North County Hyundai

Review: My wife and I traded in a 2013 Elantra Gt for a 2007 Audi A4. During the test drive, the salesman assured us that all vehicles sold at the dealership are thoroughly inspected and that he himself had several years of experience with Audis and that this particular Audi was in excellent condition. The very first time we started the car after getting it home from the dealership, the "check engine" light came on. My wife called the dealership and they had her bring it in twice because the first thing they tried didnt fix it. They assured us that this type of thing happens all the time and told us not to worry. Within three weeks of owning the car we noticed severe issues with the transmission. After calling Audi repair shops as well as an Audi dealership we were told that we likely had a bad transmission which would cost several thousand dollars to repair. We contacted North County Hyundai about this issue and they told us initially that they would work with us to resolve the issue. I went in to the dealership and spoke to an assistant manager named [redacted] or [redacted] who told me that he could get us out of that car and into a new Hyundai at very little cost. The very same manager had been present during negotiating the deal with my wife and told me that he warned her several times not to buy that car because it was junk. He went on to tell me that he always tries to take care of military guys and didn't want to see us buy such a car. He took my cell phone number down and promised to call within a few hours. He never called. My wife went in to the dealership a day later and was told that they weren't going to do anything to help us and even though we hadn't even made our first payment on the car we were basically stuck.Desired Settlement: $3,500 for Tax, Title, License fees from the Audi as well as the vehicle we subsequently had to purchase.

Business

Response:

While we sympathize with the customer that their car had 2 separate mechanical malfunctions, neither of these problems were evident at the time we inspected the car. When the customer complained about a check engine light coming on roughly a day or 2 after the purchase we did offer to send the car to the local Audi dealer and paid the bill as a one-time goodwill to the customer. The Audi dealer did find a “N80 valve to stick” and it was replaced or repaired by Audi at our expense. The Audi dealer did not note any additional issues with the transmission at that time nor did our inspection prior to sale of the Audi A4 convertible. The car was sold AS-IS and we encouraged the customer to purchase an extended service policy (i.e. a warranty) on the vehicle citing it was a 6 year old 80,000 mile German car that can be temperamental and explained it was a much riskier proposition than the newer Hyundai that they were trading in. The customer stated they knew all that and they didn’t care, plus they were going to get a warranty through their own finance company USAA and they felt that we were WAY TOO expensive for our service policy. We explained that the reason that the policy was so expensive is the A4 had a less reliable record of repair and expense as compared to other cars typically sold. The customer again assured us that they understood the more volatile nature of purchasing a luxury car with 80,000 miles and repeatedly stated that they were going to get a policy through USAA; we explained both verbally and in several documents that the car had no warranty from us. Subsequently, there was a complaint made by the customer that the transmission was acting unusual, I asked why didn’t she just use her USAA warranty? She said that it was MORE expensive through USAA than the one that we had offered, so she refused to purchase one. Since, this reinforced what we had repeatedly conveyed to the customer and the fact that USAA’s service contract was even more money than ours I felt that they had ample notice of the inherent risk of buying a 6 year-old luxury convertible with 80,000 miles and did not feel compelled to offer any additional goodwill on the matter. This is a case of being an unfortunate circumstance with very nice customers, but we did our due diligence on both our inspection and sending the car to an Audi dealership neither of which found any detectable issues with the transmission of the vehicle prior to its date of failure. The customer declined all suggestions about additional coverage on the car and even mislead us to believe that they were going to have their preferred finance/insurance company provide coverage for the issues that eventually occurred 4-6 weeks later. I did however offer to attempt to provide a different vehicle as a replacement, but the customer told me that she didn’t want to discuss any options other than fixing the transmission for free whatever the expense. I explained that the car did not have a warranty and that this was clearly disclosed and discussed ad nauseam. She said that “she didn’t want the car” even after it was fixed and that it no longer suited her growing family needs so she wanted us to take it back and return her money, I refused. This was the last contact that I had regarding this matter. [redacted] General Sales Manager

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

When my wife and I purchased the car we were offered a protection plan at roughly an additional 30%/month. It was too expensive and we told North County Hyundai that we would continue to shop for such a plan. At no time, before purchasing the car, did anybody at the dealership express any concern as to the reliability of the car. The salesman told me numerous times of his experience with Audis as well as how in-depth the inspection is prior to the car being sold. My entire experience at North County Hyundai was an effort to make me feel secure in the decision we were making and apparently we were told whatever was necessary to do that. After we began having issues with the transmission and inquring with North County Hyundai as to how we could remedy the situation is the first time I heard anything questioning the integrity of the Audi. One of the sales managers made it seem as if he pleaded with us not to buy the car. That it simply not true. While we did purchase the car AS-IS there is a reasonable certainty that when purchasing a car off of a so-called "reputable" dealer that your transmission is not going to break before you make your first payment. These folks are simply sharks that knew my wife liked the car and were willing to tell us anything to get us to buy it. Things like "thorough inspection" and "I've got 10 years experience with Audi, they're great cars" tend to make people who are ignorant to the car business feel comfortable while making a major purchase. These guys were never concerned for us. They were, and are always, concerned with their bottom line. If that means screwing a military family out of thousands of dollars so be it. As far as North County Hyundai offering to help us out, they never followed through. My wife and I both went in and talked to the managers and were both told that we would recieve a call after they talked to their manager. These calls never came and it seemed as though they just wanted us out of their showroom. I realize I have no legal recourse in this situation. I wish I had recorded my converstaions with the staff at North County Hyundai so that I could expose their business practices for what they are. Unless the Revdex.com can somehow remedy this, I will continue to inform everybody I can about my experience with North County Hyundai. Hopefully other families won't suffer the same fate as ours at the hands of this business.

