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How I Saved $1,500. Buying our Hyundai







Our 1991 Volvo 740 Turbo Station Wagon, 207k miles was showing its age, calling for a renewal, but we wanted a station wagon, something that mainstream car manufacturers
barely produce anymore. In order to have access to regular mechanics, especially one in our neighborhood who is fantastic, we did not want another Volvo, and even less a BMW or Mercedes. These are good cars but too expensive and complicated to maintain. The Volkswagen Jetta Sportswagen was also certainly attractive, but its reliability track record is not good at all, and while turbo diesel is a fabulous technology, it would take gas at $5. a gallon to make it worth the investment with that car. And when one withdraws those four brands, there is not many station wagons left.

We quickly identified the Hyundai Elantra Touring, as one of the few alternatives. In the end it was in competition with the Honda Fit, a roomy hatchback (which is probably a better choice than the Toyota Matrix), and the Subaru Forester or Outback. The Subarus are great cars, but with comparable amenities they cost respectively 25% and 50% more than the Hyundai, and their gas mileage is not as good. We also don’t like or need a permanent 4 wheel drive. As for the Honda Fit, the Touring is just way more car for roughly the same money or less.

We, therefore, set our desires on a Hyundai Elantra Touring SE (there is a GLS model which is somewhat cheaper), as we keep cars for a long time, and were willing to pay extra for the additional pleasure and comfort, mostly the leather seats and sunroof. The problem was to get that car at the best price, which is a tall order, as the word does not get out much what that price is. It is a poker game against the casino, and one only knows that a price is good when other dealers don’t want to match it, which is what in the end happened here, keep reading.

Through Costco’s Car Buying Program, I was put in contact with West Broad Hyundai in Richmond, VA (888-364-2152). I liked the way they were handling phone calls, but their original pricing was very much along the party line, not impressive at all. Since Hyundai was not offering very good financing on the Touring, I looked at a few options, including Bank of America. As I was looking at their rates, I noticed an option that allowed one to get price offers on a vehicle. The search returned three, two instate that were ok, and one from a dealer in Columbus, South Carolina, $1,350 cheaper than the dealer here in Durham.
Andrew Getchell

I could not believe that price, but the more I looked and inquired, the more it appeared legitimate. None of the local or even, instate dealers, were willing to match it or come close. One was claiming that it would fail, and that I would only discover that when showing up in Columbus. I knew then that my price was good.

I was not very keen on the guys in Columbus, as they were a little brash, or too slick, depending who, and Columbus is just a pain to go to, since there is no direct train or bus from the Triangle, and schedules don’t coincide. Of course, I could have driven there with my wife, and one of us could have driven back the old car, but that was no fun, and a big loss of time for one of us. I knew that there was a direct bus to Richmond from Durham, so at the last minute, I called Andrew Getchell (804-521-6605), who handles internet sales for the
Richmond dealer and told him that in Columbus I could get a Touring SE for $19,150 out of the door, including the accessories we needed. I waited literally less than 5 minutes on the phone, and he came back with a positive response. In the end, we ended up with a price of $19,000, $150 cheaper than in Columbus, and $1500 less than here in the Triangle.

That was on a Friday around 11:00 a.m. We wanted a color that they did not have in stock, but they located one reasonably close, and I was taking delivery of the car on Saturday.


Behind the desk :
Danny Fisher, General Sales Manager
(the guy who will approve your deal, I suppose)

Standing : Kevin Johnson, Special Finance Manager






We Kept passing trucks moving car on our way.


Arrival in Richmond


I took the bus in Durham at 11:35 a.m. and arrived in Richmond around 2:30, ahead of schedule.
Jack Byrne
That left me time to have lunch in a restaurant in the lovely market district near the bus stop, after which I called Andrew Getchell who picked me up. The Touring was there, as anticipated, with less than 100 miles, and zero defect. I was introduced to Jack Byrne who went through all the car details with me, explaining the warranty, the maintenance, how to set the radio and so on …





I went through the papers with Jason Brown, and was impressed with how smooth he was.
Jason Brown
I know, I don’t buy a car very often, but I don’t recall it being so smooth the last time. I had faxed these guys the loan certificate from the bank, plus a couple lines of personal information, that is all, and the printer was now spitting the loan contract, bill of sale etc ... All in all, I spent less than 15 minutes in that office. Three weeks later, West Broad shipped me the papers, and I went to the DMV, got my tag in about 15 minutes, mission accomplished.

We have been delighted by our choice, Hyundai is one of the very best car manufacturers nowadays. They certainly offer the best warranty, and our car is packed with features like XM radio that just makes driving more pleasant. I am really impressed by this car’s road behavior, it just sticks to the tar and handles curves in a way that I don’t think I ever experienced before.

Part of the deal was that we would sell our Volvo ourselves. It was too difficult for the Richmond or Columbus dealers to give us any decent quote on the phone. Mind you, the local ones did not offer us much more either. One always gets a far better deal selling the car her/himself. I placed an add on Craigslist, and the car was sold in 19 hours, that’s right, 20 minus one, and for the full price I was asking, roughly three times more than any dealer had offered for it.
Our Volvo's new owner


My conclusion is that if you want to buy a Hyundai, and you live in the Triangle area, you might want to follow the same stratagem I used, as the laws of physics will always push the folks in Richmond to welcome your business with a pricing that, given the corporate structure of car dealerships, the local dealers won’t be able to match.

If you have any question, feel free to post a comment and I will answer.


NOTE : this entry has been made possible thanks to the sponsorship of West Broad Hyundai, and I did not write here anything that I do not absolutely believe and experienced personally.

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Stagville Plantation, February Trip





Spirited Woods

Stagville Plantation, Durham, February 12, 2011


French : Le 12 Février 2011, les jeunes académiciens du centre John Hope Franklin à Duke, se sont rendus à la "Stagville Plantation," maintenant un parc d'Etat qui conserve les traces de l'esclavage ici, afin de vérifier si il y avait bien dans les bâtiments qui y ont été construits au 19ème siècle, les signes des techniques que nos jeunes académiciens avaient appris à l'école Woodright au mois de Janvier.

English : On February 12, 2011, the John Hope Franklin Young Scholars went back to Stagville PLantation, here in Durham, to verify if they could find there evidences in the buildings built by the slaves, of the techniques that the scholars had learned in January at the Woodright School.






French : Voici quelques photos de ce que nous avons vu, et qui contiennent des détails pertinents à la recherche décrite plus haut.

English : Here are a few photographs of what we saw, that contain details relevant to the young scholars' research.



























French : Nous avons alors regardé comment été conçue une cabane pour le sèchement du tabac.

English : We then looked at how a tobacco smoking cabin was built.




















French : Nous nous sommes alors rendus à la grande grange, où nous avons trouvé beaucoup de "scarf Joints" ainsi que desw techniques de travail du bois de différentes époques, dû aux dommages causés notamment pas les vermines du bois.

English : We then went to the big barn, where we found a lot of scarf joints and wood working from different periods, notably du to damages caused by wood pest.
































French : Nous nous sommes ensuite rendus à la maison voisine de la grange.

English : We then went to the house not far from the big barn.




















French : Le travail étant achevé nous sommes alors allés déjeuner, avant que les jeunes académiciens ne soient libérés et rendus à leurs parents.

English : The mission being achieved, we then had lunch before freeing the young scholars and give them back to their parents.


















French : Le père de Kennedy (une jeune académicienne) attendant sa fille au "Mad Hatter Coffee Shop."

English : Kennedy's Dad, Dr. Carter Waiting for his daughter at the Mad Hatter Coffee Shop.


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