I’m one of the 1,500 who reserved a Kia EV6 First Edition, and I apologize for the length of my comments and for repeating some concerns previously voiced in this forum ... but I'm a bit annoyed.
I find the First Edition reservation process quite unusual, since we must select a dealership for purchase before knowing whether the pricing will be MSRP or, at least, given the ability to negotiate the price before finalizing our choice of dealership.
I’ve been hoping (naively) that Kia Corporate would hold their dealerships to the MSRP as a “feel good” launch of these First Editions. If Kia allows markups, then the initial reservation process becomes a sham, as our reservations only serve to determine the number of EV6s for delivery to each Dealer. With no pricing restrictions, the dealer will simply have the right to sell to the highest bidder, friend or family member, assuming the Reserving party is unwilling to pay maximum markup.
I left a message with Kia Corporate in Irvine in July asking more about the process and intent, but never received a response. I’ve spoken with the sales managers of 2 different dealerships in Southern California in mid-August (a 3rd did not return 2 calls). Both managers claimed to know nothing about intent Kia’s intent, but said they will likely charge a premium if Kia imposes no restrictions on pricing … and I completely understand their perspective. The point however, is there seems to be no communication between Corporate and the Dealerships on these First Edition models, or more likely, they are being coy.
As previously suggested in this forum, the only leverage we First Edition reservations have is the ability to change the dealership selected to a different or more distant location; explain, to that alternative dealership, if it is willing to settle on a price before September 1, we can select it to receive our EV6; and if not willing, that dealer simply won’t receive that EV6 and won’t make any profit whatsoever. In reality, I think finding another dealer to pre-negotiate a price may be a fool’s errand. In the end, I believe this process will be messy and fraught for disappointment once final pricing is determined.
