Help me decide which Genesis to purchase!

[mch4424]

So I have been trying to find a V8 Genesis sedan for awhile and I've finally narrowed it down to 2 choices, and I would like to know which is the smarter choice. They are both about 2 hours away from me so going and looking and both and deciding is just not realistic for me.

So we have the first Genesis, a 2011 4.6l v8 with 100k miles. PRISTINE condition. 2 owners, last owner has had it since 20k miles and says he has done nothing outside of normal maintenance to the car and is just NOW replacing brakes. From the photos it looks like it might not even be driven, absolutely perfect paint, leather, etc.



Pros: Has brand new tires, brand new brakes, brand new filters (including cabin) and the owner has his own garage with a lift where he changes the synthetic oil regularly. Says he bought it for highway traveling for work. Everything works, asked specifically about certain electronics like parking assist and back up camera. Carfax validates everything he told me, it was purchased off a lease at about 20k miles and he's driven it since.

Cons: High-ish miles. His wife spilled a coffee onto the control knob and even though he cleaned it he says that "sometimes it doesn't work and sometimes it does." He says only a couple of times he has cold started it and had a little smoke for 1 second from synthetic oil? Not sure if that's normal but he says there's no leaks or anything it runs perfect. He is VERY honest and is telling me everything so I don't view the smoke thing as serious, I mean he even admitted to his wife spilling coffee on the knob when I didn't even ask. Very straight forward man.

• So option one: 2011 Genesis 4.6l with 100k miles for $8000. (he wouldn't budge in price but enjoys working on cars, so a part of the deal was he would replace all the brakes for me with OEM.)

NOW onto option 2. A 2013 Genesis R-spec 5.0 with 75k miles.

A younger man (maybe mid 20's?) purchased 3 months ago from the original owner a Genesis that he says is in EXCELLENT shape. I don't trust this guy so much to take care of the vehicle but the original owner did 99% of the driving anyways. He is selling to buy a Dodge Charger SRT.



Pros: Is the new-er version with the stronger 5.0l engine, has some updated features and I like that it is the R-spec. Has lower mileage too. 2013 fixed the piston ring issue I believe? Also just in general looks really sharp. Everything I asked about the guy said "works perfect and has no defects or scratches at all."

Cons: The 8 speed transmission worries me, I know some people say it isn't as reliable as the 6 speed. Also, the GDi engine seems more maintenance heavy and costly to repair. Can't really verify how the car has been maintained but only 75k shouldn't be too bad either I would imagine either way. This man has only had it for 3 months.

• So option two: A 2013 Genesis 5.0l with 75k miles for $9500. This one is better on paper, however is obviously riskier because I can't communicate with the original owner or verify that this guy knows what he's doing with the car.

So those are my choices. I feel like the 2011 is the safer bet, being meticulously maintained and needing nothing but maybe transmission fluid changed. However, the 2013 is the riskier but more rewarding maybe purchase. Is it worth the risk at that price? Or should I just go with the one that "smiles back at me" and I feel more comfortable with, the 2011.

I really want it to be reliable for at least 100k miles whichever one I choose, so that's number 1 priority. Is the 4.6l engine and 6 speed ZF trans more "bulletproof?" This guy clearly knows how to maintain vehicles too, but the 5.0l r-spec is VERY alluring for the price.

 

[Gunkk]

I really want it to be reliable for at least 100k miles whichever one I choose, so that's number 1 priority. Is the 4.6l engine and 6 speed ZF trans more "bulletproof?"

to the forum!

While the 1st generation Genesis sedan (BH) is a comparatively reliable car vs. other v8 sedans, neither car is likely to be bulletproof. While many of us have had good experiences, these cars start having minor (and sometimes major) issues around 75-100k miles and >5 years. I would focus on the 2013 which is likely to have fewer issues, IMO. 2013s have generally been more reliable than 2011s. Rspecs have 1" larger wheels and a firmer, lower, suspension, but not so firm that I would pass on it for a 2011. The engines are both reliable. Transmissions are the major long-term reliability issue on the BH. 2013 has the updated body style (refreshed in '12) as well as Bluelink (new in '13).

