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Any Canadian owners out there who can turn me on to a dealer??? I'd really like to do DRL.
The local dealership has several Azeras, and one or two Sonatas. They seem to sell the Sonatas as they come in.
If I got an Azera, I would go for the base one, and at close-out time, looking for a couple to three thousand off.
-Loren
My take is they could use a little more jounce damping.
And the US govt. says the war in Iraq is going well. No seriously I am quite sure that GM being the behemoth it is has sponsored a number of studies geared to portray that as "truth". Heck even Warren Buffet bought a caddy recently. Does that mean they are reliable or does he have a vested interest? Don't lose sight of the fact that he only commutes 5mi/day.
Q1. Noise level in cabin over 85 :confuse:
R1. Very quiet, you can talk to a passenger using your normal voice. The vehicle is well insulated all around. :shades:
Q2. How's the suspension system in terms of comfort :confuse:
R2. To me the suspension works better at speed then when going slow :shades:
ushuaia, you have done your homework and know your vehicles, good job
I would tell/ask the dealer to let you drive one for an hour and take it out on the highway and put the it through your requirement parameters. If it meets them, your good to go.
So what about Hyundai? They have new engines and cars, current good ratings on reliability and a dicey past.
They are willing to back the cars for the long warranty, and change. Both are good signs. They address issues in their cars, are not afraid to build new cars and engines, and back them with warranties. Will the Hyundai be as trouble free as a Japan make in years four through eight? No one really knows. Parts to repair the Hyundai seem reasonable enough.
Would be very interesting to have a professional take apart an Azera, Mercedes cheapest car, a Lucerne, and both the Accord and Camry/Avalon and analyze the true quality of the parts and structure. What truly makes different cars tick?
Content. The leader in content has been Hyundai for some years now. Safety and comfort, as well as performance on the cheap. Seems like a great value. The early years just did not go well however for Hyundai and Kia. You tell people you are even looking at a Korean car, and they tend to think you are crazy. But then again, some say the same about looking at GM cars. I actually think both brands have come a long ways to being a better car. Hyundai are fresh newer cars of better quality and GM are better older cars, with perhaps some charm of their own as well. Azera and Sonata I am sure have all the car manufacturers watching closely.
-Loren
-Loren
For what it's worth, received the questionnaire from JD Powers yesterday. Filled out the basic information, answered a few questions, but when it came to the biggest part of the questionnaire The section on problems, defects, code defects for all sections, engine, trany, interior, fit finish, sound system, knob, buttons, wheels, tires and more I could not find 'ONE' item to list, 'ONE' oval to fill in or even file a gripe. :shades: Up to that moment we had not realized how well this Azera measures up to quality' and 'reliability'.
I can tell you for a fact that not one of the many new 'Big 3' vehicles :lemon: we have bought through the years would fair the same, not one and they became worse as they aged.
In conclusion, we are very, very satisfied with our Korean built vehicle, very satisfied indeed.
That would be Hyundais own survey that they use to rate the dealerships. You are suppose to fill them out yourself and not with the sales person. The dealership is paying you off with the 10 free gallons of gas to assure they get full marks (by basically them filling out the survey for them). As far as I am concerned that is unethical behavior on the part of the dealer.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I heard there may eventually be some replacement emblems available for the "H in the circle". Any news on those?
I'm really interested in the H-less grill, but it doesn't sound like it's the simplest of projects :P
'Hyundai and Limited' on the trunk are in place with a double sided type tape/adhesive. To remove, DO NOT use any metal tools. My finger nail, sometimes two, was strong enough to lift the letter off. I placed them on another piece of metal to save. I then used a little mineral spirits to remove any remaining residue. Hair dryer not required, least ways I didn't need it.
There are some after market emblems to replace the current 'H' oval on the trunk. www.dreamka4u.com has one or two. I've ordered one and will tape, paint and clear to match body color leaving the chrome outer ring. Taking the two round spring clips off the emblem on the trunk will be tricky. Lack of space to work and you have to remove the trunk liner which is fairly easy, don't forget the philips screw in the hand/finger indent.
Dreamka4u also has the 'H' less grill. In a previous post I covered the removal and installation step by step. It is a little tricky, read over and decide if you wish to or wish not to do it.
Dreamka4u manufactures and supplies components to Hyundai. They do not provide any instructions, you have to figure out how to do it or pay a body shop to do it.
There are pictures of an Azera at carspace.com you can look at.
Good day
jim101,
i've read your step-by-step for the grill replacement, that's how i know it's not the simplest of projects :P
and what do you mean by:
"Taking the two round spring clips off the emblem on the trunk will be tricky. Lack of space to work and you have to remove the trunk liner which is fairly easy, don't forget the philips screw in the hand/finger indent"
is it tricky to remove the emblem from the car because of the clips, or is it tricky to remove the clips from the emblem itself? are the clips part of the emblem or the trunk? :confuse:
Which is right?
My bias - for every car I have owned (I have only lived in Phoenix, Tucson, and San Diego) I have always changed the oil every 7,500 miles. Mechanics have frequently praised me for taking good care of my vehicles. I just don't see any value in a more frequent change.
By the way, when buying my car I asked about EZ-out, limp home, and auto-lock. The sales people were completely clueless. When my sales-person discussed this with service the service people were completely clueless. As we speak my car has been at the dealer since 7:30 this morning (it is now 4:45 in the afternoon) getting an exterior detail (the detail shop was closed when I took delivery on a Sunday) and getting the ez-out, limp home, and auti-lock programmed. When I called the dealer at 3:00 I was told the detailing was done and the mechanic had the hood up and was programming the features. That was nearly two hours ago. Wanna bet they don't have a clue as to what they are doing?
