KIA
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3.5 month wait for a part under warranty (if I'm lucky)
I brought my new Kia Nero EV in August 2022 from Snows in Basingstoke. The heating and aircon has always been temperamental but over time has become increasing unusable (take about 15 mins to get any heat through). Very annoying but not a big issue over the summer. Took the car in to be serviced at Kia Snows in Basingstoke on 3rd August and specifically said the heating and aircon needs sorting. When to pick it up and they told me it worked fine. I made the person on the service desk sit in the car with me before driving off and immediately proved it didn't work - clearly I had been fobbed off. I was told I would now have to wait another 2 weeks before I could bring the car back in. Back in on the 22nd Aug. The faulty part was identified and is covered under warranty but no replacement was available. I was told it could be a few days or A FEW MONTHS - it was clear it was likely to be a longer than a few days and I told to come and pick up my car. Get my car back and now the a/c and heat is completely broken - no heating at all no matter how long you leave it. I called a few times over the following weeks or so to get updates - no further clarity. About a month in, with no progress and I submitted a formal complaint as I was getting stonewalled and there was clearly no other way of getting this any attention or escalated in any way. Finally some clarity came (in reaction to my complaint) - the part was not going to be available until mid November. Apparently the part could be repaired with a temp fix until the part is in stock but Kia UK won't allow this - it's only allowed to be replaced - no fix allowed. So it looks like I am going to be waiting 3.5 months after I first took the car in, IF the part turns up when they say it will. According to the The Motor Ombudsman code of conduct for new car sales (which Kia has signed up to): "4.3 Spare parts will be made available from the time a new model is launched, throughout its production and for a reasonable period thereafter." Clearly not true in this case as they are saying that part has to manufactured in Korea and shipped over. So my overall experience has been 1) getting fobbed off initially 2) stonewalling until I made enough fuss 3) experiencing a belligerence, unhelpful organisation that refuses pragmatic solutions 4) has breached the code of conduct for new vehicle sales. To be fair they eventually offered a substitute car but said it could be anything, might even be a diesel - great, a brand new electric for an old banger that costs a fortune to run. Again, when I kicked up enough fuss they managed to find an EV but it was lower spec, older and was a rental, but it was made clear to me what a favour they were doing me and how uniquely well I was being treated by being offered an EV as a replacement. With the weather changing the car is dangerous to drive because it steams up and you can't see out so looks like I'll have to take the old rental car for the time being. The whole thing has been incredibly disappointing when the main reason I brought a new Kia is because of the 7 year 'no quibble' warranty. The next step (as per their complaints procedure) is to raise the complaint up to The Motor Ombudsman... I'll update on progress!