Iowa Woman Says Hyundai Dealer Forced Car on Her

Suit one of first under new consumer protection law

By Jon Hood
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 30, 2009

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A 77-year-old Iowa woman is suing her local Hyundai dealer, claiming that the staff forced a new car on her when all she really wanted was an oil change.

Things started out routinely enough when Audrey McKnight, of Carlisle, Iowa, took her 2006 Sonata to Holmes Hyundai for a routine check-up. According to her complaint, a saleswoman descended on her as she waited for her car and suggested that she look at some of the newer models.

McKnight says that the saleswoman became increasingly aggressive, eventually insisting that she "try out" a 2008 Hyundai Azera, the carmaker's flagship model. Although she was told that she could bring the car back the next day if she didn't like it, McKnight says a staff member secretly checked her credit rating while others were holding her hostage in the showroom.

McKnight was adamant that she couldn't afford a new car. "I told them I cannot do a bigger payment," she told the Des Moines Register. "They didn't care."

When the staff found out that McKnight still owed over $7,000 on her Sonata, they allegedly suggested that she stop paying her Medicare in order to cover the amount she needed to upgrade. Fortunately, McKnight refused, saying that her age required her to keep up with insurance payments. After eight long hours, McKnight says she finally agreed to "sign a paper" with the understanding that she was taking the car "for a drive." McKnight says she only agreed to take the car because she was tired and wanted to go home.

When McKnight called Holmes the next morning to tell them she didn't want the Azera, the dealership said that she had traded in her Sonata, and that the deal was final.

McKnight's action was filed under Iowa's Consumer Protection Act, which allows consumers to file fraud suits on their own behalf. The bill, which passed in April, removed Iowa's distinction as the only state that required fraud claims to be filed by the Attorney General's office. Every other state has a law allowing consumers to file their own fraud suits. Six actions, including McKnight's, have been filed since the law took effect on July 1.

Max Holmes, owner of Holmes Hyundai, disputes McKnight's allegations, and says that his dealership has been working with her to resolve the situation. "Since the day after she purchased her car, we've been working with her to try to accomplish her objectives," Holmes told the Des Moines Register.

Between the Sonata and the Azera, McKnight now owes $26,000, and her $329 monthly payments are slated to increase to over $400. Worst of all, she has been forced to borrow her brother's 10-year-old Buick to get to work in the morning.

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