What is the deal with Hyundai???

[Gimli]

If Hyundai doesn't create a luxury brand for the Equus - I'll give it one shot. If I don't like my service experience, I will move on. I am used to Lexus, BMW and Cadillac service - not Hyundai service.

I'm not sure what you mean by "Cadillac service" because every Cadillac dealers I've ever seen were just plain old GM dealers that sold Caddies and only had one service counter.

I've also known enough people who've owned Lexus, BMWs, Infinitis and MBs to know that the only difference between their service department and the "regular" brand's service departments was the ego stroking that went on there. The actual service was mostly sub-par but they didn't notice because of how good that little tube of KY made them feel while they were being taken advatage of.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

I'm not sure what you mean by "Cadillac service" because every Cadillac dealers I've ever seen were just plain old GM dealers that sold Caddies and only had one service counter.

I've also known enough people who've owned Lexus, BMWs, Infinitis and MBs to know that the only difference between their service department and the "regular" brand's service departments was the ego stroking that went on there. The actual service was mostly sub-par but they didn't notice because of how good that little tube of KY made them feel while they were being taken advatage of.

I've only purchased my Cadillacs from dealerships where the experience was exorbitant. So you and I have different experiences with Cadillac. This is to be expected.

I like the red carpet treatment I receive at luxury automobile dealerships. The service advisors bend over backwards to accommodate you and I appreciate that. There's a lot more than meets the eye with these types of dealerships. I'm sure there are a few non-luxury dealerships that do an exemplary job of satisfying the customer. I'll stick with what makes me happy. You stick with what makes you happy.

 

[dekaykim]

I guess one of the reason why Hyundai is not launching Premium brand now is because they want to gain the reputation that is similar to what Toyota had when it launched Lexus.

I think that People think that Lexus is premium brand because they know Toyota make very good and reliable cars. The reputation of Hyundai as for making reliable cars has not reached the level of current Toyota. Even if Hyundai launches its premium brand, people is not going perceive that brand having the similar value with Lexus.

For example, I think that Infinity is good car, but not as good as Lexus. That's because I know that Camry is better than Altima.

I guess Genesis Sedan and Coupe will soon bring the brand value of Hyundai to the next level that is somewhere close to Nissan.

 

[kaberle]

What the Genesis doesn't come with is better service - which to me is worth an extra $5000.00.. That and not having to deal with people in the service department who own Accents and Elantras. That may sound nasty, but that's reality. When I buy a luxury car, I want to service it around like-minded people. People like people like themselves. Birds of a feather flock together. That is the reality of life.



Yes, Toyota COULD build cars just like Lexus - but they don't (they keep them separated in a luxury brand) because some people have different expectations than others - and those people more often than not purchase from luxury brands. Lexus vehicles have many odds and ends that their Toyota (or Scion) counterparts do not. And that's what you're paying extra for. That and service.

If Hyundai doesn't create a luxury brand for the Equus - I'll give it one shot. If I don't like my service experience, I will move on. I am used to Lexus, BMW and Cadillac service - not Hyundai service.

I think you missed my point. Lexus is Toyota like it or not. Just like Cadilac is GM like it or not. It's kind of like finding out French Fries are potatos. I have to disagree with you on the service end just a bit. We also own a Honda and get treated very well by the service department. I have never owned a Hyundai before but so far the service department has treated me very very well.What does it mean to be treated well?... A smile, a loaner, Information about issues, showing they care and not putting you off.... is that what we are talking about.... or are you getting massages thrown in... coz if you are I may have to switch my thinking... lol... I am on a first name basis with the service manager. I have only been in for regular service once and one time for them to clean some environmental gunk off the windows, but I got a loaner car both times ( Yes a Genesis - that's another story) and I didn't feel I was being served by a guy who drives an Accent. Not that there is anything wrong with that. When they ordered my car which took three weeks to come in they even gave me an accent to drive free of charge for the three weeks. Nice little crap car....Do you really believe the mechanic that works on your car drives your car?....

Onto the other story. One time they gave me a V6 like mine. The other time I got the V8. I have to say. I didn't enjoy the V8 engine as much. Sure it has power but it seemed to need to pick up the revs before kicking in and seemed a bit less refined to me than the V6. Have you heard any such comments?

