Hyundai Markets to the Economy

I was watching TV the other night when this commercial came on for Hyundai. They have a new offer that's basically "if you lose your income in the next year, you can give us the car back." Wow. Talk about marketing to what many people are dealing with today. Anyway, I'm sure there is TONS of small print, but I went online this morning and found out that the offer is legit. A summary:

In an attempt to combat economic uncertainty among automobile buyers, Hyundai and local affiliate AutoFair Hyundai are offering a first-of-its-kind one-year guarantee return program.

Starting today, the dealer begins allowing a new-car buyer to return the vehicle in the event of "life-altering circumstances" such as layoffs, job transfers and accidental deaths up to a year after the purchase.

Says AutoFair Hyundai Chief Operating Officer Andy Crews, "It's no secret that with economic uncertainty, customers have been hesitant on car purchases. With the new Hyundai guarantee, our customers no longer have to worry about car payments when they encounter unexpected life changes, and our cars are a natural choice."

This article is about one dealership, but the program is company wide. Here are the details from Hyundai's site.

Comments

[Norma]

We were discussing this offer last night at dinner. I'd read that small print carefully. Loss of a job is not the same as loss of income. Is unemployment considered income? It's pretty scarry when the car salesmen are trying to help us out. As always "Buyer Beware".

SOunds like a pretty good idea from Hyundai. You still owe the payments for the time you have the car, so they are basically converting it from a purchase to a very short-term lease. Since car payments are higher than lease payments, they have a limit on the max depreciation hit they will take, they probably wouldn't be getting paid (if they were the ones to finance it) anyway if the buyer lost their job, this is unique and reassuring to the buyer, and there are a whole lot more people worried about losing their jobs than will actually lose them over the next year, I'd guess this is a good move by Hyundai.

[JimL]

As I read the website, they are paying for any negative equity, up to $7500. I may not be all that difficult or expense for Hyundai. Here is why: To get a loan these days, you are required to have a good downpayment or significant trade. The days of zero down are long gone. At a minimum, I would suspect that you need to have at least 20% down on the car. If the depreciation is 25% in the first year, they are really only covering 5%. Further, the time window is small. To qualify, you need to have made at least 2 payments. The deal is only for the first 12 months, so the real window is 10 months.

Overall, this is a great marketing concept. However, the cost to the company may be minimal.

[thomas]

there is one big problem with this - you still are getting a hyundai.

[Jim]

Thomas,

Hyundai has really improved their cars. The first cars that hit the U.S. market were horrible and almost completely damaged the reputation of the company. More recently, however, things have greatly improved. I have driven several as rental vehicles when traveling on business and have been pleasantly surprised. At the same time, I continue to be disappointed by the GM cars that I have received as rentals.

[Frank]

Just to add on to Jim...

I drive a Hyundai and have not had a single issue in 4-5years/80,000 miles. This is very anecdotal, though.

However, JD Rankings has also shown that Hyundai has moved up in the rankings and is amongst the more popularly quality brands like Honda and Toyota.

Frank

[Lord]

The problem is do they give you your car back? It doesn't do much good to give it back when you still need one. Now it they offered to cover payments while you were unemployed, that would be something.

[Emily]

I Love Hyundai!! I bought an elantra 2 years ago and couldn't be happier. You get such a great value for a new car, and the warrenty cannot be beat. They are totally awesome!