The Van is back!!!

My van is back!! YAY! I wouldn't have believed I'd be so excited to have a minivan.

I know I didn't update about this fiasco, so a little back story...

When we purchased the van Feb 21,  one of the sliding door's electric motor was broken, but the van was still under warranty so we were told we could take it to the Kia dealership and they'd fix it.  We also found out the electric motor in one of the mirrors had also quit, so that needed to be replaced as well.  So here's the rundown:

2/21 - Purchased van from local dealership

2/25 - Took van to Kia service center (145 miles away) to get "fixed", found out parts had to be ordered, come back in 2 weeks for them to be put on.  The dealership we purchased the van from paid for the gas to get there and back (awesome!)

3/11 - Return to Kia dealership, mirror was ordered, it came in unpainted, so they had to get the paint code, and paint it, meanwhile door part ordered was not the correct part to fix the problem, van comes back with no work done. Come back in 1 week. By this time we've surpassed the mileage for our warranty, but they're continuing the work under the warranty for us, thankfully.

3/18 - Return to Kia dealership again, mirror put on... painted the wrong color - granted not their fault, Kia has 2 paint colors with the same code on 2 different years, they put in the right code, but it came out the wrong color, come back next week they'll fix the mirror, meanwhile they put the door motor on, door works Yay!! We were promised the next time it came back (for the mirror) we'd get a loaner, and they'd fill the tank on the van for us.

3/21 - While getting ready to leave work on my lunch break I opened the newly fixed door to put something inside the car, door gets stuck open. WIDE OPEN.  We tried pushing it, pulling it, shutting off the power doors, nothing could get the door closed.  (Here I spent my entire lunch hour on the phone with various people, first I called the Kia dealership that just completed the work on it, they said if we could get it to them (reminder: 145 miles away) they'd fix the problem.  I explained that we could not get the door closed and it would be unsafe to drive it on the highway with the sliding door open.  They told us to call Kia Roadside Assistance to see if they could tow it for us.  When I called them, they told me that because our car is no longer under warranty we'd have to pay for the tow up front, and the dealership would reimburse us.  When I asked how much the tow bill would be, I was shocked to find out it would be nearly $600!!  I called the dealership back, at which point they said they couldn't be certain that this work would be covered under warranty so they may not be able to cover the tow bill.  We were stuck. We called the dealership we purchased the van from to see if there was anything they could do for us.  They were EXCELLENT, they sent us a loaner car, and drove the van to their service center (about 15 miles away) with the van door open, in MARCH, in Northern Maine! BRR!  A few days later (3/25) they called and told us the door was closed, but not fixed.

3/25, I called the Kia Dealership and made an appointment to get the van in on the following Monday, but made sure to request a loaner, and asked if we could possibly pick it up on Saturday because we'd be in the area anyway.

3/29, I called to double check our appointment and be certain we were okay for a loaner, to which I was told they'd given out all the loaner vehicles they had. *You cannot be serious* I finally got a manager on the phone, and explained the situation, and asked if there was anything they could do to help us out.  He looked around the lot and said the only vehicle they had they could loan us was a Chevy Aveo. (Seriously?) I said as long as it had 4 doors I'd take it. *Ha*

3/30, get to dealership to swap vehicles... HOLY MOLY you would not believe a) How incredibly small that Aveo was compared to my van, and B) How much stuff we can stuff in said Aveo!  It was so tiny that The King couldn't fit his legs where they were supposed to be, while safely having The Kid's carseat rear-facing in back.  After about half an hour of his legs being crossed and up on the dash, we found out that if he sat his seat directly upright we could move it backwards another click or two so he could fit his legs in a proper sitting position, but man that was quite funny.  The King ended up driving most of the remainder of the trip!



4/2 - called for update on Van, it's at the body shop getting the mirror painted and they hadn't looked at the door yet.

4/4 - called for update, still at body shop.

4/8 - "just returned from body shop, will look at door this afternoon"

4/9 - Looked at door, needs a part, should be here tomorrow, we'll call you

4/11 - called late afternoon, van is FINALLY finished we can pick it up whenever!

4/13 - Arrived at dealership to find a van on Empty. Explained to salesman (service department closed on Saturday) that we were promised a full tank of gas, they promptly went and filled it up for us and we were on our way free of charge! Hallelujah! I'm so glad to finally have my minivan back!!