Genesis Laguna Niguel, CA

[OMG70]

My Initial thoughts 2 days after purchasing
Post purchase price details here (US $ only)
Small edit to this as I can no longer edit it, Alex did apologize for being short with us the night before. I believe he was sincere in this.

Based on the above, I would

Since then:
So I've had a bit of flip-flopping on my thoughts towards this dealer. After I got home, I noticed some scratches on my vehicle and took it back to the dealer to get fixed a couple days after purchasing. The salesman I worked with, Mike, told me he could have the detailer fix it. Got my car back and it wasn't fixed. Figured it would be corrected when I took it to go get the Eckbond interior/exterior coating done.

When I arrived to drop off the car, I was pleased that they opened a few minutes early (I showed up like 30 min before official opening time) and they were relatively quick in their process for my car. They told me they would need to talk to sales in regards to fixing the scratches that I pointed out, but told me they would be able to fix before I left the dealer. I had also pointed out that the cover for the sensors attached to the windshield had fallen off twice already and it looked like the clips were worn out somehow. They told me that they would need to order the part and it would arrive the next day, so I should keep my loaner overnight and return tomorrow for my car so they can complete everything together. They set me up in a 2015 3.8 Hyundai Genesis Sedan. It smelled a bit and the front left tire was around 10-12 PSI lower than the other 3 wheels (dangerous?). While it wasn't horrible because it had many similar features to my G70, I was pretty constantly aware that the vehicle wasn't at the level of my G70 since it was more of a cruiser boat than a sports oriented vehicle. NBD, I would get my car back the next day anyways and the ride was pretty smooth.

Go back the next day to pick up my car and disappointment hit me like a freight train. First off, the part that had to be ordered was on backorder, so they said it would probably be a week or two before it arrives. NBD, at least I know how to pop it back in place. I'm very detail oriented with my vehicles so I signed for the car and did a walk around. The scratches weren't fixed and mentioned it to the service advisor. He said that the detailers said that they could not fixed them without risking burning the paint and said if I had to speak to the sales department if I wanted to inquire further because they had the power to approve more work. I was on lunch break, so I resolved to contact the GSM (Bessai) about it once I was off work. Got in my car and...OMG IT freaking REEKS OF ARMORALL!!!!!! Even more so, everything was oily feeling. Even the screen had been hit by whatever they sprayed all over my car. You could even see the residue in the cupholder. Later I found overspray on the front end, a corner of my windshield, and even the engine bay was entirely coated.

Needless to say, I was pissed. I took pictures of everything and wiped down the entire interior with my own microfiber towels to remove all the residue. I got no reply to the voicemail I left for the GSM, so the next day I wrote a descriptive and strongly worded (not explicative) email to the GM and GSM speaking about everything that had occurred after my purchase, how upset I was at this experience, and how I did not believe it was representative of the vision that Genesis had set/sold. I got a very prompt response from both saying that they apologize and there is no excuse for a subpar Genesis experience. I was asked to organize with the GSM to address the issues I have and the GM stated that the GSM has his authorization to spend up to $1000 to make things right. My initial thought was "that's nice, but talk is talk. Let's see what happens" and organized to meet the GSM the next day, expecting to hear some excuse or get some pushback on the issues I had.

I went in Thursday May 9th to speak to Bessai and I must say I was wrong in my expectations of an argument. We started our conversation by discussing what was wrong and the events that transpired, I showed him the scratches, and described my issues with the interior (he agreed it didn't smell like "new car"). He told me that the issue I was having was in the fact that the detailing is handled by a contracted 3rd party company. He told me that he would fire them if he could, but he doesn't have that power. He even said he wouldn't trust them with his vehicles despite having access to free service from em. He said what he would like to do is give me a $500 gift card to a detailer that he uses and trust (which happened to be near my workplace) to cover a full service by them (and likely more). Bessai noted that the smell should subside over time as the leather protectant is absorbed into the material, but only time will tell the validity of that claim. He also said he could have my car washed up before sending me on my way , but I let him know that I've lost all faith in allowing anyone at Laguna Niguel to wash/detail my car. I asked him to allow me to go shop around a few detail places to make sure I find one I trust and get back to him so we can work out something that is mutually beneficial. Among other conversation, he noted that I should bring my car in for oil changes every 5k miles and that it would be covered under the 3 year service warranty even though it means 1 more service than recommended by corporate (over the 3 years). He also told me that the dealership was looking to move some newer Genesis vehicles into the loaner fleet as the whole corporate fiasco left the dealer short on inventory in the last few months. So much so that people apparently bought the loaner vehicles they had.