One more thing - I learned today that my dealer charges $30+ for the oil change, $60+ for the 7,500 service, $200 for the 15K service, and $500 for the $30K service. Sounds like typical dealer rip-off to me.
The trunk emblem, fits onto the trunk lid via two alignment pins on the back part of the 'H', not the oval. The pins are secured by two snap on star clips that you can access through the trunk.
These clips are like the star clips that hold the wheels on a Webber or similar.
Removing the trunk liner is easy, there are several philip plastic press center clips. Unscrew, pull plastic center out then remove the other plastic piece the center was in. There is one philips screw in the hand/finger indent that has to be removed. When done the liner comes out easy, to replace, reverse steps.
When you get the liner out and stick your head in to look. There is a small bent piece that covers the opening to the emblem. You can use a flashlight and see the clips.
I'm almost to the resolve that I may have to break the pins off being careful not to scratch the paint or expose bare metal. Before I do anything I will look at the new part, 'STUDIE' is on it as received, and determine how it is secured before I disassemble the stock piece.
Some paint and clear coat on the new part should make it 'Smooth'.
Maybe the 'mechanic' can give us some help???
i'll probably go for the "IXION" emblem if your install goes smoothly
i assume you ordered the Large (9.3x4.8) vs. the Medium (8x4) emblem size?
The Sonata is a nice family sedan. The Azera is a luxury car and has equipment not even available on the Sonata. Also, the styling, feel and ride of the two cars are different, way different.
If you can appreciate those differences, you'll probably think the Azera is a steal for the extra money. It is a class or two above the Sonata. Buy and drive the Azera, you'll have a smile on your face that the Sonata would not provide
If you can't tell the difference, don't waste your money on the Azera, get the Sonata.
Don't need a navigation system. Never get lost anyway. I just take interesting alternate routes as impressive journeys - colorful adventures to interesting places never seen. OK, sometime seen when I was driving in circles one time. AAA has maps. My home computer has maps. Money saved without a navigation system install can be spent on gas. Actually, the way things are going, people may have to take out a loan to pay for gas
-Loren
-Loren
Be sure to post your experience and some photos when you do it.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
"
Wow... that makes me wonder what they are servicing that would cost that much!
Our local Hyundai dealership was recently bought out by another autogroup/owner. They have went from selling an average of 7 units per month, to over 30 in their first month. They are also offering, as they do at their other dealerships, a "Dealer for Life" program in which, for as long as you own your car that you bought from them. You get FREE oil changes, FREE washes, FREE tire rotation and their own lifetime engine/powertrain warranty.
A friend that had worked at their Toyota dealership and then at a Hyundai dealership in another state is now working there as a salesman. I asked him if this new owner is 'for real' in making these offers. He said that they have been doing this at their Toyota dealership, for years, where he used-to work.
-Loren
They also noted they got 15 mpg on combined city/highway driving over 400 miles. I expect they were not being easy on the gas pedal.
Other plusses include being quieter at 70 mph than an Avalon or Cadillac STS, comfy back seat, big trunk. They were not impressed by the handling but said it was in the ballpark with Avalon, Buick, or Lexus ES350. They also griped about the gauges and the "not-quite-terry-cloth-but-defintely-not-Alcantra" fabric.
I bet Honda is not happy about the H on the back.
-Loren
You're absolutely right about that and shame on that dealer for offering ten gallons of gas! (When I bought my '03 Sonata, my dealer "paid" me off with a full tank of gas to lie like a rug...) On a more serious note, I can understand the dealers' angst at having a perfect score recorded - Hyundai's U.S. big shots consider anything less than a perfect score to be outright failure. Resident neurosurgeons aren't even held to that standard of accountability. Far be it for me to take up the dealerships' cause, but why should the dealerships unfairly take ALL the heat for failing to catch every miniscule factory QC defect? In Hyundai's dealer relations it comes down to, "Heads we win, tails you lose."
Personally, I think this is horrible because of the deception to the buyer in asking for scaled scores when only two choices count - excellent and anything else.
But it is what it is. And that explains why sales people go to such lengths to request "excellents" across the board. Anything less hurts them. And I don't blame them, they did not design the system.
Car is very smooth riding.
Had mine since Dec 17, 2005.
However, I am very happy with mine except for the gas mileage. 15-16 mph - I have the AC on all the time - hit 106 here in Phoenix today. :confuse:
Consumer Reports, in their July issue "coming soon" section indicates they will have a review of "sedans" and lists a rather unique competitive set of Lucerne, Cadillac DTS, Accord, Azera and Camry. If they do them as a group, it is a rather eclectic selection to "compare."?
-Loren
I don't want to say it's mecedes-benz or a bmw where everything is pushed to the ultimate limit but it's way better than accord, camry and ultima .. it's even better than avalon (i need to wait for next year to judge on the materials)
ah ... i almost forgot, one thing that bothered me the most .. it's the overspeed alarm beep that starts hypnotizing me whenever i exceed 75mph .. :mad:
is there anybody who can help shutting off this alarm without effecting the other alarms (handbreak, fuel, door, etc.)
Personally, I think this is horrible because of the deception to the buyer in asking for scaled scores when only two choices count - excellent and anything else.
But it is what it is. And that explains why sales people go to such lengths to request "excellents" across the board. Anything less hurts them. And I don't blame them, they did not design the system.
Pat - you are right on that one! Anything less than perfect means something is wrong to any "Far Eastern" maker - same for Infiniti, same for Lexus: they will fall all over themselves to get you to fill out the form all with "Excellent" in every blank, otherwise they catch %^$# from their distributor and/or the manufacturer!