dsinla
Made It and Played It 
Posts: 19
Airdate: 04/25/12
Winnings: $78,135
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Post by dsinla on Jul 31, 2012 12:15:49 GMT -5
Hey all -
As a KIA winner, I just wanted to let you know that i got the call yesterday that my KIA is at the local dealer! I'm very excited. There's been a lot of emails and phone calls, but it looks like I might finally be driving it this week. That's 3 months after the show's airing and 4.5 months after the taping!
I'll add to this thread and document some of the process, and post some pix.
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wheelbaby
Made It and Played It
Bowl Wisher
I'm pretty awesome, IMHO
Posts: 651
Airdate: 09/28/12
Winnings: $13,000
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Post by wheelbaby on Jul 31, 2012 12:23:20 GMT -5
Congrats!!!!
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Guint
Production Assistant 
Risen from the Dead
^ Top Notch Production Values...kinda
Posts: 2,745 
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Post by Guint on Jul 31, 2012 12:35:53 GMT -5
Congratulations, David! ;D
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WayoshiM
VIP 
Wheel Statistican
Posts: 2,005
SPIN ID: GM5193544
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Post by WayoshiM on Jul 31, 2012 16:41:48 GMT -5
Were you allowed to customize anything at all besides the color?
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dsinla
Made It and Played It
Posts: 19
Airdate: 04/25/12
Winnings: $78,135
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Post by dsinla on Aug 2, 2012 10:33:49 GMT -5
We got it yesterday. Could not have gone smoother. dl.dropbox.com/u/172161/kiadavid.jpgWayohsiM - There's a long, interesting story about my attempts to customize the car. The WoF rep initially said the car was to be an automatic transmission "We always give away automatics" and she said any customizations/packages I wanted would require me to pay the difference. I said fine. Then I was told that the car was a standard - basically the absolute lowest base package you could get. And because this car was coming direct from KIA Corporate there was really no provision for negotiating with the dealer. In other words, if I wanted the base model with nothing added, that would be a perfectly smooth process, sign the papers, be on my way. But if I wanted an automatic, or sunroof, or sound system upgrade, I would have to 'take possession' of the base model, then sell it back to the KIA dealer as a used car (even though I never sat in it or drove it off the lot) at a $4K loss! And then begin negotiations from there with ~11K of credit with the dealer rather than ~15K. The WoF rep said, unfortunately some other KIA winners had already done just that. I had many endless conversations with the WoF rep, with a KIA regional manager, and ultimately WoF lawyers. I was very grateful to have won a free car, but I would not accept that there was no way to upgrade the car without losing ~4K! Everyone kept agreeing with me but saying "There's nothing we can do really". You may recall my coming on this site asking for a list of all KIA winners. I sent that list to the WoF rep stating that I planned to contact each one of then and ask the details of their KIA transaction. I was also very interested in what the KIA dealership had done with any Souls that had never been driven off the lot - did they turn around and sell them as used? Immediately after receiving that email, the WoF lawyers got in touch with me and said they were working on a plan to make the transaction more aligned with the spirit of the prize. It took another 6 weeks or so but they eventually brokered a deal where WoF paid the dealership $15K and we ordered whatever options we wanted, and we paid the difference. Long boring story, I know. But I figured who more than you guys would be interested in the exact details?  To answer your question, I upgraded to an automatic transmission and added a few small options (cargo panel, floor mats) but nothing big. -d |
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Guint
Production Assistant
Risen from the Dead
^ Top Notch Production Values...kinda
Posts: 2,745
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Post by Guint on Aug 2, 2012 10:40:11 GMT -5
Uhh...wow, that's real interesting.
Perhaps THIS is the reason the car is now changing every week?
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wheelbaby
Made It and Played It
Bowl Wisher
I'm pretty awesome, IMHO
Posts: 651
Airdate: 09/28/12
Winnings: $13,000
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Post by wheelbaby on Aug 2, 2012 10:56:36 GMT -5
Interesting story. Did you mean originally that "they always give MANUALS"?
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therealcu2010
Executive Producer 
Head of the Table
Acknowledge Me!
Posts: 4,550
SPIN ID: JH9373772
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Post by therealcu2010 on Aug 2, 2012 14:15:01 GMT -5
"Standard" = "manual".  |
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wheelbaby
Made It and Played It
Bowl Wisher
I'm pretty awesome, IMHO
Posts: 651
Airdate: 09/28/12
Winnings: $13,000
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Post by wheelbaby on Aug 2, 2012 14:55:18 GMT -5
My bad haha
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WarioSajak
VIP
Co-Owner of Karen's Pool Tables
Daniel, lover of classic "Wheel".
Posts: 1,890
SPIN ID: DB2986720
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Post by WarioSajak on Aug 2, 2012 19:44:10 GMT -5
There's a long, interesting story about my attempts to customize the car. The WoF rep initially said the car was to be an automatic transmission "We always give away automatics" and she said any customizations/packages I wanted would require me to pay the difference. I said fine. Then I was told that the car was a standard - basically the absolute lowest base package you could get. I'm just going to say that the Kia cost $15,000. That's about as basic as it gets. You may recall my coming on this site asking for a list of all KIA winners. I sent that list to the WoF rep stating that I planned to contact each one of then and ask the details of their KIA transaction. I was also very interested in what the KIA dealership had done with any Souls that had never been driven off the lot - did they turn around and sell them as used? I say do that anyway. And get in touch with the Ford Fiesta winner while you're at it. Immediately after receiving that email, the WoF lawyers got in touch with me and said they were working on a plan to make the transaction more aligned with the spirit of the prize. Is this what led to changing the car every week? |
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WayoshiM
VIP
Wheel Statistican
Posts: 2,005
SPIN ID: GM5193544
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Post by WayoshiM on Aug 2, 2012 20:25:54 GMT -5
This sounds like a snafu with the Kia dealerships in general, not Wheel, right?
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Guint
Production Assistant
Risen from the Dead
^ Top Notch Production Values...kinda
Posts: 2,745
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Post by Guint on Aug 2, 2012 20:32:11 GMT -5
Exactly. Wheel did nothing wrong here, in this case.
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dsinla
Made It and Played It
Posts: 19
Airdate: 04/25/12
Winnings: $78,135
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Post by dsinla on Aug 4, 2012 12:10:29 GMT -5
Hi All . i would agree that Wheel did nothing wrong here, at least not intentionally. The woman I spoke to most - she handled the other prizes like the trip and the promotional DVD - was very much on my side. Her attitude was "this can't be right, this isn't how things normally work when we give away a car". She originally said I would be getting an automatic and I would be able to negotiate directly with the dealer for any options/upgrades. She almost seemed surprised when we learned how restrictive the prize was going to be.
The way it was explained to me - by a representative of KIA - is that the cars were coming directly from KIA corporate and were not being delivered into a dealer's inventory - it was being delivered directly to me - so the dealer couldn't accept the car at full cost because if he took the car from me it would immediately be a used car on the books. It was a bit more complicated than that, but that was the gist of it. In the end WoF stepped up and just plain paid the dealership $15K directly - which was very gracious of them.
I would think the original contract with KIA did not involve any cash changing hands - Wheel gave KIA tons of advertising and KIA gave contestants cars.
I had not heard that the 1/2 car will now be different every week? Interesting! However it was negotiated this time, I think my conversations may have contributed to making it easier for future winners to upgrade.
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