Hyundai: Lose Your Job, Return Your Car

NEW YORK (AP) -- Can't make the payments on that new car you just bought? No problem -- just return it free of charge.

At least that's the deal being offered by Hyundai Motor America. In a bid to woo skittish consumers, the South Korea-based automaker will cover the depreciation on any returned leased or financed vehicle for the first 12 months to those who find themselves unable to make their car payments.

"We're seeing people who are stuck," said Joel Ewanick, vice president marketing for Hyundai Motor America, in an interview. "Really they have a mental fatigue and they're really nervous about their long-term financial situation, so we started working on that side of it."

Deadbeats need not apply, however. The "Hyundai Assurance Program" only applies to customers stricken by misfortune outside of their control, such as losing their job, becoming disabled or losing their driver's license for medical reasons.

Customers must also have made at least two payments on the car already. In addition, Hyundai will only refund the depreciation on the returned car up to $7,500.

"For the normal person, this should cover any normal depreciation in the first year," Ewanick said.

After the first 12 months, customers have the option of extending the program for a fee through their dealership. Customers who pay cash for their car don't qualify for the program, Hyundai said.

Hyundai, which launched the program on Friday, said the program is aimed at consumers too nervous to spring for a new car in the difficult economy. The slump in consumer confidence has been one of the biggest factors behind the collapse in new vehicle sales in 2008.

For this reason, traditional incentive tactics, like low-interest financing or cash bonuses, have been much less effective in boosting sales recently, Ewanick said. Economic anxiety -- rather than cost -- has been the biggest factor holding consumers back from big-ticket purchases.

"This is a recession of fear, a recession of confidence," he said. "It's much more severe than what we saw in the early '90s."

Hyundai said Monday its December sales in the U.S. fell 48 percent to 24,037 from 46,487. Sales for all of 2008 declined 14 percent.

Comments

[NoPCZone]

Hyundai is another foreign automaker that has studiously located it's US manufacturing operations in the worker and union hostile south. I really don't care if they give them away.

[michmudder]

Hyundai must have hired away the risk managment staff from Citigroup, AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac to come up with this idea.

[politisophical]

i give Hyundai props.. they dominated the market after 911 and they might dominate it again with these risky deals..

[NightflyLester]

Worth noting, while this story has been available since this morning the Detroit Free Press has failed to publish it. Why could that be?

[michmudder]

Apparently the Detroit News beat them to it. I've noticed how many stories are ignored by either the Free Press or the News if the other one scoops them. Few stories, unless they're really big, are covered in both.

[AZ AF VET]

Two comments. We have a 2002 Sonata with 43K and it a piece of garbage. Wish I could bring it back for a refund. I thought Hyundai was going to offer to forgive x number of months of payments while unemployed. So you take your car back and now have no transportation to find another job.
Hyundai, Korean word for Crap!

[marijam]

We have a 2005 Hyundai Accent that now has 67,000 miles on it. We bought it new for $12,000, no bells and whistles, stripped down model. It gets 30+ miles per gallon and we've never had any problems with it. IT"s ABSOLUTELY THE BEST LITTLE CAR WE'VE EVER HAD!

[jerrypl]

Now, how about lose your job, return your house, get a refund!!! The 30 year long American made and manufactured government supported Ponzi Scheme has come out of its hole. The working American has been made the patsy and victimized by the White House, and corporate oligarchs. Bad times are a comin'.

http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com

[DrParadise]

We have long had buy here, pay here used car lots and there have been so many other programs over my many years as car buyer. You can bet, the white shirt guys sitting at that desk with the sharpened pencil have figured out all the angles. I had a friend who used to go to his buy here/pay here dealer regularly and actually thought he was getting a good deal because he got to trade in his old car every two years. The problem was as he found out, his debt was mounting until he couldn't pay for it. Oh well, business is business.