Santiago Santana

Up until delivery day, my experience with Manly Hyundai was promising—Santiago in particular was very helpful. Unfortunately, the actual pickup day turned into an absolute nightmare. I flew in from out was promising—Santiago in particular was very helpful. Unfortunately, the actual pickup day turned into an absolute nightmare. I flew in from out of state for a scheduled 9:00 AM Saturday appointment, having received verbal assurance the car was ready. During my manual inspection, I found a stain on the driver's seat and asked for it to be cleaned. When I returned, the stain was gone, but I was then informed the car was showing a critical error code making it unsafe to operate. Whether it was an unfortunately timed mechanical failure or a complete lack of a proper pre-delivery inspection (PDI), the vehicle was undeniably not ready. What followed was five grueling hours at the dealership: - The Runaround: Sales Director Jorge initially deflected responsibility, claiming he needed the General Manager's approval on Monday to address my travel costs. I later found out the GM, Jeff Dantzler, had actually been communicating with the team all along on Saturday. - Passing the Buck: When pressed over the phone the following Monday, Dantzler attempted to deflect blame entirely, claiming the critical error code was Hyundai's fault rather than the dealership's—a puzzling stance for a business handing over a broken car. - Take-It-Or-Leave-It Tactics: Dantzler was willing to okay a discount, but strictly on the condition that it was baked into the transaction if I bought the car on the spot. They refused to issue a "We Owe You" for travel reimbursement or cover shipping. Since the car was completely inoperable with zero timeline for a fix, moving forward blindly meant taking a financial loss. - The Cold Shoulder: For the final two hours, I was largely ignored as staff claimed other customers were keeping them busy. It was startling to see how quickly they had zero time for me once the sale fell through. - Contract Delays: As I tried to leave, they delayed providing a physical copy of the voided contract—meanwhile, I was already receiving automated texts from Hyundai Motor Finance congratulating me on my new vehicle. Eventually I managed to walk out with a "Flat Cancel" form in hand. I still had to follow up the following Monday to make sure it was actually sent out to Hyundai Motor Finance. A dealership's ultimate test (and actually most fail this) is standing behind a working vehicle and treating clients with basic respect when things go wrong. Manly Hyundai failed that test entirely. Future out-of-area buyers should proceed with extreme caution, and I strongly advise staying clear of VIN 7YAKR4DA4TY060449 unless you can successfully test drive it first. More

Report | Print