Daughter buying a certified Kia... certification not included???

Reaching out to my taco bros and sisters.

My daughter needs a new car, fast (long story left out). She went to a Kia dealership for an advertised cpo Soul. When she calls me with all the numbers, I say something's not right. After digging, they're adding the cost of certification to the note. I tracked down the listing and it shows as certified.

I told her to walk.

Has anybody else run across this... that a car is listed as certifiable? Or certifying costs weren't included in the advertised price?

 

They are trying to soak someone they think they have on the hook.

You are right in telling her to walk away. Might even be worth reporting to Kia America.

 

Certified is just another sales gimmick. I bought a certified Tacoma many years ago, absolute worst vehicle of any I've ever owned!

 

Oh, I agree completely. It is meaningless. But to charge extra for the certificate is just a ripoff.

 

Certified just means it comes with an extended warranty.

There is no “certificate”. That would be a certificated Kia lol.

 

Certified usually means a warranty that can be included for the new purchaser, but thats up to the buyer to figure out.

It's BS, but with Toyota it means higher standards for the used car to pass for sale.

 

To advertise the lowest price possible, they list the 'unit'.

After that, all the other junk gets piled on.

I agree, it's misleading. However, if the ad is written in a non specific way (like it doesn't say plus items a, b, c, TTT, $1k down and CPO fee, there is a basis to beat the price down. If the vehicle is worth pursuing.

Every once in a while that 'loss leader' (only one at this price in small print at the bottom of the ad) turns out to be a good deal for the early bird.

For the most part I see CPO as meaning it's a newer car, it has lower than average miles, was well maintained, and it got the same inspection as any other used car on their lot. Maybe a new set of cheapo tires. They are rolling the dice that there will be no issues during the warranty period. And that's usually a good bet on their part.

 

I find it hard to believe a Korean company is trying to rip off an American’s daughter. (Dripping with sarcasm)

Corolla?

 

Needing a car quickly hurts.

It's like the old construction idiom, "Fast (to find or build), Good (reliable or well made), cheap.....pick 2.

 

put her in a reliable toyota

 

With Kia, CPO means you get the full 100k mile warranty. Otherwise, second owners only get the standard 60k.

I trolled the website very carefully looking for those disclaimers. Couldn’t find them. And it was listed as Certified. I made a full copy of all the relevant pages and graphics in web format.

She bought anyways, so now I’m sort of stuck. If I go gripe at the dealership, I run the risk of her thinking I believe she did a bad job of negotiating. She seems pretty happy, so I’m going to let sleeping dogs lie. I’m giving her a little assistance, so will bump it by the amount they charged her for it.

Appreciate all the opinions!

 

My first car was MSRP, 21% interest and i begged them to sell it to me.

 

In most places, "certified" means that it has passed mandatory government safety inspection "safety certification", which is required in order for a vehicle to be licensed after the ownership has been transferred. This is NOT a free certificate, and can outline additional costs needed in order to repair damage deemed a safety hazard.

A safety certification is only valid with a particular time period. If it expires, it has to be re-done prior to licensing.