Hello! I have been lurking here and reading posts for the last 2 months, as I am considering either an Azera or Sonata. I have driven both cars and like the ride of the Azera over the Sonata, but of the 4 2007 Azeras I have driven 2 have had cracked dashes around the air bag and they had 10K and 6K on them. 2 had the clunk in the front end with mileage of 10K and 14K.

So I ask, Would you buy an Azera again if you had to buy a car now? If not, why?

Thanks

:)
Yes, but only if it were the latest model and I would make
sure that it had a build date later than 10/20/07.

That date and later is when Hyundai started to install their latest shocks, and
from the rather limited information available, finally installed the proper shocks! :amen:
Some early production 2008 models still have the older shocks which do not provide the
correct ride under some road conditions such as what you may encounter in your area.

Should you be able to find a good deal on an older car and the seller
would agree to pay for installation of those latest shocks?

:thumbsup:

This post has been edited by snaglepus: Jul 9 2008, 08:33 PM

Nope, and I doubt I'd buy ANY Hyundai again after dealing with this one and lousy dealers.

Yes, if I were in the market for another front-wheel-drive luxury car; if I lived up North. Overall, though, NO... because the Genesis is now available. :)

Yes - nice ride, good performance, decent fuel economy - never been back to the dealer for a problem. Lots of compliments.

I have a 2006 without any problems! However I would not buy any car from Hyundai above the Sonata level. Hyundai does not know how to market cars above that level. So you'd be left with a terrible resale/trade in value and what's worse is that due to the lack of demand parts may be difficult to locate and it will take a long down time if/when you brake down. Since I buy at the luxo level this will be for me the 1st and last Hyundai .

Ask me in another 13 years or so, as I keep a car "forever" (owned two Honda Accords as my only cars in the entire 30 years preceeding my Azera purchase) and I figure, based on current experience over 20 months and 29,000 miles, that my current 2006 Azera Limited just might satisfy me for 15 years or more... :grin:

Put it this way...if it weren't for the warranty I couldn't afford to keep this car with all the issues I've had with it. I should have just bought the Maxima I was looking at instead of wandering over to the Hyundai dealership. So I guess my answer is no, my next car will most likely be Japanese made...unless the Koreans get their $h!t together before then.

Great Question. Own a 2006 Azera limited. I think it depends on what you are planning on using your vehicle for. If this vehicle is going to be driven a lot I would not buy the Azera. Although it has been a great car which looks sharp and offers many features, the big problems is MPG. This car's MPG is terrible. We have yet to get past 20 MPG. Most of the time it is 18 MPG. This car sucks gas and at gas approaching $5 a gallon, it certainly will put a damper in travel plans. Believe me, you may not think it is a big deal, however, when your pumping in $80+ (This is just to get to work and back) or more each week to drive this car you start to wonder. If I had to do it again, I would have bought a car that got a minimum of 30MPG. It may not give you all the comforts, but in today's world with gas prices continuing to climb it is the logical choice that will save you quite a bit of money.

No. I have a 2007 Limited with the Ultimate Package. Have had the car 15 months and have 9,900 miles on it. As I am retired it is in my garage most of the time.
Have had no issues with the car except for the ride. All the bells and whistles work as they should and always have. Great styling inside and out and quietest car I have ever owned. Performance is great for me and MPG isn't all that bad.
However, even with new shocks at about 5,000 miles, it still rolls or bounces excessively on almost any road imperfections, such as dips, hills, pot holes, manhole covers, etc. On perfectly smooth roads, the ride is great, but there aren't very many of those where I drive.
If you have driven one with over 5,000 miles on it, you should be able to notice the rolling/bouncing. Find a road with dips and rises in the road surface and try it.
Some owners say they do not have this problem, but many say they do.
BTW, the regional service rep. told me that he checked with Hyundai technical department and there is NO difference between the 06, 07, 08 and 09 shocks except for the numbers. The numbers refer to date of manufacture and nothing else. Suspension are all the same.
Good luck - it is not an easy choice picking cars anymore. :beer:

This post has been edited by Carolina Bob: Jul 12 2008, 09:36 AM

Yes I know. That is why I have been looking into Hyundai for my next car as the warranty is quite good for a inexpensive car.

I want to thank those who have replied so far and I will be checking back to see what others have to say about the Azera. :whistling:

My former '06 Azera Limited Ultimate was a great car. I traded in a '01 Jaguar S Type and couldn't have been happier. That said, that was early '06. Who would have dreamed gas prices would go to present levels? That was my major consideration in my trading it in July '08. Also,I was never very impressed with the Hyundai dealer's knowledge of the Azera and all its features.

