Kow Loon Auto Sales

Despite the awful reviews I decided to purchase a car from this place. I had been looking for a new vehicle for about 6 months. My credit isn’t the greatest but adding another vehicle to our family was a must. I had been looking for an 8 passenger vehicle, fairly new (at least 10 years), under 150k miles, and under $ 10k. Come to find out, if you have anything but excellent credit, the bank won’t finance a vehicle with a lot of miles and is a lower year. Anyways, each vehicle I found (online) that fit my needs kept getting sold or was a VW Routan (ummm lets not and say we did). Eventually I found myself looking at $ 15k-​$ 20k vehicles.
I stumbled upon a 2011 Toyota Sienna advertised on Craigslist being sold by Kow Loon about a month ago. Had an aftermarket DVD player installed but no navigation (no biggie, thats why I spent $ 1200 on iPhone). I filled out a credit application online and got approved. My dad and I left 30 minutes later (Benicia to San Jose). When we got to the dealership, we were kinda-​not really greeted by what could have been the owner but not really sure. He was very nice and welcoming. The lot is packed, like a can of sardines packed, but they had the van ready for me to drive. The place looked like a gas station that was abandoned and they bought it, put some cars on the lot, and got to selling.
Both my dad and I drove the van for a good 15 – 20 minutes. We parked down the street to check out the engine and the doors. Everything seemed to work the way it was supposed to. We brought the van back and I went into the office to finish the paperwork. The office was… interesting. I believe in «don’t judge a book by its cover» and this place kinda falls in line with that. It isn’t a Honda dealership, which is actually kinda nice because you aren’t hounded or being stalked by pushy salesman. The girl in the office is super nice and makes you feel like welcome and comfortable. The sale was really simple as I had done this 3 – 4 times before and had pretty much taken care of everything online. The whole process took less than an hour and we were on the road with the new van.
My biggest issue with the dealership itself is that they didn’t clean the van before we left with it. Thankfully it wasn’t really that bad but it would have been nice if they had done it.
So, now we have had the van for about a month. I have never owned or driven a minivan before this so it took some time getting used to. The main issue we are experiencing is the back door seems to have a bad sensor or something. Basically, if the road isn’t as smooth as a baby’s bottom, the damn door open alarm goes off. That seems to be a common issue with the sienna. Not the dealerships fault. The only other issue we have is what sounds like it could be the breaks. I don’t drive the minivan a lot and its been cold so we think that might be the cause but when I drive it for the first time in the day, the first 4 – 5 times I use the breaks, they make a sound that I can only describe as a horn and a whale sounding off at the same time. No big deal, we will get the breaks changed when the time comes.
Conclusion: The buying experience was very easy. I love the van and so does my family.
I will post an update once we have had the van for 6 months.

Sadly the owner seem to be aware of the bad reviews and keeps repeating the same behavior that people are complaining about. I saw the vans he had and decided to stop by. I liked a sienna he had and it turned out that he had that same van on Craigslist, and he quoted be a price that was way higher that what he was advertizing. if they were honest I would have came back with my wife and bought that van. but sadly that’s is their way of doing business
and this note is for the owner. if you deal with online advertizing you should know that this info is available to all. so what gives…

I bought a car from here about 2 years ago. About 6 months after the purchase, the dashboard lights started lighting up. It didn’t bother me until recently, the a/​c and blinkers stopped working. Took it to a mechanic and he told me the car had been in a serious accident and easily totaled. The car had a clean car fax and kow loon swore it had never been in an accident. Do yourself a favor and just go to a REAL car dealership.
I like how someone comments on every review to justify their shady actions. 2 out of 5 stars speaks for itself.

Very untrusting establishment. I bought my first car from this place. As i first inspected the car i noticed a distinctive scratch on the door. The dealer (Trung) said he would touch it up while i signed the paper work. When i came back it just looked worse like he doodled all over it with nail polish. Also when i told him the radio turned on but there was no noise, he assured me that the speakers work fine and he would replace the head unit. The very next morning i tried to pop a cd in and it sounded like it literally fell into the dashboard. And the speakers that supposedly worked fine never existed. Just a big hole where the speakers were suppoes to be. When i called them back with the issues they said to bring the car back and they would fix it. So i did with a little bit if reassurance. But eventually disappeared when i was told it was ready for pick up and NOTHING was done. like at all… Like i brought the car there just for storage. It was a real waste of money and time because i live an hour away. Never again!

