Marion V

MV

Today, Sunday 13 Nov. 2016, I had a memorable experience with a car sales person (Howard) on a test drive with a Kia Picanto: I and a male friend travelled 45 minutes to the showroom in Kidderminster. The car was ready and clean. Unfortunately, it did not start. H said that the car had started earlier with no problem, when he moved to the forecourt. He started the car with a portable battery and drove off, with me in the passenger seat, to give me an introduction to the car. As he braked there was a noise from the brakes. He said this was normal with today's cars, as the brake pads no longer contained asbestos. I had driven a brand new Kia Picanto the day before: there was no noise from the brakes. He then pulled over in order to let me drive. This is when all three of us noticed that there was a smell in the car: to me it smelled like heated metal or melting plastic. He suggested some reasons, which could be taken care of in the pre-sale service. As we stood around outside the car, we noticed that the front right tyre was obviously under inflated. At this point it was clear to me that this car had problems and was not fit to be out on the road, I said I was no longer interested in completing the test drive. H drove us back to the garage, dropped us off at my car and left to park up the car. We stood around for ten minutes wondering whether he would come back. He didn't. I went into the shop and found him and two colleagues standing around the Kia. I said that I wondered whether he was going to speak to us again. His replied with 'oh, I didn't know you were still here". I told him that I found the car ill-prepared and that our test drive and journey to the shop and back had been a waste of time. I expected him to say something like: I am sorry, this normally doesn't happen, can I interest you in another car .... instead he ignored me and addressed his colleagues. I said 'excuse me, I am giving you feedback on my experience today and you are not even listening'. His response was 'excuse me', in an affronted way. In my view, a car that had been standing for some time, should be prepared and checked in good time. And if something goes wrong on a test drive, the dealer should apologise. Instead what I heard were unsound explanations for what was happening, followed by disinterested customer service. I will share my experience with the manager of the branch. This is a dealer I will avoid in the future, demonstrating the worst sides associated with buying a second hand car from a dodgy salesman.