Warranty Backdating

[incontrovertible]

I bought my Genesis at the end of the first week of July from a dealer who has now stopped selling Hyundai's. When I brought my car in to another dealer for recall service work, I noticed that the service invoice showed an initial date of sale of my car at the end of June. When I pointed this out to the service rep, he said that he's seen this before and I should contact Hyundai customer service to have the date corrected. He said the dealer was probably trying to qualify for some bonus or rebate from Hyundai which expired on June 30.

I've been hassling with Hyundai customer service for the past several weeks trying to get this done. So far, even though they got a verbal confirmation from the ex-dealer that the date is wrong and paper confirmation faxed from me, it's still not done.

This shows me three things. One, you should check to see that your warranty has the correct start date. Two, Hyundai has a long way to go to match the customer service status of Lexus, BMW, etc. And three, some dealers are willing to commit fraud.

 

[KenT]

that is unfortunately true...

there are good dealers and scum ones- you got stuck with the later.

normally if this was a Lexus Dealer and you had problems- you notify Lexus Corporate which is based near me in their Torrance/Gardena complex.

good luck

 

[Simonwpb]

Fraud is a universal concept. I recall an unsavory story about a Porsche dealer...

Glad you caught the problem. The most important thing is that you have not been denied any warranty because of this.

 

[redassag00]

I'd get them to make it right. But is one week really that big a deal?

 

[enjoyingsilence]

If you drive a LOT of miles. yes. You might need them in that last week.

 

[redassag00]

But what does time have to do with mileage?

If you drive lots of miles, wouldn't your warranty expire on miles way before the time frame is expired?

 

[enjoyingsilence]

Not if your careful

It's a cynical statement. My point was regarding.. what if something was to happen to your car during what would be your last week of warranty? If they back dated it. You're screwed. If they had been honest... it would have been fixed without (hopefully anyway) much problem.

Prima facia: How many times have you bought a consumer electronic device, and it's broken literally a few weeks or month after the warranty expired? If you buy a car, and plan to keep it for 10 years, and within the mileage limit.. and apply that same logic.. you might need that week (which you were SUPPOSED to get to begin with).

 

[KenT]

my experience with Lexus is this...

if you have the car serviced at the same dealership- for the life of the car and let's say you have a major problem up to a month past the manufacturer warranty- and if you are not an A** when you have problems- the service director/manager will usually try to get
it covered under warranty- but if you get it serviced not at the dealer- you are on your own- besides one thing to save money getting a Lexus repaired at maybe a Toyota Dealer or elsewhere- but come on getting a Genesis worked on is at a Hyundai Dealer-
they do not charge rates like Lexus, MBZ, etc.

 

[enjoyingsilence]

Agreed. But you don't have to be a BMW or Benz dealership to be shady. Seems that this guy's Hyundai dealership was somewhat shady by backdating his warranty. Perhaps that's why they don't sell Hyundai's anymore.

 

[incontrovertible]

Whether it's one day, one week, one month or one year, it's clearly fraud to backdate the sales date. The dealer is stealing from Hyundai (for his cash rebate/bonus) and from me in lost warranty time.

Also, the fact that Hyundai is making me jump through hoops to get them to correct their error is egregious. They should thank me for bringing it to their attention, take full responsibility for getting whatever documentation they need and fix the problem promptly. Instead, they're treating me like I caused the problem.

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[enjoyingsilence]

Here's my advice. Honestly. And I don't want this to get nasty for you. But sometimes, for the sake of efficiency. Get an attorney.

Find an attorney that handles either Lemon Law Cases (yes... I know that sounds strange, but they are very fluent in these types of ordeals; I can refer you to an excellent law firm, if you like, who would be able to help you). Or warranty cases, involving vehicle manufacturers.

I don't think it's civil, but I'm also not one to give firm legal advice.

However, if your contract shows one date, And theirs shows another. And you're not getting anywhere with Hyundai's customer service department.

Take it up with the parent company of the (former) Hyundai dealership whom you bought your car from. Hyundai USA wouldn't ever have to get involved. And the majority of the time, since it's their foo-pah. It's on their dime.

They'll either give in, and fix it. And ask you to drop the case, once they're sent a letter of demand. Or it'll go to arbitration.

 

[incontrovertible]

Thanks for the advice. I've been talking with Hyundai USA all along.

 

[enjoyingsilence]

Remember. dealerships operate on a long leash from the parent. Sometimes a little force in a dealership is what you need.

While the dealership you originally purchased your car from may not be selling Hyundai anymore... You sort of alluded to their parent company selling other brands of cars. They are still responsible for what they did, as a corporation. You can sue them.

It's not hyundai USA's fault.

 

[incontrovertible]

Whether it's Hyundai USA's fault legally or not, I can't say. What I can say is that they should take full responsibility to fix the problem once it's been reported and verified by me and their dealer, especially if they want to develop a reputation as a luxury car manufacturer.

 

[enjoyingsilence]

Hyundai corporate didn't do it. They didn't generate the documents. The dealership did.

I'd start there.

However, it seems that you think going to corporate on this issue is going to get problems solved, in a matter of days. Not to be careless, but Hyundai has bigger fish to fry than a backdate issue on someone's warranty, as it's legally, not their problem.

 

[incontrovertible]

I respectfully disagree with you. Hyundai has no bigger problem than changing their image from a manufacturer of junk to one of luxury. They've got $500 million riding on issues like this. If they treat customers poorly, they'll lose on that investment.

 

[realpix]

I respectfully disagree with you. Hyundai has no bigger problem than changing their image from a manufacturer of junk to one of luxury. They've got $500 million riding on issues like this. If they treat customers poorly, they'll lose on that investment.

I agree. Hyundai can't let a dealership go and commit fraudulent acts. Especially since now they are aware of it.

By turning a blind eye (if the problem is not fixed) they are just as guilty as the dealer. Look at Enron, WorldCom, Bear Stearns and all the rest.

 

[incontrovertible]

Here's an update:

After I faxed them the sales contract, Hyundai called to say they had corrected the first use date about two weeks ago.

I brought the car to the dealer for oil change yesterday and the date was still wrong. I called customer service, explained that the date was still wrong, and asked for a letter confirming first use date.

They just called me back and said that they could not send me a letter.

While it's a minor item (unless I need warranty service), it shows me that Hyundai hasn't yet figured out what customer service means.

 

[KenT]

first of all sorry for your troubles...

but this does not surprise me really- to enter the so called big leagues of competitors- Hyundai has a long way to go- remember they are a Hyundai dealer and Genesis is really out of place with the cars on their lot

if they really wanted to do it right- you know what they had to do- open up a higher end dealership and not sell these cars at a Hyundai Dealership

 

[BigElm]

Just keep your document stating the correct date, handy. Eventually HMA will fix it. You have your proof... the dealers and HMA HAVE to honor it.