“Dammit, that’s frickin’ unfortunate,” I muttered to myself after I spotted a “heartbreaker” among the search results I was scanning in my Evil Wrenching Lair, conveniently located beneath the only volcano in Wilmington, NC. A heartbreaker does not call to mind Tom Petty’s boys, but rather the type of car that pulls at your heartstrings with a mix of yearning, desire, empathy, and pity. The kind of thing that would provoke my Uncle John to offer a wary “that ain’t right!” (his signature line since 1959).
Hello and welcome back to another SWG article, my Autopian friends! This one is going to be a little shorter and less wrench-heavy compared to my previous wicked-long, mega-adventure wrench-a-thons. It has been way too long since my last check-in, and with 16 cars currently awaiting repair, I barely have time to breathe over here lately – so let’s mix it up a bit and keep it light and fun this time!
So anyway, there it was, staring back at me from Facebook Marketplace: an ’09 Genesis in Black Noir Pearl for only $900! 2009 was the first year for the luxury sedan, and it looked stunning in the ad’s photos, practically jumping off the screen. This is one of the models I’d low-key had my eye on for years, since it looks incredible and is reaching used-market pricing levels of depreciation that make it a massive value for the money.
Top-end Executive sedans from Germany will bankrupt you with parts/diagnostics costs and wicked over-complexity. The Japanese offerings hold their value and always have a big audience of buyers as they are genuinely desirable cars for the most part. Outside of a few late-model Cadillacs, there aren’t many American offerings in this space, and those Cadillacs are littered throughout Facebook Marketplace – usually with timing chain tensioner issues, a truly unfortunate flaw (here’s looking at you, High-Feature 3.6 V6).
Meanwhile, the South Korean newcomer seems to bring some serious heat to this space with a killer combo of low price, limited brand provenance (it’s new), decent reliability, shared drivetrains with lesser Hyundais and KIAs (Borrego, Genesis Coupe), and high content.
A Closer Look (Minus Seth Meyers)
I immediately sent the ad to the Autopian Team in our Slack chat. Believe me when I say that I am personally convinced Thomas Hundal may be one of the most talented knowers-of-cars, ever, hands down. The guy took one cursory glance and responded within 30 seconds that the 2009 3.8 Genesis Sedan has steel springs and my example was sitting too low, so there is a suspension concern. Wow! I’m always impressed with the library of knowledge he brings to the table.
After speaking with the seller via Facebook Messenger, he informed me that he runs a scrap yard and was selling this car without a key. Ouch, it’ll cost a few extra hundo to have a mobile locksmith download the security and programming data from Hyundai and cut a key/buy a fob. Dammit.
He also stated that the widow of the deceased owner decided to call this Seller-Scrapper to tow away this Genesis to be parted out and crushed after its previous owner passed away, and the car was left at an oceanfront beach house in Holden Beach, NC for years. That means the car was sitting in salt spray from the Atlantic, which might also explain why the car is sitting so low. Had all that salt exposure rusted the springs into a saggy state?
The seller also mentioned not having a key meant he was unsure if the car runs. Not knowing if the car actually operates is a big deal for me. So OK, yeah, it doesn’t sound that great. Nothing good in life comes easily, though.
So, Should I?
If there’s one thing that incites all overly-optimistic Autopians, it’s a badass car for a cheap price, and I believe that is what we have here! We’re talking about a sleek, quasi-generic 5 Series copy with a 290hp V6, rear-wheel drive, 264Ft/lb of torque and an Aisin B600 6-speed transmission for under $1000! Add $200-$300 for a key, another $300 for the title, and this car could be mine for $1500, which is very enticing.
I just checked the inventory at the local Pick n Pull and discovered a 2010 V8 Genesis just hit the yard! That means cheap, attainable, non-sea-salted parts are a few miles from my house and can be mine after a short visit on a Saturday afternoon. This is huge, as the power of wrenching is one of the greatest forces in all of Greater Autiopia.
Do I need another car? Hell no. Is this potentially a great buy if the cards all fall in my favor? Hell yes. I’m genuinely going to read and respond to each comment below if you feel that you can add some insight, direction, or humor to help out in this situation. Let me know your thoughts, my Autopian friends!
Fortune favors the brave, right?
All photos by Stephen Walter Gossin
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- How I Bought A Broken Version Of My Dream Car For $300, Then Nursed It Back To Glory And Let It Free
- Proof That A $700 Car Saved From The Junkyard Can Make Someone As Happy As A New Lambo Can
- How I Saved My Buddys’ SUV After It Died At The Most Embarrassing Possible Time
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- Rescuing A 75-Year-Old Car From An Older Car Enthusiast Reminded Me How Important Every Minute We Get Doing This Truly Is
I agree with Thomas on this. If you can get enough more than $900 worth of content out of it, or two grand or whatever else an all-in figure might be, go for it.
