DIANAH Hargrave, emailed me about the new Kia Sedona she bought in June 2001. In February 2003 it was damaged in an accident. The car was repaired at a local garage approved by her insurance company. When she collected it she found the airbag warning light was on and the horn wouldn’t work. The car was returned to the repair centre who found that the main wiring loom was damaged, so they sent it to the local Kia dealership. Nearly six months on and Dianah still hasn’t got her Sedona back. First she was told no part was available in the UK, so they had to send abroad. Then the bodyshop man knew of a local electronics expert who could make a new wiring loom. He made the loom but it was not compatible with the new airbags. So they sent away for new bags, but one of those was faulty. Dianah contacted Kia Customer Care… who offered her a pounds 50 valet as compensation. She then wrote to Paul Williams, managing director of Kia Motors UK, asking for his help. He has passed the matter back to Customer Care.
QUENTIN Says: This is one of the worst cases of buck-passing I’ve ever come across. Two large companies have rendered Dianah’s car both unsafe and illegal to drive. Because of their collective incompetence, her Kia has been immobile for six months. The insurance company should have repaired the car to a roadworthy condition and they clearly haven’t They are therefore in breach of contract. Kia should by law keep enough spare in the UK to keep their products running. Obviously they don’t. Worse still, neither organisation seems to give a damn about their customers. I’d stop being nice and consult a solicitor.