If you're interested in a Hyundai, but you care about honesty and being treated with respect, then…read morestay clear of Walser Coon Rapids and head to Buerkle Hyundai in Vadnais Heights.
When my husband took our 2022 Tucson to Walser, they told him that the rear blinker was on the fritz because of water in our rear lamps, which they falsely claimed was "due to collision damage" and therefore "not covered under warranty." They charged us $127 just to look at our bumper, then gave us an estimate for almost $4,000 to repair a problem that their own technician described as "already a known issue on these guys." We told them that this vehicle had never been in a collision, but they ignored us and falsely wrote on our invoice that collision damage was the cause of the problem.
When I asked if a tear in the plastic (caused by a tire blowout 2 years ago) was the same thing as damage to the bumper, she confirmed that it was not. Nevertheless, she insisted that the technician had found a crack in the bumper when they looked under the car. That was their second falsehood. She offered to put it on the lift again, and when they checked again, behold, they found no damage to the bumper.
The service manager admitted that the tear in the plastic could not possibly have affected the water in the center taillight (which is at the bottom of the hatchback), but she told me that a tear in the plastic could have caused the condensation in the taillight, because it had broken a seal, allowing water to enter. Another untruth, as it turned out.
I later crawled under the car to personally have a look. The distance between the edge of the plastic and the underside of the bumper is so large that I can comfortably fit my hand behind it; it's completely open at the top and bottom. If this is what Hyundai considers a seal, it's no wonder that they have a water condensation problem.
The service manager said that she would contact Hyundai to see if they would cover the center light. She said it would take about 24 hours to get an answer.
The next morning, she texted my husband to say that they submitted the request to Hyundai the day before, "and they are still deciding if they are going to participate in helping with the cost of rear lamp assembly. Hopefully they will have some kind of decision for me today."
That was their last communication. I even emailed her the day after her text, saying how upset I was over the way we had been treated and expressing hope that they would make it right. But after getting caught in so many falsehoods, it appears they thought it was just easier to drop all communications.
That's when I made an appointment at Buerkle Hyundai, and (oh my) what a difference was that experience. I explained the problem and the damage to the plastic behind the tire, and they immediately offered to submit a goodwill request to Hyundai to cover the charge. They said they might receive an answer in 10 minutes, but it might take as much as an hour.
What? You mean it doesn't take over 24 hours to get an answer from the Hyundai headquarters? (For those keeping score at home; that was untruth #4 from Walser.) After Buerkle submitted the request, Hyundai approved the repair in less than an hour. Buerkle had the part in stock, and the whole experience, from driving in, to getting approval for covering the cost, to repairing the problem, took less than 3 hours.
Walser Hyundai charged us $127, and their only service was to treat us disrespectfully and feed us a pack of untruths. (I'm not sure what the industry standard might be for charging customers for falsehoods, but $127 seems kinda pricey.) Then they handed us a $4,000 estimate to repair a problem that they knew could have been covered by Hyundai, if only they would take the trouble to submit the request. Buerkle Hyundai fixed the problem in under 3 hours, and they threw in a free car wash and snacks. The total bill for the visit? $0.00.
Walser has lost two customers, and Buerkle has earned them.