I strongly recommend that all people considering buying a used Genesis sedan NOT own one unless you have an extended warranty that covers the major components, including the drive train, all radar-cruise-control components, ABS system, and the head-unit. OEM parts are expensive and 100% imported from Korea. Repairs of any of these things is easily $3k at the dealer, and trans/engine are often more than the car is worth.

OP, both of your prospective new-2-u cars are past the 5/60 and therefore ineligible for the Hyundai Protection Plan, so factor in the cost of a good 3rd party aftermarket extended warranty into your budget to cover your intended 100k mi ownership. The extended warranties on both my '09 and '12 have paid for themselves 2x over the 10 years I have owned the two cars: warranty cost $3k, total avoidance $6k, net $3k savings, all combined on both cars.

 

[mch4424]

to the forum!

While the 1st generation Genesis sedan (BH) is a comparatively reliable car vs. other v8 sedans, neither car is likely to be bulletproof. While many of us have had good experiences, these cars start having minor (and sometimes major) issues around 75-100k miles and >5 years. I would focus on the 2013 which is likely to have fewer issues, IMO. 2013s have generally been more reliable than 2011s. Rspecs have 1" larger wheels and a firmer, lower, suspension, but not so firm that I would pass on it for a 2011. The engines are both reliable. Transmissions are the major long-term reliability issue on the BH. 2013 has the updated body style (refreshed in '12) as well as Bluelink (new in '13).

I strongly recommend that all people considering buying a used Genesis sedan NOT own one unless you have an extended warranty that covers the major components, including the drive train, all radar-cruise-control components, ABS system, and the head-unit. OEM parts are expensive and 100% imported from Korea. Repairs of any of these things is easily $3k at the dealer, and trans/engine are often more than the car is worth.

OP, both of your prospective new-2-u cars are past the 5/60 and therefore ineligible for the Hyundai Protection Plan, so factor in the cost of a good 3rd party aftermarket extended warranty into your budget to cover your intended 100k mi ownership. The extended warranties on both my '09 and '12 have paid for themselves 2x over the 10 years I have owned the two cars: warranty cost $3k, total avoidance $6k, net $3k savings, all combined on both cars.

I will keep this in mind, although I'll admit I've read from so many people about their reliability past 100k as far as major components go. You make it seem as if I'm going to buy a car at the end of it life! Any recommendation on a 3rd party warranty and also how much I would expect to pay?

 

[PMCErnie]

Take your $9,500 and put it down on a vehicle with a warranty remaining.

 

[mch4424]

Take your $9,500 and put it down on a vehicle with a warranty remaining.

As far as the market is concerned this is very difficult to do. Finding a vehicle with under 100k miles for less than $10k is a struggle. The ones I can find are early 2000's cars that are notoriously unreliable. I'd rather spend $9500 on a vehicle past a warranty than pay $15000 on one to get a warranty for a limited amount of time.

 

[Aquineas]

So I've owned both of these cars. With regards to transmission, while this is very much dependent on the individual vehicle, but I actually felt a bit more transmission slip in the ZF 6-speed in my 2010 V8 than I did on my 2012 non RSpec 5.0 with the Hyundai transmission (I didn't go for the RSpec model because I hated the wheels). I was worried about my particular ZF 6 speed. I had no issues whatsoever with two Hyundai 8-speeds, one of which went to 120K miles (the 2015).

The ride on the pre-2012 Genesis sedans was abysmal- you will find yourself cringing and apologizing to your passengers on rough roads. This can be remedied of course with replacement springs, but I'm just letting you know what you'd be in for. Subjectively speaking, I also found the Lexicon unit in my 2010 was the best of any of my Genesis models. My 2010 > my 2012 > 2015. My 2020 G70 has much better bass than the older models, but seems to be lacking something.

