Prospective Buyer--noobie quick questions

[SeismicGuy]

Hi All! We are looking to replace my wife's 2000 Acura TL after 10 years of very pleased ownership. My wife does not like the looks of the new TL and I have been pushing her to look at the Genesis since it looks like a car that is very competitively priced for what you are getting. Of course the main reluctance is that it is a Hyundai--not that this is bad but rather that the track record to be considered along with Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, etc. is perhaps not yet well established. I pointed out to her that this was also the case back in the 1990s when Toyota introduced the Lexus at what was then a bargain price.

Anyway, we are giving serious consideration to looking at the Genesis 3.8 Sedan (seeing these today at the LA Auto Show helped). I realize I might be able to find answers here by searching through the old threads but, in a nutshell, I was (1) wondering whether anyone here had regrets about buying a Genesis, (2)are there things to be wary about, (3) any good pricing in the southern California area?

Thanks,

Doug
Los Angeles
2005 Jaguar XKR
2000 Acura TL

 

[dg_moore]

I looked at all of the lux makes before buying the Genesis - to me, the Genesis is a superior car dollar for dollar to anything on the market. Do not be put off by the Hyundai name: the quality of the Genesis matches or beats all of the big boys, and the warranty is the best on the market. If you haven't driven the Genesis yet, be sure to do so.

 

[OldSpice]

Read the entire thread titled,
What is your biggest complaint about the Hyundai Genesis?
Nothing convinced me not to buy, mostly knit picking.

Got my Genesis last week, really nice car!

 

[Wordman]

Doug: I'm on my second Genesis - I wouldn't have got the second if I hadn't loved the first!

 

[SeismicGuy]

Thanks for the responses. I have time to do research through this forum and other places since we probably won't really be in the market to buy until sometime next year. Still, I wanted to get my ducks in a row at this point and try and narrow down our choices. Had the styling of the Acura TL not gone in such a bizarre direction, we would probably have opted to get another one since we have had such a good experience with this car.

The other cars she likes are Lexus ES350, Audi A4 or A5, Infiniti (we love the M37 but the G37 is really more our price point), and also the Honda Crosstour. We had sort of liked the Acura version of the Crosstour (the ZDX) but the rear seats were surprisingly much less roomy than the Crosstour and getting in and out of the rear doors was awkward.

I am glad we went to the LA Auto Show since it gave us a chance to see the Hyundai's close-up. The fit and finish of the Genesis compared very favorably with cars that were much more expensive. They also had the Equus model there which was very impressive but, of course, more in the $50K+ range.

I will continue to do research and eventually try to drive a Genesis.

Doug

 

[waveman]

Doug: I'm also looking closely at the Genesis with an eye toward buying no later than March, probably much sooner. From what I've seen so far, nothing else offers as many features for the price as the Hyundai. I agree with your comment about the styling of the Acura TL - not my taste.

The Infiniti G37 is a very nice car, considerably improved over my '02 G35. But equipped as I want it's about the same price as the 4.6 Genesis sedan. The M class is also nice, but gets up into the next price tier. Car purchasing is definitely a slippery slope.

Good luck with your research.

 

[ellsworth007]

Since this is for your wife , how about a women's point of view.

Seats and steering wheel -I am short , so I find my self with the seat straight up and very close to the steering wheel - Seat and steering wheel only adjust so much .I would have her get in , adjust and drive and park .

Blind spot - being shorter , If I have the seat tilted back I really must lean forward and look to the left carefully. I know the blind spot now and am surprised when I can't see a thing on my left but when I really lean forward before changing lanes there is some one right next to me I could have plowed into !Yikes !

Parking - was a bit more challenging with the Genesis compared to my camery I had for 11 years, I am sure some of that is just getting used to it. I would have her pull in and out of a parking spot as the ride and steering are unique to the Genesis and doesn't compare to other vehicles as you may have read.

