TRANSPORTATION : Hyundai Introduces Maintenance Plan for Elantra Buyers

Hyundai Motor America, which hit the U.S. market with a bang when it came ashore in 1985 with the $5,000 Excel, is at it again.

While Excel dominated the economy car market for several years, there were a lot of repair problems and Hyundai fared poorly in customer satisfaction surveys. A lot of people walked away, convinced Korean cars would never stack up to Japanese ones in quality.

Now, the company says, its quality problems are a thing of the past.

To improve its image, Fountain Valley-based Hyundai has introduced a two-year or 24,000-mile no-cost maintenance program for its newest model, the upscale Elantra subcompact, which was introduced last month.

Several lease programs--notably Audi’s--have provided customers with long-term, no-cost maintenance.

But Hyundai is the first car maker to give buyers all regularly scheduled maintenance at no additional cost. The program is provided in addition to the company’s regular warranty.

The program is designed to show consumers that Hyundai really is willing to put its money where its mouth is, says Rod Hayden, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

If the program is well-received, he says, “we will probably expand it to our other models as well.”

The car-selling business is largely a “me-too” business, so if that happens, look for other car makers to follow suit.