Note that the 2011 will have- oh what's that feature called- when you turn the steering wheel the lights will follow? The 2013 only adjusts vertically IIRC. I can't think of anything else at this time. At any rate, if I were you, I'd go with the 2013.

 

[mch4424]

So I've owned both of these cars. With regards to transmission, while this is very much dependent on the individual vehicle, but I actually felt a bit more transmission slip in the ZF 6-speed in my 2010 V8 than I did on my 2012 non RSpec 5.0 with the Hyundai transmission (I didn't go for the RSpec model because I hated the wheels). I was worried about my particular ZF 6 speed. I had no issues whatsoever with two Hyundai 8-speeds, one of which went to 120K miles (the 2015).

The ride on the pre-2012 Genesis sedans was abysmal- you will find yourself cringing and apologizing to your passengers on rough roads. This can be remedied of course with replacement springs, but I'm just letting you know what you'd be in for. Subjectively speaking, I also found the Lexicon unit in my 2010 was the best of any of my Genesis models. My 2010 > my 2012 > 2015. My 2020 G70 has much better bass than the older models, but seems to be lacking something.

Note that the 2011 will have- oh what's that feature called- when you turn the steering wheel the lights will follow? The 2013 only adjusts vertically IIRC. I can't think of anything else at this time. At any rate, if I were you, I'd go with the 2013.

Okay, thanks good to know. You say it went to 120k, does that mean you sold it at that point or did the car die at that point? Everywhere I've looked I've seen that properly maintained these should go to 200k miles easily so I'm concerned that this forum seems to be quite dreadful on it. I keep my cars maintained very well and was under the impression this was a reliable make.

 

[Aquineas]

I say it went to 120K because I traded the car in .

 

[PMCErnie]

As far as the market is concerned this is very difficult to do. Finding a vehicle with under 100k miles for less than $10k is a struggle. The ones I can find are early 2000's cars that are notoriously unreliable. I'd rather spend $9500 on a vehicle past a warranty than pay $15000 on one to get a warranty for a limited amount of time.

My advice was to put the $9,500 down on a newer vehicle with a warranty, not to buy a $$9,500 vehicle. Both of the Genesis cars you are looking at potentially will murder your wallet if engine, transmission, or nav/audio system problems arise. Find a nice used ‘18 Sonata with a warranty instead.

 

[mch4424]

My advice was to put the $9,500 down on a newer vehicle with a warranty, not to buy a $$9,500 vehicle. Both of the Genesis cars you are looking at potentially will murder your wallet if engine, transmission, or nav/audio system problems arise. Find a nice used ‘18 Sonata with a warranty instead.

Looks like the Sonatas around me at that year go for around $17k - $19k. So the solution to having my wallet murdered is to literally spend $10k more than the $8k reliable vehicle that I have found? This doesn't seem logical to me, my budget has been $10k and I didn't plan on spending more than that. I have also looked for Lexus and Toyotas, however they are very inflated right now. Everyone on the internet is talking about the reliability of this vehicle, I don't see why I would need to be worried when I can verify it's been taken care of very well.

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[PMCErnie]

Looks like the Sonatas around me at that year go for around $17k - $19k. So the solution to having my wallet murdered is to literally spend $10k more than the $8k reliable vehicle that I have found? This doesn't seem logical to me, my budget has been $10k and I didn't plan on spending more than that. I have also looked for Lexus and Toyotas, however they are very inflated right now. Everyone on the internet is talking about the reliability of this vehicle, I don't see why I would need to be worried when I can verify it's been taken care of very well.

Famous last words. Good luck.