I like you like to be treated well. But to be honest, I feel I can be treated well or badly at either a "normal dealership or at a "luxury" dealership

 

[ImInPA]

All very interesting posts. I think that customer service is all about managing expectations. If someone buys a car that has a price higher than many mortgages, that person will have a certain set of expectations. Same goes for the low end. There are some common things between both ends of the price range. I think every buyer expects to be treated courteously, promptly, and be made to feel that the service manager understands and cares about their concerns. This is the basics. The high end service adds some meaningful and frilly bells and whistles that the low end may not provide. The actual outcome really depends on how carefully the dealership chooses the people they hire. Some are very careful in choosing courteous and competent personnel. These are the ones we hear good reviews about. Nothing will sour a customer on a brand faster than bad service. I think that right now, Hyundai could find a very sweet deal, buying one of the failing GM brands and converting the existing dealerships into Genesis/Equus dealerships....Hummer comes to mind as a perfect target. Imagine...the Equus H3. Hummer dealerships are pretty upscale...and I think GM would love a buyer. Could be a perfect match.

Of course I could be dead wrong.

 

[kaberle]

All very interesting posts. I think that customer service is all about managing expectations. If someone buys a car that has a price higher than many mortgages, that person will have a certain set of expectations. Same goes for the low end. There are some common things between both ends of the price range. I think every buyer expects to be treated courteously, promptly, and be made to feel that the service manager understands and cares about their concerns. This is the basics. The high end service adds some meaningful and frilly bells and whistles that the low end may not provide. The actual outcome really depends on how carefully the dealership chooses the people they hire. Some are very careful in choosing courteous and competent personnel. These are the ones we hear good reviews about. Nothing will sour a customer on a brand faster than bad service. I think that right now, Hyundia could find a very sweet deal, buying one of the failing GM brands and converting the existing dealerships into Genesis/Equus dealerships....Hummer comes to mind as a perfect target. Imagine...the Equus H3. Hummer dealerships are pretty upscale...and I think GM would love a buyer. Could be a perfect match.

Of course I could be dead wrong.

How you doing ImInPA.........LOL We could all be Dead Wrong.... lol..... I'm curious because maybe like I said before I am missing the boat ..... What frilly bells and whistles are we talking about...... A card on your birthday, a massage every 6000 miles, Caviar on Weekends..... If the basic expectations are the same then what are we talking about. Somebody please tell me.

 

[ImInPA]

That is my point. The basic expectations are the same. Some folks want the Mocha Frappe Half-Caf-Decaf Latte while they wait, and some don't care. Some folks travel first class, and some travel coach. It all boils down to what floats your boat. The problem is, not all dealers are proficient at applying the basics.

 

[kaberle]

So but what are these extra frills everyone keeps talking about?

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Actually, yes - massages ARE thrown in. When I owned my Lexus LS430, the dealership had massage chairs. I'm finishing up with this conversation. Have fun...

I think you missed my point. Lexus is Toyota like it or not. Just like Cadilac is GM like it or not. It's kind of like finding out French Fries are potatos. I have to disagree with you on the service end just a bit. We also own a Honda and get treated very well by the service department. I have never owned a Hyundai before but so far the service department has treated me very very well.What does it mean to be treated well?... A smile, a loaner, Information about issues, showing they care and not putting you off.... is that what we are talking about.... or are you getting massages thrown in... coz if you are I may have to switch my thinking... lol... I am on a first name basis with the service manager. I have only been in for regular service once and one time for them to clean some environmental gunk off the windows, but I got a loaner car both times ( Yes a Genesis - that's another story) and I didn't feel I was being served by a guy who drives an Accent. Not that there is anything wrong with that. When they ordered my car which took three weeks to come in they even gave me an accent to drive free of charge for the three weeks. Nice little crap car....Do you really believe the mechanic that works on your car drives your car?....

Onto the other story. One time they gave me a V6 like mine. The other time I got the V8. I have to say. I didn't enjoy the V8 engine as much. Sure it has power but it seemed to need to pick up the revs before kicking in and seemed a bit less refined to me than the V6. Have you heard any such comments?

I like you like to be treated well. But to be honest, I feel I can be treated well or badly at either a "normal dealership or at a "luxury" dealership

 

[kaberle]

Actually, yes - massages ARE thrown in. When I owned my Lexus LS430, the dealership had massage chairs. I'm finishing up with this conversation. Have fun...

