I was defrauded by Myers Auto Group and one of its many dealerships, KIA Delray. Their behavior was so blatant and scandalous--I have filed formal complaints with government regulators and BBB.
Shop Manager Conrad Backer, colluding with Lead Advisor Robert "Bob" Cooklin and others, falsely persuaded me over several weeks that my well-maintained KIA Rondo 2008 with 74,000 miles, was beyond repair. They insisted my car would need at least $5,000 in repairs, i.e. rewiring the entire vehicle, replacing all the fuses and adding a harness--on top of my June 21 $879.75 "fuel pump replacement," bill.
After the "new fuel pump," the car drove for a couple hours, then wouldn't start the next day.
Next, I endured three weeks of KIA Delray's stalling, misleading and prevarication.
The culmination came on July 12, when CarMax and Car Fax valued my vehicle at just under $4,000. The catch? I had to drive the car to the buyer.
That same day, Mr. Backer at KIA Delray insisted that was not possible. He said I had two options: his crew would tow the vehicle to my home, or I could sell it to him for $1,200. He added, "I'll give you $1,400 if you trade it in."
Because he and his confederates insisted the car was unsafe and inoperable, I sold it under duress to them for far below market value.
My misgivings proved true that week. KIA Delray emailed the former owner of my exact same car; that it was actually in big demand and very valuable!
"...Kia Delray has tasked us with purchasing specific pre-owned KIAS (22 to be exact) and your Rondo qualifies for the program. Not to sound desperate, NAME. But I really need to buy back your Kia Rondo and I am excited to offer you an exceptional trade-in allowance!"
The dealership urged the former owner to bring it in on July 22nd for around $6,500 plus a chance to win $5,000 cash. (The car's value was estimated at $5,010, plus $1,500 to apply as a trade-in.)
The printed version was signed, "All the best, Brad Colby, General Manager."
The market for my 2008 KIA Rondo is still hot. On October 18, Mr. Colby sent a similar flyer to the same former owner, writing, "Market conditions like this don't last and I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity...
"Temporary shortages like we are currently experiencing don't last, I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity while you still can. NAME, your Kia Rondo will never be worth this much money again!"
Another proof of KIA Delray's perfidy: on July 12, while removing personal belongings from my car, I found a flyer, "Your vehicle is in high demand and we would like to buy it from you today! We will REFUND 100% of your service bill up to $500."
That additional $500 brings the nominal value of my car, which Mr. Backer said was "15 years old...for wholesale" and implied would be sold for scrap, to $7,000.
But wait, there's more. This summer, Greenway KIA in West Palm Beach, which serves Delray, advertised on 105.5 FM radio for owners of used KIAs to bring them in. "We are offering $6,000 over Kelley Blue Book. Tell them Megan sent you!" The ads run to this day. That means a rival
KIA dealership in the same region valued my KIA Rondo at $10,000.
Additional conditions prove my well-maintained KIA Rondo 2008 was even more valuable.
The common practice is to double the price at retail and add a $1,000 dealership fee. We are now looking at $21,000 at minimum, still likely to be far less than the eventual sales price that KIA Delray got.
According to the Wall Street Journal and many others--pre-owned cars are much more valuable since the pandemic, as prices for new automobiles have skyrocketed.
"Bargains have been hard to come by on the used-car lot as well, where the average vehicle listed for about $27,000--up more than 30% from pre-pandemic levels..."
In summary, I endured a grotesque, drawn-out situation which was actually part of a "long con" to frustrate and exhaust me, lower my resistance and ultimately swindle me out of my KIA Rondo 2008.
Make no mistake: KIA Delray and Myers Auto Group are running a scam. KIA is charging for fake, even nonexistent repairs to used cars, in otherwise fine condition and then holding the cars in its lots indefinitely--not charging storage fees and refusing to pay for tows and courtesy cars. (Strangely, in all that time, no one at the dealership ever tried to sell me a new car.)
Three times during this ordeal, I contacted the dealership's owner, Steve Myers at Myers Auto Group of West Palm Beach. While receptionists at both establishments were nice and it's possible that "Matt Atkins" from Myers spoke with KIA Delray; he never contacted me.
I ended up pulling savings to buy a new car, not a good strategy in today's inflationary economy.
I write this in hopes that my fellow Yelpers avoid the dishonest tactics at Myers Auto Group and KIA Delray. BEWARE!
Thank you... read more