Ann-Marie G

Avoid This Dealer

I am extremely disappointed with the customer service and quality of the vehicle I purchased from this car dealership. It was advertised (kia sorento 2.5 titan diesel) as having service history, but there was no service book amongst the owners manual and only a few receipts for work done previously on the vehicle. It was also sold with a 30 day warranty, which was worthless. The dealer told me when I went to view it that he had purchased it from a mechanic that worked for him. The dealer stated that the vehicle had been well looked after and was a well specked vehicle that drove well. I was very happy with the vehicle specification and how the engine sounded on start up and whilst idling. All the electrics appeared to work properly. After owning the car for only 2 days it became clear that the vehicle was not as described. When unlocking the vehicle using the key fob the alarm sounded and only turned off once the driver's door had been opened. This had not occurred when the vehicle was unlocked by the dealer when we viewed the vehicle. The dealer unlocked the car with the key in the lock, not the remote fob (knowing the alarm would go off) The second day I drove the vehicle it lost all power and the engine cut out. I was able to restart the vehicle but had to drive it home in limp mode with the EML light on. The following day it wouldn't start. I had to get the AA out to find out what the problem was. The AA managed to get the vehicle started after repeatedly pumping the hand primer pump to get the fuel pressure back up and fuel going into the engine. The AA stated the fuel filter would need to be replaced. I informed the dealer and he asked me to take it back to the garage for him to sort it out. Later that afternoon I received a phone call from him saying he had the previous owner with him. He stated that he had "forgotten" to tell me that there was a fault on the fuel gauge and that the tank was empty when the needle got half way between the empty and quarter of a tank. I collected the vehicle believing the fuel filter had been done. The fault continued to happen and began occurring when the fuel computer was reading 40 miles left in the tank. A lot of research was done on the internet to find out what the problem was. It was recommended that the fuel filter needed changing. I took this to my local garage to be done. The mechanic changed the filter. I had to go back as a water sediment light had come on the dashboard. When it was checked there was an issue with the sensor contact with the new fuel filter. He explained that the fuel filter had not been changed for a very long time and the electrical contacts on the water sensor were green with age. This was cleaned and the light went out. The vehicle has driven better since that was done. However, the fuel pressure fault was still there when driving the vehicle. More research was done to discover the issue was most likely to be caused by dirt in the fuel tank blocking the fuel uptake filter situated in the fuel tank. This was investigated and there was a lot of dirt in the tube surrounding the fuel uptake filter. It was difficult for the fuel tank to be accessed. The bolts were extremely difficult to remove. They had never been removed before and were rusty. Since cleaning this filter and tube the issue has been fixed. The fuel gauge was not faulty and when the fuel was low the fuel light came on. The vehicle has stopped cutting out and is a pleasure to drive. These faults should have been sorted when the vehicle was returned to the garage during the warranty period. The dealer did nothing, and was on holiday for most of the warranty period, I have contacted the garage about the missing service history numerous times, I also have a screenshot of the original Autotrader advert stating the car (kia sorento 2.5 titan diesel) has service history.