Man Buys Kia From Dealership. Then They Refuse To Service His Car—Because He Didn’t Maintain It Well Enough

"Do you think this is our responsibility?"

Man buys Kia from dealership. Then they refused to service his car – because he didn’t maintain it well enough

Photo by: philcollins_kma & Michael Held

Nina Hernandez

By: Nina Hernandez

Feb 25, at 6:00am ET

Add Motor1.com as a preferred source in Google

Comment

A couple purchased a Kia from a dealership and didn't get it serviced for eight months. Now that there’s an engine issue, they want the dealership to pay for the repairs. Who is responsible for the damages here?

TikTok creator KMA Phil Collins (@philcollins_kma) is a used-vehicle salesman based in Ohio. He recently posted a video about the situation. "Is it the dealership’s responsibility if you neglect to maintain your car?" he asks to start the video.

Couple Drives 8,000 Miles Without Enough Oil

Collins explains that he sold the used Kia to a couple approximately eight months ago.

"In that timeframe, they have drove the vehicle [and] enjoyed the vehicle," he says. "They stopped in the other day and it had a check engine light on. We checked out the vehicle and we noticed that it only had a quart and a half of oil in the motor."

Most cars hold five quarts of oil. And oil should be changed every several thousand miles. The old-school rule is every 3,000 miles; newer cars may call for oil changes every 10,000 miles. It's not clear when this Kia's oil was last changed prior to being sold.

The low oil level in the motor means the couple drove at least part of those 8,000 miles without the proper amount of oil, which is obviously not good for the vehicle.

"And they wanted us to repair and pay for any damages that were done while the vehicle was low on oil," Collins says. "Do you think this is our responsibility or the customer’s responsibility to take care of the vehicle?"

Viewers React To The Couple’s Request

In the video's comments section, viewers weighed in on the couple buying a car and driving it 8,000 miles—presumably without ever checking the oil or other fluids.

"Customers shouldn’t be driving a vehicle if they can’t do normal maintenance," said one viewer.

"A Kia in the hands of this kind of owner is a dangerous combination," said a second person.

"Doesn’t it say in the owner’s manual to check your engine oil regularly?" asked a third viewer.

However, several people weighed in, saying they believe this is a dealership issue.

"I understand the oil was low because they didn’t check or do an oil change, but a ‘new’ vehicle burning almost three or more quarts of oil is crazy," one person said.

"Driven only 8K miles and that low on oil?" a second person said. "For sure a dealership issue."

A third person asked, "Why wasn’t it inspected for leaks before being sold?"

Who Is Responsible For Vehicle Damage In This Case?

In Ohio, car buyers are generally responsible for any repairs required after taking possession of the vehicle. That’s why it’s so important to thoroughly inspect any used vehicles before signing on the dotted line.

Ohio does have a Lemon Law on the books, but it usually only applies to new vehicles in the first 12 months or 18,000 miles of ownership. In that case, the dealership has the right to correct the problem before issuing a refund.

What do you think?

View

Comments

That said, used-car dealerships are required to disclose any necessary repairs to customers before the transaction. So it could change things if the dealership knew about the leak before selling the car and didn’t tell the couple.

Motor1 contacted Collins via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We’ll update this if he responds.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motor1.com?

Take our 3 minute survey.

- The Motor1.com Team

Share this Story

GO TO COMMENTS

(

)

Got a tip for us? Email: tips@motor1.com

View all comments ( )

Popular

The Rotary Engine Should Be Everywhere. Why Isn't It?

The 2027 BMW X5 Is A Huge Improvement Where It Matters Most: Driven

Honda's Mitsubishi-Based Truck Is Official, Coming In 2028

The BMW iX5 Makes A Strong Case Against The Gas X5: Driven

Volkswagen Wanted An Electric Bugatti Tourbillon, But Mate Rimac Pushed For A V16 Engine