In June of 2003 I purchased a Sonata from Hustedt. The finance guy -not the salesman - sold us something they called an 'Environmental Protection Package' or 'EPP' for about $3,000. He said it would mean a guaranteed annual undercoat sealant applied to my car, a stain proof coating applied annually to my upholstery, and a seal coat wax treatment applied to the paint- all for the life of the vehicle, every year and with theie 'guarantee' that they would replace any upholstery that stained and any paint damage not resulting from an accident.

We asked how we'd know when it was time for the service to be performed and were told we'd be 'in their database and get a yearly reminder'. To date I have never gotten a reminder from them. But that is not the worst part.

A year later I made an appointment with service and told them I'd want my 'EPP' performed along with my nececssary maintenance which included, among other things, a tire rotation.

My husband being the wary sceptic that he is was smart enough to mark the undercarriage of my car with a grease pencil in several places, in addition to marking my tires so he'd know which position each tire was on the vehicle. Hustedt had my car the entire day and when we picked it up my husband looked under it to see if the undercarriage sealcoat had been done, but found the same exact greasepencil marks still there - which meant there could not possibly have been an undercarriage coating done. He also noted my tires were all in the same place as when we dropped the car off.

In addition to that, the car was parked under a tree and now had sticky sap marks ALL OVER the hood and other parts of the paint job that they SHOULD have done their 'special seal coat wax treatment' on!

We inquired at the service desk and demanded to see the manager. He apologized saying they had been busy and it must have been an 'oversight' that my EPP was not performed -they offered no explanation as to why my invoice slip clearly stated the tire rotation and EPP were performed that day when obviously neither had been done! He offered us free oil change cards to appease us and promised to make sure the services were performed if I left the car another day.

The following year we took the car back to them for annual service and for the 'EPP' to be performed. Again, we marked the undercarriage and tires and left the car for the day. Now, you think that someone with half a brain there would note our file so as not to rip off the same customer in the same manner a 2nd yr in a row -but the same exact thing happened AGAIN!

When we demanded a talk with the manager he made excuses and tried to offer us more free oil change cards! We told him what they were doing was nothing less than fraud and we would have to take our complaint elsewhere.
That day I also went home missing all the free oil change cards and my Hyundai service record booklet which I had left on the front seat when I left the car with them. They denied ever having seen these items in my car and could not find them in their shop when they supposedly looked upon my husband's insistance.

They also later told me those free oil change cards (which were marked by Hustedt with my cars' VIN so no one else SHOULD be able to use them) were NOT replaceable.

We complained to the attorney general at the time (Mr Elliott Spitzer).His office took Hustedt's pat answer to my complaint stating they 'stand behind their EPP service' and 'would replace the fabric or paint job if the service was performed each yr' if we had stains or paint cracking or peeling. They sent my complaint and the dealer's answer to it back to me stating they had 'no jurisdiction' over them and could not help me!!! I guess Mr attorney general was too busy with other things at the time - but that is another story.

I have spoken to other parties that purchased this rip-off of a service from Hustedt. (Hyundai America insists it is something made up by and offered solely by that dealership and that Hyundai does not endorse it at all but they would or could not step in and help me either) It seems anyone else who has purchased this service whom I have encountered is either dissatisfied and feeling conned as we are, OR they have/had NO idea if the services were HONESTLY being performed when they left their car because they did not do anything to check for proof like we did. Perhaps maybe now they are and there are more consumers out there finding they were ripped off big time!

I now take the car to a reputable dealer with a fantastic service department, but the EPP I paid for is not valid with them, so I can not use it unless I want to risk leaving my car with the dishonest people at Hustedt!

If anyone out there has a similar story to tell about this dealer or would like to get a class action suit started - please post your comments! They should not get away with taking our hard earned money from our families and still be able to sleep soundly at night! If the attorney general of NY has 'no jurisdiction' over them, then WHO DOES?????

Crittersmom
Shirley, New York
U.S.A.