Bought Hyundai Exter AMT as our first car: Ownership experience so far

It does well for a first car, is excellent for city driving and eats away potholes and undulations with ease. I am just hoping to find the right service centre that I can rely on.

BHPian arthis2395 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello Team-BHP,

We (wife and I) purchased a Hyundai Exter, SX(O) AMT Starry Night color from KUN Hyundai, OMR branch. It has been 3 months to this date, here is how it went down.

Picking Our First Car:

Being our first car and I only started my driving classes a couple of weeks before our purchase, we went with the AMT option as the primary use of our car was office commute in B2B DLF traffic at Porur. Mileage was a consideration but wasn't crucial. We wanted a car that was decently built, had comfortable seating and was tall enough to fit me in (6 foot 1 inch) without having to compromise on seat position.

Tata was already out of our list after wading through tons and tons of posts/threads on QC and ASS nightmares. Maruti was a no-go for my wife because it did not deliver value (at least in terms of features) compared to its Korean/French counterparts. We started at FPL, Chromepet with i10 Grand Nios but that was right out rejected due to the small nature of the car and me having to scooch to fit in. Exter felt the most comfortable between the two, the seat height adjustment came in very handy. AMT/Auto and the budget constraint of 10-11 lakh on-road ruled out the Venue as DCT is the only one being on offer. We would have loved the iMT (one of my colleagues has one), but it is what it is.

Next stop, Renault. We first visited their branch at Radial Road, Pallavaram where the salesperson didn't bother/care to explain the features and misquoted the company warranty terms. I did a good amount of research before stepping into the showroom, so this did not yield confidence. The number of models on display was also very less and we were already done with that showroom. We visited Renault, Katupakkam, where the salesperson was excellent, explained all the features and nitty gritty clearly and gave us perfect quotes. The only concern was the engine - we could fit only the 1.0 non-turbo variant within ours. The advice from my father-in-law and a couple of friends was to not opt for the non-turbo model, especially in a 3-pot motor. Where did that take us? Back to Hyundai.

FPL Hyundai, where we first started our journey did not fit our books. The salesperson, while being polite, professional and knowledgable kept pushing default accessories worth 10k as it was 'mandatory'. The insurance quote was upwards of 55k which I rejected right away. Once again, there was a push back that purchasing the insurance at the dealership was 'mandatory'. This did not sit well with us, however polite the sales folks were.

We continued our search, now at KUN OMR. Being already familiar with the different models, features and prices, the discussion went right into the pricing. It was a Sunday and there was literally no one else apart from us. We discussed the pricing, the split up and accessories. While KUN had the 10k default accessory package added by default, they dropped it the moment we said we didn't want this - green flag #1. When asked if we could pick our own insurance, the salesperson had a quick call, and nodded yes! - green flag #2. She proceeded to explain the offers/discounts for the month and managed to give us a good deal (no freebies though) and we planned to get the basic accessories installed at the dealer directly.

Here is the split up of our invoice:

• Ex-Showroom: ₹9,54,300
• Fast Tag: ₹500
• Shield of Trust: ₹10,999
• Extended Warranty: ₹13,451
• Insurance: ₹55,117
• Registration: ₹1,27,359
• Total (Without Accessories):₹11,61,726
• Accessories: ₹32,793
• Total (With Accessories): ₹55,000
• Grand Total: ₹11,39,519

The discount was provided without any compromise on the insurance components. We got upto 95% of the ex-showroom price as the IDV, along with Zero-dep, B2B, RTI and Engine Cover.

Loan process was butter-smooth and the overall purchase experience could have not been better. An order was placed with Hyundai and the ETA was about 1-2 weeks. We made it clear that we will do a pre-registration inspection (thanks to Team-BHP), once the car is at the yard before we release the downpayment to the dealer. They cordially agreed. The wait started, but did not last long. Almost after a week, we got the call that our car is in the yard and we were invited to do the inspection. The inspection was done on a bright sunny day and we managed to take a few clicks of our soon-to-be car.

Three days later, the registration was done and we wanted to pick the car up as soon as we can and not let the car at the dealer's open yard in the scorching sun. We picked up the car on a Sunday (once again) after completing the PDI. While we signed the papers and picked the car up, we did notice that the door visors installed had tons of scratches. We didn't want this to ruin our moment, so we informed the salesperson who was alongside us all the time and let that slide. The car had about 3-4 litres of fuel lift and I happily drove the car home. The first day at our home:

The HSRP plates were not ready at the time of the delivery. It was later delivered by one of their employees who lived nearby. Once again, the experience all along was nothing short of excellent.

Living with the Exter:

Being our first car, we didn't have any scale of reference. The car was excellent, met our needs perfectly and ate all the bumps with grace. The fuel economy in the city was a bit disappointing, around 10-12kmpl even when feathering the gas pedal. There is nothing else to complain, until the 1200km mark.

• Issue 1: Rattle on the AC vent on the right-hand side of the steering wheel. The rotating knob started resonating to expansion joints and road undulations. It would stop if I hold and pull the knob to the 'outside'. Nothing helped
• Issue 2: The car had a slight pull to the right on open roads. As I got comfortable with the car and steering, this was more noticeable where the car would just cruise to the right on a dead straight road.

Both the issues were brought up at the first service and this is where things started to go sour. The 1500km mark came up and we booked a slot on a busy Saturday to get the servicing done. I had a 700km round-trip journey planned soon after the first service, so I was super precise about the issues I faced and asked the service advisor to fix them. I was asked if I would want silencer coating to be done, which I refused right away.