Service - Excellent ( so far ) I'm in Oregon at the Town and Country Hyundai
Satisfaction - Exceeds - Had the car since May 10
Hyundai brand - Genesis is a flagship car and Hyundai is an up and coming company.
Complants you might read - The majority of people fell in love with the Genesis and love their car. The exchange of issues and percieved problems are like any family sharing ideas and coming up with Solutions. I am hooked on my Genesis and find Hyundai is doing a lot of good things , but like any Brand, image takes time to grow. I believe we are enjoying value and prices far below those who must pay for the name.I have rebadged the flying H and found tires I want for the Genesis from reading the forum where bantering and comical resolve are a constant. Good luck . I live to drive my Car ! Ask my Husband and he tells people I am happier now that I have the Geneisis.

Gail

 

[SeismicGuy]

Hi Gail--that is good to hear. Maybe this is a generalization but I believe most wives are automatically skeptical when the husband starts pushing something. It took a while to convince swmbo that it was worthwhile at least looking at the Genesis. She was sort of lukewarm about this but seeing the cars at the Auto Show was definitely an eye-opener for her. But since I have been getting more enthusiastic about the car, she has become a bit more resistant--funny thing about the psychology behind this.

The most damning thing so far was a comment from our close friends who accompanied us to the Auto Show. They have owned 3 Lexus ES350 now (1999, 2002, 2005) and have been quite pleased with each one. I have always thought of most of the Lexus line as interesting as beige paint (except maybe the IS). Anyway, while our friends were pretty impressed with the Genesis and agreed that it looked every bit as prestigious as the ES350 (even more so), she vocalized an honest sentiment, something like ". . . but you will always be needing to explain why you bought a Hyundai rather than a Lexus or some other more established brand" and that when we told someone we owned a Hyundai we would need to quickly append something like ". . .but they are now really great cars and are highly rated". I guess it would not have been that much of a problem had Hyundai entered the America market at the high end to begin with rather than as low-cost budget boxes, which makes it a harder sell to be taken seriously as higher end without the requisite years of track record.

I know this sounds elitist but this is the sort of mentality you get in southern California. As an engineer I am really more concerned about the quality of the product and value for the money and the Genesis seems to fit the bill for this.

Doug

 

[msitter]

I looked at several cars, all rear drive and V8. None had the value that the Genesis had. If you read the posts on problems they are a lot of nit picks that come from having unrealistic expectations of the car. Granted some people have had serious problems but you will have that with any brand, no exceptions. It is not a BMW or a Mercedes and those that expected that level of car and treatment should have paid for it and not bought the Genesis. I have both a BMW and a Genesis and the Genesis wins hands down for reliability and comfort. I have no regrets what so ever about this car. I took a trip yesterday and the car returned 25.9 mpg and for a 385hp car that is great. If Hyundai ever makes a luxury convertible, the BMW is history.

 

[msitter]

The most damning thing so far was a comment from our close friends who accompanied us to the Auto Show. They have owned 3 Lexus ES350 now (1999, 2002, 2005) and have been quite pleased with each one. I have always thought of most of the Lexus line as interesting as beige paint (except maybe the IS). Anyway, while our friends were pretty impressed with the Genesis and agreed that it looked every bit as prestigious as the ES350 (even more so), she vocalized an honest sentiment, something like ". . . but you will always be needing to explain why you bought a Hyundai rather than a Lexus or some other more established brand" and that when we told someone we owned a Hyundai we would need to quickly append something like ". . .but they are now really great cars and are highly rated". I guess it would not have been that much of a problem had Hyundai entered the America market at the high end to begin with rather than as low-cost budget boxes, which makes it a harder sell to be taken seriously as higher end without the requisite years of track record.

I know this sounds elitist but this is the sort of mentality you get in southern California. As an engineer I am really more concerned about the quality of the product and value for the money and the Genesis seems to fit the bill for this.

