Rountree Moore Kia - Lake City, Florida

M T.

Roundtree Moore Kia Review

Long story short: I bought the car, but the purchasing experience was not pleasant. I’ll avoid working with this dealer again.

I saw their ad online for a car and reached out. I explained I lived in Jacksonville and visiting their dealership would be 3 hours round trip. Thomas O’Sullivan worked with me over email and Vincent Battista worked with me through text for hours in the morning. This was the best part of the buying process. It was very convenient that they were able to talk numbers while I was at work. The whole goal was to avoid driving from Jacksonville to Lake City and back if a purchase wasn’t likely. Thomas, Vincent, and I sent dozens of emails and messages back and forth. They responded quickly and I set an appointment that same day to test drive their car and get an in-person appraisal of my trade.

My wife and I drove to Lake City and met Vincent in their parking lot. When he introduced himself, he explained the car I came to purchase was considered family. The first owner was related to a staff member and the dealership knew the car very well.

We walked around the car and immediately noticed the damage to the front bumper. It’s a pretty good scrape and it’s clear there is separation at the fender line on either side. No impact to function at all. In fact, in the end, it wasn’t enough to be a dealbreaker. I still bought the car.

Not once, in any of the many communications, did the salespeople I was working with mention the car had minor cosmetic damage in the front. No additional photos other than what was online were sent. They had my trade pics, payoff, and credit app. I was approved and the numbers were close to where we needed to be. I sent copies of my insurance and drivers license before I even got in the car to drive to their dealership. As far as we had made it in the trust process, nobody was upfront about something that was going to be very obvious the minute I saw the car in-person.

While I was there I never saw or talked to anyone but Vincent. His responses to our questions about the damage indicated they knew about it. When I asked if could get an appraisal for the repair, they had it available in less than a minute. We were told “a vendor takes the pictures we post online” as for why the damage wasn’t clearly visible in the ad. Nobody accepted responsibility for why the damage was a surprise. Just evasion and promises for “a good deal on the repair since all the collision guys buy their cars from me, so I can work something out.”

I bought the car from Roundtree Moore Kia, but I wasn’t sold anything. I didn’t have a point of contact that was looking out for me or considering the buying experience. It came across as just another dealership that prioritizes sales over buying experience. If that means they might have to avoid being transparent or upfront sometimes, it is what it is, selling is the priority.

I know it doesn’t have to be this way. I bought a car from Alan Ragnut at Coggin Honda Deland in July 2024. We did everything over email and never spoke in-person until he greeted me at our appointment. No surprises, no rehashing the numbers, or pressure. Just a focus on a trust-building, fair buying experience.

janice S.

Went in today expected to be stressed out about buying a car as I always am but pleasantly surprised when that wasn’t the case. Peyton let us drive two different Sorentos we were debating on getting and he was so knowledgable on each one. Answered all of our questions which was a lot!! Didn’t pressure us at all to make a decision. Then comes the finance manager. I was also expecting to get angry or leaving because most of the ones we’ve ever dealt with was pushy and tried so hard to get us to buy all the things. Jose was a kind man that immediately made us feel we were in charge. He didn’t waltz in like a boss. He came to us as a friend. He was tough but not mean about anything. And certainly wasn’t pushy. We told him upfront what extras we were looking for. He mentioned a few other we might want but didn’t force them on us.
Our deal was fair and we left with a brand new Kia Sorento EX and very satisfied and no stress at all!!! Will do business with them again when the time comes. Highly recommend them. The atmosphere was welcoming as well.

Teresa S. (. M. P.

Vincent is so awesome at Kia. We bought our 2021 Ford Expedition Platinum almost 3 weeks ago and couldn’t be happier. He and Trey made the whole experience fantastic. The level of excellent customer service will make me a repeat customer. This dealership is top notch. Thank you Vincent and Trey.

Taylor E.

Mandie and Adam are the primary reason for my rating to recommend Rountree-Moore Kia. Mandie was very down to earth, honest and easy to work with. Adam, the sales leader, was incredibly helpful throughout the entire process. He was willing to work with our request and worked so hard to make sure we were happy with our purchase. The customer service and hospitality are unmatched. Before leaving with our new car, we noticed a scratch and a scuff on the vehicle. Mandie made a call and had an appointment set up for us to come back and get it repaired before we ever left. Truly a wonderful experience!

Mildred G.

I have to say if you’re looking for. New car at Rountree Kia ask for Ronnie. He is a great salesmen with a lot of experience. He made my purchase seamless, he went above and beyond for me. I highly recommend.

Drew

Look! We bought a brand new KIA from this dealership and done every bit of service with the dealership since we bought the car and when they did all the recalls the very next morning our KIA caught on fire! Electrical issue! smoking from under the passenger seat, melting wires! They towed it back and kept it for 54 days! and when we went to pick it up they had bypassed things to just get it to work partially and never fixed it 100%! KIA DEALERSHIP put 1,606 EXTRA MILES on OUR car and basically lied and stole from us! This was the first brand new car I bought for my Wife (Army Veteran)and 3 Kids! Do not trust this dealership! After everything we are still fighting with KIA over this issue and they have not done anything! Anything about it! Extremely upset! We have been fighting since Sept. 2024! Please spread the word! This is not a good dealership and they are flat out wrong! I'm a hard working husband of three kids who bought our VERY first new car and nicest car for them to be safe in and enjoy! And this is how KIA treats us!! Lieing and stealing from us! Shame On KIA! everyone up at that dealership! We are not done yet! You have to make it right!!!

Patricia C.

I purchased a 2024 Kia shortage 3 weeks ago and i absolutely love it. Ronnie Woodham has far got to be the best sells person that I’ve ever dealt with. He is totally awesome.

Lion S.

They tried to add on a package I didn't want and sell me an overpriced car with scrape marks on the side. I told them that I wanted to pay cash and I was told they prefer to finance. Instead of showing me more options they told me to have a nice day and last remarked I should just try and find a cheaper car. I ended up finding a car in the same color, year, make and model from a more friendly dealership. I never even received a follow up call from them.