I did not live in a place with monsoons round the clock and the car was brand new. This was purely an upsell in my opinion and I was within my right to reject it. I also highlighted that the door visor (which was previously scratched even before delivery) started coming off. The double-sided tape that is being used is super poor, it couldn't withstand the downpour that happened the previous week. Since this issue was with an accessory, the service center simply routed me to the sales advisor, who once again took responsibility and replaced all the door visors - absolutely free. KUN's sales team deserves a resounding applause here.

After 3 hours of waiting, the car was out of the basement and surprise. There was a ding/scratch on the rear left door, which I noted, took a couple of photographs and immediately shared with my service advisor:

The customer service head came out, brought someone along who had a bottle of liquid and a microfiber cloth and tried to wipe it. It did not budge. When asked how did this happen, the response was 'it could have been the pressure wash jet hitting the door sir'. I was already there for almost 4 hours and I did not feel like spending any more time there. The scratch was 'corrected' with a pen (or that is what I was told) and it blended it with the paint, but did not remove it.

When reviewing the service sheet, I noted that the list did not contain the car steering issue I mentioned. It only had the 'First service' listed, to which the service advisor responded 'Sir your issue was fixed under the first service package, so we cannot list it separately'. The car was taken for a quick test drive by their driver and I went along, and it went the way I thought it would. The driver found no issues whatsoever and blamed it on the roads. I reiterated that I have an upcoming road trip and I want the car to be absolutely perfect. He confirmed that the alignment was fine and gave the car back to me. He also added that the rattle issue could be due to 'incorrect' air pressure and asked me to maintain 33psi in all the tires, irrespective of the load.

Note - the rattle returned right away during my drive back home and has existed till date. The steering issue persisted as well and I could feel it every time there was a clear stretch of straight road without traffic.

After I reached home, I escalated this issue to the customer care team and they got back to us promptly. Resolution you ask? I was asked to bring the car back so that they could paint the damaged area.

Day of the nightmare:

About 400-500kms after the first service, the planned road trip came around. It was a ~700km round trip, Chennai-Kumbakonam-Virudhachalam-Pichavaram-Pondichery-Chennai. We started early in the morning around 7AM on a Sunday and headed out. After the 100km mark on the trip when I started pushing the car on the state highway under the legal speed limit, the car started wobbling/moving around as if there was a puncture. TPMS was normal, there was no deflation. This was very scary, as I was in the right lane and there were heavy vehicles all around me driving like maniacs.

I slowed down, indicated left and moved the steering and the car wobbled more than ever. As long as the speed was kept under 60, the car felt fine, anything higher the wobbling returned. We stopped on the side of the road with hazards on, checked if the pressure was right (it was) and checked the tightness of all the bolts on the wheel - everything was perfect. We managed to speak to a local nearby who dialed up his car mechanic. When we explained the problem, he suggested it could be the wheel alignment/balance that was off.

It was at 9.30AM on a Sunday morning in the outskirts of Chennai, so my chances of finding a tire alignment shop that is open was super slim. Luck was on our way and we found a shop that was 8 kms further down our away which opened at 10AM. Limping around, we stopped for breakfast, but my mind was all on my car. We managed to finish the breakfast quickly and drove to the shop at 50-60kmph on a busy highway with buses and cars blaring at us to move out (even in the left most lane).

We reached the car tyre/alignment shop and I managed to speak to the owner via phone before we reached there. He said he doesn't have the numbers in his system for Exter (as it was still a new model), so he will have to get it from another shop, which he promptly did.

The test driver there asked me to hop in and took the car for a quick spin. Within moments, he said the alignment and the balancing was off. We drove back to the shop and the car was put on a jack and lifted.

The wheels quickly came off and the shop smirked at how the service centre had used both lead weights clipped to the rim, and iron weights stuck on the inside of the rim. The tyres were cleaned quickly to remove stones that lodged between the treads, inflated to the right pressure and were balanced. The tires were rotated, following which the alignment was done with the steering set to centre - I was asked to confirm the steering position and I confirmed that it is indeed in the centre. About 30 mins later and a bill of ₹1700/- for balancing, alignment and nitrogen, we left the shop and the rest of the trip went well. The steering still wasn't 100% on the centre, and if left centered, the car pulled to the right.

Alignment report:

Bill:

Shenanigans with KUN OMR Service:

I did not want my trip ruined, so I just put it behind me and enjoyed the drive. Once I returned, I wrote a detailed message on the dedicated WhatsApp group that was created for us and asked for a call back from the customer care team. Since the car was registered in my wife's name, she got a call from a service advisor who explained that wheel balancing/alignment is not a part of the first service package. Had they done it, we would have been charged. Either the first service advisor lied to my face that the alignment issue was fixed without actually taking care of the issue, or their SOP really doesn't allow performing alignment/balancing for free (which is the case when I checked the owners manual) and the service advisor was poorly informed/trained.

Nevertheless, the service advisor on call now offered to take the car for a day, check all the issues, fix and return it to us. Knowing what happened to the car before and how their valets drive the cars around, I am not very comfortable leaving the car again there and I am now looking for other service centers where I can take my car to fix the issue.

I recently managed to complete 3000KMS on our car with a rattling AC vent and weird alignment that pulls the car to the right.

The car in general is great. It does well for a first car, is excellent for city driving and eats away potholes and undulations with ease. I am just hoping to find the right service centre that I can rely on for the rest of the future.

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