 

[joegr]

Any used car is a risk, more so the ones out of all warranty. However, the greater the potential risk, the greater the potential reward. If you spend $10K and can afford the possibility of $5K in repairs, possibly right away, then I say go for it. The add on warranty plans count on charging way more than the pay out on average. That means the odds should be in your favor. This is even more true if you can do much of your own diagnostic and repair work.
I have kept cars well up to nearly 200K miles out of warranty. I think that has paid off for me.

 

[mch4424]

Any used car is a risk, more so the ones out of all warranty. However, the greater the potential risk, the greater the potential reward. If you spend $10K and can afford the possibility of $5K in repairs, possibly right away, then I say go for it. The add on warranty plans count on charging way more than the pay out on average. That means the odds should be in your favor. This is even more true if you can do much of your own diagnostic and repair work.
I have kept cars well up to nearly 200K miles out of warranty. I think that has paid off for me.

I have done the same. I domost of my own work in my garage. I bought a notoriously unreliable Cadillac DeVille from someone who took care of it and it had 100k miles. I drove it to 200k miles with nothing but oil changes and got rid of it just from rust. Easy to swap brakes, normal wear and tear stuff. I had the vehicle for a decade no warranty at all. I'm not sure why the other guy seems to be acting like buying a vehicle out of warranty is like burning money, it can be very rewarding.

 

[AgentSmith007]

Note that the 2011 will have- oh what's that feature called- when you turn the steering wheel the lights will follow? The 2013 only adjusts vertically IIRC.

AFLS - Adaptive Front Light System.

 

[PRINCE KEN]

So I have been trying to find a V8 Genesis sedan for awhile and I've finally narrowed it down to 2 choices, and I would like to know which is the smarter choice. They are both about 2 hours away from me so going and looking and both and deciding is just not realistic for me.

So we have the first Genesis, a 2011 4.6l v8 with 100k miles. PRISTINE condition. 2 owners, last owner has had it since 20k miles and says he has done nothing outside of normal maintenance to the car and is just NOW replacing brakes. From the photos it looks like it might not even be driven, absolutely perfect paint, leather, etc.

View attachment 40246

Pros: Has brand new tires, brand new brakes, brand new filters (including cabin) and the owner has his own garage with a lift where he changes the synthetic oil regularly. Says he bought it for highway traveling for work. Everything works, asked specifically about certain electronics like parking assist and back up camera. Carfax validates everything he told me, it was purchased off a lease at about 20k miles and he's driven it since.

Cons: High-ish miles. His wife spilled a coffee onto the control knob and even though he cleaned it he says that "sometimes it doesn't work and sometimes it does." He says only a couple of times he has cold started it and had a little smoke for 1 second from synthetic oil? Not sure if that's normal but he says there's no leaks or anything it runs perfect. He is VERY honest and is telling me everything so I don't view the smoke thing as serious, I mean he even admitted to his wife spilling coffee on the knob when I didn't even ask. Very straight forward man.

• So option one: 2011 Genesis 4.6l with 100k miles for $8000. (he wouldn't budge in price but enjoys working on cars, so a part of the deal was he would replace all the brakes for me with OEM.)

NOW onto option 2. A 2013 Genesis R-spec 5.0 with 75k miles.

A younger man (maybe mid 20's?) purchased 3 months ago from the original owner a Genesis that he says is in EXCELLENT shape. I don't trust this guy so much to take care of the vehicle but the original owner did 99% of the driving anyways. He is selling to buy a Dodge Charger SRT.

View attachment 40248

Pros: Is the new-er version with the stronger 5.0l engine, has some updated features and I like that it is the R-spec. Has lower mileage too. 2013 fixed the piston ring issue I believe? Also just in general looks really sharp. Everything I asked about the guy said "works perfect and has no defects or scratches at all."

Cons: The 8 speed transmission worries me, I know some people say it isn't as reliable as the 6 speed. Also, the GDi engine seems more maintenance heavy and costly to repair. Can't really verify how the car has been maintained but only 75k shouldn't be too bad either I would imagine either way. This man has only had it for 3 months.

