Hyundai Capped Price Manufacturer Service Review

Hyundai: how it started

Korean carmaker entered Australia in 1986 as a budget option, their tagline jingle “Say hi to Hyundai” ringing out as they pushed into a market dominated by Japanese and domestic brands.

They landed here with the first Excel and sold shiploads of the 1.5L small car at a remarkable $9,990 sticker price, but consistent niggles in the model gave Hyundai’s reputation a knock.

In the ‘90s, Hyundai rebounded on the back of a third-generation Excel, which was sold with free air conditioning (a big deal at the time!) and fast became Australia’s top-selling 4-cylinder car.

In 1997, Hyundai spent $47 million of its Excel loot on a new Aussie headquarters at Homebush Bay, ahead of the formal establishment of the Hyundai Motor Company Australia in 2003.

Hyundai’s reputation in Australia has grown over time as a succession of reliable, well-priced models and today it’s the fastest-growing auto brand in the country.

The parent company’s history can be traced back to 1967, with its first production car a rebadged Ford Cortina.

The company then recruited a team of top British engineers to work on their own car – the Pony, a forerunner to the Excel.

By the late ‘90s, in tandem with their Australian success, the parent company refocused on quality and design in an effort to be recognised as a global brand.

Luring Thomas Bürkle (designer of the BMW 3 and 6 Series) to head their design unit in 2006 was just one of the marque’s bold moves.

Servicing with Hyundai

Hyundai’s reputation for big, bold retail offers continues with its iCare program, which opened in 2012 and was expanded two years later to include all Hyundais on the road – new and old.

Hyundai’s Lifetime Service Plan puts a fixed price for labour, parts, and lubricants on scheduled services and is transferable to subsequent owners when you sell the car.

Consumables like brake fluid or tyres are not covered, nor are repairs, but it’s still a good offer and we can’t help wondering if other car makers will match it, just as capped-price servicing is now industry standard.

Add Hyundai’s 5-year / unlimited kilometre new passenger car warranty (Australia’s first) to the mix and we’re looking at an extremely competitive marque.

In addition, Hyundai now offers an 8-year / 160,000 km HV Battery warranty on their eco vehicles.

Getting your Hyundai serviced by an independent mechanic absolutely will not void your warranty, but it will cancel out the free roadside assistance they also offer on all new cars.

Each scheduled service conducted by Hyundai earns you another year of free roadside assistance. Which is available for the Lifetime of your vehicle.

In terms of pricing per service, Hyundai’s offering is competitive.

Hyundai also has a Pre-Paid Service Plan available to owners of new vehicles – a plan redeemable at participating Hyundai dealers and which is transferrable should the vehicle be sold with services unused.

The one big caveat to Hyundai’s seemingly unbeatable offer – nowhere in their Lifetime Service Plan do they commit to holding their fixed prices down.

You can go online today and see how much it’ll cost to get your old Elantra serviced next week, but that number could go up in future.