Explore An Abandoned Kia Dealership Frozen In Time

This German dealer closed abruptly in the 2000s, leaving multiple cars stranded and lost to the ravages of time

19 Mar 2024

There’s always something eerily fascinating about a place that’s been abandoned, seemingly at short notice. It’s why the urban exploration genre of video remains so popular, so we can’t help but be interested when it crosses over with the world of cars.

We’ve got a prime example here thanks to YouTube channel Forgotten Buildings, which previously took a tour around an abandoned Saab dealer. which has found a Kia dealership in Germany that was abandoned seemingly without any notice and has quickly succumbed to time and vandalism.

The story goes that the dealership was established by two brothers, originally as a Lada dealer before they switched to Kia in the early 2000s. According to the video, the pair fell out around 15 years ago, causing the sales side of the business to shut down abruptly.

The workshop then closed down in 2019, seemingly at even shorter notice, given that it still contains several cars, a couple of which are up on lifts as if they’re in the middle of having work done.

There are also a couple of cars still on the showroom floor – a Volkswagen Passat estate and a Kia Carnival MPV, still bearing promotional stickers on the bodywork.

Unsurprisingly, the place has become a magnet for vandals and thieves, with all the cars left abandoned on the site since ransacked for parts and materials. We can only feel for the customers who were having work done on their cars, which have since sat and become ever more dilapidated.

The different stages at which parts of the business closed down lends an even weirder vibe – the showroom is full of brochures for mid-2000s Kia models, but the office still contains a calendar open on the year 2019, a remnant of the workshop’s longer survival. Even the parts store is still fully stocked, showing just how suddenly work came to a halt.

Overall, it’s a grimly fascinating viewing experience. It’s not as if any of the cars in here are particularly special, but it doesn’t make it any less sad or eerie to see them rotting away like this. It’s not the first abandoned dealership we’ve seen in Germany either – last year, we saw absolutely crammed with retro Fords, although they were all in far better condition.

The first full sentence spoken by an infant Mike was a review of the ride quality of a Volvo 850. It was “Daddy’s car goes bumpy-bump on a bumpy road,” so would probably need proofreading a bit, but it was a start.