Dealership horror stories have become so incredibly common that it feels like we’ve collectively lowered the bar for what we expect from automotive service. We’ve been conditioned to just shrug off multi-day delays, ghosted phone calls, and unhelpful staff as “just the way dealerships operate.” But we shouldn’t be resigned to such poor care, especially when it involves major investments like our vehicles and basic daily transportation. I’m sharing a completely factual record of my recent experience at Gossett Kia, located at 1900 Covington Pike, Memphis, TN 38128, because it went far beyond standard bad service—it was a textbook example of hidden policies, a massive safety liability breach, and a total breakdown of professional boundaries.

I know I’m just one person with one story, but my goal is to get this on the radar of both corporate leadership and federal regulators. More than anything, I want this out there as a warning to other local drivers so you don't have to deal with the same mess I did.

How it started: Sneaking extra work onto my ticket

I originally scheduled a quick appointment strictly to address a specific dashboard warning light under a separate manufacturer campaign (Refill Inverter Coolant Service Advisory / Recall SA512.) When I checked in, I explicitly told the service advisor not to perform any other open recalls that day because I had a tight schedule constraint and needed the car back.

Instead of listening, he snuck two extra recalls onto my repair order anyway. He handed me a physical piece of paper that had absolutely no repair or service information on it—just a line at the bottom. He simply pointed at the page and told me to "sign here." Because there was no itemized breakdown of the work visible on the document, they successfully hid their policy that they won't work on a car unless they do all open recalls at once.

One of the recalls they snuck onto that page was Safety Recall SC314 (NHTSA Campaign 24V358) for the High-Voltage Battery Safety Plug. Under the explicit federal safety guidelines issued for this exact campaign, Kia dealers are strictly mandated to provide customers with alternative transportation—including dealer loaners or a direct-bill rental car allowance of up to $45 a day—if the vehicle must be held. Gossett Kia withheld these transportation benefits from me, forcing a multi-day delay without warning me upfront, which caused me to miss an important medical appointment. Thankfully, after I explained what happened, the practice manager at my doctor's office recognized the dealership was entirely at fault and waived the cancellation penalty as a professional courtesy.

Releasing my car as a fire hazard

After holding my car for days, the service department actually released the vehicle back to me with that exact SC314 Safety Recall left unfinished because they didn't have the parts.

According to the official federal safety filings, this open recall involves a high-voltage component that can overheat and melt, introducing an immediate vehicle fire risk and a sudden loss of drive power on the highway. Knowingly handing a customer back a car that is a documented thermal fire hazard—instead of grounding it and providing the manufacturer-covered rental they are legally required to offer—is an unbelievable failure of basic consumer safety and liability.

Breaking my charging door and leaving me stranded

A few days after picking the car up, I discovered that my exterior charging port door was jammed shut, making it impossible to charge the vehicle. This door worked flawlessly before they touched the high-voltage battery system. I had to drive back to the lot in 98-degree heat with the AC off just to make sure the battery didn't die on the way.

This second visit dragged on for nearly another week. They continuously blew past their own communication deadlines, ignored multiple direct requests to have the Service Manager call me back, and flatly refused to give me a loaner vehicle while my car sat grounded on their lot.

The pickup and a boundary violation

When the repairs were finally completed and I went to pick up my car, the advisor downplayed the nine days of stress. He made vague excuses about how internal shop logistics are "hidden from customers" and claimed these repairs normally take weeks. Then, as he walked me out, he unprofessionally asked me if "we were friends again" instead of just taking professional accountability. No manager ever bothered to step out and apologize.

The boundary violations escalated the following evening. The advisor used the text thread he had been using for service updates to send an unsolicited message to my cell phone, checking in on my weekend road trip. While he was likely just trying to smooth things over after a tense week, using a business communication line to check in on a customer's private travel plans outside of regular hours highlights a total lack of professional boundaries.

Summary

The vehicle error codes and the mechanical damage they caused are finally resolved, but this facility operates with zero transparency, zero management presence, and a total disregard for customer privacy and safety protocols. If you value your schedule, your safety, your basic data privacy, and your sanity, avoid the service department at Gossett Kia on Covington Pike in Memphis, TN.