But only if it pencils out on the modified BHPH model – you know how they try to structure it so they make back their initial investment on the down payment, and the remaining ones are pure profit? You want this car to earn back its total spend on click checks from David or Matt or whoever does that, alone, and whatever you sell the actual car for is all profit.
Run away. Consider the fact that you’ll probably never be able to successfully remove a fastener to do even the most general maintenance. That thing needs to be crushed and turned into a bunch of staplers or something.
Also, I think the beach parking story is BS. From the musty-looking interior, I think this thing took a prolonged salt-water bath in a flood.
I’d hold out for a $900 Equus.
When I first saw this, the byline was not showing and I assumed it was a David Tracy bit – a BIG no for David. But, since this is SWG, a yes you can buy this. Unlike David SWG does not have a problem selling cars from his fleet and his efforts could resurrect an interesting car. That said the first-year, no-key, salted-over Genesis is a lot less interesting than the other one from the junkyard.
I’m a fan of the Genesis. The V8 especially. As stated, I think they really bring a lot of value for the money, especially at their depreciation level. I actually have a Borrego with the 4.6 V8. It’s my first Hyundai group vehicle and I have to say, I really like it. It seems well built and that engine is impressive in both power and sound.
All that said, I’d let this one go to the crusher. I’d be terrified of all that rust, and salt, and the potential horrors lurking below. Plus it’s the V6.
And yes, I’m old enough to remember Bubble Bobble.
That interior makes me think it’s at least as likely to have been a flood car. You’d need a haz-mat suit and several hours with antifungal and a steam cleaner before you could even sit in it, let alone drive it.
yep, imagine having a car where proximity to the ocean is actually a good cover story…and that’s this, I think
Let’s assume you can get it, the title, and a new key for about $1500. Add in a new battery and whatever else it needs to get it going, and you’re probably up around two grand. A running, driving Genesis of this generation is easily worth that.
But a rusty, crusty one? I dunno, you might have trouble moving the metal at a profit. Considering it’s not a wrecked shell, and they only want $900 from a dismantler kinda tells me there’s not a huge market for it.
I’d walk away.
You are on the right track.
If you put another 1600 into it and get it running (assuming that the transmission and engine are working properly), you are at $2500. Would you pay $2500 for this car in ratty but running condition? Most likely not.
However, if you enjoy doing a ton of repairs without knowing if it will ever drive, go for it. I would want to know that it will be useful before putting money down on it.
Nope. I live in Florida across the street from the ocean. I know this well. Salt spray cars are no good. You can count on it being rusted around all the windows and it probably leaks around the rust holes, so moldy interior and all sorts of electrical problems.
My opinion? Only if you’re desperate. I watch a lot of Cars & Cameras, Junkyard Digs, Pole Barn Garage, that kind of thing, and eight times out of ten a good episode starts with something bought with essentially the cost of diesel to fill a semi truck’s tanks twice, which itself should be more red flags than in all of communist China. It’s a good episode, though, because the cars are always absolutely *spectacular* examples of just how much can go wrong when you park something in the Nixon-Ford Era and don’t try to drive it again until, we’ll, 2025 or so.
Buy it if you want a you-know-what-show and you’re going into YouTube. Maybe you’ll be the next Vice Grip Garage! Otherwise, park it and walk like you left it in your DMs on Mark Read.
At first, hell yeah brother!
After looking at the rust, nah man. Fix your other stuff.
Also don’t listen to me, I have tons of boat projects but just bought another one a few days ago lol
ADDvanced! Glad to see you here in the comments and thanks for reading, my dude.
Also, congrats on the new boat, homie!
If you’re ever up in Wisco give me a shout!
The best bet for reliability in those genesises is the 4.6L Tau V8. The 3.8 is OK, but not amazing.
There is SO much rust there (I say this as a Canadian in the same salt belt as Hundal), and remember that new parts can be hard to get as they’re model-specific and they weren’t super popular. I ran into this issue when I had a Genesis Coupe.
Just shock absorbers were a 4 digit expenditure, and that was 10 years ago! Cause the options at the time were Dealership or OEM.
If this was a V8 car, I’d say go for it. But this one I have a feeling you’ll double the purchase price in parts before you’re happy.
Wise words and thank you, DrunkenWrench. I like your style; if we ever cross paths, the drinks are on me.
