Kia Dealers I recommend

[JLM]

I've been waiting for the Kia Niro for several months and have spoken with most of the dealers in the SF bay area. Here's who I recommend:

1. Jim Bone of Santa Rosa -- 100% positive experience
2. Hilltop Kia of Richmond
3. Capitol Kia of San Jose

None of these dealers added a premium to the price of the Niro (although they do add fees). The Jim Bone people are particularly nice and easy to work with (Dan Zamora). Phil at Hilltop Kia was also very helpful and tried to get me a good deal (although he did tell me I could have a car and then later discovered it was reserved for another customer). Capital Kia was proficient -- I didn't work with them much, but they were straight forward, low drama and didn't add a premium on top of MSRP.

Dealers who I recommend that you STAY AWAY from:
1. Marin Kia in Novato -- quoted the WORST price on a lease and acted like it was a hassle to answer any questions. They also refused to put the lease terms in writing -- possibly b/c it might be unlawful to finance the markup? If I had gone w/ this lease I would have paid over 6K more for the life of the lease!
2. Stevens Creek Kia -- also tacked on a heavy premium and was very rude -- then would not stop calling or texting. (Possibly unstable mentally). Also refused to put any lease terms in writing.

I spoke with other dealers in the area (Oakland, etc.) but had just neutral interactions such that I don't recommend or not recommend them.

 

[JasonG]

Thanks for this info! I thought Marin Kia had a good reputation but they wanted $4000 over MSRP... When I do decide whether to pull the trigger on the Niro EV, I will contact one of your recommended dealers.

 

[JLM]

Thanks for this info! I thought Marin Kia had a good reputation but they wanted $4000 over MSRP... When I do decide whether to pull the trigger on the Niro EV, I will contact one of your recommended dealers.

Yes

I've been waiting for the Kia Niro for several months and have spoken with most of the dealers in the SF bay area. Here's who I recommend:

1. Jim Bone of Santa Rosa -- 100% positive experience
2. Hilltop Kia of Richmond
3. Capitol Kia of San Jose

None of these dealers added a premium to the price of the Niro (although they do add fees). The Jim Bone people are particularly nice and easy to work with (Dan Zamora). Phil at Hilltop Kia was also very helpful and tried to get me a good deal (although he did tell me I could have a car and then later discovered it was reserved for another customer). Capital Kia was proficient -- I didn't work with them much, but they were straight forward, low drama and didn't add a premium on top of MSRP.

Dealers who I recommend that you STAY AWAY from:
1. Marin Kia in Novato -- quoted the WORST price on a lease and acted like it was a hassle to answer any questions. They also refused to put the lease terms in writing -- possibly b/c it might be unlawful to finance the markup? If I had gone w/ this lease I would have paid over 6K more for the life of the lease!
2. Stevens Creek Kia -- also tacked on a heavy premium and was very rude -- then would not stop calling or texting. (Possibly unstable mentally). Also refused to put any lease terms in writing.

I spoke with other dealers in the area (Oakland, etc.) but had just neutral interactions such that I don't recommend or not recommend them.

Thanks for this info! I thought Marin Kia had a good reputation but they wanted $4000 over MSRP... When I do decide whether to pull the trigger on the Niro EV, I will contact one of your recommended dealers.

Yes - the dealer you chose makes a huge difference. If you go to Marin Kia, you’ll pay $644/mo for a 36 month, 10k mile per year lease for the EX Premium if you put 6.5k down. If you drive 20 mins up to Jim Bone in Santa Rosa, you’ll pay something in the range of $460 for same car/lease (and with much nicer people.) In my research, no other dealer was trying to gouge as much as Marin Kia.

 

[scram69]

Would recommend Winn Kia in Dublin. They are very friendly but are still coming up to speed a bit on their EV knowledge. They were willing to work with us a bit on bringing down the markup, but I think you'll be lucky to find a Niro EV anywhere in the Bay Area at true MSRP.

 

[meercatter]

I bought my Kia Niro EV from Winn Kia in Fremont and they did not charge me markup. I also spoke with Capitol Kia in San Jose who said they don't charge markup. Not sure if the situation has changed.

 

[PrisM]

I agree that Phil at Hilltop was very helpful. I started bugging him in January, and picked up my Gravity Blue ON May 4. NO extra charges over MSRP.

 

[Robby Robinson]

We take delivery today from Marin Kia on a premium Niro EV. Wished I knew about this forum a couple months ago, so did not comparison shop at the referenced dealers.

However, we are paying $322 @ month with 10K down (no other costs) on a 36 month lease from Marin Kia in Novato. This is considerably less than quoted above. Everyone at the dealership was helpful, no real pressure and I'm sure we were a PIA since we kept them on a string for 2+ months.

 

[Scott Keck]

I've been waiting for the Kia Niro for several months and have spoken with most of the dealers in the SF bay area. Here's who I recommend:

1. Jim Bone of Santa Rosa -- 100% positive experience
2. Hilltop Kia of Richmond
3. Capitol Kia of San Jose

None of these dealers added a premium to the price of the Niro (although they do add fees). The Jim Bone people are particularly nice and easy to work with (Dan Zamora). Phil at Hilltop Kia was also very helpful and tried to get me a good deal (although he did tell me I could have a car and then later discovered it was reserved for another customer). Capital Kia was proficient -- I didn't work with them much, but they were straight forward, low drama and didn't add a premium on top of MSRP.

