South Bay Hyundai

by Jake McGee on 07/30/2022

Their incompetence made me realize they ripped me off, and they now owe me $1231. I bought a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport at South Bay Hyundai on September 9, 2021. I took in a 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring wagon for trade. The car had 150k miles or so, but was in great mechanical condition, and decent cosmetic condition. I still owed $1400 or so on it; I know for a fact I could have got at least $2500 selling it on my own, but I wanted to see what the dealership would offer in trade. They told me- multiple times- that they'd happily pay off the balance, and take care of everything for me. I kept asking to make sure, "so you're going to pay this off for me?" And they kept saying "yes." So I traded the Elantra against the Santa Fe. I left with temporary plates, with them telling me the proper plates would get to me in 30 days or so. After 6 weeks, I called, and they then said it usually takes more like 90 days. Fair enough, I assumed I misunderstood. As time went by, I called back multiple times, to see if I could get an ETA on my plates. Each time, I was treated like I was being too anxious. My temporary plates ended up expiring, so I texted the rep, and just got the runaround, until he eventually stopped replying to me. So I called the DMV. They told me (in December) that South Bay Hyundai never completed the paperwork, and that "it's been pending since October." A few days later, the plates suddenly arrived, sent next-day, with notation saying South Bay Hyundai had just then completed their paperwork. More than 90 days after I bought the car! Meanwhile, this all had me read through the paperwork I signed, and I was shocked to see that they only gave me $250 for my Elantra! They took the remaining $1481.84 out of my deposit, which was supposed to all go to my new car. Of course, when I filed a claim with BBB, South Bay Hyundai's reply was, "we didn't force him to sign the contract." If there's a reply to this review from the sales manage, it is totally disingenuous, considering they had multiple chances to reply to my numerous calls, texts, and emails.

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by Tomeseller on 05/11/2022

Worst service experience of my life (and I'm 62). Service department does not answer their phone, nor do they return phone calls. I have to drive down to the dealership to find out what was going on with my car. Finally got their assistant service manager to say he would email me information which came sporadically. When I had questions he would wait a day or more to answer them. I have owned Hyundai's for 20 years and have two at the moment but this dealership will see none of them in the future nor will I ever buy a car there.

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by Ent_Dreamer on 11/21/2014

I went to this dealership on November 20, 2014. I found a price of $21,035 for a vehicle on their website but they changed it on me with the reason, "Our webmaster made a mistake and listed a higher rebate price than he should have." I was not allowed to pay the dealer advertised price because they "wouldn't make a profit." This was coming from the General Manager himself. How are customers expected to pay the price for a mistake that the dealership made? Terrible customer service. Choose elsewhere.

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by tonyj45 on 05/01/2013

I moved to California 2 weeks ago from Chicago, Illinois and I had to settle in FAST and the people at South Bay Hyundai made helped me do just that, at least with purchasing my vehicle ha! I purchased the veloster and got a sweet deal, people there were so great to work with too.

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by jazdeleon1 on 04/18/2013

As we all know buying a new vehicle can be a very draining and hectic task, but coming to South Bay Hyundai is the best decision I could have ever made. Everyone was so helpful from the managers to the sales people, I got a great deal, and they just made the entire process so easy. I defiantly recommend this dealership to anyone looking for a new or used car. Thank you South Bay Hyundai!

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by knighterrant01 on 11/18/2012

I live in the San Diego area, and I have been searching for a late model Hyundai Sonata to purchase. After considerable online research, I found a solid candidate vehicle at South Bay Hyundai or so I thought. I interacted with the sales staff online, and negotiated what I believed to be a reasonable price for a 2011 Sonata. I called the dealership, confirmed the price, and agreed to purchase the vehicle. I went to my bank and had an official check drafted, and then drove two and half hours to purchase the vehicle. Prior to my departure, I called the sales person to inform him when I would be arriving and requested that the vehicle be cleaned and ready to go upon my arrival to help expedite the process. When I arrived, the vehicle was not ready, and when they brought it up from the back, it had yet been cleaned. Not the best first impression. I inspected the vehicle, and took if for a quick test drive, and then I returned the vehicle to have it quickly detailed while I paid for it. I was paying for the vehicle with an official bank check, but the sales person still wanted me to fill out a credit application to include providing the dealership with multiple personal references with contact information. I refused to provide personal information for any my acquaintances, but did provide them with my basic information. I do not understand why cash purchase requires personal references, unless they intend to use the contact information for future sales calls. The sales person told me that I would need to meet with their finance person to execute the paperwork and complete the sale. I ended up waiting about 20-30 minutes before I finally met with the finance person, which I thought was too long. The finance person walked me through the paperwork, and during this process, he informed me the vehicle was being purchased as equipped and that the bumper to bumper warranty expired at 36k miles and that the only warranty remaining was the 5 year / 60k drivetrain warranty. I told him that the car only had 30k miles (addressed below). And that it was my understanding that the 10 year / 100k drivetrain warrant was not transferrable, but that Hyundai's 5 year / 60k bumper to bumper warranty did transfer to subsequent owners. He informed that Hyundai's bumper to bumper warranty is reduced to 3 year / 36k to subsequent owners. I do not work for Hyundai, but all of the research I have done online indicates the 5 year / 60k warranty is transferrable, and I have been told the same from another Hyundai salesman. I previously owned a 2007 Sonata that I bought used, and my dealership addressed an issue for me without cost on my Hyundai after 36k miles that was not drivetrain related. The only reason I can think the finance manager at this dealership would tell me otherwise was an attempt to sell me some type of extended warranty. However, the mileage discrepancy caused me to halt the process. The vehicle was advertised with 30k miles. However, the vehicle actually had 45k miles. I did not notice the discrepancy immediately when I first inspected the vehicle. I drove two and half hours to purchase a vehicle with a 15k mileage error. When I pointed out the error, the dealership immediately offered to take $500 off of their "best price" I had already previously negotiated. I wasn't interested in purchasing a vehicle with mileage in that range at the negotiated price, even with a $500 discount. When I informed them of that, they offered to give me the 5 year / 60k warranty on the vehicle, which I am pretty sure the vehicle already had. Ultimately, I did not buy from this dealer, and left (5 hour round trip). Not only was I disappointed, but this cost me substantial time as well as real money. This also materially inconvenienced me in other aspects that I will not address in this review. The sales manager called me later to apologize, and left me a voice mail vowing to find a vehicle similar to the one as advertised, and he offered to sell it to me at roughly the same price. What an accommodation . . . if I agreed to work with them again and drive 5 hours round trip again, they would try to sell me a vehicle similar to the one they previously promised me for a price similar to the one previously negotiated. I returned the sales manager's call to discuss this nightmare further, but he was unavailable, so I left a message, and he has not returned my call. If someone is contemplating purchasing from this dealership, I would seriously research the vehicle being considered and verify everything.

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