Regards,

Review: Complaint #1:

I am woman buying a car on my own and was completely discrimitated against at this dealer in particular, even after purchasing the vehicle from them. I was not taken seriously at all, I was asked my age within the first 10 minutes of my arrival. They were profiling me from the beginning and discriminating against myself because of both my age and gender.

Complaint #2:

The salesman presented information to me both verbally and through email corresepondence on a 2013 Accent. I came to the dealership on 2 separate occassions to discuss the 2013 vehicle. I came back a 3rd time, where we negotiated on a price based on a 2013 Hyundai Accent. After the deal was done and signed, the title said 2012. They would not take responsibility for this matter to make things right for their "mistake". They violated the Fair Trading Act and presented fasle information on a wrong year of a car on top of being incredibly rude in the process. The floor sales manager in particular was condescending and actually laughed at their mistake while not offering to do anything about it. Not only is there a reduction in price because the car they actually sold me was a year older, but it also has lower liability ratings through Consumer Report. The sales manager presented me with an ultimatum because he would not lower the price or offer anything in return for their mistake, that I could either keep the car (with no apology or price adjustment) or give it back within 24 hrs. I went back the following day (May 17), and not only did I not receive an apology upon walking onto the premise but I was "directed to finance" so they could unwind the deal.Desired Settlement: I would like an official apology by each person I dealt with along with a credit to a different Hyundai dealership.

Consumer

Response:

The reason for the complaint is due to violation of the Fair Trading Act as the sales person as he mislead me with false information regarding the specific details of the vehicle.

Business

Response:

I’m not sure what is being disputed? The customer stated that she was verbally told by the salesperson that the car was a 2013 even though all correspondence and pricing sheets are electronically generated clearly stated 2012. All 11 forms signed by the customer when she bought it said, “2012”. She came back after she bought and paid for the car and said there was a mistake. We took her word for it and took the car back and returned her money with no hassles whatsoever.

I do apologize for any time she feels she spent here in error and we are willing to offer her a very aggressive price on a 2014, she chose not to keep the 2012.

General Sales Manager

###-###-####

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[This is a company that lies, [redacted] is being presented with incorrect information by his sales manager and sales person as I was NEVER offered "an aggressive price on a 2014". I have email correspondence with the sales person documenting ([redacted] that he was presenting me with a 2013 vehicle.) Also, all of the printed out sales sheets during the negotiation process stated 2013. It was not until I signed all of the paperwork that it stated 2012.]

Regards,

Business

Response:

Here is the latest correspondence from the customer. She bought a car somewhere else that couldn’t possibly be certified and only recently responded to my email and phone calls. She never took delivery of a car here and we apologized immediately for incorrectly stating the year of the car, all the computerized quotes and paperwork correctly stated the year of the car the entire time. I will reach out to her again.

What are you looking for? There is no sale and nothing to resolve, she bought a car somewhere else and couldn’t agree to a deal here. After investigating further I found out she never took delivery of any car from this dealership. She seems perfectly nice and I would love to help her, but have never had an opportunity to meet or hold a conversation.

Please respond to me and tell me what is “unresolved”? Both [redacted] and [redacted] stated that they immediately apologized for any mistake, as did I in the email.

Hi [redacted],

I apologize for the delayed response. You may have the wrong number for me as I never received a call. You are correct in saying "it was never communicated thoroughly", when in actuality it was never communicated at all regarding a quote on a 2014. It's quite unfortunate how this happened and how I was treated by your staff. [redacted] was very friendly, and I don't want to bash him personally, however when he first showed me the vehicle he asked how old I was. I think age is completely irrelevant as I was coming in to purchase a vehicle. [redacted] was flat out rude to me and laughed at your mistake for misquoting me. The whole situation was so unfortunate and quite awful to put lightly. I actually went across the street to Bob Baker, found a 2012 for less miles and less than what you were trying to offer me, and the experience was wonderful. So not only did you lose a customer, but you lost a lot of credibility. I've also filed a complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs, DMV, Hyundai USA Corporate, as well as submitted articles to local news stations about this experience. This all could have been avoided if both [redacted] and [redacted] sincerely apologized for their mistake and rectified the situation, which neither happened. I wish you and your dealership all the luck.

Best,