This nightmare started about two months ago. For the first time in my life, I was ready to put a little more than the basics into my new car purchase. I drove a Sonata for 5 years, and was happy with it and wanted to stick with Hyundai. I had a 2016 Tuscon picked out and was ready to buy from a different dealer, when Elgin called me insisting they had the exact car I wanted for less than the location I was going to buy from. I explained that I lived 40 minutes away and I did not have time to waste. They insisted. Sure enough, I get there and it was a good old bait and switch. They did not have anything close to what I was looking for. The dealer, Matt, was great though and helped me find a Tuscon that worked for me. He was kind and not shady. I left happy. All was great, and I even took my brother to Matt to buy his Elantra. This experience was good and I was told I would get a $100 referral check in the mail. Well it has been two months and I have not received that yet.
After a few weeks of having the Tuscon, I noticed that the transmission was jumpy. The pressure I was pressing the gas pedal was not matching what the car was doing. It was weird, but the car was still working overall. I was going to take it in when I had time, but am a very busy person. A few days later, I was driving and at a stop sign. When I went to go, I could not. I was pressing the gas and nothing was happening. I was able to reverse, so I backed into a parking lot. It was a Sunday night, so I called Hyundai Roadside Assistance. They assured me someone would be there in an hour, well it took 3.5 hours for a tow. They towed it to a different Hyundai dealership, since it was close than Elgin. They did a software update and said everything was fine. I picked the car up and it was not okay and I was almost rear-ended as I turned onto a busy road and could not get the car to accelerate. I called Matt, the salesman, and told him I was on my way to Elgin because something was wrong with the car. I got there and they gave me a loaner and promised they would figure it out. I was very upset because I drive my nephews around and this car was clearly an unsafe lemon.
They gave me a loaner car and kept the Tuscon for three days. They said that the GM, Service Manager and Salesman all drove it a lot and had no issues. Basically, they were calling me a liar. I went in and demanded that they drive with me. Sure enough, Matt gets in and before we even leave the parking lot the car jumps just like it did before. We then drove and I explained how hard I was pressing on the gas and how it was not going. He then told the Service Manager what happened when he was in the car and the Service Manager got in. We went for a drive, and it was doing similar things. He insisted that I was just not used to a turbo engine and his solution was for me to drive a different car with the same engine to see that it was normal. As we got back into the lot, my Tuscon stunk the same way it did when I stalled out. He said it was because it was under 1500 miles and that is normal. Well, the car was at 1650 miles and this was not a little smoke smell that is normal. I was basically told there was nothing more they could do but buy the car back at a loss for me.
At this point I lost about $1500 for a car I had for a month. I decided to go up to the Santa Fe, which I have been happy with. I was promised 2.99 financing, even though I had 2.79 before. I went ahead because it was already 8pm and I just wanted to get out of the situation. Well here comes finance. He tried to sneak in a $699 Anti-Theft plan that he was told not to charge me. Then all of the sudden the rate is 3.09 for finance. Well I asked him to change it and he said he couldn't. I was done at this point and the shop was closed. I left and called Hyundai Finance the next day to see what they could do. Well, they told me to call Ed, the finance guy back. I did and he told me to call them. It is only fair that I would have the same APR that I had a month ago when I bought the lemon. I called him back and he started yelling at me and told me "You are rude and I am not going to put up with you not trusting me" and "This is the last time I am going to say it, you are believing a clerk ahead of me and you will not call me again about this issue". I explained that I talked with a manager at Hyundai Financial and that they all explained the same thing, that the deal is with the finance department of Elgin and I had to talk with him. He continued to yell at me and insult me, so I hung up. After dealing with all of this, I will never buy a Hyundai again. From this dealer to their corporation, I am disgusted.
There is a level of professionalism missing in Elgin for sure. While I was waiting or finance I saw a manager and employee get in a screaming match together. The employee yelled in his managers face and stormed out of the building. Basically what I would like to do at this point, and if I were you I would stay away! read more