“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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I know it’s cheap but this falls squarely in the “not worth it” category, unless you value your time at $0. If there’s this much rust on topside stuff, it’s probably horrific underneath. Sometimes you just gotta have standards, not every car is worth saving.
While I completely agree it’s not worth it due to rust, salt spray usually hits the exterior of the car worse than the underbody, simply due to airflow.
Combine the rust with the mold, this one deserves the crusher.
Let’s see…it’s rusty beyond the point of restoration. It can’t be test-driven. We don’t know why it was parked. And the previous owner considered it scrap rather than trying to sell it.
Hard pass. The reward just isn’t high enough to justify the risks involved with this one. Too many red flags.
The junkyard one seems like a better candidate, at a glance.
Somehow I have a coworker who has a rustier Genesis of the same generation. I say go for it. That really isn’t that bad IMO.
Never start a rusty restoration unless the car under that “patina” has a ton of value.
To make this car right, you are going to have to strip it completely bare and dip it until what metal is left is shiny and new looking. Then patch it and build it back right. Without doing that, you will never know when an important structural support will become neither structural or a support.
Look into how many thousands it will cost to dip that body and then do the patching. Add that to your purchase budget and you can get an example that doesn’t need a multi-year rotisserie restoration.
If this was a Hemi Superbird, or maybe your dad’s exact first car where there was massive financial or emotional value, go for it. But for a “I’ve always kind of liked it.” restoration, you will be multiple thousands of dollars ahead if you spend $3-4k on a running example.
I don’t even think Tavarish would mess with this, it’s crusty, it’s done.
I don’t think David Tracy would either.
Kind of too bad the v8 one is not available for that money. I would much rather put some money into a 5.0 Genesis.
that being said, you probably can recoup the cost in parts if you are patient and have an ebay account.