Doug

I am seeing someone with some serious self esteem issues. People who are comfortable with the decisions they make owe no one a further explanation. Brag about how much more you have in the bank because you carefully research all your purchases in this down economy. By the time you get out of the dealer, sales tax and license fees could have bought you another small car in other states. I used to live in L.A. and had to leave or go broke. I moved there during the first reign of Gov Moonbeam and can't for the life of me understand why he is back.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[ellsworth007]

Ha ha , my husband was the first to bring the Genesis up to me , so you called that one right. My dad is army retired engineer who is a die hard Toyota supporter. He call's this car a fine machine and has not been able to find any thing wrong with it other than I live to far away to ride in it ! lol . The brand issue is important since re-sale value can be impacted by perception. A good indicator of value is resale of used vehicles or blue book .I have seen some article's of people on this forum discuss price's of a new or used Genesis at or slightly below but nothing like the dealers are undercutting to get rid of them. So far , I think their is a good balance between supply and demand. Funny about the comments , my neighbor asked if my car was a Kia , I said no it's Hyundai and he was blown away....every day I drive to work some one stops what their doing just to look at this car . My neighbor I walk with ( has an infinity ) wants my car and was amazed at what I paid for it compared to her'.Enough said , as you can see , I love my car

 

[SeismicGuy]

I am seeing someone with some serious self esteem issues. People who are comfortable with the decisions they make owe no one a further explanation. Brag about how much more you have in the bank because you carefully research all your purchases in this down economy. By the time you get out of the dealer, sales tax and license fees could have bought you another small car in other states. I used to live in L.A. and had to leave or go broke. I moved there during the first reign of Gov Moonbeam and can't for the life of me understand why he is back.

I am more the maverick and don't have as much of a problem with self-esteem. Unfortunately, here in LA "you are what you drive". Back in 1990 when we were shopping for a car for my wife, the serious contenders were Lexus ES250, Nissan Maxima, and the Sterling 827. For those of you that do not recall the Sterling, this was, in my opinion, a beautiful car with the looks and character of a high-end British marque but the reliability of a Japanese car (I believe the drivetrain was by Honda). The strategy seemed similar to the Hyundai Genesis in that the car was priced quite a bit below similar competition and there were humongous incentives to boot. There was lots of advertising and promotion for the vehicle (similar to Hyundai) and I did see many of these on the road. However, something apparently did not work out as the line was discontinued in the US and, had I bought one, I would have be sool in terms of servicing and resale--I ended up with the 1990 Maxima (great great car). Prior to that I had taken another bath when I had an Audi for a couple of years. The car was fine but the phony unintended acceleration issues resulted in the car being virtually unsellable when I was trying to sell it to make room for the Maxima.

I don't believe that Hyundai will follow the route of the Sterling or develop serious problems that render it unsellable. Probably by the time that we are seriously looking to buy, the Hyundai will be even more established and will have won even more "car of the year" and "best sedan" awards.

Doug

 

[waveman]

I know this sounds elitist but this is the sort of mentality you get in southern California. As an engineer I am really more concerned about the quality of the product and value for the money and the Genesis seems to fit the bill for this.

Doug

When I lived in L.A., I noticed that rarity was often as important as price in determining whether a car would be noticed. In the late 80s, I bought a new model Saab that wasn't expensive by L.A. standards, but wasn't often seen on the streets. I got a lot of positive comments about that car.

One good by-product of the L.A. mentality is that it's pointless for mere mortals to compete based on the cost of their cars. So why even try?

 

[Cut-Throat]

I used to live in L.A. and had to leave or go broke. I moved there during the first reign of Gov Moonbeam and can't for the life of me understand why he is back.

Meg Whitman said it best - ""You know, 30 years ago, anything was possible in this state," says Whitman. "You know that's why I came to California so many years ago."

 

[SeismicGuy]

When I lived in L.A., I noticed that rarity was often as important as price in determining whether a car would be noticed. In the late 80s, I bought a new model Saab that wasn't expensive by L.A. standards, but wasn't often seen on the streets. I got a lot of positive comments about that car.

One good by-product of the L.A. mentality is that it's pointless for mere mortals to compete based on the cost of their cars. So why even try?

