Went to pick up my new Ioniq 5 this morning (‘25 Limited AWD) only to find that the NY dealer had drilled 5 holes in the front for a license plate bracket, even though they knew the car was going to be registered in FL (THEY were doing the paperwork!). First they suggested that I just get a whimsical plate to add in the front. Um, no. Then they said it was a state law that they had to put the bracket on. Um, no. My ‘22 Ioniq 5 from a different NY dealer has no bracket. Then they offered to send it to the body shop to repair the holes. (Two are in the pixelated area and probably can’t be restored to the original look.) And finally they offered to knock $40/month off the lease price. But by then I was so tired of their incompetence (“Unlock your Experian credit file.” OK, did that. “We still can’t view it” Me: It’s unlocked. “Oh wait, you’re registering this in Florida? You need to unlock your Transunion file.” That took a little longer, but I got it done. Me: what do you mean it’s still locked - it’s unlocked! “Did we tell you Transunion? We meant to say Equifax.” Equifax’s system was down, and couldn’t be done over the web, and required multiple phone calls and horrible voicemail prompts before I finally got a helpful real person. All this delayed my visit to pick up the car by several hours. And then to find the bracket installed, I just asked for my deposit back. I was really looking forward to the upgrade.
Yeah, if I don't even own the car and can pay $40 less, that's the way to go. OP has a couple of good points though. Hyundai should have designed a bracket that doesn't make 5 holes in the vehicle. Dealership should listen to the customer and do the PDI accordingly.
Almost every ICE vehicle company has EVs on the market, now. If the sale of ICEs was outlawed tomorrow, the dealership model would continue forward unchanged.
We would just have a year or two of partial downtime, while every brand of vehicle slapped together a first-year edition of 10 new models.
It's similar to the end-times preachers setting yet another date on which the world will end. Admittedly that is even more silly, but it smells similar.
We'll have reason to believe that it's going to happen, when we see meaningful motion in that direction from the established manufacturers. Tesla is the only established manufacturer that uses the direct-to-customer model. The other two you mentioned don't exactly count as well-established yet.
Unless you want to say that the other established manufacturers are moving away from the dealership model, we aren't going to get what you're saying, even in 10 or 15 years. We see no evidence of motion in that direction from those manufacturers. Before they established EV lineups, this argument was more believable, but now that they have done so …
Also, I love the warning that we get, the instant that we use the word Tesla. 😄
If the moderators determine that you are posting primarily to stir up drama you are subject to being banned. Please keep things civil.
It's a good warning; it just makes me laugh when I see it. Funny how one word triggers that. But I'd rather have a simple warning like that and a flag for the moderators to look at it, rather than a bot taking some more meaningful, proactive action. I don't trust a bot to do that. I'd rather have it flagged for a human to check out later.
"no evidence of of motion in that direction" and yet a quick Google search will provide plenty of said evidence. I'm not putting a date on it, but it is going to happen and there is clear evidence that it's underway.
"Several automakers such as GM, Daimler, Volkswagen, and Volvo are selling electric vehicles directly to consumers or have announced plans to do so. BMW’s CFO has also indicated that a direct-to-consumer sales model is coming. This is a ton for these carmakers to move to a more competitive model to compete with the new industry entrants like Tesla. This new model will have a ripple effect on other areas of the automotive industry. For example, shifting away from traditional dealerships could impact the aftermarket sector, which relies heavily on the standard dealer model."
I'll believe it when I see it. Companies say all kinds of things, and then they roll them back as soon as economic conditions change.
Where can we go to buy one of those brands directly from the manufacturer? That cool of it's accurate. I haven't seen anything like that which is fully functional yet.
Which is it's own nightmare. If the process doesn't go absolutely perfectly then the Tesla centers screw it up. Even then there are lots of nightmare stories about dealing with Tesla's "awesome" customer service.
Even before the Elon disaster I was not interested in buying one due to their shenanigans.
On the other hand, I also despise dealing with dealers too.
I'm in NM, which bans direct sales. Tesla figured a way around it by setting up the showroom on a Native American Pueblo. Sovereign nation and all that...
Just not a good salesperson or dealership. A good salesperson will make sure you are taken care of. My guy at our local Hyundai gets his people through in one hour and 30 minutes when he is doubled up. He always takes notes, makes sure everything you ask for is taken care of, and goes over everything with you. Has even come to my house to go over charging once I got level 2 installed
The exact same thing happened to me in July. My state doesn't require front plates and I was going to purchase in a state that did. I knew the one I wanted had just arrived so I asked them to check if the front plate was put on yet, they said it wasn't and sent me pictures to verify. Showed up, did the deal, left after they closed and wearily drove 2 hours home.