If Agent 47 ever stops his war on Moose Country, I’d gladly drive my diesel w126 down for a brew and let you cruise around in the 318k mile luxobarge.
Originally, I was open to it. Upon further looking at the pictures, I’m saying no. And this is as a Michigan resident who is quite familiar with rust. I mean, that wiper arm alone is warning enough.
Fair point and thanks Luxx. The rusted wiper arm really shows how sea-spray eats away from the top-down as opposed to road salt eating away from the bottom-up.
I’ll put your vote in the “Nay!” column; thanks for reading, my dude!
Stephen, I always enjoy your antics with cheap cars. I’ve owned 20 cars at this point for similar reasons, I get it!
Do not buy this rusty piece of shit.
Big No from MattyD! Thanks homie!
Oh man…I’d at least have to go take a look underneath to see how far gone it is.
I love projects that force me to buy tools. In this case, if a key is $300, I’m thinking about shopping for a scanner that programs immobilizers instead. It seems like some of the midrange $450ish machines have some of this functionality (says the guy who spent two hours last night looking up
Autels, Topdons, and various others), and then you’ve got something that might make future projects easier.
Eugene, we seem to be cut from the same cloth as I approach each problem in the same way. Bravo sir.
I have a feeling that there may be some pictures of the underside of this car on this website very soon.
Thanks for reading and for the comment, my friend!
I think the 2010 pick-and-pull Genesis has a better chance of being salvageable. The 2009 looks like a flood car to me.
It’s definitely a victim of sea-salt spray, and not floodwaters. I reached out to the original owner and verified.
Sadly in NC, once a car passes the gates of a scrapyard, they can never come back out.
Regardless thanks for reading and for being in the comments here with us!
Interesting, is there a special kind of title branding that means it can’t be rebuilt? Is it assigned based on the repairs needed or level of damage, or is it just everyone who passes the gates of Hell is damned for eternity?
Oh and I’d vote no on the rusty Genesis. The salt spray has done damage that cannot reasonably be fixed. I don’t know that there would be much to salvage beyond glass and interior trim parts, maybe the wheels too? The headlight and taillight housings might be ok even if the fixtures themselves are corroded.
We have a house on the beach in Newport Beach CA. and I’ll tell you why this is a no. Beach Rust. Beach Rust is not rust it’s rot. CA is notoriously cooler and dryer than NC with cool nights, and way less humidity- what it does have is salt. Big waves (way bigger than anything in NC, constantly push salt into the air, 24/7/365. So what?
Let me tell you a story of our barbecues- We didn’t originally by cheap ones, and they were always covered- I’m talking about Webers, Char Broills, etc. But guess what, Covered- Uncovered they lasted 2-3 years tops. It wasn’t the surface rust, the stuff on the outside- it was the galvanized and stainless internal parts, the venturis, the stems for the knobs, the pins that held the wheels in place. They rotted. the plastic and painted parts would show white grime on the outside which could be cleaned off with soap and water, but 2-3 year in- that knob or wheel would snap off and done- another good looking carcass with destroyed innards, the parts that functioned, useless. Now- we buy cheap Home Depot Nexgrills- they still last 2-3 years but they cook good enough.
The salt water permeates throughout where you can’t see it and it doesn’t evaporate immediately, sitting inside of body panels, sitting under the hood, on the tubes and guides, on the bolts, weakening them until they will eventually snap because they have been eaten through by 15 years of mild acid bath’s.
Now add in the humidity and the fact that this thing sat for years in the heat (which is minimal in the CA coastal cities, and you’ve got the paint bubbling, the plastic bits rotting and cracking and the belt tensioners and drive line parts, slowly decaying away.
I would not touch this thing with a 10 foot pole. In southern CA you know, never buy beach cars that are not garage queens. 10-15 miles in from the coast you have amazingly preserved time capsule cars from the 1900’s and up- dry, kinda warm, never sat wet for too long, the perfect climate to mummify and preserve. On the coast- you get an acid bath that just accumulates (because there’s never a fresh water bath coming (it really doesn’t rain there).
Run away, this car isn’t even worth it for parts.
A very solid point and the grill example was excellent. Thank you, Swedish Jeep.
Also, when you check out a barn/farm car in the central valley, ask “oh what kind of farm?” If the answer is is dairy or other livestock, check where condensation may collect. Dairy farm cars rust in some odd places. The sun heats the car, then when the cool acid fog forms it gets drawn into the structure of the. Drip rails, the inside tops of fenders behind the headlights and the bottom seam of the doors are classic rust spots in otherwise perfect condition cars.