Nice....... So I still don't have an answer as to what frills we are talking about. A list would be nice. Otherwise it's just hearsay..... or is it a secret?

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[Sal Collaziano]

Nice....... So I still don't have an answer as to what frills we are talking about. A list would be nice. Otherwise it's just hearsay..... or is it a secret?

I concede. You are all correct and I am wrong for not minding to pay an extra $5000.00 for a vehicle under a luxury brand. Sometimes it's just better to be wrong and be done with it.

 

[kaberle]

I concede. You are all correct and I am wrong for not minding to pay an extra $5000.00 for a vehicle under a luxury brand. Sometimes it's just better to be wrong and be done with it.

I know you're kidding........ and your're not wrong........ everyone has the right to do what they want and spend their money where they want...... its just I did some searches for testimonials at luxury car dealers and almost all of them say words like, " everyone went out of their way to make our service experience a pleasure" or words to that effect. I just don't see anything tangible I can hold on to and say see here is what I get for $5000.

There are a lot of intangibles no doubt. You get to walk into a building that has a Lexus sign hanging off of it. You get to sit and discuss with other Lexus owners in the waiting room about issues that people that can't own Lexus don't know about. There are probably other things like that.

But to say that you can only be treated well by someone who understands what it means to own a Luxury car is off base I think. There are plenty of nice poor people and plenty of %$#^&%$ Rich people and Vice Versa. The vice Versa is the most important part.

 

[ImInPA]

The reality is that, whether you "would mind" paying $5000 more or not for a luxury branded car, when you buy a luxury branded car, part of the MSRP IS covering the "luxury branded" dealership overhead. Wireless inernet connections from the waiting area, complimentary sodas, coffee, pastries, etc are not free. I myself would not like wish to pay $5000 more for the current Genesis just becuase it is being offered at a more costly location, at least not without some significant additions to the base product. Luxury branded spinoffs like Lexus and Infinity have established that to truly be a serious contender in the lux market, you need a spearate dealership. That is the rules as of today. Maybe Hyundai will change all that with the Genesis. Time will tell.

 

[warp08]

In my humble opinion, we, as a country are about to receive a wake-up call in terms of our spending, level of debt and our priorities in life. Our obsession with brands and designer names will have to be constantly reevaluated when considering non-brand substitutions. I realize this is a discussion that's well beyond the scope of selecting a car, however, for most people including me, buying a car is the #2 most expensive purchase item.

Obviously, if you are country club-material with millions of dollars of net worth or more, you will not going to be wanting to be seen in a Hyundai. $5,000 or even $50,000 extra is not an issue, since image and expectations are mandatory in those circles.

For the rest of us, I'll be happy to spend $5,000 less on a similar quality, non-branded product. In case of the Genesis, I got a great deal for a car built from a bunch of identical OEM components other luxury manufacturers use in their models, but sell at a much higher profit margin due to the cachet of branding. An example of this is the Harman/Becker high-end Lexicon audio system which sells as part of the $4,000 "Tech Package" along with a number of other enhancements. A similar system by the same manufacturer branded "Bang&Olufsen" is a $6,000+ option on Audis.

I rarely drink lattes and intend to spend as little as possible in service department's waiting rooms. I'll be happy to pay $2 if I need a drink that's not provided as a courtesy. I don't even have to count that against the initial $5,000 savings. The difference in price for "lowly" Hyundai maintenance costs vs. brand-name maintenance costs will more than pay for drinks I care to imagine.

BTW, I got my second email survey from HMA on my Genesis experience in 3 months. I don't seem to remember getting a single one after my initial survey after purchase for my 2003 BMW 745i.

 

[ttsig]

...Wireless inernet connections from the waiting area, complimentary sodas, coffee, pastries, etc are not free....

They might not be free, but if you sell enough Hyundai's you can apparently afford those types of "perks" anyway. My Hyundai dealer offers all of those except maybe pastries (I've never noticed).

What I'm amazed at is how many people put so much stock in the service experience. You would swear they must live their life I the dealer. If have to put my car in more than once, or maybe twice, in 100,000 miles for anything other than an oil change I consider the car a fail. Do others make a lot more trips to the dealer?

 

[kaberle]

They might not be free, but if you sell enough Hyundai's you can apparently afford those types of "perks" anyway. My Hyundai dealer offers all of those except maybe pastries (I've never noticed).

