Dad's 2011 Geneis 4.6L should I buy it???

[Sproket]

I have the oppertunity to buy my fathers 2011 Geneis Sedan before he trades it in on a new Equis. It has been kept in a garage, not driven in the winter and has 35K miles on it and new tires. The price is quite a deal I think at only $16.6K but I have concerns about the reliability of this car past 100K miles. Tell me some things to give me a better feeling about buying this luxury car that will cost big bucks to fix when it breaks.

I do most all my own car repairs and maintenance within reason....does the tranny have a filter and drain plug or is it like a Nissan Altima 3.5L where you can only drain out 3 quarts at a time and no filter to change?

Has anyone ever tried to drive this car in snow???

Any comments good or bad are appreciated as I need to decide very soon about buying or not buying.

Thanks, Sproket

 

[amartz]

It has been kept in a garage, not driven in the winter and has 35K miles on it and new tires.

That car has a lot of good miles on it before you hit 100K!

 

[craigt]

Has anyone ever tried to drive this car in snow???

I drove in the worst winter, measured by snow fall, in New England this past year. I mounted snow tires on 17" wheels and a few 40 pound bags of water softener salt in the trunk. No issues.

That doesn't mean it will perform like an AWD vehicle with snows, but it is good enough to not get stuck if you drive sensibly.

 

[Mark_888]

The Genesis uses synthetic transmission oil, and is not scheduled to be changed until 100K miles. It is not easy to change it, and is usually something you want to take it to a dealer to do when the time comes. Oil changes are relatively easy.

The original owner gets a 10 year - 100K mile warranty on the drivetrain. This warranty is not transferable. So you might want to see if there some way to structure a pre-paid lease where you give him the payments up front ($16.6K), but he still owns the car, but he agrees to sell it back to you at nominal cost ($1) when the 10 year - 100K warranty is up.

Based on comments from others over the years, snow tires are highly recommended if you live where it snows a lot.

 

[PMCErnie]

Even if dad lets you keep it in his name to preserve the 10/100,000 powertrain warranty, your basic 5/60,000 warranty coverage is likely gone by now. So, I wouldn't buy it without also purchasing an extended warranty that covers expensive repairs, including radio and Nav breakdowns. Personally, I wouldn't buy an RWD daily driver car if I lived in a snow area. Getting to work safely would be my greatest concern.

 

[craigt]

Personally, I wouldn't buy an RWD daily driver car if I lived in a snow area. Getting to work safely would be my greatest concern.

Yea, because before adoption of front wheel and all wheel drive, no one worked.

 

[Sproket]

Well, I live near Roanoke, VA so snow can be an issue at times.

The dealer is saying the 100K mile warranty might transfer to a son....need to verify that.

No one has commented on the price. I know $16.6K is not a gift but from what I have seen most of these cars with this low a mileage are listed for $20K.

How is the Genesis rated on failure of the bells and whisles inside the car? This is one of my concerns. With all those electronics to fail it concerns me about expensive repairs in the future.

Thanks, Sproket

 

[Mark_888]

Well, I live near Roanoke, VA so snow can be an issue at times.

The dealer is saying the 100K mile warranty might transfer to a son....need to verify that.

No one has commented on the price. I know $16.6K is not a gift but from what I have seen most of these cars with this low a mileage are listed for $20K.

How is the Genesis rated on failure of the bells and whisles inside the car? This is one of my concerns. With all those electronics to fail it concerns me about expensive repairs in the future.

Thanks, Sproket

Never, ever, ever, rely on what a dealer says about a warranty offered by Hyundai Motor America. Here is the exact text from HMA website:

10 Year - 100,000 Mile Powertrain Warranty

Covers repair or replacement of powertrain components (i.e., selected engine and transmission/transaxle components), originally manufactured or installed by Hyundai that are defective in material or factory workmanship, under normal use and maintenance. Coverage applies to original owner only, effective with 2004 model year and newer model-year vehicles. On 1999-2003 model years, coverage applies to original owner and immediate family members (i.e., wife, husband, daughter, son, stepdaughter, stepson).

Second and/or subsequent owners have powertrain components coverage under the 5-Year/60,000-Mile New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Excludes coverage for vehicles in commercial use (e.g., taxi, route delivery, delivery service, rental, etc.).​

Since you are talking about a 2011 model, the extended powertrain warranty is not transferable.

 

[PMCErnie]

Yea, because before adoption of front wheel and all wheel drive, no one worked.

No, but too many folks did not get to their destinations as safely. I'm sure you take your FWD Lexus out in the snow versus your Genesis.

 

[craigt]

No, but too many folks did not get to their destinations as safely. I'm sure you take your FWD Lexus out in the snow versus your Genesis.

As noted in my signature, our RX350 is AWD. It is my wife's car. She likes the surefootedness of it while driving our kids and carpool kids to and from school.

I drove my Genesis to and from work all winter and reached my destinations safely. Good snow tires and trunk weight make a huge difference.

