Kia Loaner Car Policy Explained – Rentals or Loaners for Long Repairs?

When we take our vehicles to dealerships or huge reputable repair shops, we expect to get a loaner car so that we don't lose our time and still have the opportunity to commute. While some brands have a very developed service of loaner cars (like Tesla, for example), some other companies hate giving us free vehicles for the time of repair.

Kia doesn't have a common policy for its dealers that would regulate loaner car situations, so every dealer can make its own solutions. In most cases, you will get free towing and loaner cars only if you have bought an extended service instead of the standard one offered by Kia. Also, you may not get a loaner car if you just take your vehicle in for regular oil changes.

Here's what I will tell you about today:

• Do Kia dealers actually provide you with loaner cars?
• What to do to get the loaner car from your dealer?
• What if the Kia dealer doesn't want to give you the loaner car?
• Can you get rental coverage from a Kia dealer?
• Are there any restrictions for Kia loaner cars?

Let's get started!

Do Kia dealers provide you with loaner cars?

As I've already told you, there is no certain policy in Kia about loaner cars. So, dealers may or may not provide you with such vehicles. It's up to the dealer to decide whether you need a loaner vehicle according to the duration of the repair and the availability of loaner cars in the dealership. Unfortunately, such a policy often plays against car owners.

If you take Tesla, for example, you will get a loaner every time the repair is going to take more than 4 hours. When it comes to Kia, the dealer decides if you get the loaner. And if it's just a regular oil-and-filter change, they will most likely not provide you with any car. But if the service is going to take more than a day, the majority of Kia dealers will give you a loaner.

Here's how it works in Kia:

• even though the brand doesn't require dealers to have loaner cars, the majority of dealers do have them;
• in most cases, they are just cheap sedans like the Forte or the Rio;
• they may not be new, they may also have a lot of miles on them and be in so-so condition;
• in most Kia dealerships, loaner cars will not be tidy and super clean;
• fortunately, if something happens with your loaner car, the dealer will cover all the repairs, you have nothing to worry about;
• the range of loaner cars is limited, so if they don't have one available for you now, the dealer may pay for a rental car for you.

According to Kia owners, the majority of them really get loaner cars when the repair is going to take more than one working day. But if you just take your vehicle in for regular service like an oil change or brake pad change, you will have the option to sit there and wait or leave using public transport, taxi, etc. They will not give you a loaner if the repair is short.

I'm pretty sure you will not get a loaner car if your Kia is not under warranty anymore. They may still provide you with a car if the repair is very long and serious and there is a service bulletin or recall that covers this repair. In this case, Kia is considered guilty in the breakdown and the dealer may decide to give you a loaner car.

What should you do to get a loaner car from a Kia dealership?

If you own a luxury car like a Cadillac or Lexus, you don't need to worry about arrangements, appointments, and several extra calls to the dealer to just get what you expect to get. But with a Kia vehicle which is not considered luxury, you need to worry about things like loaner cars way before your visit.

Here's what you should do to get the free vehicle from the dealership:

• make an appointment at least one or two days before you want to arrive at the dealership;
• tell the manager on the phone that you need a loaner car;
• arrange all the details on the phone - the manager may offer several options to you;
• arrive a little earlier and get the loaner car after carefully inspecting it.

Why is it important? Because you want to get a car that is OK to drive. If they offer you an old Rio with 200K miles on it, bold tires, a destroyed interior, and a harshly working engine, you aren't likely to enjoy driving this car. Of course, you may ask for something else or ask to pay for your rental car if they can't offer another vehicle.

What if the Kia dealer doesn't give you a loaner car?

Well, there is nothing much you can do because this service is only up to a dealer to provide. The dealership will not provide you with a loaner car if they don't offer this service and Kia doesn't make them have a park of loaner cars anyway. So, you may of course call Kia customer support and tell them how furious you are but this won't change much.

But there is one exception. If your car is for a week or more on the lift in the dealership, it's still under warranty, and the problem is not your fault, you may actually call customer service of Kia USA (or whatever country you are in) and demand the loaner car from them.

Although this will not work in every situation if the car is in the dealership because of the recall or a well-known common problem, Kia will be interested in keeping you satisfied, so it will most likely pay for your rental car even if the dealer doesn't have any loaner cars to offer.

So, your actions should be as follows:

• make an appointment in the dealership and ask them to provide you with a loaner car;
• if they refuse, ask them if they can pay for your rental car instead;
• if they still refuse, call customer care in Kia and ask them what you should do in this situation;
• insist on paying for your rental car because Kia USA will not provide you with a good loaner car for such little time.

Why get a rental car instead of a loaner car?

Previously, many car owners just rented out a car when they left their vehicle in the dealership for more than several days. The average rental price for a budget-friendly vehicle is $30-$45 a day, so it's just fine for most of us to avoid all those inconveniences of not having a vehicle at all.

Today, dealers and big repair shops offer loaner cars, so it's a free way to get a vehicle while your car is being repaired. But you can also take money from the dealership to cover your rental costs.

Here's how you can do it:

• if your dealer doesn't have a loaner car now, request payment for your rental vehicle;
• you can choose the car on your own and they will cover the costs entirely or partially;
• usually, the coverage is about $35 a day and if you want to rent something better, you will pay the rest of the bill;
• you can also request rental costs coverage if you don't like the loaner cars that the Kia dealer offers to you.

Renting a car is not something you love doing but when your vehicle is resting on a lift in the dealership and no one knows how long it will hang out there, you may find it more convenient to rent a vehicle than to use a bus to get to work.

Also, in some Kia dealerships in smaller cities and towns, requesting rental coverage is the only way to get compensation. Because they just don't have loaner cars on offer.

Restrictions for Kia loaner cars

When you get a loaner car for the first time, you may think that this is a free vehicle that you can do anything with. You may think that this is a good time to go to the picnic on the ocean coast because nobody is restricting you. But actually, there are some restrictions you need to know about.

Getting a loaner car is exactly the same as renting a vehicle in a certain company. You will sign a special agreement with certain terms and conditions.

Among the conditions, you will normally see the following:

• the mileage-per-day is restricted to 100 miles, usually;
• you still have some restrictions in terms of the area you can drive this car;
• there are certain limitations on breakdowns, and some of them may not be covered by the dealer;
• you should return the car in exactly the same condition as it was given to you.

As you see, this is just as renting a vehicle but there is a pleasant bonus - you don't need to pay for this.

Final thoughts

Although Kia is not a luxury brand, almost all Kia dealers offer loaner cars for their clients. They may also cover your rent costs if you decide to rent a car or they don't have a good car for you. But there is no policy by Kia Company and so every dealer makes their own decisions when it comes to loaner cars.