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I was very excited that Foundation Hyundai had Ioniq 5’s on the lot the day I went there. To their credit, they were not charging this 5k surcharge, but instead adding a 2k charge for tinting and clear bra which I normally would have purchased anyway.
So, this is the point where the warm fuzzies surrounding this experience begin to stop. My salesperson Kaylee S. was initially very good. She showed me around the new car and took me for a test drive. She even was patient as I struggled over whether to get the SE model of the Ioniq 5, instead of waiting for a SEL to come in which might have been another month or longer. After choosing to buy the car and because the process for such purchases could take some time and there were other buyers ahead of me, I told Kaylee that I’d return later that evening to complete the deal as I had a prior commitment at 5p.
I returned and there was no Kaylee. I had been handed off to a different salesperson and I was told Kaylee had a concert to go to. Umm… Ok. The new salesperson was friendly enough and later helped me remove the annoying toll tag in my old car. Still, it would have been nice to have been told that Kaylee wasn’t going to be around when I returned and to set that expectation ahead of time.
Financing…
I’ve brought 4 cars since 2013. I haven’t had a car over 3 years since that time. The Ioniq 5 purchase was the 4th new car purchase since that time. I bring that up to say that I’ve had very recent experience in how this process works and normally goes. This process was definitely NOT similar! In each previous experience, I always felt like the finance person was being upfront with me about the cost of the various items that dealers try and sell you when you purchase a car. In those previous experiences, at the end of the process we went over the total costs associated with the deal and there was no gray areas where I felt unsure of what I was buying or the associated costs of same.
I returned to the dealer at 7:30p as I promised and was told that the Finance person Madison B. would be with me shortly. We began going over the various options. I really want to try and be fair to Madison on this point. The only thing I remember us talking about as far as additional costs for this car purchase was GAP insurance which I always get. Additionally, we talked about a warranty that would cover the windshield, which after taking a few minutes to think about that coverage, I remember declining it as I thought I could get similar coverage from my insurance agent. However, I do remember a point where she told me that the cost was only a few dollars more and she says that at that time I told her to go ahead with that purchase. I do not recall that at all.
Anyway, if I did say yes on something, it was just for the windshield coverage. This is where I need to stop and say that regardless of what I thought I said or thought I was signing up for, if there was a verbal break down of the associated costs of these items before this deal was done, we never would have had an issue. I would have saw these costs and declined. This never happened. The only call out for the price of this warranty was how much more it would add to the cost of my loan.
We finished up signing all the papers and I walked out to my old car to start moving stuff over to the new Ioniq 5, however, before I took off, I was told that Madison needed to see me right away. I went back into her office and she told me that I had forgotten to sign some form, so she got back to the screen and I electronically signed some additional documents.
WAIT… IT GETS WORSE….
We finished up the paperwork and I told Madison that I would be back the next day to turn in my second key to my trade in and some other things that should go with that car.
Thursday, March 26th
The next morning, I go back to the dealership and turn those things in. I think I waived to Madison and the gentlemen that accesses trade in value. At no time was there a word about my down payment (I had forgot about it at this point, or any other issues.) Afterwards, I leave for the mountains, and I’m bummed because I don’t get to drive my new car…
Friday, March 25th (the next day)
I get a call while on the road the next day from the Salesperson that finished up with me the previous evening. (Not my original salesperson, mind you. To date, I still have not heard anything from her since she initially showed me the car and to be quite honest, I would expect to since the dealership still owes me a window tint and clear bra which I paid for. Maybe at some point, she will reach out to schedule those things with me???) Back to the call… I was told by the Salesperson that Madison (Finance) said that I was supposed to have brought in my money down Thursday (we never talked about this in person or otherwise), and that she had some other papers for me to sign. I told him that I couldn’t come in until Monday, but that I would return with payment and to sign the required documents.
Monday, March 28th
I show up to the dealership on a work break. I’m told that Madison would be with me shortly. I waited around for easily 20 mins for her to finish up a meeting with someone else at the dealership (not a customer). I watched as another member of the team came in and they laughed… and chatted.. and I waited… Eventually, Madison came out and said a few more mins Freeman… I waited… She eventually came out and got me and told me that all the paperwork had to be re-signed (what??? Really???) She said that she had left out a specific name required to be on the paperwork. I thought that was weird, but oh well mistakes happen… So, I went back through, and we re-signed all the papers again. Someone else came and took my down payment and I was off to work.
Wednesday, March 30th
I log onto the Hyundai Bluelink app and in there is an option to link your Hyundai Motor Finance account. I do so and I see that my loan is showing up as 55k balance. I do a double take at that number, and it prompts me to go back and read through my paper work. On the documents I was given, there is no number over 47k. So, I’m thinking what gives? I go back and look over each document and there I find a copy of a service contract from warranty solutions and when I go look up the price, its four thousand dollars. No way in a million years would I have every signed up for such a contract. In fact, I told Madison and my original salesperson Kaylee that I may not keep the car past 1 year as I really wanted the Ultimate trim, etc etc… So why would I have ever signed a document for a 10 year warranty under those circumstances??? I wouldn’t. Period.
I called the dealer a few times trying to talk to Madison to discuss this. It was quite hard to talk to a real person, but I finally got one and left a detailed message about the issue. Madison called me back rather quickly. I told here my issue and that I didn’t recall asking for this warranty. She kept telling me that I could cancel the contract and get a refund in the event that I did trade the car and I kept TRYING to tell here that I didn’t want it and to PLEASE cancel it. I guess she eventually listened to me and told me that because it was a busy time, she would get back to me the next day or the day after that.
Friday, April 1st
Well, that time came and went so I texted her back at a number she had previously texted me and said the following:
Me: Hey, this is Freeman. You said you’d get back in touch with me today. What is the status of this?
Madison: We are in close out. I will send you a cancellation form tomorrow for you to fill out and send back. I will get it sent out Monday.
Me: That’s not what you told me, but ok. I’ll fill out my survey’s now and website feedback. Thanks
Madison: I can do it now if you’d like, we had just been super busy with close out!
Madison: What’s your email ?
Madison: It just won’t be processed until Monday cause banks are closed!
Final thoughts:
I know I’ve written a lot here and it’s because this matters to me and I think it’s important to get a clear view about any situation. I don’t feel like I was valued by either the salesperson or the finance person in this situation. I feel like maybe this contract was added after I re-signed the papers after going back to her office. I can’t prove that because I tore up the additional copies at the dealership (stupid me!!!), but even if they were there initially, I didn’t and don’t remember asking for a service contract during our discussions. I feel like since I was still technically within the 3 day return period (because I had to resign all the documents), that she could have and should have cancelled this contract that day. I believe she’s only allowing me to go through these hoops because maybe she still gets a commission for the sale or something. If the only thing that was needed here was a cancellation form. WHY in the world has it taken so many days for her to simply email this form to me?
Because of these reasons, I will not be going back to this dealership for another deal. I’m so bummed that for what should have been a seamless experience, I’ve had to jump through so many hoops and feel totally disrespected by the two people mentioned above. I hope someone reads this and takes steps to make this process better for the next person who might buy from this dealership….