Avoid US based Hyundai products in general, they have too many outstanding recalls, among them a recall for engine fires. In addition, their quality control is as bad as their customer service at the corporate level in the US. If you have an misfiring spark plug issue that multiple dealership service visits did not resolve, the corporate headquarters help line in California will throw their hands up and say, "We used to be able to help with this, but we can't now because of the pandemic. All we can do is pass along your report." That's a direct quote.
this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2023
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Thanks for info. Im from EU. Do you by any chance have info about EU market? From my investigation, Hyundai is highly regarded when it comes to warranty.
I'm sorry , I can only offer direct and personal experience from the US. The Hyundai plant in Alabama was where my car was assembled. They put together parts made in South Korea, which was working great, with a solid reputation for boring, safe, reliable lower-end cars. Until about 9 years ago. I've heard rumors of power struggles within the family that founded and owns Hyundai. Older generation retiring unwillingly at 80+ years old, because they didn't trust the kids (in their fifties) to run things. ALLEGEDLY. Company culture changes, engineers are afraid to say "hey, sir, these ignition coil packs are causing the spark plugs to misfire, we need to spend more money building these before our new US Elantra sedans go to pieces." I'm just saying, be very careful and research the recalls, both US and EU based. The recent (2021) ones for Tucsons on the US involved total engine replacements, if I remember right. My warranty didn't cover the ignition coil packs, because they were a replaceable part. After two visits to the dealership to replace them because the spark plugs misfired and the engine starting running rough, I asked if we could stop replacing the damaged spark plugs/ coil pack with Hyundai parts and use an aftermarket brand. They said if I did that, it would void my warranty!
This comes from my experience looking at Hyundais about 10 years ago… so this may not apply to today. Also, I’m in the US, so EU might be a different situation.
What I saw was that after about 3-4 years a Hyundai’s value was roughly half of what is was new. All cars fall in value, but Hyundais seemed to plummet. This means that if you want to buy used, you might find good value from that brand… but if you buy new, you’re losing a ton of value very very quickly.
And of course, there has to be a reason that the prices plumme… I assume it’s reliability and overall quality.
I have no knowledge on the Volvo side of things, so no advice there.
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