A few hours later, I got a call saying my backordered part had arrived. Bummer that it wasn't there when I was.

My conversations with Bessai (and the prompt response from the GM, Cyrus) have given me some faith that Laguna Niguel is trying to provide a Genesis experience that is true to what is advertised. I don't want to pass full judgement until everything is resolved completely, so I will update this when I have everything taken care of.

 

[specialk]

Wow what a great review and wish you the best getting this resolved.

 

[ninac]

Thanks for the update. Would you say overall that you recommend the dealership? It's pretty close to where I live and they have the models that I've been eyeing.

 

[OMG70]

Thanks for the update. Would you say overall that you recommend the dealership? It's pretty close to where I live and they have the models that I've been eyeing.

I'm on the fence. The only real negatives to my experience were from the detailing crew, but I also haven't gotten an oil change yet. If that were to be a bad experience, then I would probably say no. On the contrary, I feel like the sales staff stand by their product and know their stuff, so I would recommend them from that standpoint. I'll update once everything is cleared up.

If they are nearby, I would encourage you to visit yourself and form your own opinions as well. And if you choose to buy from them, don't let them wash the car! Lol

 

[vicmdv]

Great update but it's scary to know that you cannot simply trust your car to an authorized dealer without a "learning curve" especially with Genesis trying to establish a luxury car brand experience. I hope they don't use 3rd parties to handle mechanical issues ;-)

 

[OMG70]

Great update but it's scary to know that you cannot simply trust your car to an authorized dealer without a "learning curve" especially with Genesis trying to establish a luxury car brand experience. I hope they don't use 3rd parties to handle mechanical issues ;-)

From my understanding, they don't. It's just the detailing/car wash stuff. When I was a financial advisor I had a client that actually ran a business that handled wash/detailing work for ~15 dealerships of various brands. As such, I was immediately aware that he wasn't BS'ing me about that when we spoke.

 

[Mr. Incredible]

I'm on the fence. The only real negatives to my experience were from the detailing crew, but I also haven't gotten an oil change yet. If that were to be a bad experience, then I would probably say no. On the contrary, I feel like the sales staff stand by their product and know their stuff, so I would recommend them from that standpoint. I'll update once everything is cleared up.

If they are nearby, I would encourage you to visit yourself and form your own opinions as well. And if you choose to buy from them, don't let them wash the car! Lol

my experience so far with "Genesis" has been if they are good at the sales they suck at service and vice versa.

Puente Hills Hyundai/Genesis great service, sales people were complete d-holes

Downey Hyundai/Genesis great sales (my car was dealer traded from Puente Hill after they refused to deal on my terms) they worked the deal I wanted, but their service is fairly incompetent IMO, they couldn't program a key to my car and the first oil change they did they only used 5 quarts on the 3.3T (takes 7.29)

 

[OMG70]

my experience so far with "Genesis" has been if they are good at the sales they suck at service and vice versa.

Puente Hills Hyundai/Genesis great service, sales people were complete d-holes

Downey Hyundai/Genesis great sales (my car was dealer traded from Puente Hill after they refused to deal on my terms) they worked the deal I wanted, but their service is fairly incompetent IMO, they couldn't program a key to my car and the first oil change they did they only used 5 quarts on the 3.3T (takes 7.29)

It's quite surprising considering corporate is down the road just off the 405, ain't it? You'd think that the SoCal dealers would be some of the best in the nation!

 

[DefinitelyMaybe]

Thanks for the write up Soma. Sounds like they are at least trying to do the right thing, but still experiencing some growing pains.

