Category Archives: Products

Bad Experience at Hyundai Dealership in Maple Ridge

idearabbit-hyundai_mapleridge

So Sheepie has been wanting and looking for a Jeep Wrangler for an year now. So when he saw a decent offer at the Hyundai Dealership in Maple Ridge for a used one, we decided to go check it out. He was only planning to take a look at it, but he gave in and decided to buy it, lol.

It was a 2014 model, so fairly new with not a whole lot of mileage on it  (14,000 km), though compared to mine which was just short of 3000km after starting to drive my 2014 Yaris in Sept of that year, it seemed a lot to me.

The dealership had coffee and tea – which most places have, but this one had popcorn to indulge in as we waited during the different process! Hee hee~

When we started the financial phase, the sales guy kept talking about the monthly payments and such, never telling us the interest rate. We both asked about it a few times, and never got a number. The financial guy did the same thing. He kept dodging questions and replying with different wording that didn’t really clear up anything. It was not until the end when Sheepie was supposed to sign all the papers, that I noted to him that it was a whopping 7.2%. That meant that to take 7 years to pay it off, there would be over $9,000 of just interest!! Crazy! One could buy a smaller used car for that money!

There were additional costs that were not mentioned until the final papers – admin, delivery (when there isn’t any – it’s already at the lot) $2000 and the taxes that would not have been added if we had bought it from a private owner. There was this tire insurance thing for $600. I asked the financial guy TWICE if this was absolute mandatory/required, and he replied that “It’s done on all of our cars.” That did not answer the question! There was also this life insurance thing another $600. These 2 insurance things were never added when I bought my Yaris from Toyota. These came out to be an additional $8000!!!

Going into the insurance department wasn’t any better, in fact, it was worse. The lady was super grumpy as if it was detention camp. She never smiled once, or talk in a friendly way. Not a person you want to deal with when you are already dealing with insurance – something most of us don’t like nor can wrap their minds around, especially when you’re being bombarded with so much information just from the purchase of the vehicle.

We had arrived at the dealership around 2pm, but we ended up being there till closing at 6pm. Everything throughout was all wishy-washy until bam! The bill with hidden fees finally showed it’s ugly face. As Sheepie excitedly drove out of the dealership, he remembered that the ad on Craigslist had mentioned that it came with a soft top as well. We turned around and went back, just as the sales guy was leaving. “Oh, remember that I told you that there wasn’t the soft top because I had mistaken the bags in the trunk as the soft top…but they weren’t.” Sheepie was devastated. I do recall him saying something on that lines when we were busy cleaning out the old trade in car and putting everything into the wrangler. We were both preoccupied, so the quick notice didn’t register. For me, I didn’t understand what he was talking about at the time. He didn’t explain or take effort to make sure Sheepie understood. Soft tops are anywhere from $800-$2000.

So false advertising! AND, when we got home, I asked Sheepie if he’d received the second pair of keys (yes, it helps to have someone like me to stay focused and checkup…like a mother, lol). He called the sales guy, and they couriered him the keys. The sales guy and financial guy were nice, but I guess that’s what kept me on my toes. We felt like we have been deceived.

Sheepie has since called the sales guy many times only to be rerouted to his voicemail. Sheepie has gotten more impatient and left a message saying he would take further actions if needed. To that, he called back saying the soft top would come soon. It still hasn’t…Terrible! It’s been 7 weeks since buying the Wrangler…and nothing…Sheepie has been super disappointed (and somewhat traumatized) by the car buying experience. He says it’s better in Germany.

But for now with my new Yaris and Sheepie with his fairly new Wrangler, hopefully, we now wont have to buy any more new cars for a very, very long time!

Yaris 2014 Review

idearabbit-carshopping3So in 2014, I bought a new 2014 Yaris! Here is the review for the car so far:

idearabbit-yaris_review2I’m not sure who designed the interior, but someone was not thinking when they designed the audio jack and usb port inside the glove compartment. Every time I have my phone charged, or have my mp3 player plugged in, I have to have the glove compartment open. With stuff inside, I’m always worried that things will fall out during a turn or sudden stop. I wouldn’t be able to use it if a passenger was sitting since the compartment butts out into their legs. The ports are farthest away from the driver seat making it a hassle to literally lean onto the passenger seat and try and look for the plugs in the dark compartment. A huge minus for the modern age.

idearabbit-yaris_review3I now close the compartment when I drive due to things falling out when driving, but it can be a pain having to open the compartment to turn on/off or navigate my mp3 player… I’ve decided to order a longer cable so I can have the cable and device out with the compartment closed. Boo…

Being able to connect bluetooth to your phone is a plus. You can make/receive calls with the buttons, or play music from your phone which can be heard through the nice speaker system (the bass is nice) though I found that sometimes it sounds muffled at times…

idearabbit-yaris_review5I keep thinking that I’ve already scratched my new car, but it’s only where the coating cover comes to a abrupt stop. I’m not sure why. Looks to me like a design flaw.