Quang is probably somebody they ask to answer all the bad reviews he didn’t answer mines. I bought my car from kowloon 8÷24÷2012
Trung played me for a fool only 20 years old no Co signer he found a loan for me I Oakland sold me a honda pilot 2005 with a broken key, 2 axles, hub bearings, right control arm, right spindle, all driving problems and did not give me a car fax, the car was in a major accident and was not reported the whole left fender you can just see the two color paint i was in a rush to buy did not notice he bondo the whole fender he buys his car from cheap auctions and fixes it. I bought that car for 12 000 I was ripped off I strongly advise citizen’s that is looking for a car to go to a real dealership or find a dealer with car fax when I came to confronted Trung about it he said nothing is wrong with the car but when I pointed it out he offer to fix it but I have to pay labor and parts I mean I just spent 12 grand to buy it now I have to fix it. Look at their be child do an proper inspection if u do intend to purchase but I strong advise not.

HORRIBLE!!! These people sold me a 2005 Mazda Rx-​8 in 2010. I went to see the car twice and it was just what i was looking for. I wanted a three day warranty because that is what most GOOD dealers in California give you and the said no only if I put down $ 700 and i could return it in three days if i needed but if i returned it they would keep my money! Then a month goes by and it is having problem starting. I called and said what was going on and they would not give a care in the world. I took it to two different shops to get fixed i spent $ 2,ooo of my own money and they still could not figure out what they problem was and Kow Loon would not do a thing either. These people are scum selfish people and i would not buy from them ever again! They just want your money!

DO not trust this place.
I bought a car 6 months ago from this place. The car looked great and the sales person (the owner) assured me that car has been inspected by their in-​house mechanic (they have their own mechanic shop behind the dealership).
2 month later the car starts to overheat and lose oil.
I took the car to my usual mechanic and they said the engine has major flaw and I have to replace the ENGINE.
Since I had a hard time to believe I took the car to 2 other mechanics and all confirmed that the engine has a huge problem. And both told me that there was no possible way the seller could have NOT known about the extend of the mechanical problem. The bill for changing the engine: $ 4k to $ 6k.
Please avoid this place.

I took my son to buy a car. We found a Subaru STI and took it to a mechanic for an inspection. Having been told the car appeared in decent condition, we purchased it and drove home. Within 2 hours it started over heating. I called the dealership and was told not to worry, that they would repair. At my cost I had the car towed back. After a «fix» was completed, not more than 10 min out, it over heated again. Again they promised to repair. My son spent all day Sat waiting for the repair. This time he got 40 away and over heating began again. Again, the car was towed at my expense back to the dealer. They ordered a new radiator, again it over heated. This went on for several days.
Yesterday after having the car delivered to us, it over heated again and now the turbo stared smoking! My son parked the car in front of our house and called the dealership to say we are not keeping this car, it falls under the Lemon Law. We were promised yesterday that if we had the car towed back, they would return our check (that they had promised they wouldn’t cash until the problems were resolved). Turns out they did cash the checks!
My son purchased new tires for the vehicle earlier in the week which had been installed. We told the dealership that they needed to have the car towed as we had spent enough on towing to this point. They refused to give us our money until they had the car back and could look it over. That was yesterday, day 7, Friday. Fair enough.
In order to save money, their tow company called to say they would pick up the car today, as to not sit in Friday traffic, which they did. Our new tires are still on the car. My daughter stopped by to pick up the check today and they said the own wasn’t in and wouldn’t be back until Monday. HE is the one that told us we could have the money once the car was back.
NOW we are being told we will get a call around 4 – 5 on Monday after the mechanic has a chance to ensure we haven’t tinkered with the motor! By this time the mechanic has spent several days on the car and should be able to tell the car is in the condition HE left it in. Meanwhile Kow Loon has the car, our new tires AND our money. Really, you have inconvenienced us for several days and several tows and you can’t honor your promise to return the check today, 2÷2÷13 as promised?
Apparently it’s the owners day off and he can’t be disturbed. Please do the right thing and return my sons honest and hard earned money today. I will gladly come and pick up the check and the tires today!