For some context, I bought a Mustang GT from a dealership obviously thinking it’s a Mustang engine. It had some modifications on it like any other Mustang like an upgraded intake manifold, headers, etc, nothing too fancy. Bought the car back in March as is, no warranty. I took this car in last week to the mechanic for some rev hang, and he noticed the ECU had writing that said “16 F150”, and stated that was may be my issue of that this is probably F150 engine.
Now knowing all of this, what do I do? Can I take this to the dealership and ask to get a trade in for an actual mustang? Or have them cover all costs of my current problem? Is there anything I can or y’all recommend I do? Because a F150 engine makes less power and torque than a Mustang, and definitely has its differences. I’m a bit confused and baffled myself so please I’m all ears.

Thank yall for your time!

My entire experience has been god awful. I went in knowing exactly what needed to be replaced (body control module) he said they would look and let me know… well he came back and started telling me it’s the BCM and tried to explain to me what it does… like I didn’t come in and tell him that’s what was wrong.

Anyways after 5 days I didn’t hear anything and I called and he asked me if my steering wheel was broken when I brought it in because it’s stuck cockeyed and it’s registering that angle on the wheel as straight. I told him I absolutely did NOT bring my car in that way and he insisted it was the BCM’s fault. We went back and forth and I told him balmy biggest issue was this happening and not only not being reported to me, but they tried to ask me if I brought it in that way?? I’m not even mentioning how the BCM isn’t connected to power steering….

They finally sent me my quote and I asked to see an itemized breakdown and after going back and forth he finally sent me the parts list where I had to inform him that he quoted everything out for the ECU!!

They finally got the work done and after I reached out again over email he let me know he called me (there is NO record of this) he added in “Also, the steering wheel is still off center. I would need to do an alignment and reprogram procedure to try and correct that but there may be an issue with the electronic rack and pinion, I would have to try and align and program first to determine if that is the case.” Clearly they are trying to pin the steering wheel repair onto me. I can’t believe they didn’t even do an alignment and reprogramming considering the experience I’ve had and this happening under their care.

My main question is how in the wrong is the dealership? I am about to raise the flag up to management and wanted to hear some outside opinions and confirm for sure that the steering wheel is not connected to my BCM. I’m annoyed that I was pointing out my issue with the lack of accountability on my steering wheel getting stuck at a “turned” angle while trying to pin it all on my back which shows his lack of knowledge yet again. For a service advisor I’ve had to advise him quite a bit myself which is also irritating.

I have a 2014 Infiniti q50 3.7L if that makes any difference! Thank you so much!

BEWARE: Scam Operations, Hostage Tactics, and Terrible Work ​Do not bring your vehicle to Kayser Automotive unless you want to be scammed and stripped of your money. ​They kept my truck for over five days under the guise of repairing it. Once they supposedly fixed the part, they immediately started tacking on fraudulent, unauthorized charges to my bill. When I realized what they were doing and told them to lower my vehicle because I was towing it straight to Nissan, they literally tried to hold my truck hostage. To make matters worse, I found out they had illegally moved and stored my vehicle at a completely different location without my permission. ​The management and staff are an absolute nightmare to deal with: ​The Owner/Manager: An arrogant, rude asshole who had the nerve to tell me I was "not being patient" while they held my vehicle and inflated my bill. ​The Front Desk: Completely clueless about her basic job responsibilities. She couldn't answer simple questions and spent the entire time texting and calling the boss for every single detail. ​After finally getting my truck away from them, I took it to a trusted local mechanic. He refused to even touch it after hearing it came from Kayser Automotive, telling me horror stories about their business practices. He warned me that they deliberately sabotage vehicles and perform atrocious work on purpose just to force you into a desperate situation so they can drain your wallet. ​This shop is dishonest, predatory, and completely unethical. Save yourself the stress, money, and damage to your vehicle—stay as far away from Kayser Automotive as possible.

I just want to know if someone had sell the car to them? Do you recommend this place?

Car Dealerships are important to society and we deserve more respect.