 

[OMG70]

Update: So I took the car to some reputable independent detailers and they gave me quotes around the $1-1.5k mark to get the car taken care of properly (also noting a tail light was heavily scratched by a buffer and should be replaced). This included a ceramic coat because the Eckbond would be stripped off the vehicle (though I'm still not sure if it was even really applied). Sent the quotes to Bessai and he called me Thursday 5/16, dismissed them as BS and said that they didn't know what they are talking about. Stating he has experience selling Aston Martins, talking about the Eckbond warranty possibly being voided, the detailers lack of guarantees, etc. It was clear we needed to discuss further. We came to the agreement that he would call me the next day and we could go together to get everything figured out. No call Friday, left him a vm on Saturday, finally got an email saying "can you bring the car in on Thursday?" When asked why, I was told so the Allen Hyundai detailers could see if they could take care of the problem. I have no clue why he has changed his tone and flip-flopped, but one angry email in response CC'ing Cyrus the GM and there was an agreement to meet (with the GM) at noon Monday (today).

I show up and Cyrus tells me he wasn't on the whole email chain. I begin to explain the events and discussions that have transpired and he begins to start a process of strong arming (in an almost yelling, quite loud tone) portraying me as someone who is trying to take advantage of the dealer. He says "I believe you, but" yadda-yadda, some stuff about "every car from a dealer has scratches" etc. He says he will walk over and speak to the detailer they have in person and get it taken care of. We walk to my car and I show him the damage the detailers caused and he dismisses it say "nobody but you will notice!" and "you're wasting your time looking at your car." He tries to make a point showing me a G80 Sport that looks to be sold and goes to look for a scratch on it. NOT A SINGLE freaking ONE!

He says lets take a ride to their detailer and asks the manager of their detailers if he can take care of the scratches, "nope", but the hologramming can be. He says leave it there, it'll be done in an hour and they'll set me up with a loaner. He says that "because he wants me to be happy" he will give $1k in services (unspecified what exactly this is) and to organize with Bessai when I pick up my car. During this whole process he's mentioned court and that he goes to court if any matters need to be settled and repeatedly mentioned that the scratches could have come from anywhere "but I trust you." Clearly trying to impose a lack of a winnable case in court on my end (duh, I knew that already). He said he will not stand by another 3rd party touching the car and he will not write a check because of the possibility that we are in cahoots. He doesn't care to hear about the lack of attention to detail from the detailing crew in cleaning the car and/or applying the Eckbond. As I was trying to emphasize this, he cuts me off to try to change the subject because apparently I look daft enough to just forget what I was talking about.

I understand that contractually there is no obligation from the dealer, but you would expect better customer service and a willingness to correct errors that their detail department made. Cyrus even went so far as to show me some numbers stating that he was taking a loss on the car because of the Circle A plan(which I would argue is incorrect). He stated that my car was a dealer swap so it could have been the other dealer, but I'm willing to bet that this statement is false. The AB 3.3 Sport that was sold a few weeks before mine was a dealer swap and they already knew this one was on the way weeks before the first showed up from La Quinta's swap.

I'll update again when I get the car back later today, but obviously I'm ticked.

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[OMG70]

Alright, I've cooled down and gotten my car back. The detailer there made the car a good bit better, not perfect, but better. I spoke to Bessai and he has given me the option of $500 towards a independent detailer or $1k in credit at the dealership. I'm going to make that decision after some thought, but I think that is a fair enough middle ground between what I would ideally like and "sucks to suck".

Final Verdict: I think I would vouch for Genesis of Laguna Niguel as a reputable dealer. I would actively try to avoid having your car washed there if possible, as the detailers are understaffed for the work and apparently only 1 of the 2 guys is worth his salt. Bessai has made it clear that they are trying to build a relationship and that they are heavily focused on getting a standalone dealership for Genesis up and running as soon as possible.

 

[Andyj]

Good to hear it worked out but a shame it required all that drama. We bought our 2015 CPO from Laguna Niguel so I'm hoping they do well. And thanks on the tip to avoid their car washes.

 

[OMG70]

Took the car in for the first service yesterday, so figured I'd update:

Scheduled it through the Genesis concierge (from the car rear view mirror) last week and never got a confirmation, so I called in on Friday (?) to verify that I was good for my appointment. Apparently it was "pending" or something and the woman I spoke to had to push it through. Glad I called the dealer to follow up.

Overall it was a quick experience, got my loaner pretty quickly (2019 G80 3.8) and told them I felt a bit of brake vibration. I guess they felt it too because they resurfaced my front rotors in addition to my service. The print out said they put "5-20W" Mobile Oil (which I noticed after I got back to work with my car), but the advisor I spoke to said the tech isn't the person who types up that form and the tech used whatever was listed on the oil cap. Guess I have to take their word for it.

