“I don’t feel like I got a new car.”
When you purchase a new car, you expect it to be, for all intents and purposes, “new.” This means it should have fewer than 200 miles and be free of most major issues.
From here, you can begin the process of setting up your new vehicle. This can include things like programming the garage door openers, registering the seat presets, and familiarizing yourself with all of the services it may require.
One woman recently began this process with her new car. But soon she realized something was amiss. When she started up the car’s infotainment system, she noticed that it already had several user profiles.
Now she’s wondering if the dealership may have sold her an effectively used car as new.
In a video with over 114,000 views, TikTok user April Hummell (@april_fun_life) says that she recently bought a new Hyundai Santa Fe. However, she soon questioned whether the car was actually new.
According to Hummell, her suspicions were initially raised after she noticed that her “brand new car” already had 244 miles on it.
“I’m like, ‘That’s weird,’” she recalls.
From there, she began noticing other issues with the car. A worker at the dealership couldn’t figure out how to work the trunk. The wireless charging pad did not consistently charge her or her husband’s phone. Then she noticed that the car’s infotainment system already had information for other drivers.
“There are user profiles already in there. It’s a guy and a girl,” she explains. “And I’m like, ‘That’s weird.’ Like, why are there already profiles in here? I don’t understand.”
These weren’t the only issues. For example, Hummell says that she was unable to connect to the car’s Bluelink system to set up a profile.
Sharing her confusion, Hummell said the dealership allegedly told her to return in a few days after the issues had been sorted out.
Finally, Hummell gets an answer as to why there are so many quirks with the car that make it feel distinctly not new.
“Our guy Ed, he does tell us that somebody had taken the car, but their deal fell through, and that’s why it came back. And, that’s why there are profiles in there,” Hummell says. “I’m like, ‘Okay, I feel like that should have been told to us.’ Like, I don’t feel like I got a new car, but like, okay.”
Eventually, Hummell learned that a part of the dashboard’s internals needed to be replaced. The dealership did this, but broke part of the dashboard off in the process, requiring another fix.
Finally, Hummell got her vehicle back. But when she called to set up Bluelink, she was told that she was the second owner of the car. This led her to a theory.
“So the people who had—they call it their ‘extended trial period’ of taking the car for like a weekend—I think the deal didn’t fall through. I think the people realized that their wiring was faulty on the charger thing, and they just didn’t want it anymore and they gave it back,” she says.
While Hummell says she’s on the path to fixing this, she wants some benefit for having to deal with all of these issues, such as free oil changes.
But is this really a used car that the dealership sold as new?
In Pennsylvania, where Hummell is based, a “used” car is one that has been “sold, bargained, exchanged or given away”; or has had its title transferred from its first purchaser; or has 500 or more miles, excluding certain delivery miles.
That said, other factors may determine whether a car is used or new. For example, a 1992 court case in Pennsylvania held that a new car with bodywork to repair a dent sustained in transit could not be sold as new.
In Hummell’s case, she claims in a comment that a Carfax report showed no one had previously owned the car. This means that if someone previously owned the car, they did not hold it long enough to obtain a title.
Still, issues like the Bluelink problem suggest there may be other loose ends the dealership has not yet tied up. Consequently, it would probably be best if she got all the information about the car and what she’s entitled to in writing, from both the dealer and Hyundai.
This could include written confirmation of the original in-service date, original owner status, the start and expiration dates of her warranty, and an explanation of her Bluelink+ eligibility.
In the comments section, other auto enthusiasts suggested that, if problems emerged this soon, she may want to reconsider the whole deal.
“Girl, it’s only going to get worse. Return the car,” wrote a user.
“The dealership did not give you full disclosure. I’d contact a lawyer, get that contract voided and completely out of the car,” offered another.
“Your first mistake was Hyundai. second miles on a brand new car. third the moment of any issues I’m not signing sh*t,” a third said.
Update Sept. 10: In an email, Hummell’s husband, Kevin, said that the couple has not had additional electrical issues with the car’s infotainment system since getting it back from the dealership.
“The wireless phone charging pad can be a little wonky at times, but the dealership said it’s my wife’s phone and not the charger, even though her phone charged fine on the loaner Santa Fe they gave us while hers was getting repairs,” he wrote.
“They still have yet to fix the Bluelink issue as we are still not registered as the original owners, so they are only giving us 90 days instead of full term of the lease,” he added.
The dealership has since given the couple a cargo cover, cargo organizer, weather kit, and free state inspections and emissions testing for the 3 year lease term. Still, as issues persist, Kevin says this may not be enough — and that the dealership has been “shady on details.”
In another email, April said she is “just not happy” with how the situation is playing out.
“This was not my hopes for buying my first ever brand new car,” she stated.
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