Equus Purchase Experience...

[miamibeach]

Hi all,

Here is my purchasing experience.

I just relocated to Miami Beach (SOBE) from France so I needed a car. My previous car was a Mercedes E Class. I had read many articles saying the Genesis was a great value comparable to an E Class for those that don't care about the prestige of the brand. I don't care that much about it. In fact there is nearly more originality in having a unique car when every other car around you is a Mercedes or BMW.

Soon after I arrived in SOBE, I headed to the Hyundai dealership to look at a Genesis. I sat in one and was not very impressed. Nice but not super exciting. Right next to it was an Equus Ultimate (Metallic Black with Ivory interior). That car was "calling my name". I sat in it and instantly felt some excitement. Now that car was nicer than an E Class for sure! We did a test drive and the driving was equally exciting for me. I purchased it.

I would rate the purchasing experience a D (nearly an F as I nearly walked out). You can tell these guys are used to selling $20k cars to a different type of customer. Some specific points:

- We stayed for nearly 5 hours in the dealership. He said he would provide food for me and the kids but never actually did it.

- He said he would take care of car insurance ("I do it all the time"). My wife had to spend a long time on the phone in the dealership for setting it up (while I suspect he went for lunch as he smelled like food when he returned). He was suppose to fax GEICO the bill of sale. He never did.

- This sales guy said the car had all maintenance complimentary. The financial guy said it did not and recommended we get the Term Protection Plus program (which we did). At this point I was questioning all the things the sales guy had told me and nearly walked out.

I am very happy with the car. But I think Hyundai would gain by training its sales people to deal with potential Equus buyers. My experience was a lot more pleasant in a Mercedes dealership. I can see most people that can afford a $70k car would not want to deal with this. For example I could recommend the car to a friend but would have to warn them about the experience. It is a shame because the Equus Ultimate rocks!

 

[Mark_888]

1. Complimentary maintenance at a Hyundai dealer means they will compliment you for purchasing a maintenance package from them. You do get concierge service for some period of time, which means they will pick up and deliver your car each time.
2. I hope you got at least $10K off MSRP, because that is what Hyundai dealers are selling the 2014 Equus for these days.
3. You pretty much hit the nail on the head when you said that they are used to selling $20K cars (to people who can't afford the equivalent Toyota or Honda), and their personnel is a usually a reflection of that.

 

[Hstead]

I understand. I have been testing cars and have had some similar experiences at Hyundai dealers. I have owned Audi and MB in the past and the dealer experience is quite different. I am a pretty "normal" guy and do not care that much about the badge and detest snobs to be honest but while test driving back to back cars, going from a Volvo and Land Rover dealers to two Hyundai dealers was quite a different experience. Sales guys were not nearly as professional, the sales managers were not nearly as professional, it was just way different. I have pretty much made up my mind I am getting a Hyundai but the dealers have been less than impressive so far.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

The unnecessary comments have been deleted. Resume the discussion...

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[miamibeach]

Yes I got about $10k off MSRP.

Hstead you just got to ignore the dealership behavior. Here is the good angle to this. By being so painful to deal with they are sort protecting our "originality" factor as most people with some disposable money will not want to deal with this level of service.

Here is a new thing to add to my list. My temporary tags expired yesterday. So far we have 3 calls into the dealership and no return calls yet...

While the sales rep (Albert Leal) tries to explain away why i don't have my plates yet he has the "balls" to ask me to fill the survey because that is how he gets a bonus... OMG is this guy for real...LOL

 

[osamasyed]

Hi all,

Here is my purchasing experience.

I just relocated to Miami Beach (SOBE) from France so I needed a car. My previous car was a Mercedes E Class. I had read many articles saying the Genesis was a great value comparable to an E Class for those that don't care about the prestige of the brand. I don't care that much about it. In fact there is nearly more originality in having a unique car when every other car around you is a Mercedes or BMW.

Soon after I arrived in SOBE, I headed to the Hyundai dealership to look at a Genesis. I sat in one and was not very impressed. Nice but not super exciting. Right next to it was an Equus Ultimate (Metallic Black with Ivory interior). That car was "calling my name". I sat in it and instantly felt some excitement. Now that car was nicer than an E Class for sure! We did a test drive and the driving was equally exciting for me. I purchased it.

I would rate the purchasing experience a D (nearly an F as I nearly walked out). You can tell these guys are used to selling $20k cars to a different type of customer. Some specific points:

- We stayed for nearly 5 hours in the dealership. He said he would provide food for me and the kids but never actually did it.

- He said he would take care of car insurance ("I do it all the time"). My wife had to spend a long time on the phone in the dealership for setting it up (while I suspect he went for lunch as he smelled like food when he returned). He was suppose to fax GEICO the bill of sale. He never did.

- This sales guy said the car had all maintenance complimentary. The financial guy said it did not and recommended we get the Term Protection Plus program (which we did). At this point I was questioning all the things the sales guy had told me and nearly walked out.

I am very happy with the car. But I think Hyundai would gain by training its sales people to deal with potential Equus buyers. My experience was a lot more pleasant in a Mercedes dealership. I can see most people that can afford a $70k car would not want to deal with this. For example I could recommend the car to a friend but would have to warn them about the experience. It is a shame because the Equus Ultimate rocks!

I've bought 3 Genesis (2 for me, 1 for my dad) and 1 Sonata and all I have to say is Hyundai needs to step up their customer service, BIG time. I'm a huge believer in the brand but the problem is at the local dealership level. You have non-luxury car salesmen giving "used car" sales pitches for $70k cars. Mind you, I've bought each car brand new. I haven't been that "cheap" customer, and i've been loyal. It just gets to be a pain when you have to deal with the dealership after you get the car. I love the Equus and considered upgrading my dad's car for the Equus. But he preferred the Lexus buying experience over the "goods" of the Equus.

