Most automakers have announced lockdown plans to assist car owners by extending warranties but, Kia Motors South Africa is going a step further to help those owners with vehicles outside of the warranty period.

It has launched a vehicle servicing special, allowing customers to save now and service later. Designed to be efficient in process and light on the pocket, pricing starts from as little as R999 through participating Kia Motors dealerships nationwide.

The campaign follows Kia’s announcement no customers with active manufacturer warranties or prepaid service plans will be compromised due to the national lockdown.

“While restrictions on movement and business operations remain in place for the foreseeable future, we understand that vehicles will still need to be serviced once South Africans are able to resume with their daily lives,” says Suraiya Naidoo, Aftersales Director at Kia Motors South Africa. “Through this campaign, customers can easily book that service online, and even pay for it now for redemption at the appropriate time.”

Aimed directly at customers whose vehicles are out of warranty, or who do not have a prepaid service plan in place, the campaign is designed to bring relief to cash strapped consumers by offering services from as little as R999, attained through the application of preferential pricing on service parts and consumables and a reduced, fixed labour rate.

“Many consumers wrongly believe that it is more affordable to service their vehicles outside of a franchised dealership once the service plan and warranty expires,” explains Naidoo. “This is not always the case, and we wanted to emphasise that through this campaign. We understand that there is financial pressure all around, now more than ever, and this campaign is but one way in which Kia is here to help.”

The campaign also offers customers a hassle-free online booking option through www.kiaservice.co.za.

With easy to populate drop-down sections, customers have the option to either only book, or to book and prepay, a service under the special campaign pricing. Customers would need to have the vehicle’s VIN number at hand, and would need to know the applicable service interval.

In both instances, once all information has been supplied, a quotation will be generated. If customers choose only to book the service and not prepay, the booking request will be sent to the preferred dealership, who will then contact the customer to confirm the booking. Customers will receive a confirmation via e-mail.

Online payments through www.kiaservice.co.za are secured by MyGate, making it safe and convenient to prepay the service. Upon completion of payment, the customer will receive a voucher – showing the value of the service as well as the vehicle’s VIN number – via e-mail. The voucher’s unique code is linked to the vehicle’s VIN number to eliminate the possibility of fraudulent duplications.

The booking request will also be sent to the preferred dealership, who will contact the customer to confirm the booking. Upon arrival, the customer simply needs to present the voucher to the Service Advisor.

In addition, should any additional repair work, identified during the routine servicing, need to be carried out, customers who authorise the additional work will benefit from an immediate 10% discount on labour and parts.

While Kia’s affordable servicing options and hassle-free booking experience assist customers to both save now and save later, customers will also benefit in the long run from continuing to maintain their vehicles through a franchised Kia dealership.

All services done through Kia Motors’ franchised dealership network makes use of Kia Genuine Parts, with expertly trained Kia technicians working on the vehicle. More than that, a service history from a franchised dealership assists greatly in preserving the value of the car when a customer chooses to sell or trade in.