2014 Hyundai Sonata Gls Cruise Ctl Alloys One Owner 25k Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hyundai to offer new shopping service with money-back guarantee

The internet has made purchasing a car easier than ever before. There are dozens of websites, including Autoblog, that have apps and search tools to help find and compare new car prices. Still, the idea of actually walking into a dealership to deal with haggling, trade-ins, financing and paperwork still seems daunting. Starting soon, Hyundai will be streamlining much of that process with its new Shopper Assurance program. The new service helps knock out much of the legwork before you even step into a dealer. There's even a money-back guarantee. With Shopper Assurance, potential customers can search Hyundai inventory with "market prices" listed. That price includes the car's MSRP minus incentives and other dealer discounts. Most of the paperwork for the purchase can be done online. This includes valuing a trade-in, applying for financing, checking credit scores and calculating payments. Test drives can be scheduled online and can be done anywhere, including a customer's home or office. The most interesting part of the new service is the three-day money back guarantee. If for some reason a customer isn't satisfied, they can return the car for full refund. That said, there are a couple of caveats. The car must have fewer than 300 miles on the odometer since purchase and a dealer must inspect the car for damage or wear. The new service will launch later this year in Miami, Orlando, Dallas and Houston and will roll out in 2018 nationwide. Related Video:

Senator calling for answers from Hyundai and Kia over MPG debacle

Hyundai and Kia have already gone public with plans to make good on the inflated fuel economy claims scandal that has rocked both companies in recent weeks. But one US senator, Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), is skeptical that the general public will see much good from the proposal, and he's looking for answers.
To recap: Hyundai/Kia have agreed to compensate owners of 900,000 affected vehicles for real versus previously claimed fuel mileage (as well as adding in a one- fifteen-percent premium), by way of pre-loaded debit cards. It has been speculated that this payout could crest $100 million by the time the Korean automakers are done writing checks.
Said Rockefeller to The Detroit News, "While I believe this is a positive step, I am concerned that many affected customers may not learn about the program or may find it burdensome to participate in the program." Rockefeller would reportedly like to see a monitoring system for the paybacks more clearly defined, with the goal being as many wronged car buyers as possible getting the recompense that they're due.

Hyundai sales slump in China over North Korea, standoff with Chinese partner

BEIJING/SEOUL — Hyundai is at loggerheads with its Chinese partner over efforts to cut supplier costs, as they grapple with cutthroat competition and the impact of a standoff between Beijing and Seoul. Hyundai, along with affiliate Kia, has been caught up in a political row over a missile defense system that is being deployed in South Korea, but opposed by China, as tensions grow over North Korean missile tests and last week's test of a nuclear bomb the North claims can be mounted on a missile. Sales of Hyundai cars in China have been falling, part of a backlash against South Korean brands over the missile system that China views as a threat to its own national security. On Tuesday, South Korea asked the United States to lift a limit on the explosive payloads it can use in the missile system. This as a North Korean missile, believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, was being tracked by intelligence services being moved on the ground toward North Korea's west coast and a possible launch site. That has come against the backdrop of ever tougher competition from local Chinese automakers. Until last year, Hyundai and Kia ranked third in China by sales. But Hyundai's sales alone have slumped 41 percent from January to July, fraying relations with local partner BAIC Motor Corp and making this the biggest crisis since Hyundai entered the Chinese market in 2002. Last month, Hyundai suspended production at its four China plants for a week after a French supplier refused to provide fuel tanks when its bills went unpaid. On Tuesday, Hyundai suspended production at one of its plants in China after a German firm went unpaid. Hyundai and BAIC — whose Beijing Hyundai joint venture is a 50:50 partnership — are divided over how to solve the issue of suppliers and tougher competition. Hyundai wants to protect its South Korean supply chain, while BAIC favors shifting to cheaper Chinese suppliers to cut costs, the people said. "BAIC wants to solve this aggressively and is ... asking Hyundai to change its sourcing strategy significantly and immediately," said the head of a Hyundai supplier based in Seoul, adding the idea was to source more locally from cheaper suppliers in China. Hyundai wants to solve this more gradually "over perhaps 5-10 years and do so in phases," the person said. BAIC declined to comment.