The following are the highlights of the letter we sent to - John and Liz F.
The following are the highlights of the letter we sent to Hyundai Motors:
On Dec. 9 2022, we met with Myya Auld at Big Island Motors and test drove a 2023 Santa Cruz. We made it very clear that we had to have a vehicle with adaptive cruise. Although we could not get the vehicle up to speed to test at that time, she assured us that the vehicle had the Smart Cruise feature. Long story short, we took possession of the vehicle the next day, and realized within hours that it did not have Adaptive Cruise Control.
The next two weeks we faced a flurry of phone calls back and forth to Myya and the Sales Manager Tim Reed, trying to determine if the Adaptive Cruise could be added to our vehicle. We even offered to step up to the Premier model that came with that feature if the dealer was willing to split the difference in price with us. It finally ended when we received an abrupt call from Tim Reed on Dec. 21 stating that their only solution was to unwind the deal by returning our 2019 Chevy Colorado that we had traded in, and refunding our money. He said we absolutely had to return the Santa Cruz the next day, Dec. 22, if we wanted this deal. Otherwise, they were basically done with the situation and they would be keeping the Chevy Colorado.
On Dec. 22 we arrived at 8 am when the dealership opened. Instead of privately meeting in his office, we were forced to meet with Tim Reed outside in their noisy covered patio, as the dealership is located on a very busy main road in Hilo. We set an IPad on the table, making it obvious that we were recording the conversation to follow. The reason for this is that we were not happy with Tim's response the day before when we voiced our concern about the extended warranty on our Chevy Colorado that we had cancelled right after trading it in. He had indicated that replacing the warranty was basically not their problem but he would see what he could do.
What followed was us spending the next 21 minutes arguing with Tim about the fact that Big Island Motors owed us the difference between what we had paid and already had been refunded for the extended warranty. The difference was $1,300. This would allow us to purchase another policy, which we intended to do. He refused, accusing us of somehow trying to profit from the situation. The turning point came when he stood up, grabbed the folder with the Santa Cruz paperwork, and pushed the Santa Cruz keys toward us that we had set on the table. It was clear that he was threatening to walk away, thus ending any negotiation. By doing so, he was deliberately refusing to let us return a vehicle that we had purchased under fraudulent circumstances. He was also refusing to return our trade-in, a vehicle that was still technically on title to us. What he didn't count on is that we understood that what he was trying to do was illegal. When we said we were perfectly within our rights to return this Santa Cruz and get our truck back, he immediately backed down and went to talk to Chuck Furtado, the General Manager.
From there we were told to go to DeLuz Chevrolet and meet with Bill Wilson. Imagine our surprise when he said that the local rep for CNA insurance is always glad to work with the dealerships to keep customers happy and insured. He said that similar situations occurred all the time and were easily remedied. He assured us that Chuck Furtado had handled it quickly by picking up the phone and calling the rep and for us to not worry.
We hope it is very obvious that this simple solution, one that didn't cost Big Island Motors a dime, was a total possibility from the very beginning. All it took was a phone call. Instead, their sales manager chose to insult, intimidate and ultimately threaten an illegal solution to a problem that they had created. Not to mention our time that had been wasted and the extreme aggravation caused by the entire situation.
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