Can We Take Another Consumer Reports Review?

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 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