I have an 06 Azera Limited with just 16,000 miles (will be 2 years in Aug.) in addition to my 06 Sonata LX6. We are seniors and I am retired so my "sport sedan" days are past. We love the Azera, my wife drives it during the week (first car in years she's comfy with) and on the weekend it is our together car. On the highway I get around 25+ mpg and in short distance local driving around 18mpg. Yes I have had the front shocks replaced, timing chain tensioner replaced and steering wheel replaced due to chipping. All these done under warranty. That being said, the car is attractive (pearl white), roomy, has great pickup, and is as quiet as the day I picked it up. Yes, yes I would buy another one if I was in the market for another. Oh did I mention that the price is thousands less than other comparable cars. :thumbsup:
Don

NO. Or any other Hyundai. I just got back yesterday from having my steering wheel replaced. While I was ther I went in the showroom to check out the 09's. I opened the door of this loaded Sonata ($26,000 sticker) and this is the first thing I see (Taken with cell phone) I tell them this is not going to make a good first impression and they rush to remove it from the floor.
For those that doubt the Brazz here is a pic of the dash from that same car
I have had the shocks replaced on my Azera
The amp replaced
the dash replaced
the gauge cluster replaced
the steering wheel replaced
the rear sun shade fixed
rattle in right rear door
etc etc

unacceptable

Plus..... They riot in the streets for weeks over importing our beef......Well thier little Korean a$$'s can kiss my AMERICAN A$$ !!!!


This post has been edited by Brazzel: Jul 11 2008, 03:12 AM

LMAO... Brazzel carries some emotional baggage.

You did have a heck of a lemon... an interesting escapade with a tree... and, you're right, I don't think you go to Hyundai expecting red carpet service. Part of the $8k-16k you're saving off relevant competition to the Azera, or $12k-25k you're saving off relevant competition to the Genesis, is that they don't pay a premium for sales or service staff who will pamper you, who know excellent customer service, who are knowledgeable, well-trained and well-organized. It has been pretty consistently my experience as well; and I still love the car. Maybe because I haven't had to deal with them much after purchase. I still don't think Azera is a reasonable doppelganger for an ES; the ride, feel, power, refinement, reliability and build quality (in MOST cases), yes, rivals ES; the warranty spanks Lexus; and the sales & service just don't keep up. So the total package for the Azera is geared to someone with different priorities than Lexus: I'll deal with the service department, in return for saving a boatload of money, and having the major parts of the car covered for a decade, for five to seven years after I paid the thing off. The Hyundai recipe is NOT optimal for someone who needs to have special, easy, white glove treatment all the time, or someone who expects to lease / buy then bail on the car in 2-3 years.

Genesis seems to be continuing along that path; no real special commitment of resources or special treatment, and the sales staff are CERTAINLY not knowledgeable about the car in any way. So in that way, Hyundai isn't even attempting to do what Toyota tried to do; it is taking its same, current, proprietary recipe of major advantages and major concessions and applying it to something special. It depends on the individual buyer's priorities as to what the most important factors are for a new car.

Went by dealer other day to pick up my free touch up paint and spoke to a salesman. He had spent the previous day or so at Hyundai's Genesis "school." They had classes on the Genesis and then test drove one and a BMW 5, MB E, Lexus GS, Audi and an Azera.
So looks like they may be trying to do a better job of training the sales staff than they did with Azera. He seemed to know a lot about the car. Stated that you can run regular, but if you run premium, you up HP by 5.
They are getting in 2-3.8's (V6's) this month and are selling them for MSRP.
He was wearing a nice looking polo shirt with Genesis on it.

:)

Perhaps yes, well maybe? :P

If I had all the problems that he's had, I think I might perhaps feel the same way he does.

In my case, I've had a C E L account of a bad O2 sensor, and of course the nagging bad front
shock problem, but I'm working on that one and I will correct it myself, one way or another.

So with his list which is longer than your arm, we must cut him some slack don't you know?
A couple of problems is okay, but not nearly as many as he has suffered.
And I don't think his running his car off the road had anything to do with his list of
factory screw-ups either. He simply had an accident, and the damages
caused by that accident have nothing to do with his cars problems!

Now as to that brand new Sonata being placed on the showroom floor in that condition?
How many different people had a chance to notice that problem and did nothing?
BTW, isn't that car build locally vs many other models that come from the motherland?

:amen:

This post has been edited by snaglepus: Jul 12 2008, 09:59 AM