In my opinion, for the price point, the amount of things you get in an Equus or even a Genesis, far outweigh anything close to what a competitor could offer. But, BMW, Audi, MB, and Lexus have some serious dealership training. I still wouldn't buy those brands, I prefer my 5.0 Ultimate Genesis, but still. I feel your pain.

 

[Richard Ft. Lauderdale]

Hmmm? My 2013 Equus came with all maintenance for 5 years plus valet service for 5 years. I have not been back to the dealer since I bought it. I call the guy who sold it to me and he comes and picks it up every six months leaves me a loaner while the oil is changed and returns it. Sometimes they decide that something needs to be repaired so they order a part and pick it up again a few days later.

Best car I have ever had. Could not be happier.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Hmmm? My 2013 Equus came with all maintenance for 5 years plus valet service for 5 years. I have not been back to the dealer since I bought it. I call the guy who sold it to me and he comes and picks it up every six months leaves me a loaner while the oil is changed and returns it. Sometimes they decide that something needs to be repaired so they order a part and pick it up again a few days later.

Best car I have ever had. Could not be happier.

Some dealerships are definitely better than others...

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[edward301]

Some dealerships are definitely better than others...

My Equus dealer experiences have been so poor, my last 2 Equus vehicles I bought ( used ). My recent purchase was a 2015 Ultimate, that I
bought at a Mercedes dealer with 330 miles, still new with plastic on many interior surfaces. Mercedes dealer treated me great, and sold me
the car at a great price. Had the car 4 months now, and flawless.

 

[turnne]

I had an "F" dealership experience as well
My Equus buying experience mirrors much of what has been said above
Sales/Finance telling you things off the cuff and not even coming close to doing what they said
Temp tags expired because the dealership didnt get the paperwork processed in a timely manner

I could go on and on

RUN AWAY from Bob Stallings Hyundai in Dallas Texas

The past three cars..MB, BMW and Cadillac have all been purchased from luxury car dealerships
big difference

Warren

 

[Sal Collaziano]

And this is why the Genesis Motors brand was born. A separate dealership network cannot come fast enough...

 

[turnne]

A separate dealership network will at at least $8-10K to the price of an Equus


Warren

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[calmone]

i wonder how successful they'll be. i think they need more models and more demand. and do they really mean separate dealerships or both out of the same physical location but different sales people, etc. as for dealer help at purchase, i too had to drive on expired temp tags and NO reply to my many calls to the dealership other that a one time "i told you it was harder to have us get out of state tags for you". and another "i'll call you back in an hour" with, of course, no return call. that and the fact i they "lost" the second key fob and the drivers manual. both had to be ordered.

 

[Mark_888]

i wonder how successful they'll be. i think they need more models and more demand. and do they really mean separate dealerships or both out of the same physical location but different sales people, etc. as for dealer help at purchase, i too had to drive on expired temp tags and NO reply to my many calls to the dealership other that a one time "i told you it was harder to have us get out of state tags for you". and another "i'll call you back in an hour" with, of course, no return call. that and the fact i they "lost" the second key fob and the drivers manual. both had to be ordered.

Initially, the new Genesis brand will be sold at existing Hyundai dealerships, but not all dealerships. As far as separate sales staff, etc, that remains to be seen and may depend on the dealership.

 

[mth]

When I bought the G2 I had already researched the car quit extensively and didn't need anything from sales except price. I don't like dealing with the sales folks but the service is extremely important and the only thing that matters to me. I do not need to be coddled but do expect awesome service after the purchase. I have developed a great relationship with the lead tech at my dealer over the past 7 years and two Gen's and that has made my experience a good one. If I was rating the sales experience I would so it was "C". Good luck with your new ride and welcome to the US.

 

[aphillipsiii]

Each sales experience boils down to each dealership. I recently purchased a pre-owned Hyundai Tucson. I worked with the sales consultant (Jineta Brown, Autonation Hyundai Mall of GA) who sold me my used Equus earlier this year. Between the time from by initial Equus purchase until a couple of weeks ago, she had moved to one of the sister dealerships (Autonation Toyota). She located the Tuscon at one of their sister dealerships (Autonation Volkswagen) and delivered it to the Toyota dearler. We were unable to complete the transaction at the Toyota dealership because the Sales Manager and I could not agree on the bottom number including trade-in. Jineta suggested we take the deal back over to the Volkswagen dealership to re-negotiate the deal with the Sales Manager. In the end, we closed the deal. Jineta has always been very resourceful and professional during our sales interactions. She really cares for her clients and will do what's in her ability to make the purchase experience as smooth as possible. In addition, I have only positive comments for the Equus Service Advisor at Autonation Hyundai Mall of GA as well.

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[turnne]

Its very interesting how many times I have heard how poor the Hyundai dealership experience is
My personal buying experience was horrible
if Hyundai wants to be a player in the luxury car field they are going to have to work on their dealership experience
Its takes more than a low price to move luxury cars

Look at the sales figures of the Lexus LS versus the Hyundai Equus as an example

Warren

 

[edward301]

Interesting how the dealer relationships vary. The best dealer relationship
I have is with a local Chevrolet dealer. Have bought 2 pickups, 6 Suburbans,
3 Vans, 2 cars from them. All I have to do is call manager with stock #,
they email me final invoice, then deliver car to my house, where I sign
paper work and write a check, and all done. If a trade in is involved, then
they take trade in with them.

Worst relationship was with a Mercedes dealer, I had car picked out a
E63 AMG, drove there with cashiers check in pocket, once I got there
everything went poorly, even test drive of car was poor, the car drove
like a rubber band. Ended up keeping check, and went away without
car. The local Equus dealer was second worst, but I did drive away with
the Equus.