How do I know? We had 700 cows on our farm.
Finally, something to rival the Ontario rust we deal with from salty slush & puddles 6 months of the year. Glad we’re not the only ones who suffer.
Would I buy this car? Heck, no! The rust is awful, there’s no key so we don’t know if the engine will even start, and the money needed to fix this car will probably far exceed whatever it could sell it for.
But that’s not the question you asked.
Should you buy this car?
Yes. Absolutely yes.
I am in awe of your skills in rescuing vehicles, and they always make for good reading – your Mercedes SL story was fantastic. In fact I’m off to re-read some of your best work.
So yeah, do it. And write about it.
I wish you the best of luck, you’re gonna need it.
Aw man, Thomas! Thanks a million for the kindness; that really made my day and means so much to me as a wrencher and as a writer. That type of positivity and is what this site is all about.
Most of the comments here are strongly advising against buying the car; your excellent deconstruction of the question posed stands out as unique!
I have a feeling you’ll be seeing Pt.2 of this saga very soon. Thanks for being you, my friend.
Making a lemons race car out of it might be interesting. Well to read about someone else doing it anyway.
To quote Mel Brooks;
“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die. “
So in the tradition of “We do stupid things so you don’t have to” service journalism, I say go for it.
On second thought though, you should find something less practical and more interesting, like Borgward or Kaiser for example
“Should I buy this rusty…”
No.
Unless you plan on pulling the engine, transmission, etc and putting it in a boat/Miata/David’s rusty old Jeep.
Road salt eats away from the bottom-up. Sea Spray corrodes from the top-down – it’s a totally different circumstance!
No Miatas here available and DT is on the other side of the country, but there are a few cheap boats around these parts (Coastal Carolina). We shall see!
Thanks for reading and commenting, my dude!
No. Salt corrosion is the worst corrosion. Too big a can of worms.
Parsko is in the “Nay!” column. Thanks homie!
It might be worth it for the engine, transmission and interior parts. But probably not.
This car looks like it was there for Hurricane Sandy in 2012. That appears to be a lot more corrosion than would be there from salt spray from being near the ocean.
I have reached out to the prior (and only) owner of the car and have confirmed that it is indeed solely from sea-spray.
“Those 3.8 “Lambda” V6 engines are stout.” -Thomas Hundal
Thanks for reading/commenting, PaysOutAllNight!
16 years in salt? No thanks. Hell no thanks.
Big No from Big Duke! Thanks for reading and for the vote, my man.
Rust AND mold? This car might just be too far gone. But as others have said, it’ll be a fun read.
…and a fun rescue project! I think I’m leaning towards making it happen.
Thanks for being here with us in the comments, The Mark!
I guess just be careful with the mold. Don’t breathe that sh** in. We don’t need you getting sick.
Remember SWG owns a swamp Roadmaster.
He’s a young healthy guy but there are limits to the abuse a body can take. Maybe he’s got some leftover masks from the pandemic he can wear while cleaning up the interior.
I owned a 2012 and it was a great car. I swear this one looks like it’s been lowered. It’s perfectly too low. I remember it had a passive self leveling feature on the rear shocks. The rust on this is horrible but I don’t think it’s been under water. I say get it simply because it’s a forgone conclusion. It’s a very comfortable car with a weird quirk, crosswinds will blow it all over the road.
“I say get it simply because it’s a forgone conclusion.”
Smart prediction! That crosswind note is wild; I wonder if it was due to the alignment/suspension settings?
Regardless, thanks for reading and for the comment, Dodsworth!
It would slice through a headwind nicely. I figured aerodynamics and laughed it off.
Maybe I missed one/some, but I miss (and enjoy) your stories SO much Stephen. A part of me still regrets not living closer to you so I could have been the one to have bought that short cab/bed RAM pickup you raised from the grave.
So yes, please do that Genesis. 🙂
Hey Scott! I remember you commenting about wanting to have bought it 2+ years ago when I wrote that one! Your kind words mean a lot to me as a wrencher and especially as a writer.
A most-sincere thank you.
I hyperlinked a few that I think are the best rescue story adventures at the bottom of this piece – check ’em out!
Thanks also for reading and for being here in the comments with us. I have a feeling you’ll be seeing Pt.2 of this saga very soon.
Well, if anyone can pull it off, it seems to be you.
I am not qualified to give you any professional or non-professional advice. I am neither a mechanic nor a psychotherapist. However, I will look forward to the next installment of this saga.
Very kind of you to say, my friend! Thank you sincerely.
You are wise to expect another installment; soon!