Can We Take Another Consumer Reports Review?

I say this ad nauseum, but I know it to be true. Consumer Reports is not
the favorite magazine of a lot of people on this site.

However, Consumer Reports, on their website, has just given a "first-look"
at the 2007 Hyundai Azera.

They only give "first-looks" to products they are EXTREMELY impressed with,
and they are with the Azera.

They seem to love everything about this car, and even like the handling
better than on the Sonata, a curiosity.

There will be a full report in the August issue, which usually hits news
stands in July.

Consumer Reports liking Hyundais? Does that bode well for the cars or
not???

Just wondering.

Tom Wenndt

 

re: CONSUMER REPORTS

I had subscribed for years 'n years, though decided not to renew a
coupla years ago.

I really dunno exactly why I discontinued, but here's my reaction to
Tom's note, which may hint a reason for my non-renewal.

Yes, I agree with Tom that CR seems to have generally ignored Hyundai's
excellent value.

Perhaps it was that initial 1968 model etal that weren't of good
quality, as I well recall since I had a red 1968 Hyundai that looked
good but sort of ran like a hesitating-problem walking bird and the
damne door locks literally broke too.

Circa 1970 I traded it on a brand new black Hyundai with $7000; and I
thought it was much improved:

But it subsequently got wrecked, and I think we replaced it with a
Dakota truck.

Circa 1999 we got a new Sonata GLS which my wife liked a lot, and she
(thinks she) knows something about style.

In 2003 we traded it plus money and got a close-out white Accent & a
close-out grreen-gold Elantra.

Perhaps I came to diregard/discount/not renew CR because their articles
did not seem to treat Hyundai with the due respect it has earned in the
1990s and seemingly increasingly enjoys today.

It had sorta been labelled-smeared as a "Yugo" in the 1980s: The Yugo
was sort of a 1950s Fiat perhaps worse though which sold for less than
$4,000 as I vaguely recall. CR duly hated the Yugo.

Recently MONEY Magazine touted the supposedly best of the el cheapo
small/economy cars available:

MONEY likes the Accent, though doesn't mention Elantra.

CR is actually something of a snob, as I recall it also ignoring some
Oriental made electronics a couple of decades ago when I was looking-up
Taiwan & Korean made tv sets for frequency of repair and so forth.

I'm not anti-CR as such, and I've actually written them & complained
about some of the above.

They actually do an integral, valuable consumer service, but they are
not an end-all to be-all perfect publication.

To their credit: They do not accept ads.

I am certainly subject to error/correction, while it seems CR has
injustly avoided Hyundai.

 

red 1968

red 1988 4 door sedan

eventually traded it for a 1990 or 1991 black 4 door Hyundai sedan

 

That just means a few dozen more CR readers will try them or buy them. It's
not like their circulation is in the same class as Playboy or Better
Homes&Gardens.

I take CR's info with a grain of salt. Their "opinions" and "impressions"
are no better than yours or mine. However, their measurements are reliable
and useful. I fold their info to all the other info I gather when making a
major buy.

 

I purchased a new 2005 Accent 3 door 5 speed about 9,000 miles ago, I am not
at all disappointed with the car for the price I paid. Fit and finish are
very good and I anticipate driving this car until the wheels get square. On
the other hand the dealer leaves a lot to be desired, The things he did
while writing up this deal were in my opinion, unethical if not illegal. My
sister has had similar problems with a KIA dealer. I like the car but when
it's time to replace it I probably won't buy another Hyundai unless I find a
dealer that isn't a crook.
..
Jack Cassidy

 

re: dealer tricks

I am not making this one up:

The well-known dealer my wife purchased her Sonata from--i
swear--removed the sticker sheet from the window, apparently so she
would not be able to understand how badly he cheated her.

I complained to the FTC , and got no response.

And of course this doesn't mean they're all liars & theives.

I figure it's better to be cheated on a good value foreign make than a
domestic piece of crape.

 

Well, Our dealer didn't remove the window sticker, and it still had the
protective plastic on the hood and fenders when I test drove it. What he did
do was sneak an extra $2,200.00 into the deal with an extended warranty.
(extended to 100,000 miles, Duh! the car has a 100.000 mile warranty on it)
A tire warranty that was $650.00 (on a car with 13" wheels) window etching,
(in case it gets stolen, I don't care if someone steals it, it's insured)
and gap insurance, which I probably would have bought if anyone had asked.
I did manage to cancel the extended warranty and tire warranty at a cost of
$75.00 to me. But I didn't like the idea that these items were just written
into the deal without any mentioning them. I know it's my own fault for not
going over the paperwork before leaving the dealer but it was late and we
needed to be somewhere else, Didn't discover the unauthorized add ones until
the next day.
The last two new cars I purchased were a 2000 Grand Marquis and a 1999 F250
super duty Ford truck, Both of those deals were at a good price with no
hidden bullshit. The reason I went for the Hyundai is I now have a rather
long daily commute so I wanted a car with a long warranty and low initial
price and decent fuel mileage.
I learned a good lesson, who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?
Jack Cassidy

 

Removing the "Moroni Sticker," except in the presence of the buyer, is
flat-out illegal. I would have absolutely ran as fast as I could have
from that dealer.

I sold new cars for a short time a couple of years ago (between jobs!)
at a local Dodge-Jeep dealership. Since it was a family-owned (since
1943), and a Daimler-Chrysler "5-Star" dealership, they were extremely
serious on training their sales staff, and on treating their customers
fairly and ethically.

A dealer simply cannot remove the window sticker prior to a sale, or
not in the presence of the buyer. In fact, we were not allowed to
remove the sticker unless we asked permission of the buyer during the
final delivery process.

I would have taken this not only to the FTC, but to the local States
Attorney, and Hyundai corporate. At the very least, the salesman
should be fired, and at best, the dealership looked at very carefully
by Hyundai.

I guess I'm lucky . . . the Hyundai dealer we purchased our new 2006
Elantra from in Downers Grove, IL was very up-front on every item. I
knew the final price before I drove to the dealership, as I dealt with
their Internet Manager. Each item was individually discussed, and I
had the option of accepting or rejecting each. And, no pressure was
exerted by the F&I Manager during closing of the sale in regard to the
extended warranty, etc. Other than the options listed on the Moroni
Sticker, A/T and carpet floor mats, that was it - no additional packs
or add-ons. The total delivered price, including TT&L was $13,700 for
an Elantra GLS sedan with automatic transmission. And, our local
dealer (150 miles south of Chicago) is excellent. They treat Hyundai
owners as if the car was a Lexus. So, I guess there are good Hyundai
dealers out there.

 

re: run away from bad-dealing dealer

Yes, of course, in theory and where practical,
don't go back to them thar crooks.

Our free enterprise blah blah blah capitalist system in all of its
choices in its ideal.

This dealer is so
big that he covers seemingly most/much of a 400,000 population county.

He was there seemingly
from the start of Hyundai in USA, and operates more than one Hyundai
dealership.

The next nearest Hyundai
dealer is 40+ miles one-way, and I doubt if....any less dishonest
<sorry, but I'm a very convicted absurdist & cynic>.

The expression, "only game in town," is the near actual reality.

"That's the way it fuckeing is" <not exactly Walter Concrete's good-bye
line>.

That's partly why that if a competitor from the U.S., Mexico, Brazil,
Korea, China, India, France, or wherever has a better value car, then
....that's free blah blah enterprise.