Quang (the person that even said he gets the dirty job) its does sucks that it is part of your job to come up with lame ass excuses for every bad review when YOU admitted yourself that the owner has poor customer service (like you said «you cant teach an old dog new tricks») and to repeatedly apologize that the employees there are old fashion typical asains. So it was better off for you to not even reply bc the 4 or 5 trips i made down there i believe we’ve never met for you to know anything but go by what your employees have told you. And to remind you, i was told that the noise from the brakes was bc they were ‘new’. I still have the receipt to my brake inspection and labor so don’t tell me they were new, AND TO ADD ON i recently found out that there was no tuneup done to the car which the owner had also promised and at the time of signing papers the loaner even called to confirm if it was done and who ever picked up said ‘yes’. With the key/​remote issue? I had to open it manually and passenger door as well even the freakin trunk! If your place is only gonna offer me one key and only one remote i except it to work especially if the owner said «nothing is wrong with it» and yes, it was nice enough for dealer to help me with the loan issue. But ONLY to take off a fixer upper off your lot! I know your just doing your dirty job but i still Thank you for your little help and your apologize over phone when these issues came about.

I had a decent experience with these guys. i bought a Corolla 2009. Trong tried to tell me that this car does not come with a remote door opener. He allows me to call the dealer, where I of course confirm it should come with a remote. I agree to drive back 50 miles the next day from where I live in Walnut Creek to pick up the car and get my remote. When I get there he only had a remote to open the doors and not the trunk. I told him this was not acceptable, but I had just been dropped off and was 50 miles from home. I had no choice but to drive the car off the lot to get home.
Within 5 miles the warning light came on indicating the tires, which they had supposedly replaced, did not have correct pressure. The sensor could not be reset.
I had to drive back again 50 miles from where I live in Walnut Creek to get the correct keys from him. I spent 4 hours there while his workers tried to unsuccessfully to reset the tire presauge. As I started to leave I pointed out to him a big scratch by the driver door I was sure wasn’t there when I had bought the car. He told me HE HAD PUT SOME FILLER TO COVER UP THE SCRATCH BUT HE DIDNT THINK IT LOOKED GOOD SO HE REMOVED IT. What???
I would up having to go to the Toyota dealer to get the sensor fixed. I have since then found the gas cover does not open corectly because it was bent, and the driver window does not work intermittantly. Check your car carefully before leaving the lot.

I figured you would respond Quang but your response is quite a joke. I still hope that others find this useful and stay far away from your place of business. It’s nice for John that he has someone who seems nice and trustworthy like you to be at the front of the deals. Unfortunately you run a shady business. I manage a business myself and as a professional I don’t want to see others taken advantage of.

Happened to stop by here while I was car shopping because I saw that they had a G35 Coupe (the car I was looking for). Anyway, to make a short story even shorter, nobody bothered to help me. Most dealerships flock towards potential customers, but not this place. «Thumbs down»

I have up my rating by one star due to the fact that there is some one (Quang) within this company that cares enough to respond to Unilocalers. Reputation is probably the most important asset to a mom n’ pop store that competes with the mega chains (or any store/​brand that are in the market). I appreciate Quang’s effort in trying to communicate via Unilocal.
I also agreen with Quang that it’s probably best to address any differences as early as possible. I am glad that Quang responded, and took the initiative to talk to his sales staff about this. I sincerely hope that Quang is able to educate them to become a better sales.
However, as a matter of fact, every used car that I was interested, one of the question that I ask is whether the car has been in accident. Every time that I’ve run across a car that suspect it had an accident, I will ask this question (example, Peterpan Lexus I was there, and the sales guy was honest or knowledgeable to acknowledge that the car that I test drove had an accident). As a recommendation, you should instruct your sales staffs to state that «they don’t know, and will find out» rather than lie or mispoke.
Please feel free to continue to believe your sales staff that I didn’t ask about whether not the car has been in an accident. After all, if he is willing to lie to me, he is probably willing to lie to you.
Best Regards,

I almost didn’t want to go to this place because of all the bad reviews but as you may have noticed, Quang has replied to every single one of them with a valid explanation. So I took a chance and decided to email him in regards to a 2004 Toyota Prius.
I was involved in a total loss accident with a similar car and wanted to replace my totalled car for the same kind. Unfortunately, I still owed money on the totalled car and the bank had numerous restrictions as to what car I was able to get for a replacement. I was given what they call a substitution of collateral loan, something I had never heard about, and was told by the bank that I may have trouble looking for a dealer who will accept that kind of loan. I was told most dealers do not want to deal with the extra work that comes with accepting this kind of loan. But Quang and his staff were very welcoming and open to taking the loan. They did all the paperwork required by the bank and though there was a lot of waiting and phone tag involved between Quang and my bank, Quang was very prompt in keeping me posted every step of the way.
Unfortunately, the car was sold the day before the bank finally gave Quang an answer. I was a little upset that it was sold (hense the minus star) but really though, Quang waited and did enough for me. I understand he needs to make his ends meet. Why with hold a great car from another ready buyer whose sale must’ve been way easier than mine right? lol. Even still, he offered to help me find a similar car and referred me to a different dealer.
In the end, I received awesome service for a car I didn’t even buy. Thanks Quang!

