Prior to choosing a Mazda as my new car, I really liked one Hyundai model. I test drove it; I got the negotiations within $500 of what I was willing to pay. I was sitting with all of it for a moment (read that as hoping the dealership would come down a little more in price). And suddenly an article came out from CNN saying there was a glitch in Hyundai that allowed them to be stolen more easily than any other car. Even though the company corrected the glitch, thieves will still smash windows thinking they can still steal them.
After all the work and hopes I put into this endeavor, I came close to stomping my foot and throwing a temper tantrum. For a couple of minutes I literally felt like a little kid crying, “It’s not fair.” I normally try to practice detachment, that’s not how I was feeling that particular day. In the end, it all turned out OK.
Funny thing though, my stepdad has a 2016 Hyundai that he drives around town because it gets great gas mileage. He got a recall notice because of this same theft glitch.
He made an appointment to take it in and get it corrected. He dropped the car off, and Mom picked him up to take him home till it was fixed. And that’s when the trouble started. They didn’t even make it home before he got a text.
The text he received was a video with a technician “inspecting” his car and filming it as he explained all the things that were wrong with it and how much it was going to cost to fix it.
A call was made, and my stepdad explained (maybe heatedly) that his car was there for a recall fix, and nothing more.
Let’s be clear – the suggestions and warnings about his car were not concerns for his safety or the health of his car. It was a shakedown.
The Bob King Hyundai dealership saw an 83-year-old who drives a neat, clean car, and all they saw was a way to make money off of someone they saw as vulnerable. What they didn’t see was an incredibly intelligent Navy veteran, who after serving his country put planes in the air for a living. He probably knows more about engines and mechanics than they ever will. But that’s not what they were looking for. They were looking for a quick buck.
Chilean writer Roberto Bolano said, “People see what they want to see and what people want to see never has anything to do with the truth.” What a commentary on people and what an inspiration to do better, to see more wholly and to treat others more fairly.
