Has anyone tried installing the lower body chrome moulding on 3.8?

[Akin67]

I juts purchased a 3.8 with Premium and Navigation package. The one thing I wish the car had is the chrome lower door trim that comes standard on the V8. Has anyone tried replacing the plastic mouldings on the lower body (exterior doors) of a 3.8 Genesis with the chrome ones that come standard on the v8?

Did you do it your self or have the dealer do it? What did the trim cost and how much did they charge for the install?

 

[itsjustmatt23]

I juts purchased a 3.8 with Premium and Navigation package. The one thing I wish the car had is the chrome lower door trim that comes standard on the V8. Has anyone tried replacing the plastic mouldings on the lower body (exterior doors) of a 3.8 Genesis with the chrome ones that come standard on the v8?

Did you do it your self or have the dealer do it? What did the trim cost and how much did they charge for the install?

I would do it yourself, it's really easy. Just grab the edge of the trim with a flat blade screw driver ( make sure you put tape on the tip of the flat blade to prevent damage to the paint) and wedge it behind the trim and pull towards you. Once you have one side off the rest is easy. The molding is held on my plastic clips. Installation time took me 15 minutes the most.

I bought my trim from these guys, at the time they were the cheapest.

http://www.koreanautoimports.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=31_237_238&products_id=916

 

[Akin67]

Thanks itsjustmatt23. I am going to order from them as well. Even after doing a search on google I have not been able to locate other sources. I am assuming these are OEM parts.

To remove the existing mouldings did you pull on a specific corner of the mouldings? Any recommendations are appreciated.

 

[mcallij1]

I also did mines . Just use a small screwdriver and start at the front of the molding . Pry it up and then you can pull and pry the rest of the way. Be careful not to damage the paint. Should not take more than 15 mins.

 

[itsjustmatt23]

Thanks itsjustmatt23. I am going to order from them as well. Even after doing a search on google I have not been able to locate other sources. I am assuming these are OEM parts.

To remove the existing mouldings did you pull on a specific corner of the mouldings? Any recommendations are appreciated.

Yes, they are OEM. I started at the edge of the door opening for the front and I started at the front of the door closest to the driver door. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Akin67]

Thanks for the helpful hints folks. Yesterday I placed my order from Korean Auto Imports at $159 + $12 S&H. I had called a Hyundai dealer and they sell each piece individually. For the four pieces it would have worked out to over $336.

 

[DJaxx]

Thanks for the helpful hints folks. Yesterday I placed my order from Korean Auto Imports at $159 + $12 S&H. I had called a Hyundai dealer and they sell each piece individually. For the four pieces it would have worked out to over $336.

Hopefully your experience with KAI is better than mine and some others on this board. I placed an order from them in October.....great pre sales response and service....emails answered promptly.

Once the order is placed, good luck getting any post sales support. eMails not returned, so called them several times but never get a human.....always an answering machine. Left my number as the message states but never a callback. Finally had to get paypal involved and then KAI responded....but outside of the paypal process. Went against my better judgement when the BBB rated them as D minus.

 

[Akin67]

Djaxx, how long ago did you deal with them? I am already getting concerned. I left voicemails and sent emails in the last couple of days and no response so far. I call and get machine. If I don't hear back by end of the week I will cancel my order.

 

[Akin67]

.

 

[scottdk]

Not to drop a bomb, but I also had a terrible experience with KAI. I ordered a set of over priced exhaust tips, and never received them. After 2 months of BS, I finally got a hold of someone there, and they refunded my order. I'll never consider purchasing anything with KIA again. They blew it, but blew it BIG TIME.

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[DJaxx]

Not to drop a bomb, but I also had a terrible experience with KAI. I ordered a set of over priced exhaust tips, and never received them. After 2 months of BS, I finally got a hold of someone there, and they refunded my order. I'll never consider purchasing anything with KIA again. They blew it, but blew it BIG TIME.

+100......as you see from my post above.

