Kia without reading more reviews online about the complaints with their titling and finance department if you need to move frequently. Unfortunately, they are not a military friendly company and their customer service is terrible nationally and locally after you purchase the vehicle. They are great salesmen, then they leave you to hang out and dry after that. Do yourself a favor and go to Mossy Nissan in Oceanside. We had great customer service from the sales department and service department for 4 years!! They didn’t just sell me a car, not return phone calls, and have the manager hang up on me 😳

My experience was excellent, Arash helped us find our car. He was patient, helpful and pleasant.not pushy. Answered all questions. Would refer him in a heart beat. 5-STARS😊

I was really happy to have gone through Weseloh‘s Kia dealership. Everything was incredibly easy, and straightforward. I highly recommend using Costco’s affiliate program as it made the process stupidly simple. Justin, the salesman that helped me was great. Made the whole experience as pleasant as buying a car can be. He even offered and later drove my other vehicle home with me so I could bring the car home that same day. Very impressed with everyone at the dealership. Thank you Justin and the Weseloh team. Keep up the great work. -Aidan D.