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[4104]

Even if dad lets you keep it in his name to preserve the 10/100,000 powertrain warranty, your basic 5/60,000 warranty coverage is likely gone by now. So, I wouldn't buy it without also purchasing an extended warranty that covers expensive repairs, including radio and Nav breakdowns. Personally, I wouldn't buy an RWD daily driver car if I lived in a snow area. Getting to work safely would be my greatest concern.

Enquire with a local credit union they have great loans plus can get you a 100K
extended warranty. When I was looking for used they quoted me $1100. for a
100K warranty and 2.9% interest.

Good Luck

John

 

[PMCErnie]

Some folks like to use their trunks in the winter, rather than hauling several 40lb bags of dead weight around town 24/7. Then there's the annoyance of keeping a full set of extra wheels and tires in the garage. Neither of those problems are my cup of tea. If I had only one car it would be FWD, or more likely AWD. The OP lives in the mountainous Roanoke area.

 

[craigt]

Some folks like to use their trunks in the winter, rather than hauling several 40lb bags of dead weight around town 24/7. Then there's the annoyance of keeping a full set of extra wheels and tires in the garage. Neither of those problems are my cup of tea. If I had only one car it would be FWD, or more likely AWD. The OP lives in the mountainous Roanoke area.

Lucky for me, I'm not lazy. I don't drive around with dead weight around town 24/7. The bags go in the day it snows (only if it's a major storm). They come out the day after it snows when roads are clear. When the season is over, I use the bags in the water softener. And with the size of the trunk being huge, they really don't take up much space. If you need to fill the trunk up to it's utmost capacity, the weight of THAT will suffice instead of the bags.

Also, for wheel storage, this. Off the floor and allows the car to be in the garage under it. Works a treat.

This also allows tires to last longer, as I am alternating them. Plus I get away with a "free" tire rotation.

Granted doing this isn't for everyone, but the OP is young and does his own oil changes. I'm sure he can handle this.

For me, it is either doing this, or driving something other than a Gen 1 Genesis. Small price to pay...

 

[Sproket]

Well, at 55 years of age I don't really consider myself young but I am a Electro-Mechanical technician by trade so I do a bit more that just change the oil on my cars. Last fall I change out all the timing chains and tensioners on my sons 3.5L Altima...that was fun.

I am mostly concerned with the fact that as a fairly new model luxury car the Genesis 2011 model might not have all the bugs worked out of it that would allow for a long trouble free service life. A lot of luxury cars are designed to have every bell and whisle known to man and work perfectly for 100K miles and then they start falling apart from top tp bottom.

I notice most of you guys posting have listed under you name a V6 3.8L engine in your Genesis. How does the 4.6L motor hold up, or is it to new to have much information on?

Even with snow tires I expect this car would be left at home in bad weather. To many hills to navigate in these parts.

Thanks for all your responses,

Sproket

 

[Gunkk]

The 4.6 is one of the best v8's out there. Neither of mine have given any trouble in 4+ years combined ownership. I bought my 2nd one because of oil-burn/piston-ring issues with the early 2012 5.0's.

Yes they're expensive to repair (as is any non-domestic luxury car) and no I would not own a Genesis out of warranty.

Buy your Dad's car and buy an HMA Hyundai Protection Plan Platinum extended warranty. Cost is $1300 to $3k depending on the state you live in, how hard you negotiate and years/miles of coverage. That will extend the original bumper to bumper.

 

[2011 Genesis 4.6]

I think that is a great price, as to the warranty I will parrot Gunkk and 4401, if you are taking a loan out for it you can easily add the extra $ for the extended Warranty.

also from everything I have read on this forum and other places the 2011 4.6 seems to have the least overall problems of all the years, its the last before the "refresh" so so many things of the first 2 years were addressed and it does not have the refresh problems.

 

[Sproket]

Okay guys......thanks for all the info and opinions.

I talked with a local dealer and an extended bumper to bumper warranty is going to run around $3K. Adding that to the $16.6K starts to make this a much less attractive deal.

The dealer/ sales guy pretty much said the electronics is your biggest concern. How many radio/ car brains have been reported as failure items in the Genesis ?

My 08 Silverado has 4 computers on it and I have not lost to much sleep thus far concerning electronic failure. What kind of $$ are we talking if the radio/main computer does die, $2K, $3K etc?

From being a electronic maintenance guy in the semiconductor industry for 30 years I know no one can predict an electronic failure but I have considered just rolling the dice and driving this car till it hits 100K miles and then selling it off. The drive train design sounds solid and from my experience most major electronic failures happen within the first year or (bake) in period

The dealer did actually say the 100K mile DT warranty could be transfered to me but I would need that in writing to trust it. He also, said the DT is not what you need to worry about.......thats a big red flag!!!

Sproket

 

[OneFunGenesis]

The electronics are your major source of expense if they fail. If the amplifier needs to be replaced, the part alone is about $4k. If it needs to be refurbished, the part cost is about $1k.

If the "head unit" which houses the main computer goes...the part is around $10k.

The warranty shouldn't really be that much. Remember that you can shop for warranties elsewhere. I recommend Jim Ellis Hyundai in georiga. They had great warranty prices when I was buying.