My 2008 Toyota Sienna Minivan has been very reliable. Driven over 15,000 miles since I’ve purchased it. Everything inside and out works perfectly.
When time comes that I need a second or different vehicle, Kowloon Auto will be my first choice. Ask for Quang, the son’s owner. He always has a smile.

DO NOT BUY FROM THESE PEOPLE!
My Husband traded in his perfect condition car for a 2006 Subaru… EVERYTHING is wrong with it. We took it to a Subaru workshop here in San Jose and there’s over 2,000.00 $ worth of stuff wrong of it.
WORSE OF ALL THE CAR COULD HAVE BLOWN UP WITH MY 2 LITTLE KIDS IN IT. We took the bill of repair over there and he said he wouldn’t help us. So, I am going to make SURE that this business goes down. I wish them the WORST of luck. I will be taking them to court. They will pay the 2,350.60 $ that is owed for repairs.
DO NOT EVEN WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS PLACE.

I was very pleased with my experience at Kowloon. I originally went there to look at some used Prius’s advertised on Craigslist. My wife and I test drove a 2006 Prius and a couple of days later decided to purchase it.
Quang from Kowloon said he’d hold onto it, however, I later found out that my financing wouldn’t cover me for the vehicle due to the number of miles on it. I explained this to Quang on the phone and he was very understanding about it. He let me know that two other Prius’s had come in and one was in my price range.
My wife and I ended up going back to Kowloon to test drive a 2007 Prius with only 34K miles. We both liked the vehicle a lot but it was a bit out of our price range. However, the sales people at Kowloon were willing to negotiate. They dropped the price down to something we felt we could afford and we drove home in the vehicle that night.
Quang couldn’t be there when we first arrived the second time due to a family emergency, but he called us to let us know. He also showed up at the end to close the deal and take us through the paper work.
The car has been fantastic so far. Quang even called us a few days later to ask if everything was ok.
I was originally hesitant to deal with them because I had read some bad reviews, but I am very glad I went to check the place out for myself. Everyone was very patient with answering my questions and explaining how the everything would work if I purchased the vehicle. They also provided me with the Carfax information for all the cars I looked at. There was one car we were originally interested in and they told us immediately that it had a lemon title. I would definitely go there again.

Wow, where to start. Let’s start with lies, dishonesty and plain ol scamming. We actually bought our van from them, trading in our car at the same time. First off, the guy at the dealership comes off nice, and friendly (of course). We negotiate a deal, he verbally agrees to a price for our trade in.
So we go ahead with the deal, I felt somewhat confident and thought that this nice guy wouldn’t do me wrong. Man was I wrong. On the paperwork he credited me for $ 1000 less for my trade in, and factored the difference into the loan. Then, the van that we bought, two months later check engine light comes on.
These guys buy cheap from car auctions, fix them up and mark them up.
NOW CHECK THIS OUT:
The same car we traded, a 2003 VW Passat with 110k miles, he gave us 1500 for it, when he told us he would do 2500, told us he couldn’t sell the VW Passat cause it had high mileage, and that he would end up having to auction it off.
Well, turns out he was selling it in no time on his lot, FOR $ 8500!!!
END OF STORY
Thanks!

On October 17^th we purchased a 2001 Toyota Prius, VIN JT2BK12U810017292, sitting on Kowloon’s lot in San Jose, with the right to return it if we were not satisfied with our mechanic’s report. The Prius failed to start after I filled it with gas on the drive home. We had it towed to Toyota service department who said the 1^st fault code P3125 was for inverter malfunction and the 2^nd fault code of P3130 was for inverter pump and assembly. They indicated that same faults had been found by other Toyota dealership on ⁶⁄₁₅ and ⁷⁄₁. We paid $ 225 to have car towed back to San Jose. Trung Tran, Kow Loon Auto, told me they had fixed the problem but, interestingly, they did not ask me if I would like to go through with the purchase if they fixed it — and I would have if repair could be confirmed. MAKE SURE YOU GET RIGHT TO HAVE CAR CHECKED BEFORE DEAL IS FINALIZED.

Worst salesman ever his name is Truong, and no manners at all.
do not waste your time going here.