ComplaintsforAutomax Hyundai of Norman

• Initial Complaint

  01/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe from Norman Automax on Dec. 3,2021. The salesman was very nice, but we felt we were not treated fairly by the finance office. However, the bigger problem is that as of Jan. 18, 2022 we have not received the paperwork to get the title. The paper tag expired on Jan. 3 and we contacted the dealer and were told they would over night a replacement. This did not happen. The loan on the trade was paid off on Dec. 27, 2021 and a lien release issued. On January 12, 2022 the general manager told us he had spoken with the corporate office and the paperwork would be overnighted. This did not happen.Our checking account was debited for the first payment on January 17, 2022. In other words we are paying for a vehicle we do not legally own, Our temporary tag expired on Jan. 3 so it cannot be legally driven on the street. In addition, the dealer lost the tag on the trade in so if we ever get the paperwork we will have to pay for a lost tag. The worst buying experience we have ever experienced.

  Business response

  01/20/2022

  ******************,

  I apologize for the delay with receiving the paperwork you need in order to title the vehicle & that you were lied to by our employees at the dealership.  Our CEO will address with situation with them.

  I am not sure if you are aware or not, but the vehicle you purchased from Automax was a unit that we had to purchase from another dealership located in Kansas.  In addition to this, there has been a major delay in getting the "Certificate of Origin for a Vehicle" from the Hyundai factory. There was a delay getting the paperwork from the dealership in Kansas due to the factory having delays. Automax along with the rest of the dealerships in the country have been experiencing this delay for the past 6 months.  That is no excuse for you being lied to! I did want to make you aware of the issue though.  

  I have attached a copy showing that your paperwork was mailed to you on Jan 17th.  Once you have titled the vehicle with the ************************ you can email us a copy of your rec and we will reimburse you for the penalty charges.  You can email the rec to ************************* at our Corporate office.  ************************************.

  Again, I apologize for the entire situation that you had to experience. 

   

• Initial Complaint

  12/17/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This dealership advertises cars on HyundaiUSA website, so I submitted a request to pay cash for a car shown there this morning. I received immediate contact from them suggesting I come for a test drive. I told them I had already test driven a similar vehicle and that I would be driving the 200 miles there to pick up the car as soon as we inked a deal. I had already received two emails confirming the price, amenities, and availability and waited all day for the info regarding where to wire the money. I finally received a call back from a rep who informed me that she was told by the manager that the car had been wrecked in transit from the manufacturer and had never made it to their lot, therefore it was unavailable. The ad was still up and had the vin number, so I called Hyundai USA and asked about this vin and where this car was located - they confirmed that the car had been delivered to Automax Hyundai of Norman and that they sold the vehicle to an individual last month. So, is this dealership up to some bait and switch shenanigans? Are they advertising cars they never had or cars they had but sold a month prior? Were they going to allow me to drive 200 miles only to find out they never had this car in the first place? The new car ********** of Oklahoma strictly forbids this behavior so I would like to know the true story regarding this car with vin number *****************.

  Business response

  12/27/2021

  ************, I would like to start by apologizing for the issue you experienced.  Unfortunately, the information you received from Hyundai was not 100% accurate.  The unit you inquired about does have damage from transport & it has been placed on hold.  I spoke to our General Manager, *****************************, in reference to this issue and he sent me a screen shot of the email communication from our Hyundai Regional **** ************************ ******* also expressed to me that the vehicle arrived on our lot this past Friday the 24th.  I do believe that our General Manager will be in reaching out to you soon.  Again, I apologize for the issue you've had.  I have attached the email from our Hyundai Rep for you to review. 

  Customer response

  12/27/2021

  
  Complaint: 16376523
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  As my screen prints prove, this car was advertised as available and confirmed by ****** as available FORTY-FIVE days after the date of your screen print indicates it was supposedly damaged and put on hold.  As we were going to travel 195 miles to purchase this car based on your advertisement and your emailed confirmation, we wanted to pay for it before we drove so far.  Only after insisting on being able to pay for it first, were we finally told that it was in fact NOT available.  You were going to let us drive all the way there in hopes you could sell us something else, on that we can all be clear..  You know it, we know it, and now everyone else will know it including the Oklahoma regulatory commission who oversees bait-and-switch and lemon laws.  Under the circumstances, honesty up front would have been a good policy.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business response

  12/28/2021

  ************,

  Our DMS ****************** System) automatically uploads our vehicles to the Web when it is put into our system. 