• So option two: A 2013 Genesis 5.0l with 75k miles for $9500. This one is better on paper, however is obviously riskier because I can't communicate with the original owner or verify that this guy knows what he's doing with the car.

So those are my choices. I feel like the 2011 is the safer bet, being meticulously maintained and needing nothing but maybe transmission fluid changed. However, the 2013 is the riskier but more rewarding maybe purchase. Is it worth the risk at that price? Or should I just go with the one that "smiles back at me" and I feel more comfortable with, the 2011.

I really want it to be reliable for at least 100k miles whichever one I choose, so that's number 1 priority. Is the 4.6l engine and 6 speed ZF trans more "bulletproof?" This guy clearly knows how to maintain vehicles too, but the 5.0l r-spec is VERY alluring for the price.

If I was you I will follow my mind Just pick the one you like among the two Drive it for a while and Have it checked very well plus get a car fax Too much feedback suggestions will confuse you Overall The R Spec Sedan is a very reliable vehicle compared to many cars in it's class I have two of them(13&14)for 5 years Never had issues whatsoever and if I did they were minor and easily repairable

 

[todsaway]

I have 2013 3.8 base model, no tech package. Deliberately avoided sunroof as I hit my head on the ceiling next to the sunroof opening. I'm 6'4" and prefer an upright seating position, so NO SUNROOF for me, thus no tech package. I purchased the car used in 2014 and now have 117,000 miles. Has been trouble free except for peeling paint on plastic panels around the car such as lower fenders, etc. Just had those repainted and now looks great. Only other issues were minor: courtesy interior lights don't always work, fickle bluetooth connection, seats showing wear. Still on original brakes and no tune-up yet.

 

[gscmc]

I have a 2012 3.8 sedan with tech package. I bought it with 14k in 2015 and it now has 84k on it. I always buy used but generally lower mileage cars. Your two choices although higher in mileage appear to be well kept and in great condition especially the 11. I have read so many great posts on this site about the different transmissions and suspensions as well as so many other topics. Definitely drive both of them because the driving dynamics between the 6 and 8 speed and the suspension will be different. Now the warranty issue. When I made my purchase in 2015 I bought the CPO wrap insurance and it was worth every penny and then some. Not because the car was unreliable or problem prone but I did have two high priced warranty repairs, the first about 2.5 years ago was a sunroof repair due to a cracked rail. This is not an uncommon problem in that car and would have cost about $1500. The second issue occurred July 2021. At that time my 8 speed transmission began slipping badly from 2nd to 3rd gear. Also repaired under warranty. This repair would have cost me between 4 to 5k for a factory rebuilt unit that I ultimately received. My warranty is now expired and I worry about what might be next. I am very handy and can do a lot of my own basic work but I don't have a garage and living in the North East limits my ability to do big jobs to certain times of the year. Given the climate here I was amazed when I pulled a wheel last month to inspect my brakes. My pad life is good ( I replaced them at 45K on GP's they weren't that bad) but the rotors are now severely corroded and at only 84k. I was surprised to see this. Since I really rely on my car for daily commute and occasional regional road trips, I am considering two options. First is trading for a lower mileage car, second: do full brake job and tires (they are due as well) and purchase a warranty. I can't allow myself to be faced with a multi thousand dollar repair out of warranty. I looked at "Endurance" auto warranty company. They are highly rated and are "first party" they don't farm out their plans. They quoted me for a six year 60k warranty that covers "everything" even basic maintenance like oil changes, belts, hoses and brake pads. Their price $4680 paid out over 36 months. Any warranty not used is fully refunded. This price is too high (obviously) but if I keep the car I will go back to them for a 3 year bumper to bumper no maintenance warranty for a price quote. There are other companies to look at as well. If you shop around you can find a decent warranty. Check with your mechanic and dealership first to make sure that they accept them. Most do. Good luck! My bad rotor picture attached.