I’ve been getting neck pain from driving in this car. The head rests are not adjustable, and for me, it’s bend in an awkward way that doesn’t suit my neck. It’s great that the seat can move front/back/up/down, so not allowing the neck to be adjusted is another huge minus.

idearabbit-yaris_review4The shift stick seems a little flimsy compared to my bulkier ’97 Corolla. It feels like it’s going to break if I put too much force on it. Also, the way it’s lit is really hard to see in dark conditions. The Corolla was way better. It also had a lock button that you had to push in order to move from one transition to another which was a nice safety feature.

idearabbit-yaris_review6Having a back wiper is great. With the Corolla, since it had a trunk, it had no wipers, and it was really hard to see at times, especially at night. I have no idea why they don’t make all cars with them. Is it that difficult to add? Anyways, it’s nice, but having intermittent speed choices would be nice. Also, the way it’s design makes it so that it only cleans like 60% of the back windshield. I have seen other compact cars have better wipers.

The big thing with the Yaris as it’s advertised is the amount you’ll save on gas. I was informed that it did an average of 6 -7 litres/km, but so far, mine is around 9.5L/km which is supposedly the same as my old ’97 4 door sudan Corolla. I haven’t really seen a huge difference in the number of trips to the gas stations, but perhaps its still too early to tell. I have noticed that my bills were always around the $45, and now it’s about $33. So less, but it could be the drop in gas prices. I haven’t really calculated everything to see if I’m actually saving due to fuel consumption efficiency and not gas prices.

The interior is surprisingly quite roomy. A friend and coworker were both impressed with the amount of space inside the compact car. The black interior is nice, though it does seem ‘cheap’ with certain things and does show dust and small dirt very easily. The extra cup holders and compartments for your little knick-knacks are a plus.
idearabbit-yaris_reviewI’m not a huge fan of having the clock in my dashboard – and it’s so small. I liked it in the Corolla where it was where the radio was. It was large enough and easy to see. Also, in the Corolla, the clock was on it’s own, not crammed with outside temperature readings and other readings. Also, other passengers could see it too. With it in the dashboard, only I can, and because it’s surround by other information, it’s not so evident – though I guess you do get accustomed to it. Depending on the handwheel position, it can cover the clock, making it even more unsuitable for its location.
However, I’m glad that they got rid of the stupid idea of having the previous models have the dahsboard in the middle between the driver and the passenger! If that was the case for 2014, I definitely would not have purchased the Yaris.

The dark grey is trendy, and eliminates the hassle of trying to keep it looking clean and spotless. The chromes are a nice accent. Although I do not usually have the back seats occupied, it’s nice to have 4 doors instead of 2. It’s nice to be able to put luggage at the back seat without having to fold down the front seats. Also, I like the look of 4 rather than 2.

Acceleration is a bit sluggish, but I drive to and back from work where traffic jams are frequent, so not much acceleration power is needed.

The new Yaris comes with a 3 year Road Assistance which literally replaces the BCAA. However, if you’re in a situation where they can’t reach you, there is a jack underneath the driver’s seat. (which I didn’t know until going to Toyota New Westminster’s Workshop – lol)

The radio has jumped to a completely different station while driving twice during the 3 months. I inquired about it at the workshop and the service manager told me that maybe I didn’t press the button for each station until it beeped. This was also something I didn’t know. Doesn’t one expect to go to the station once you’ve pressed on the button? I tried it yesterday upon learning this, and you have to at least press for 4 seconds before it gets selected. Who knew? But they said that if it only happened twice, then that’s likely not the cause of problem…he told me just wait and see…Since then, I haven’t had that problem, so hopefully, it was just a user error.

But overall, I’ve been happy with the purchase. Some pros and cons.

Read my previous post on my decision on getting rid of my old Corolla ’97 for a new 2014 Yaris.
Read my previous post on Toyota New Westminster’s Workshop after purchasing the new 2014 Yaris.

Toyota New Westminster Workshop

As a new owner of a Toyota vehicle, I was invited for an evening on learning more about the car. About a dozen or so people attended, which I think was beneficial for everyone.

I didn’t know that there was a jack under the driver’s seat! Or the child saftey lock for my rear doors, though I guess with no kids, it wasn’t too much of a concern for me. In fact, no one has yet sat in the rear seats since buying it three months ago. LOL.

idearabbit-toyota_newwestThere were donuts, coffee and tea at break, and we all got swag bags (or goodies bag) with 2 pens, a pressure gauge, mini medical kit with bandages, alcohol wipes, scissors and tape, a nice snow brush with scraper, travel mug, letter and a booklet. which were all branded with Toyota.

It was very informative though the speaker had a soft voice which was really hard to hear. I saw a few people lean in to pick out what he was saying as the Skytrains going by made it even more difficult to understand. But overall, it was very helpful, and I’m glad that I went. I must say that I was quite a bit younger than everyone else, though that wasn’t a problem. I just wondered if young people didn’t attend due to lack of interest? or time?

I’ve never been a car person, but since becoming more influenced by Sheepie who comes from Germany with a must-know-all-knowledge attitude, I have been increasingly eager to learn more on pretty much anything. And feeling like an idiot at car shops because I didn’t know anything about a car other than it drives you from point A and B was no longer. Of course I am faaaaar from becoming an expert, but knowing just a little helps.

Thanks Toyota New Westminster! I’m really glad I’ve bought my car from this dealer (no I don’t get sponsorship or deals on my car for this post- LOL). It’s on the complete other side of the city where I live, and definitely not efficient to bring in for repairs since I have a Toyota dealership/services few blocks from my home, but it has been a very positive experience from the first email I received from my inquiry. Great work!

To read my initial experience with Toyota New Westminster, read my Yelp review.
Or my decision to get rid of my old Corolla ’97 for a new 2014 Yaris, read here.