Not that I expected it, but no wine or chocolates or gifts as others have reported getting from their dealers. Assuming they didn't lie to me about the oil, I think it was a decent experience overall. My one grip would be not having to make 2 phone calls to get the appointment setup, but I guess I should have called the dealer directly instead of the concierge (who said he spoke to someone at the dealership... )

 

[EdP]

My one grip would be not having to make 2 phone calls to get the appointment setup, but I guess I should have called the dealer directly instead of the concierge (who said he spoke to someone at the dealership... )

That seems to be the consensus here. Genesis app is spotty, phone call works every time.

 

[FStephenMasek]

Thank you, this thread is very useful.

 

[Ed Okin]

Visited last week and was treated very nicely. The salesman was very courteous and was honest in telling me that the particular car I was interested in that was on their website with actually not available anymore as it had been sold. they did not have a big inventory we walked through the lot.

I was pleasantly surprised when I was allowed to test drive one of the cars alone without the salesman in the car which gave me a chance to really focus in on testing out the performance and the features I was interested in checking out. Funny thing, though, was that the gas tank was on empty and the “range” on the odometer was down to 9 miles. I guess that’s how they keep people from driving the car for too many miles on the test drive.

I made the salesman aware of the model and color of which I was interested and he was confident that they would have another available soon. I have not heard back after six days and I guess that’s a mixed blessing as when does not want to be badgered, but also wants to know they are available to assist.

 

[OMG70]

Visited last week and was treated very nicely. The salesman was very courteous and was honest in telling me that the particular car I was interested in that was on their website with actually not available anymore as it had been sold. they did not have a big inventory we walked through the lot.

I was pleasantly surprised when I was allowed to test drive one of the cars alone without the salesman in the car which gave me a chance to really focus in on testing out the performance and the features I was interested in checking out. Funny thing, though, was that the gas tank was on empty and the “range” on the odometer was down to 9 miles. I guess that’s how they keep people from driving the car for too many miles on the test drive.

I made the salesman aware of the model and color of which I was interested and he was confident that they would have another available soon. I have not heard back after six days and I guess that’s a mixed blessing as when does not want to be badgered, but also wants to know they are available to assist.

Might be good to follow up, but glad you've had a pleasant experience. I'd suggest making sure you take delivery/pickup of the car in daylight, just in case there's a repeat of the poor detail job that my car had.

As a note for others, I actually found out that they use synthetic Mobil 1 oil last time I went in (a few months ago)

 

[ryan_g]

Interesting thread - I myself have had a very poor experience with this dealership. Tried to schedule a valet service (I'm well within the 50 miles/1 hour driving range, only live about 25 minutes away) and when I told them where I lived, they told me I was "too far away." Confused, I mentioned that I was under the impression that anything within an hour of driving or 50 miles was fair game. The woman on the phone was unhelpful so I asked to speak to a manager, and after being transferred to random technicians 3 times I gave up. I actually reported this to Genesis corporate, who then called the dealership and were hung up on by the service manager. Then I left a Yelp review, and the dealership continued on with the "you were out of our range" line in a response to my review! Super unprofessional.

 

[OMG70]

Interesting thread - I myself have had a very poor experience with this dealership. Tried to schedule a valet service (I'm well within the 50 miles/1 hour driving range, only live about 25 minutes away) and when I told them where I lived, they told me I was "too far away." Confused, I mentioned that I was under the impression that anything within an hour of driving or 50 miles was fair game. The woman on the phone was unhelpful so I asked to speak to a manager, and after being transferred to random technicians 3 times I gave up. I actually reported this to Genesis corporate, who then called the dealership and were hung up on by the service manager. Then I left a Yelp review, and the dealership continued on with the "you were out of our range" line in a response to my review! Super unprofessional.

That is terrible! I think we've discussed at length the difference between this Genesis Laguna and Genesis HB before. I was actually supposed to go to HB about my sunroof before Coronavirus took over society. I wonder how much of a difference it makes to have bought the car from the dealer. I also assume that my file there is a bit beefy compared to most since I made a pretty big stink when I discovered the scratches/marring in my paint.