Germain Hyundai of Columbus — Local services in Columbus

So, I don't leave a lot of reviews on here, and generally when I do it is a very positive experience. Sadly that is not how I feel about Germain right now. And quick disclaimer before I get started, so far I haven't been able to get in touch with this company I plan on doing that, I will absolutely give them the opportunity to fix what is wrong or to make it right for me, and if they do I will update my review accordingly.

Long story short I just got divorced, I was driving this truck that I really loved but I knew that I couldn't afford to continue driving it while I was kind of putting my life together. I made the mistake of letting the dealership kind of know what I was going through, and frankly they were very aggressive and I think knowing that I was in a desperate spot took advantage of that. Ultimately they got me into a Chevy Trax, and I left the dealership as happy as I could be in that moment.

This all started in August, I literally just made my first payment on this car. Almost immediately I realized that none of the hand controls on the steering wheel worked the way that they should. For example I can't make phone calls through the steering wheel, and I cannot flip between songs or stations Using that control. So if I want to change my song as I'm on a long drive I either have to take my eyes off the road and go through the CarPlay menu, or I just need to wait until I stop and deal with it. The vehicle was also due for an oil change which simply should not happen when you are buying a vehicle from a dealership, in the first month of me driving this vehicle I had to pay 100 bucks to get an oil change and the wiper blades were shot to hell so I had to replace those also. These are very simple things that somebody shouldn't have to go over with a fine toothed comb when buying a vehicle. I don't think there's a dealership out there with any sort of positive reputation that doesn't give you the vehicle pretty much ready to roll without having to do things like general maintenance within the first month.

But then we get into the much deeper darker problems. In the cars on board computer, the previous owners information is still available to me. I could literally navigate late to her house, I have access to her phone number, and that's just not safe for that person. Obviously I would never do anything like that, but it's really creepy that this information is just readily available to me and that they did absolutely nothing to wipe that out

But here's the fun part, the real kicker for me and the reason that I am so furious about this whole situation. Before I even made my first payment, the check engine light came on I got it tested and apparently it was something involving the catalytic converter. It has since turned off on its own, so it could just be a fuse or something, but again within a month of purchasing some thing you shouldn't have the check engine light coming on. Today while driving, this little rubber piece that goes along the bottom of the front bumper came off while driving, and started dragging underneath my vehicle on the highway, then the piece that was underneath of that this flat panel that I suppose is there to protect the bottom of the vehicle Also fell off and started dragging. Eventually I just had to take off the bottom rubber part as it didn't appear to be salvageable, and that bottom tray is currently being held on to avoid dragging using bungee cords. So I have a vehicle that I have had for less than two months, and it is literally being held together using bungee cords.

To recap: Germain sold me a car with bad wipers, less than 10% oil life, non functioning steering wheel controls, a looming check engine issue, all of the private info of the female who previously owned it readily available, two fobs that are not consistently reliable, a damaged front bumper with an undercarriage protective shield that I'm keeping together using bungees. They knowingly sold me a lemon, an absolute lemon. I'm fair and reasonable; I'll update or delete this if they...