Dealers who I recommend that you STAY AWAY from:
1. Marin Kia in Novato -- quoted the WORST price on a lease and acted like it was a hassle to answer any questions. They also refused to put the lease terms in writing -- possibly b/c it might be unlawful to finance the markup? If I had gone w/ this lease I would have paid over 6K more for the life of the lease!
2. Stevens Creek Kia -- also tacked on a heavy premium and was very rude -- then would not stop calling or texting. (Possibly unstable mentally). Also refused to put any lease terms in writing.

I spoke with other dealers in the area (Oakland, etc.) but had just neutral interactions such that I don't recommend or not recommend them.

We test drove one in Santa Rosa in June. It was the middle of the 3 trims. It would have been $51,000 out the door. I almost fainted. I had just gotten an email from SF Volvo offering me a loaded S60 2019 model for $30k. Now, even if I qualify for the rebate, that's still $44k. For the middle trim. Uh, what?

 

[Derede Arthur]

I've been waiting for the Kia Niro for several months and have spoken with most of the dealers in the SF bay area. Here's who I recommend:

1. Jim Bone of Santa Rosa -- 100% positive experience
2. Hilltop Kia of Richmond
3. Capitol Kia of San Jose

None of these dealers added a premium to the price of the Niro (although they do add fees). The Jim Bone people are particularly nice and easy to work with (Dan Zamora). Phil at Hilltop Kia was also very helpful and tried to get me a good deal (although he did tell me I could have a car and then later discovered it was reserved for another customer). Capital Kia was proficient -- I didn't work with them much, but they were straight forward, low drama and didn't add a premium on top of MSRP.

Dealers who I recommend that you STAY AWAY from:
1. Marin Kia in Novato -- quoted the WORST price on a lease and acted like it was a hassle to answer any questions. They also refused to put the lease terms in writing -- possibly b/c it might be unlawful to finance the markup? If I had gone w/ this lease I would have paid over 6K more for the life of the lease!
2. Stevens Creek Kia -- also tacked on a heavy premium and was very rude -- then would not stop calling or texting. (Possibly unstable mentally). Also refused to put any lease terms in writing.

I spoke with other dealers in the area (Oakland, etc.) but had just neutral interactions such that I don't recommend or not recommend them.

We had a similar experience with Stevens Creek Kia (avoid -- pressure, higher prices, won't put anything in writing) vs Capitol (up front, no drama, in writing, much less expensive). SO excited to have a Niro EV!!

 

[ITown]

We had a similar experience with Stevens Creek Kia (avoid -- pressure, higher prices, won't put anything in writing) vs Capitol (up front, no drama, in writing, much less expensive). SO excited to have a Niro EV!!

I purchased the Niro EV recently from Stevens Creek Kia. I did not experience the issues that you had.

My experience: I asked to test drive the Niro EX (not premium). They got me the non-premium to test drive. Then let me walk away that day with no pressure to buy immediately. I came back a few days later and worked through the purchase. The lease offer was a terrible deal compared to what is quoted by Kia (they were asking $20,000 over 3 years).

So I bought it instead of leasing. I ended up paying about $2000 below MSRP because I came prepared with the website's quoted price (which was what drew me to them in the first place).

After I finished the purchase, I noticed that the paper on the car's window was charging a price that was $2000-3000 above MSRP. But they did not even attempt to get me to pay that.

The one part of the process where I experienced pressure was during the "extended warranty" sales pitch. I had to say "No" at least 5 or 10 times with him insisting that I was making a mistake to not get the extended warranty.

 

[Derede Arthur]

Itown, speaking of extended warranty...normally we've always declined those. But then -- you know, new model, new technology, all those electronic parts...we have provisionally accepted the extended warranty. We can still cancel, so I'm wondering -- why did you decide not to accept? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[ITown]

Itown, speaking of extended warranty...normally we've always declined those. But then -- you know, new model, new technology, all those electronic parts...we have provisionally accepted the extended warranty. We can still cancel, so I'm wondering -- why did you decide not to accept? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Basically, here's how I thought about it:
The standard (free) warranty looks like this:
- Basic (Bumper-to-Bumper non-wear factory defects): 5 yrs / 60k miles
- Power Train: 100k miles/ 10 yrs
- Service Adjustment: 1 yr / 12k miles
- 12 Volt Battery: 3 yrs/ 36k miles
- Paint Defects: 3 yrs/36k miles
- Audio / Electronics (touch screen etc): 3 yrs / 36 miles
- EV Battery System (w/ promise of 70% capacity): 10 yrs / 100k miles
- Anti Perforation: 5 yrs / 100k miles

Out of all these things, the two parts I am the least likely to trust a non-Tesla automaker on are the electric drive train and the EV battery system. The extended warranty makes no difference whatsoever on either of these components unless I sell the car.

Anyway, I think it is reasonable to purchase the extended warranty if you prefer the peace of mind. I just wasn't prepared to cough up so much for it (they negotiated it down from 1900 to 1700 to 1500 and I declined every time). I chose to buy this car to begin with because I was looking to pay around 32k for the car (net of all credits/rebates/taxes).

 

[cali ev]

I'm new to the forum but wanted to share my purchase experience. After getting a quote through Costco (which was $37,990), I got quotes through Edmund's. Capitol Kia's "no-brainer" price was actually less, so I started a text conversation re availability, etc. I informed them that the Hyundai Kona was an alternative choice for me, and that I felt the Kona was more reasonably priced. The salesperson, Eugene, was very helpful and responded that he'd see if he could get me a competitive offer. He did so and I ended up with a purchase price of $36.658, over $3,000 under MSRP. I pulled the trigger. Eugene was easy to work with and I'd highly recommend Capitol Kia in San Jose.