03 Jul 09 Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock - Good Customer Bonus or Not?

Hyundai Motor America released a program that Hyundai owners are guaranteed to pay up to $1.49 per gallon on regular gas with the purchase of certain 2009 Hyundai Vehicles. It sounds very attractive as summer is coming, so we all expect gas price goes higher and higher. Here is the official guide line. As most people do not read the whole fine prints of the rule, below are things what we think you need, and also might want to know.

1.     Hyundai owners need to enroll the program via the official website, or by calling 1-877-GAS-4149 ( 1-877-427-4149)

2.     Only at participating gas stations.

3.      A valid credit card or debit, including MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover Card to identify your identity. In other words, the actual Hyundai owner is the person who purchases the gas.

4.     The program is for up to 12 months, which means un-used fuel will NOT be paid as incentive of cash rebate if the Hyundai owner does not use all.

5.     $1.49 per gallon is only applied to regular unleaded fuel. Difference of $0.15 per gallon per grade would be added into the amount. For example, if you purchase Mid-grade (88 – 89), you would pay $0.15 more per gallon, and for premium grade (90 – 93), you would need to pay $0.3 more per gallon.

6.     Federal taxes on gasoline paid to government are not protected, which means in the garmented price ($1.49 per gallon) could be changed if federal taxes are changed.

7.     If the ownership of the Hyundai car is transferred, since this program is NOT transferable, it still available to original owner until the program expires.

8.     In case your Hyundai gas card is stolen or for any reason to be de-activated, you need to pay $25 to re-activate and the period when the car is de-activated, it still count against the 1-year period.

The Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock program sounds good for sure, but is it really that good? We are not that sure about that because according to Hyundai, Hyundai buyers could choose either $1,000 additional Hyundai Customer Cash Rebate or this Hyundai $1.49 gas program. Below are the Hyundai vehicles eligible and some analysis from us.

The THIRD COLUMN shows the additional gas price could be covered by the $1,000 Hyundai Customer cash in leu of the Hyundai Gas Lock Plan. The break-even gas price in the last column shows the average gas price for the next 12 months that would be equivalent to the $1,000 customer cash. Keep in mind that it is the average price of the gas price, not the peak price. According to the Weekly U.S. Regular Conventional Retail Gasoline Prices provided by Energy Information Administration, the national average gas price for the last 12 months is around $2.55 per gallon.

The amount in the last column shows the amount you would have saved by enrolling the Hyundai Gas Price Lock program instead of the $1,000 Hyundai Rebate cash. There is no option would save you as much as $1,000.

Besides, how if some Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock participants lose their cards, and need to pay $25 to retrieve it as #8 mentions?

Is the Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock program a good choice for you? We provided all objective numbers, and now It’s your call.

Tags: car incentives, Car Pricing News, Car Rebates, Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock, Hyundai Gas Rebate, Hyundai Incentives