This is one reason why a few of the cars I have bought in the past were somewhat non-mainstream. First, in 1979 I bought a Toyota Supra. It wasn't all that expensive compared with Nissan Z (at the time Datsun) but they were pleasant to look at and you did not see one at every stop light. Similar to your example of the Saab, back in 1983 I bought a 1981 Audi 5000 Turbo. In 1990 I almost bought the Sterling and in 2000 I bought the Acura TL which was a bit out of the mainstream compared with the ubiquitous Lexus ES. That is why I would definitely prefer taking a chance on the Genesis.

One of the criticism I have about Hyundai though is the way they have pretty much ripped off the design features of various other brands rather than establish their own identity. From the rear the Genesis is pretty much a dead-on clone of the ES350, although the front is somewhat more original.

Back about 4 or 5 years ago I attended one of those focus groups where they had several high-end cars on the floor (Audi, BMW, Acura, Mercedes, etc.) and we were asked to primarily rate and comment on what features of the exterior and interior styling we liked/disliked with each manufacturer. Another part of the study dealt with a "hypothetical" introduction of a mid-range luxury model from a Korean manufacturer. Basically, the group was asked if we would consider a Korean car for a mid-level luxury purchase, how much we would be willing to pay, what features would the car need to have (e.g., engine size, horsepower, amenities). At the end of the study we were allowed to finally ask who was soliciting this study and it turned out to be Hyundai--hence the Genesis.

Doug

 

[Cut-Throat]

Anyway, we are giving serious consideration to looking at the Genesis 3.8 Sedan (seeing these today at the LA Auto Show helped). I realize I might be able to find answers here by searching through the old threads but, in a nutshell, I was (1) wondering whether anyone here had regrets about buying a Genesis, (2)are there things to be wary about, (3) any good pricing in the southern California area?

Thanks,

Doug
Los Angeles
2005 Jaguar XKR
2000 Acura TL

No regrets here. Had mine for 90 days now and it is a superb car. If I still feel the same way this coming March, I am getting rid of my Lexus GS350 and buying another Genesis, exactly like the one I have (different color)

BTW -- If you are thinking of getting a loaded V6, you get very, very close to the price of a V8 - less than $2K --- Then I'd go with the V8, that's what I did.

 

[homeofstone]

Purchased a 2011 4.6 Genesis Sept. 20th. Now have just under 7000 miles on it and it is a great car. Previously owned a Mazda 929, an Acura TSX, and also still own a BMW Z3. This is by far the best car except for the Dunlop tires.

 

[SeismicGuy]

Purchased a 2011 4.6 Genesis Sept. 20th. Now have just under 7000 miles on it and it is a great car. Previously owned a Mazda 929, an Acura TSX, and also still own a BMW Z3. This is by far the best car except for the Dunlop tires.[/QUOTE]

Yeah--what's the deal with the tires on this car. When I quickly scanned through posts on this and another Genesis forum it looked like the most frequent complaint was quality of the ride. I, for one, do NOT like mushy rides where you feel disconnected from the road and do not mind a slightly "harsher" ride (particularly after owning a Corvette where your kidneys get rattled). So if the main complaint is that you feel the road more with the Dunlops, that would be no big deal. Is there some other problem with these tires?

Doug

 

[homeofstone]

Its not so much the ride of the Dunlops but the handling and noise. Check out the Tire Rack site and you will find that the rating of the Dunlops is like 5.7 or so and the Bridgestone Serenity is 8.2 pulls more g's wet and dry and stop better. Also the Bridgestones W speed have 45,000 mile warranty.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=235%2F&ratio=50&diameter=18&x=61&y=8

here are more brands and note how low the Dunlops rate.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=235%2F&ratio=50&diameter=18&x=61&y=8

 

[dg_moore]

Its not so much the ride of the Dunlops but the handling and noise. Check out the Tire Rack site and you will find that the rating of the Dunlops is like 5.7 or so and the Bridgestone Serenity is 8.2 pulls more g's wet and dry and stop better. Also the Bridgestones W speed have 45,000 mile warranty.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=235%2F&ratio=50&diameter=18&x=61&y=8

In addition to poor snow performance, a frequent complaint is the Dunlops' short service life.