Akin67 - I purchased in late October and when they missed the ESD as quoted on the order confirmation that is when the circus began.
I am with scottdk - there is no way I will ever consider a purchase from KAI again......the first experience was apalling. Fool me once shame on you....fool me twice shame on me.

 

[Akin67]

So far they have been totally non-responsive. Unless hear back I will cancel my order tomorrow.

I have searched the web but cannot locate and cannot locate another online vendor selling these moldings. Any other vendors I should look into? I found one on ebay but it seems like they are located in Korea and lead times are 20+ days.

 

[genesis@genesisworld.com]

I have had 100% good luck with KAI / Sherwood. I've spent >$600 over 18 months with them and even got a call from Mr. Sherwood along the way when one order got messed up. he had it corrected in 48 hours.

A little brag here..... The pic on KAI's chrome moulding product page is my car

 

[dg_moore]

I have had 100% good luck with KAI / Sherwood. I've spent >$600 over 18 months with them and even got a call from Mr. Sherwood along the way when one order got messed up. he had it corrected in 48 hours.

A little brag here..... The pic on KAI's chrome moulding product page is my car

+1 - contrary to the complaints about KAI on this forum, I have bought lots of stuff from them, and only one problem. I ordered the wood steering wheel, which is a special order from Korea, and Korea sent them the wrong model. One phone call straightened it out and I had the correct wheel a week later.

 

[DJaxx]

+1 - contrary to the complaints about KAI on this forum, I have bought lots of stuff from them, and only one problem. I ordered the wood steering wheel, which is a special order from Korea, and Korea sent them the wrong model. One phone call straightened it out and I had the correct wheel a week later.

dg_moore.....just curious, have you purchased recently? The common theme over the past three months is complete lack of responsiveness once the order has been placed.

They provide a phone number but no one ever answers and when leaving your contact information they never return your calls (I left serveral messages over a one week period without a callback). My experience seems to have been shared by several on this board over the past 3 months.
In my case even PayPal had difficulties communicating with them to remedy the dispute.

Perhaps they have cut back expense and resources but in the end, customer service is paramount and their track record over the past 3 months appears to be spotty at best.......which is supported by their D- rating from the BBB.

Akin67.....I am curious on the status of your concern. We they able to resolve? Thanks again.

 

[dg_moore]

DJaxx - my last purchase was probably 6 months ago or so. Maybe something has changed in the interim, like downsizing staff. I guess they have to strike a balance between how many people they can afford top keep on staff and the level of service they can provide with a given number of people.

 

[Akin67]

They just replied back to my email indicating that it is currently out of stock, but they are getting more inventory on 12/10. I can wait a few more days to see if in fact they are able to ship.

 

[scottdk]

They just replied back to my email indicating that it is currently out of stock, but they are getting more inventory on 12/10. I can wait a few more days to see if in fact they are able to ship.

I heard this excuse many times from KAI regarding my exhaust tips, and after they got sick of using this excuse for a month, they starting telling me they were having problems with customs, which lasted another month.

 

[dg_moore]

I heard this excuse many times from KAI regarding my exhaust tips, and after they got sick of using this excuse for a month, they starting telling me they were having problems with customs, which lasted another month.

When I had a problem with an order (supplier's fault, not KAI's) the KAI rep told me in advance it would take a couple of weeks (at least) to get the replacement item from Korea. It seems their shipments come in to the west coast by container shipment, and each container has to be cleared through customs before the contents can be released.

 

[scottdk]

When I had a problem with an order (supplier's fault, not KAI's) the KAI rep told me in advance it would take a couple of weeks (at least) to get the replacement item from Korea. It seems their shipments come in to the west coast by container shipment, and each container has to be cleared through customs before the contents can be released.

Yes it does seem this way, but the problem I had was all the BS thrown at me. Basically, the rep didn't have a clue to what was going on, so they hung me out with false information for 2 months, until finally they probably found out that they couldn't get the exhaust tips anymore. They stated that they were discontinued, and have always have had them on their web site for sale still. I've made it a point to check on their site if they would ever delete the type 2 exhaust tips from their site since they don't carry them.