I have a 2018 Hyundai Sonata w/ 41,060 miles on it. I live in Columbus, Oh. During a recent road trip to the Dayton, Oh area 1.5 hours away I got a blinking amber engine problem alert notice on my dash. I pulled over, lifted the hood and did a visual on all fluids, belts and possible leaks. Nothing visual noticed. Called Germain Hyundai & notified them of problem. We went through possible issues & found nothing. They contacted Voss Hyundai in Dayton on my behalf & I was told to bring it there, they were waiting & would try to determine its cause. Once at Voss I was welcomed warmly & asked to wait it customer area. Half hour later service advisor says on limited time they can't address issue but advised & contacted Germain in Columbus believe car can be driven cautiously back to Columbus and my service advisor Ted Gibbs says on phone he's already got me on schedule at 7:30am next morning and issues Hyundai roadside assistance number to me in case of further problems. I get home ok that evening but blinking amber light on dash remains constant. Next day Ted Gibbs greets me, thanks me for information on the phone previous day and assures me he'll take care of car, please wait in customer area. After 3 hours time tells me I have a fuel system failure, a one in a million defect in the car that given it only has 41k miles shouldn't have happened, regardless. He further states though the car is out of warranty this is a rare defect & the company wants to ensure my satisfaction & is covering the repair. So, for one unexpected defect & breakdown, I had 2 separate Hyundai dealers work together, ensure my safety & communication w/ 4 different people, get me home safely, an emergency appointment & repair the car w/ little or no inconvenience to me. Nobody could ask for more. Thank you Voss Hyundai in Dayton for your time, attention, effort & communication on my behalf. Thank you Germain Hyundai in Columbus for the lady in scheduling, Ted Gibbs my service coordinator & the teamwork ensuring my safety & repair. A follow up. 2 days after posting this review I got another engine warning light on my dashboard. I called T. J., my service advisor. He asked if it was a solid or blinking amber light. I said blinking. He summarized I got a defective knock sensor sending another false positive to the engine and asked me to do a system check and talked me through the process on the phone. He said no appointments for the rest of the day and asked if I could bring it in opening next day. He had NO open slots but if I was patient & wait he'd get it done and I was in no danger. I said yes. I showed up 7:30am next day, he said about 4 hours wait time due to scheduling and apologized for the wait. No issues. Your helping me unannounced and nobody could ask for more. 3.5 hours later and detailed explanation my car is once again running perfectly and his customer service is / was exemplary. Couldn't...

The Car Our original car was a 2013 Cadillac Escalade Platinum. It was loaded with lots of features and paid in full. We had NO plans of car shopping, however the Escalade was totaled in a rear end collision, and we were forced to start our purchasing journey. The original plan was to stay in the familiar Escalade model but soon acquired an interest in the BMW X7. I sifted through tons of cars, features, online reports, MPG comparisons, safety data and most important our budget and quickly realized I was in search of a unicorn. Our target vehicle was a white-on-white 2020 or newer X7 with less than 40k miles under $50,000. I found 2, hesitated on the first one, and was unsure about the second.

The Test Drive In a 30-day period we visited 12 Dealerships and test drove several cars at 6 different locations. 4 of those locations were Germain companies, Honda, Cadillac, Toyota and Hyundia. We walked into the Germain Hyundai store and were greeted by Will Judd. From the handshake Will made us feel at home. I took 2-3 minutes to explain our situation and that we were interested in comparing the 2024 Hyundai Palisade to the X7. I could tell that Will realized we were very informed and focused on our wish list. We asked a bunch of questions about the Palisade’s trim packages, and I quickly realized Will was very knowledgeable about the Hyundai brand. Will focused our attention on showing us all the amazing features/options on the Palisade. We signed a test drive agreement and were on our way with a Limited Edition. We drove for a bit and stopped in an empty lot to open every door, sit in every seat and test every button and option on the car. We got back to the dealership, gave him 2 thumbs up and informed him we preferred the Calligraphy on the showroom floor. Hyundai did an amazing job with this car! At this price point the options are stellar, and the warranties provide a wonderful peace of mind that you simply can’t get with a used car! We said no to the BMW X7 and the Cadillac Escalade Platinum edition.

The Experience Will Judd is an ambassador of the Hyundai Brand and the Germain family of dealerships. His professionalism and ‘No pressure’ approach is a welcomed sales style in an age where the consumer is so well informed. Will has an amazing attention to detail as he took the time to ‘listen’ to us and emphasized the Palisade’s features. He built a rapport with us by simply being very knowledgeable of every single feature on every single model and by answering all our questions. Once approved a couple of Finance managers came out and thanked us for our business.

The entire team was great, but we really appreciated the 5 STAR experience delivered by Will...