What I'm amazed at is how many people put so much stock in the service experience. You would swear they must live their life I the dealer. If have to put my car in more than once, or maybe twice, in 100,000 miles for anything other than an oil change I consider the car a fail. Do others make a lot more trips to the dealer?

100% agree with you......... The choice of car you buy should be 99.5% predicated on the car and not the service experience unless you plan to spend a lot of time in service....... Then again looking at Mercedes Benz reliability numbers on Consumer Reports it appears that MB owners do spend a lot of time in service...... thus the need for designer pastries

 

[Sal Collaziano]

I will try to stay out of this from this point on. In any event, mark my words.. If Hyundai creates a luxury division (and they will), the materials will be better (nicer leather, for example), the sound systems will be more impressive, the sound deadening materials will make for quieter vehicles, and so on and so on.. What you're seeing now is not the way it's going to be in the future. Currently, there is only one brand - Hyundai. So the cars with the nicer leather and better sound systems and quiet interiors are all available to at the same place. However, when a luxury division is created - do not expect to obtain these "finer" things from the "Hyundai" brand. From Hyundai, you will get "nice" leather - but not the best. You'll get a very "nice" sound system - but not the best. Your vehicle will be "pretty darn quiet" - but not vault-like the way the Genesis or Lexus LS is..

If you want these things, you will have to pay extra for them.. If they're not very important to you, than any Hyundai vehicle will suit you just fine...

 

[kaberle]

I will try to stay out of this from this point on. In any event, mark my words.. If Hyundai creates a luxury division (and they will), the materials will be better (nicer leather, for example), the sound systems will be more impressive, the sound deadening materials will make for quieter vehicles, and so on and so on.. What you're seeing now is not the way it's going to be in the future. Currently, there is only one brand - Hyundai. So the cars with the nicer leather and better sound systems and quiet interiors are all available to at the same place. However, when a luxury division is created - do not expect to obtain these "finer" things from the "Hyundai" brand. From Hyundai, you will get "nice" leather - but not the best. You'll get a very "nice" sound system - but not the best. Your vehicle will be "pretty darn quiet" - but not vault-like the way the Genesis or Lexus LS is..

If you want these things, you will have to pay extra for them.. If they're not very important to you, than any Hyundai vehicle will suit you just fine...

Hyundai may very well create a luxury brand, but if that happens don't expect the prices to stay where they are. That is what we are talking about here. We are already getting those things with the current Genesis sold by Hyundai at a lower price. If Genesis is sold under a luxury brand it will cost 10% more for the same car or they will upgrade the car even more than it is now and and charge 20% more. A lot of us are saying we like the car as is and don't feel a need to pay more under a luxury brand. Mark my words....If Hyundai sees a profit in it they will indeed come up with a luxury brand... lets not forget, Genesis does not have to be the BEST luxury car out there ( and it's not) in order for Hyundai to introduce a luxury brand.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Hyundai may very well create a luxury brand, but if that happens don't expect the prices to stay where they are. That is what we are talking about here. We are already getting those things with the current Genesis sold by Hyundai at a lower price. If Genesis is sold under a luxury brand it will cost 10% more for the same car or they will upgrade the car even more than it is now and and charge 20% more. A lot of us are saying we like the car as is and don't feel a need to pay more under a luxury brand. Mark my words....If Hyundai sees a profit in it they will indeed come up with a luxury brand... lets not forget, Genesis does not have to be the BEST luxury car out there ( and it's not) in order for Hyundai to introduce a luxury brand.

I agree entirely. And when Hyundai creates this luxury brand - it will have a newly designed Genesis with various improvements which make sense for the higher price.

http://www.genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?t=2490

 

[ImInPA]

I agree entirely. And when Hyundai creates this luxury brand - it will have a newly designed Genesis with various improvements which make sense for the higher price.

http://www.genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?t=2490

Amen. Since they have already shown what they can do at the current price point, there will need to be some additional improvements to justify a higher price point. It is not about whether or not someone can afford sodas, wireless internet, lattes, or whatever. It is that the dealerships incorporate these types of services into their overhead at luxury branded outlets. It used to be you could buy a suit anywhere and take it to an alterations shop. The higher end stores generally include the alterations in the sales price. Cost more? yep. Worth it? To some, yes.