The second instalment of a three-part series about my customer service experiences with car dealerships.
(Part 1: “The Unforgiving Lubrico Warranty”)
And then there was the Hyundai.
I bought my 2005 Hyundai Accent from Fredericton Hyundai. It was two years old, had about 50,000 kilometres, and was advertised for $7,995.
Since it was just before Christmas, I was invited to pick an envelope from a Christmas tree for an additional discount.
My prize?
$100 off.
That brought the purchase price down to $7,895.
To qualify for a better financing rate, however, I had to spend more than $800 on additional products.
The dealership added rain guards to the deal and sold me an extended warranty, which I understood to be comprehensive coverage in case something went wrong.
Christmas Delivery
The car was delivered to my home on Christmas morning.
Yes, Christmas morning.
It arrived with a giant blue Hyundai bow on the hood, and they even included a complimentary promotional tool kit that was probably worth at least four dollars.
It made quite an impression.
Unfortunately, that impression didn’t last.
The Electrical Problems
Before long, I was experiencing a series of electrical issues.
For example, when I turned on the dome light, the only light that illuminated was the “Trunk Open” warning light on the dashboard.
There were several intermittent electrical problems.
Each time I returned to the dealership, I was told they couldn’t determine whether the repairs would be covered under warranty until they identified the cause.
They explained that if, for example, a mouse had chewed through a wire, the repairs wouldn’t be covered.
That didn’t inspire confidence.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I might authorize diagnostic work only to be presented with a large repair bill after being told the problem wasn’t covered.
Eventually I stopped taking the car back altogether.
Instead, I lived with the electrical problems.
At that point, the extended warranty I’d paid hundreds of dollars for had become, in my opinion, a complete waste of money.
A Month Later…
The timing made things even more frustrating.
About a month after I bought the car for roughly $9,200 including the warranty, Hyundai Canada dramatically reduced the price of a brand-new Accent to about $9,995.
That meant I had paid almost the same amount for:
- a two-year-old car,
- with 50,000 kilometres,
- electrical problems,
- a higher interest rate,
- and no real confidence in the warranty.
Had I simply waited another month, I could have purchased a brand-new vehicle with a full factory warranty for less than $1,000 more.
The Battery Incident
The electrical issues eventually led me back to Fredericton Hyundai one final time.
The battery kept dying.
I could boost the car, drive it, park it, and shortly afterward the battery would once again be completely discharged.
I asked the dealership to determine why the battery was being drained.
A few hours later they called.
Their diagnosis?
“You need a new battery.”
They quoted approximately $250 to replace it.
Knowing I could buy a battery at Canadian Tire for under $100 and install it myself, I declined.
Then they informed me that I owed them $75 for the diagnosis.
I asked what, exactly, they had diagnosed.
They replied that the battery wasn’t holding a charge.
I pointed out that I had already told them that.
The whole reason I’d brought the vehicle in was to determine what was draining the battery.
As far as I was concerned, they had simply repeated the symptom I’d described.
I jokingly suggested that if that counted as a diagnosis, perhaps they owed me $75, since I’d given it to them.
After some discussion, we compromised by splitting the fee in half.
I paid simply so I could retrieve my keys and leave.
I never returned.
Final Thoughts
Fredericton Hyundai has received recognition for customer service.
My own experience was very different.
The complimentary cookies in the waiting room weren’t enough to distract me from what I viewed as repeated attempts to sell products and services that didn’t provide the value I expected.
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