One Hyundai Ride Not So Comfortable...
Customer service is a pet peeve of mine, and from time to time I have railed about personal experiences in which CSRs and/or sales folks have dropped the ball. First off, I recognize that CSRs are people too, imperfect beasts no different than myself and prone to missteps. But there are times when a little preparation, some research and a modicum of common sense go a long way toward preventing misunderstandings and nuclear levels of anger.
Case in point: my 2007 Hyundai Accent, which saw its transmission go sour during the holidays. A little background...it was purchased, used, in 2009 with about 15,000 miles logged, from a Toyota dealership. Hyundai loves to tout its coverage, "America's Best Warranty," a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. Ordinarily, a transmission repair would be covered under the powertrain warranty; however, the powertrain warranty isn't transferable to second owners.
Unfortunately, at the time I purchased said Hyundai product, the Toyota dealership informed me I would have the balance of both the five-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper and 10/100,000 powertrain warranties. However, the only documentation I was provided at closing was a Carfax report showing mileage remaining on both warranties; if that was my smoking gun for small claims court, surely I'd be dismissed out of hand. So Toyota would not help me, and my local Hyundai dealership informed me that the powertrain was not transferable.
The tranny needed to be replaced. The tally was just under $2,600.
Incensed, I wrote a letter to Hyundai through its Website to chastise the company for not standing behind "America's Best Warranty" on a second owner, hoping the process would be therapeutic. Here it is:
"I am writing to express my profound disappointment in your Accent model. In 2009 I purchased a 2007 Accent with 15,000 miles on it. At about the 70,000-mile mark, I began experiencing transmission problems. Upon contacting my local Hyundai dealership, I was informed that the 100,000-mile powertrain warranty did not extend to second-hand owners. I purchased the vehicle from a Toyota dealership, which had reassured me that the powertrain warranty applied to me. In that sense, my beef lies with Toyota. However, I find it curious that 'America's Best Warranty' does not apply to secondary owners, and that in an age where cars (particularly their transmissions) are built to last, my tranny wouldn't even make it to 75,000 miles, the majority of which is highway mileage. And now, I face the prospect of paying thousands of dollars to replace a bad transmission. Given Hyundai's unwillingness to stand behind its craftsmanship, I will not be purchasing one of your vehicles, or recommending that my friends buy one, anytime soon."