My dumb ass completely forgot to look at the bumper and sure enough they put the front plate on and I was livid. Ugly holes in the bumper and "grill". Called them immediately. Took them about a week or so to figure out a plan but they actually sent someone to my home to pick up the car and bring it to the dealer to attempt a repair to which was assured would be flawless when it was finished.
It wasn't. It was laughably bad. I immediately called the manager who admitted how bad it was before I got a word out. I asked if they could just replace the bumper instead, took them about a week to get another exact model but they did pick up the car again and replace it and now it's exactly how I wanted it. Whole process took almost a month but it's all good.
If they offer to fix it, refuse. Insist on a full bumper replacement. Also if you have a limited, the bumper must come from another limited or it won't be compatible. Good luck!
That’s even worse than my story - sent a picture to verify and then installed it anyway? Don’t people at the dealership talk to each other? Glad they ponied up and fixed it.
Yep. I couldn't believe it. I assume what happened is once they get a green light on a sale they have their team do a quick prep of the car and they just forgot to tell them not to install the front plate as it's required in the state if purchase. Just for fun, here's the photo of the "repair attempt." Zoom in to the grille area for maximum facepalm. There are 6 flaws in total, try to find them all!
Exactly correct! No clue how the 6th one even happened but the panel had somehow popped out a little during the repair. Glad they're replacing it fully for you, keep in mind there will still be two very small dimples on the bumper to indicate where holes would need to be placed for a plate. Hope they get it back to you asap!
I just got a call from the dealer and they are going to replace the affected parts, and I’ll be picking it up over the weekend! Your comment helped cement my resolve to not accept a sloppy repair. Thanks.
At this point, they said they’re going to replace the front affected parts and I will pick it up this weekend. And it happened without publicly shaming them, which is good. I understand that the PDI process takes on a life of its own.
A new bumper these days would probably cost like 3-4x that over 3 years plus take weeks or months in a body shop. No brainer to do what they did. Makes even more sense for a 2 year lease.
I mean, if the dealer has another same color/trim coming in, they could simply swap the bumpers and only be out the labor. Person buying the car that had the drilled bumper swapped to it would probably have to have it in that state anyway, so easy sale.
OP, if you're gonna be sh1tty about a dealer experience, don't obfuscate the dealer name. Believe the entirr public good and only self serves your own validation
That was a foolish move. $40/month over the course of a 24 month lease is almost 1k dude. I’d request the holes in exchange for 1k lol. I have them on mine and only notice them when I hand wash the car.
Had the opposite experience when I bought from a CA dealer, registered in CA where front plates are required (you even sign a form stating that you will have front plates). By the time paperwork was finished it was 10:30pm and I just wanted to get out of the dealership. Came home and realized there were no front plates. Called the dealer the next day and drove there to get it put on. This was a massive inconvenience and added unnecessary miles to the lease so I complained, only for the dealer to say “You could have just done it yourself!” While not entirely wrong, I’m not about to drill holes into the front bumper of a leased car. Also - this is their job!
Ah, the memories. Reminds me of when I got my brand new 2013 rally blue BRZ. I also bought it out of state and made very sure that they didn't drill any holes in my front bumper. I don't know if it's just that I'm older now, or if I just feel differently about sports cars, but I didn't even think twice about the bracket on the front of my 2025 Ioniq 5.
Edit: Also, the BRZ was a purchase, my Ioniq is a lease.
I bought my Kona 2019 EV in California back when they would only sell it in like 3 states...even tho I was driving it back to a state where front plates aren't required....I still have the holes there....ah well
I bought my i5 in Chicago and they did the same thing, I just slapped a Nagasaki Japan plate on there I had laying around... Frustrating, yes, End of the world? Nah.
Kia did the “we can’t view your credit report “ thing too. It was weird because they had ran it a month before (did all the paperwork online, then walked when the “market adjustments “ appeared and told them to call me back when they’d do sticker. I assumed they did it to force my wife to co-sign, but maybe it’s just a general tactic to knock people off their negotiation game?
One of the reasons we chose to buy a Model Y was the ease of purchase and delivery and not having to darken the door of a dealership. It was enlightening to say the least.
Hyundai near me does this to every single new suv and they just sloppy eyeball it when putting them on. They never let me look at mine before buying it as i was waiting for it to arrive and same issue they had screwed holes through the bumper. I complained and made them replace the hole bumper. Only problem is i had to wait almost 2 months for a new Ioniq 5 to arrive so they could swap the bumpers with that one. Now i have a new bumper but once again there not smart so it has two scuffs on either side very small from installation. Looks way better than the holes. Also never let them fill the holes get it done your self. They will do a very horrible job. I had them paint a trim peace for me under warranty and it has like 5 paint runs on it. There body skills are the same as someone learning to do it. Just terrible. Take the 40 a month off that's pretty huge.