  Hyundai will invoice us for a vehicle once the it has completed production & at the time of invoicing, the vehicle gets put into our system which automatically upload to our Website. Once the vehicle leaves production & the vehicle is on the transport truck we have no control over the vehicle being damaged & neither does Hyundai.  It just happens from time to time due to human error.  This process is out of our control & it is not something that can be changed.

  I do not believe that ****** was aware of the situation at the time of communication with you.  What I will admit fault in is that our Managers should have communicated better with the *** (Internet Sales) & other sales staff about this vehicles situation.  I do not feel that this was a "bait-and-switch" because if that was the case ****** would have never expressed to you that the vehicle was damaged, she would have just let you travel the 195 miles to our location but she did not do that. 

  As I stated in my first response, I do apologize for this situation.  And I will also add that although our Managers should have communicated to our employees about this vehicle, I/Automax does not feel that this was in any way a "bait-and-switch" tactic & we feel that not only is the Website listing out of our control but the human error of transport damage is also out of our control.  ****** expressed the situation to you as soon as she found out. 

  We do hope that this out of our control experience will not hinder you from purchasing a Hyundai in the future.  We wish you the best of luck with a purchase.

   

  Customer response

  12/29/2021

  
  Complaint: 16376523
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  What you are glossing over is the fact that the only reason ****** finally informed me that the car was not available is that over a two day period, I called a half dozen times and insisted on paying for the car before we drove the 195 miles to your dealership.  Had I not insisted on paying up front, I would never have been told the car you confirmed as available was in fact not even on the lot and that you had known that for 45 days.  If you tell me a car is available when it is not, and you let me drive 195 miles each way to test drive a car that is not on your lot, and you then try to sell me something else on your lot, then that is CLASSIC bait and switch and is in fact illegal.  I have no way of knowing whether this was intentional or a mistake on your part, but if it was a mistake, it was one of several, e.g., one was allowing it to remain on the website, another was confirming it was available when it was not, still another was not informing sales and finance that the car had never rolled onto your lot.  When I insisted on talking to the finance manager to arrange payment for the car before we drove out to get it...only then did someone finally communicate that there was no car to sell.  So if this was not intentional and actually a mistake, it was one of several mistakes that conveniently could have resulted in your dealership making a sale by switching my attention to another available vehicle after baiting me with one that was not.  We have only your word that this was not bait-and-switch because the circumstantial evidence would suggest otherwise.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  11/03/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On August 31st, I bought a car from this dealership. I paid $6800 cash in full. 3 days later it started smoking from the exhaust. I called the dealership and was told I bought the car as is and no warranty. There was nothing they had to do for me. 10 days after I bought it the check engine light and oil light came on at the same time. I immediately pulled over at the gas station and checked the oil. There was very little oil on the tip of the dipstick and it was black. I put 4 quarts in and drove home. The car had smoke coming from the exhaust my whole drive home. I called the dealership again because at this point I know its burning oil and that is a motor problem. They sold me a car that needs a new motor. When I called I had to call 15 times in a row to get the person to let me talk to someone. They kept putting me on hold and no one would answer so they took a message and said someone would call me back. I never got a call back so I called until they let me talk to someone. They told me there was nothing they could do and to take it to my mechanic, so I did. He fixed a couple of leaks and told me the motor was bad. He said it had a lot of blowback/pressure. I took the car to him several times in 2 weeks time and he kept fixing leaks. He finally told me that no matter what I did we were only patching things not fixing the problem. He said it needs a new motor. The pressure is causing the leaks. It's causing seals and valves to break due to the pressure. I called the dealership and again couldn't get a response so I drove the hour and a half drive up there to find out the only person that could help me and make a decision on what to do wasn't there. I called until I got to speak to the ** who told me to bring it back to let someone look at it there. I did. They fixed a valve I had replaced and I left. The car started smoking again and I called the dealership. I spoke to the ** and he told me to bring it to consider a trade. Each time I go, the ** isn't there.

  Business response

  11/06/2021

  General Manager, ***************************** has been in contact with ********************.  She is scheduled to meet with him Monday Nov 8th to get a different car.  Automax Hyundai of Norman is going to take the vehicle back & get ******************** a car that she won't have problems with.  

  ********************, on behalf of Automax I would like to apologize for these issues that you've been dealing with.  

  Customer response

  11/11/2021

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

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