Luchin

Yup, you read it right. Acura of Victoria will be closed as of Aug 31 and the space will be occupied by a Kia dealership?!? Since the entire Acura staff will remain, those of us with Acuras will still be able to have all but warranty work done at the Kia dealership. Warranty work will be handled by Honda?!?! WTF?!?! says a very uhappy Lou.

It will ba at least two years before another Acura store opens up.

LuvMyTSX

Wow, that really sucks.

dom

Interesting. Did Acura revoke the dealer or was this the owner seeing a better opportunity selling Kia's?

Moog-Type-S

good question

dom

I'm betting on option 2.

09TSXTech

Lou, that's sad news. Did the staff give you any reason for the change, I know Acura's overall sales number are not the greatest in Canada, but to close the only dealership on Vancouver Island?

Will you be going to Richmond Acura for future service or are you sticking with the Kia staff.

fsttyms1

Our Acura dealer was'nt doing well. Another dealer with DEEP pockets bought it (why??? is beyond me)

Moog-Type-S

^^ There is more $$$ in selling Kia versus Acura

Luchin

The owner decided there was more money in selling Kia.

Nail on the head.

Luchin

I will stick with the Kia staff since they will be the same staff that is at Acura now. Since it was the owners decision to go Kia the dealership will be stocking a full line of Acura parts. When parts they don't have in stock are needed they will order them from Honda. All of the mechanics will remain at the Kia dealership and be retrained to work on Kia cars. Whatever that looks like. So in a sense the only thing changing is the name and the brand of car. I will still have all of my servicing done by the..Akia techs.

Warranty work will be done by Honda until a new Acura dealership opens which could take up to two years.

When the new Acura dealership opens it will be staffed with all new people. Which means the 12 year relationship I've developed with Acura goes out the window.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Sell 20 POS vs 1 decent car is probably a lot easier for them to pull off.

dom

Kia = Hyundai.

Hardly a POS'

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

I would rock a V6 Sonata, V8 Genesis, or Azera every day!

Street Spirit

It's probably a very smart move with good timing.

A well known dealer who owns some higher end, popular dealerships around here (VW, Porsche, Audi) opened up a Hyundai and Toyota dealership last year. It's a good time to get in! Hyundai and Kia are showing a new line-up that's attracting a new line of customers, the economy was dictating people have a more reasonable budget, and the future of Hyundai and Kia looks extremely promising. I think it makes a lot of sense to start backing those brand names, especially before they become the next alternative to Honda and Toyota (which I think they eventually will). The money'll be there.

F23A4

....beats the quality of Chrysler products by a mile.

JediMindTricks

is this a common trend now?

S A CHO

I'd much rather be selling this:
2010-2011 Kia Amanti


Than this:

Black Tire

I wouldn't blame them. Better to sell good looking cars rather then the POS Acura is creating. And when the recession/depression gets worse. People will want cheaper smaller cars.

mcflyguy24

That's a KIA. Damn.

red00tl

So all you need to do next time is buying a Kia from the people you already have a long standing relationship with.

Moog-Type-S

Let's put it this way: KIA's lineup looks better than Acura's mess, and KIA quality is hardly POS.....not to mention price point.

SwervinCL

Fixed.

LuvMyTSX

I'll have to disagree here. I think current Kias look like crap (I just looked at the vehicles on their web site). Much worse than any Acura, IMO (yes, even the TL).

dom

I agree on the older ones. But the new Forte, Sorento and Amanti look fantastic. Have another look.

The new Amanti and Sorento aren't yet on their site

derrick

Not surprising to me. I wondered why Acura would open a dealership on the Island. That 'luxury car' tax in BC (along with the carbon tax and subsequent HST, etc) ... who in their right mind would buy an Acura for the money (well, at least in Canadian $ pricing)?

To the OP: provided the new 'Kia' dealership keeps the Honda/Acura diagnostic equipment and parts, I'm sure the service technicians will provide the maintenance your car requires. But my question ... do they give out loaners? If so ... would want to be rolling in a Rio?

dom

My best Moog:
Why would a luxury car tax be applied to an Acura?



How much are those taxes?

Moog-Type-S

You must have missed the Forte and Optima.

Street Spirit

I like the look of the Soul as well...much more than the look of the Nissan cube.

dom

Yup, forgot about the Soul. Looks better than a Yaris, Cube or Fit IMO.

LuvMyTSX

I don't know, I looked at whatever is on the web site. Everything there looks awful to me.

LuvMyTSX

The Yaris and Cube make me wanna and at the same time.

The Fit is not my 'thing' but it doesn't turn my insides out like the others do.

cornelius

Here's some more pix of the new Amanti or VG in Korea.
It's one of the best looking cars Ive seen recently.
I couldnt figure out how to copy the pix, but here's the link.
http://blog.naver.com/pinussoul?Redi...No=70062783248

invisiblewar

the newly released kias look great eventually they will have a pretty respectable line up all around unlike acura which has the tsx and the uglies

mrmako

Too bad about the Acura dealer.

But don't Kia's have a great warranty?

93integra

I'm sure they had their reasons but I'm surprised there was no advance warning. First I knew was when I drove past the lot yesterday and saw all the Kias and then had it confirned when I went to the Acura website. I've dealt with them since I got my 93 Integra, so I expected better -- or at least more courtesy.

Shift_Acura

I know theres atleast 4 dealerships in the Vancouver area (if u include Langley) ALOT of ppl buy Acura products here. Heck I see more 4G TL's then the new Maxima or Avalon

Belzebutt

I can see the headline: "Acura dealership KIA".

Rapture

I couldn't see myself getting a Kia. I see ads in the paper and on TV all the time for some local dealer selling brand new 09's (and at the time I was looking for a new car, 08's) for under $10k....

I honestly don't care if it's a barebones model, paying $9,000 for a new 08 Kia Sedona last year = not a good purchase.

inb4 Kia ragers and "derp good cars dunt need to cost $30k"

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

09 T.his S.wag X.clusixe

Only kia that can compare is the amanti and even that's still a drawing! Have to see it in pictures and in person. And for all the other models (optima, forte) including hyundai's (except genesis) please those cars look cheap and the interior is ridiculous