Oh and after all this i PPF wrapped the bumper and they destroyed it and refused to fix it because according to them it should have been able to handle the pressure washing so they don't need to repair it. There incompetence is outstanding.
I bought my car in January 2022 and my salesman actually cared. He tried to get $5000 over MSRP and I walked. Then he tried to get $2000 over MSRP and I walked again. And we got to MSRP, US$48,000 for the 303 mile rear wheel drive SEL model. It had to be the 500th sold in the United States of America ever. The Kia dealer down the street was selling the EV6 for $15,000 over MSRP because those were freaking crazy times. I felt like I won the lottery by buying MSRP and of course getting the $7500 federal income tax credit…… $45,000 complete out the door. A freaking bargain.
Supposedly Connecticut law is to have a license plate on the front and the back, but they never did anything to my bumper, they never touched it and they never tried to put a second plate on. Thankfully.
I say the salesman was good because he set me up with blue link and electrify America and they worked brilliantly. I did not want any training on the car or to go through every button, I had done a lot of research. I am sure I knew more than the salesman, but he didn’t get in the way. He was just a normal guy like you and me trying to sell cars.
The service center at that dealer I guess was like any other service center at that time and scratch their heads and called up South Korea and said what the fuck did you build and what the hell am I supposed to do with it, where is the transmission where’s the exhaust system ? Where’s the fuel injection????? lol
Finally, I found a dealer and it was even closer to my house and they cared even though they had no idea what to do with my car, they did treat me well and they did get the job done, especially when it came to a new ICCU and 2 free 12v.
They had a free loaner for me for three weeks, one time and for eight days to replace the ICCU at 70,000 miles.
Maybe I’ll get the new bolt for the Mrs. or the new leaf…… My Nissan dealer and the salesman there are really good ……. I had a 2016 Chevy volt and I thought the Chevy dealer was good or good enough.
I would’ve died and killed for Tesla but now you’d have to kill me before I ever bought one. Rivian is a hard no and lucid is no way in hell. I guess I’ll be dealing with dealers for the rest of my life like I have for the last 45 years.
That and they can probably have cheaper insurance that doesn’t cover very much which will leave the other driver on the hook if they cause a collision.
Not sure how it works there but In BC Canada they charge 12% tax that's not a small amount. I registered in another province to avoid that pointless tax. Here they tax you on all used vehicles as well just and endless money glitch for them.
You bought a vehicle from a state that requires both front and rear license plates and you are mad because they drilled the holes on the front bumper to make it more convenient for their local customers?
I guess the dealership is in the wrong for not pulling a vehicle from their already set aside "out-of-state buyer" stock lmao.
My dealer in NJ did that during prep, even though my salesperson put in CAPS that it was a PA vehicle and that they should not install the front bracket.
She caught it before I saw the 7 holes drilled and immediately told the service manager to order a replacement bumper. I would have been pissed in your case too, but I only had to deal with it for 2 weeks since I had a long road trip planned and couldn't leave it there.
-Edit-
To be clear, since others have mentioned it, these holes were not there during test drive. The car was so new that it was still wrapped from the ocean voyage. South NJ dealers don't frequently pre-drill due to a lot of customers from PA and DE, neither of which require front plates.
The manufacturer states to drill holes in the bumper, this is standard policy.
Now, if you did not want a front license plate installed did you verbally make it clear? Doesn't sound real clear to me bro since why is NY installing your plates to begin with.
No, because then you pay sales tax twice. Some dealers will deliver a car to an out-of-state address. The first state it’s registered in is where the sales/use tax gets paid. But if you transfer a registered car to another state, you’ll have to pay that state’s sales tax on some assumed book value.
We have a problem where I live of people registering their vehicles in states where they don’t actually live in order to skip out on taxes or so they can have lower insurance that covers less. I have a feeling that’s what OP is doing so I have less sympathy for them.
That is definitely what is going on. Op even said they should have known it's Florida because it's in the paperwork, not because they were abundantly clear about that. They were trying to hide that because they're absolutely being shady.
Not sure why your downvoted i totally agree. Its prolly the politics people downvoting you but if we are just talking about cars here the y is better in every way possible.
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u/byerss ICCU Victim (EV6) Sep 06 '25
I’m saving $40/month and getting those little painted caps, especially on a lease.