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Hyundai Of Petaluma, Petaluma Reviews (1)
By jeffreya on
Jul 27, 2017
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Beware, this dealer outright lies, obscures numbers on the contract while signing, and will redline you into a subprime loan even if you have a 780+ credit score.
Although I am delighted with my new Sonata, the experience has been soured by dishonest dealing and bait-and-switch tactics. This is the 23rd car that I have purchased from local Sonoma and Marin county dealerships over the the last quarter century, but the first time at Petaluma Hyundai. Their dishonest tactics make this the least desirable purchasing experience by far.
My wife and I test drove the outgoing Sonata model last Friday as a replacement for my commuter car. The salesperson, Ben, ran some numbers and gave us a competitive offer, although he never _really_ disclosed the selling price, financing details, or firm monthly payments. "It will be in the range of x to y and we can write you a check to cover the remaining payments on your existing vehicle ..."
The sales manager, Josh, called the next day to see if we were interested. I said yes and arranged for an appointment later that Sunday afternoon. When we arrive, the car was sitting out front and we sat down to talk numbers. I decided I would rather just use the check for the remaining payments to lower the purchase price, and asked for a quote based on that. Surprisingly, the number was basically the same. I asked "What happened to yesterday's deal? The price should be about $30/month lower." Hem and haw ... never really got an answer. I then asked whether we would get a better deal with the Hyundai 0% financing. Ben disappeared for a few minutes and came back: "No, it's higher. Our financing with a $3500 manufacturer's rebate is cheaper." He never provided any paperwork, however, to support this claim. As I later found out, it was a complete lie.
After another back and forth, we did arrive at a price we could live with, but we weren't thrilled with. We went to Josh's office to sign the paperwork---which is now done electronically on a flatscreen monitor mounted horizontally on his desk. At the time, I didn't realize how he perfected the craft of hiding the important numbers on the contract by placing his arms over the screen. to point out the places to sign _on the bottom_. It wasn't until afterwards that I realized what he had been obscuring: He put us in a loan at 4.49% interest with $4100 in interest costs (so the 0% loan sans $3500 rebate was most definitely cheaper).
The next day, my wife called Redwood Credit Union. Based on the car and our credit, the interest should have been 2.19%. Basically, they redlined us with a loan with an interest rate MORE THAN TWICE the prevailing market rate. Of course, we will immediately refinance. We will never buy another vehicle from this deal. And we will let everyone know to exhibit extreme caution when dealing with these crooks.
Caveat emptor.
Although I am delighted with my new Sonata, the experience has been soured by dishonest dealing and bait-and-switch tactics. This is the 23rd car that I have purchased from local Sonoma and Marin county dealerships over the the last quarter century, but the first time at Petaluma Hyundai. Their dishonest tactics make this the least desirable purchasing experience by far.
My wife and I test drove the outgoing Sonata model last Friday as a replacement for my commuter car. The salesperson, Ben, ran some numbers and gave us a competitive offer, although he never _really_ disclosed the selling price, financing details, or firm monthly payments. "It will be in the range of x to y and we can write you a check to cover the remaining payments on your existing vehicle ..."
The sales manager, Josh, called the next day to see if we were interested. I said yes and arranged for an appointment later that Sunday afternoon. When we arrive, the car was sitting out front and we sat down to talk numbers. I decided I would rather just use the check for the remaining payments to lower the purchase price, and asked for a quote based on that. Surprisingly, the number was basically the same. I asked "What happened to yesterday's deal? The price should be about $30/month lower." Hem and haw ... never really got an answer. I then asked whether we would get a better deal with the Hyundai 0% financing. Ben disappeared for a few minutes and came back: "No, it's higher. Our financing with a $3500 manufacturer's rebate is cheaper." He never provided any paperwork, however, to support this claim. As I later found out, it was a complete lie.
After another back and forth, we did arrive at a price we could live with, but we weren't thrilled with. We went to Josh's office to sign the paperwork---which is now done electronically on a flatscreen monitor mounted horizontally on his desk. At the time, I didn't realize how he perfected the craft of hiding the important numbers on the contract by placing his arms over the screen. to point out the places to sign _on the bottom_. It wasn't until afterwards that I realized what he had been obscuring: He put us in a loan at 4.49% interest with $4100 in interest costs (so the 0% loan sans $3500 rebate was most definitely cheaper).
The next day, my wife called Redwood Credit Union. Based on the car and our credit, the interest should have been 2.19%. Basically, they redlined us with a loan with an interest rate MORE THAN TWICE the prevailing market rate. Of course, we will immediately refinance. We will never buy another vehicle from this deal. And we will let everyone know to exhibit extreme caution when dealing with these crooks.
Caveat emptor.
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