Are dealers clueless?

W

WilliamJones

New Member
I went to a dealer in central Florida yesterday to drive what I thought was an Ioniq PHEV. When I got there I did not see a charging port door, only a fuel door and the back bumper said Hybrid. I took a test drive (the seats were very comfy and it drove really well, and I was impressed). After the test drive I asked if they had any new or used PHEV or BEV Ioniqs, since this one was a Hybrid. I was told that the EV types were only sold in California. I thanked the sales person and left. I don't believe this for a minute. Anybody have definitive information?
 
The Ioniq EV's are sold here in Massachusetts. I believe they must at least be sold in the states that follow California's car mandate.
 
By the way, speaking of clueless dealers. I had taken my Smart Electric in for it's first service at the dealer. They gave me a price and I asked, what are you going to service. He said it's a general inspection and an oil change. I told them, good luck with that.
 
You can go to Cargurus and do a nationwide search for any new car that you are interested in purchasing. The Ioniq Plugin is sold in most New England and West Coast states, as they follow the California zero emissions mandate.

I don't recommend buying the Hyundai/Kia PHEVs due to the air cooled traction battery and the lack of an electric cabin heater. A three year lease is OK if you must have one. Just make sure there is a local dealer that can service the vehicle.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/new/s...tingHelper.selectedEntity=d2685#resultsPage=2
 
It looks like there is a Tampa Kia dealer selling the Niro plugin if you are interested.

Again, it's not a car I would recommend for a warm climate, due to the air cooled traction battery.
 
I assume the Nissan Leaf fits into that catagory also. For me, in central Florida, I don't even need a heater. An AC is a totally different question.
 
WilliamJones said:
I assume the Nissan Leaf fits into that catagory also. For me, in central Florida, I don't even need a heater. An AC is a totally different question.
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Yes, however I'm not sure if they use the air cooled method that Kia/Hyundai's uses. Kia/Hyundai draws the cabin air across the traction battery.

On my Sonata plugin, just turning on the AC drops the estimated range by 2 miles. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same thing on the Ioniq.

Have you considered the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Some of the Florida dealers are stocking it. I believe it has a liquid cooled traction battery.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/new/s...CarTab_false_0&selectedEntity=d2652&zip=33101
 
Dealers Clueless? Maybe, Sales people clueless? Absolutely. You have to remember EV is a paradigm shift. Even today, the old school question is "Is it a V6 or how may horses this baby have?" I have sales people tell me that MPGe is the same as miles per gallon. When I complained about the low range of a MINI SE, the sales person told me, "don't worry BMW listens very carefully to feedback and they will fix it when they begin production in a couple of months". Hmm, so the 110 mile EPA will double?

There are usually one or two knowledgeable people in the dealership. The reason is often simple. Car manufacturers expect a portion of the sales people to be certified and the others to follow the certified people. To be certified you need to go to class, which costs money to the dealership. If the dealership is not going to sell too many cars, then they will send only a limited number of people (or none) for the training. The rest will get some literature or video training. or the Sales Manager (who is not certified either) will train the people. So salespeople look at it from the lens they are used to, the ICE. The dealer believes it is not worth the investment unless they see a market, though the only way they will see the market is through investing in knowledgeable salespeople. Perfect example of Catch -22
 
interestedinEV said:
There are usually one or two knowledgeable people in the dealership.
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They are often locked away in the service department. If an owner of your car is a service technician, learn his name and ask for him each time. . . . Bring donuts for the service department.

Bob Wilson
 
bwilson4web said:
They are often locked away in the service department. If an owner of your car is a service technician, learn his name and ask for him each time. . . . Bring donuts for the service department.

Bob Wilson
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When you are looking at a new car to purchase, they will not allow you near the service department. The salespersons are not going to admit that they know nothing about this and they will not allow you to talk to anyone else. Their commissions may be on the line.
 
WilliamJones said:
I went to a dealer in central Florida yesterday to drive what I thought was an Ioniq PHEV. When I got there I did not see a charging port door, only a fuel door and the back bumper said Hybrid. I took a test drive (the seats were very comfy and it drove really well, and I was impressed). After the test drive I asked if they had any new or used PHEV or BEV Ioniqs, since this one was a Hybrid. I was told that the EV types were only sold in California. I thanked the sales person and left. I don't believe this for a minute. Anybody have definitive information?
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Hyundai only sells the PHEV and BEV variants in 9 states. (California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont) Maryland is the closest.. That's where I got my Kona Electric.. I'm in Central Florida myself and I had to fly up to Maryland to get my Kona Electric. Sister company Kia on the other hand DOES sell PHEV's in Florida.. They only sell them in very low numbers but you can get a NIRO PHEV in Florida.. However, they do NOT sell BEV's in Florida, just PHEV's. Actually just met a Niro PHEV owner at a charger here in Lakeland and to my surprise, he told me that the KIA PHEV's are sold here locally..
When I bought my Kona Electric in June 2019, my local dealer told me that they are not even allowed to order the Electric versions of their cars :(

20200612_125841.webp
 
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In addition, I've seen the Sonata PHEV for sale on dealer lots over the last three years here in Western Washington.

Washington state is now a ZEV state, starting in June.
 
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BlueKonaEV said:
They must have added WA to the states.. Based on Greencarreports, WA was not one of the states..
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That article is almost a year old now. Plus, I thought InsideEvs reported that any dealer could special order the vehicle. Or was that for the Kia Niro?

My guess is that any local dealer that orders the car, providing they can, will also have to have the necessary equipment and technicians trained to repair the vehicle. So good luck trying to order one.
 
BlueKonaEV said:
When I bought my Kona Electric in June 2019, my local dealer told me that they are not even allowed to order the Electric versions of their cars :(
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Last year when I was looking at Kia EV's I stopped at my local dealer. I was told they aren't allowed to sell EV's and pointed me to a different dealer a few miles away. So in MA it's select dealers with KIA (don't know about other manufacturers) that can sell and service.
 
When I was looking at a Chevy Bolt a few years ago, the salesman said they where spending $80,000 to install a DC charger. I can see where a dealership would have second thoughts about selling EVs if there wasn't much demand locally.
 
marshall said:
That article is almost a year old now. Plus, I thought InsideEvs reported that any dealer could special order the vehicle. Or was that for the Kia Niro?

My guess is that any local dealer that orders the car, providing they can, will also have to have the necessary equipment and technicians trained to repair the vehicle. So good luck trying to order one.
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When I bought my Kona in June 2019, my local Hyundai dealer here in Florida told me that they could NOT order it for me..
My local Hyundai dealer however is certified to work on the Electric models. They just can't sell them..
 
BlueKonaEV said:
When I bought my Kona in June 2019, my local Hyundai dealer here in Florida told me that they could NOT order it for me..
My local Hyundai dealer however is certified to work on the Electric models. They just can't sell them..
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That's good to know.

Anyhow, I see the Hyundai dealer in Centennial, Colorado has listed five Kona EVs for sale. So it looks like more states are slowly being added.

https://www.arapahoehyundai.com/new...acted=inventory-listing1-facet-anchor-model-3
 
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