Lemon Law: My Experience

Here is an overview of my car experience with the lemon law and what happened with my new car buying process!

Some of you may know that I was involved in a severe car accident on September 30, 2022. As a result, I purchased a new car, a Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, which was rated as the #1 safest hybrid at the time. Fast forward 9 months into driving my car, and while I was on the road, it suddenly wouldn't accelerate, the battery would rapidly deplete, and an alert would prompt me to pull over before shutting off.

After this happened again, I contacted Hyundai to document the issue. Fortunately, it occurred close to my car's inspection date. During the inspection, they confirmed the battery was fine but advised me to tow the car back to the dealership if the problem recurred. Within a week, it did, and Hyundai took my car back, providing a loaner in the meantime. I also reached out to corporate Hyundai, who followed up with me every two days and pressured the dealership to resolve the issue.

After 7 weeks in the shop, Hyundai returned my car, and within a week of having it back, the issue occurred again. I mentioned the Lemon Law to Corporate Hyundai, which covers nonconformities in the first 12 months or 12,000 miles that cannot be fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts (usually three or more). This was my third time in the shop, prompting Hyundai to acknowledge it as a Lemon, and initiating the repurchase process.

On February 6, Hyundai first contacted me about the buyback process. By February 26, they received all the necessary paperwork, and within 2 days, they made a fair offer, refunding me everything I put into the car, deducting $1,000 for the mileage. After accepting, they stated it would take 2-5 weeks to issue refund checks. After 2.5 weeks, I received the call to surrender my car, and on March 18, I surrendered my car, received my check and rented a car.

During most of February, I visited various car dealerships and test-drove cars. I finally found the one and I informed my salesman that I wanted the Kia Sorento Hybrid in a specific color. He was also aware of my Lemon situation. When I received the call from Hyundai, signaling it was time to purchase the car, I was informed Kia I was ready to buy my car, but the exact car I wanted sold out the weekend before. I found the car I wanted at a Kia dealership in New York, just 5 minutes from my sister's place. My sister helped me negotiate a deal over FaceTime. They were set to deliver my car on March 25, 2024, but when it arrived, it wasn't the correct trim and lacked the promised moonroof, so I sent it back.

Now I had to go back to rent a car again. After contacting every Kia dealership in the tri-state area, I found that the Hybrid model I wanted was on a 4-6 month backorder. I returned to Kia of West Chester and resolved previous issues with my salesman, ultimately purchasing the all-gas model. The color I wanted was a 4-day wait, but I thought, well I had waited this long so why not wait for the color I want. The salesman got me my car right on the fourth day and I couldn't be happier! Despite the challenges, I am happy with the outcome, although the experience was stressful and not the best I've had.