I was told today because of recall 200, Hyundai wants buy back our cars

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Hmmm. I got an offer letter with the repurchase amount and a page to sign that says I accept the offer. I did not receive any settlement and release agreements that need to be signed/notarized and I did not receive any instructions to not discuss the offer. I wonder if this is a FL State specific thing?

 

My appointment today (6/23/2021) is for yet another all-day "software update" and then to see if my battery will be replaced. Just to be clear. Again, I do not have confidence in a software update to fix a battery defect. Will this software update restore my car's value to pre-recall 200 status? again, doubtful.

 

I got the same as you, in CA. And the Sedgwick rep was quite clear in an email that this is an offer to repurchase and if I accept it the buyback process will proceed.

 

NV here and the offer they gave me is the same as yours. I just need to sign it to accept. No where to notarize and no where does it state I can't disclose the details of this offer. It just basically says you have to keep current on payments and registration until the process is complete and that vehicle must be turned in with both keys, the owners manual, and no significant damage. Just your basic stuff.

 

How are you sending the signed letter back (fax, email, postal)? I emailed and left a voicemail asking for instructions, but no response yet.

 

The California Lemon Law prohibits any nondisclosure requirement. This may also apply in other states, but evidently not in Florida.

There's an exception for financial terms. So they could have asked me not to disclose the price, but they haven't so far. Anyway, the Lemon Law is pretty specific as to price.

Edit:

I emailed it back, same as they sent it to me. That was two days ago; I just emailed asking for confirmation that they received it.

 

That is what I find most annoying with Sedgewick. They do not acknowledge receipt of any emails/paperwork. I will not hear anything for a few days, check in and then get a curt, generic response such as "we have your info and have no new info to report at this time". Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since I rejected their initial offer and asked for them to include May & June's payment and my vehicle registration fees. Fingers crossed I get the new offer this week.

 

There were 2 documents
1) offer from Hyundai in PDF format.. I just signed it online, saved it to my phone and sent it back to my case manager at Sedgwick
2) actual Agreement that had to be notarized. I had it notarized today, took pics of the notarized document and e-mailed it back to my case manager.. He said that it was ok to just scan/take a pic of the notarized document and send it to him. I had asked him if I needed to mail in conventional mail but he said that scan/e-mail is fine..

 

It appears to me that their offer included my May and June payment that I already made and July payment is due July 10.. So, if I hand over the car before July 10, I'm fine.. If not, I will have to cancel my July 10 payment. Coincidentally, my first payment on my Model Y is due July 11.. I'm not struggling, so I'm not worried about having to make both payments

 

I initiated my buyback about three weeks ago and just got rejected. I'm in NJ and my 2019 Kona EV Ultimate (build date July 2019, purchased December 2019) is definitely subject to the recall. This was the letter I received:

"Thank you for contacting Hyundai Motor America (“HMA”). We have reviewed your vehicle’s repair history and evaluated your request. Based on our investigation of the repair history to date, we have determined that a repurchase is not warranted under your state’s lemon law.

To the extent you disagree with our evaluation, if there is any additional or new information that you would like us to consider, such as photographs, videos, or another repair order, we are willing to reevaluate this matter upon receipt of those materials.

Please note that any remaining terms of your vehicle’s limited warranties as set forth in the Owner’s Handbook and Warranty Information continue to apply.

We would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that you may take advantage of the following alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) program provided by HMA:

BBB AUTO LINE

BBB National Programs, Inc.

1676 International Drive, Suite 550

McLean, VA 22102

1-800-955-5100

The BBB AUTO LINE program, which performs arbitration services on disputes such as this one, is provided at no cost to you, and is part of HMA’s effort to provide an impartial third-party organization to equitably resolve concerns such as yours. To begin the ADR process, simply call the BBB National Programs at the number listed above and you will be sent a Customer Claim Form, along with a handbook describing how BBB AUTO LINE works. A decision is ordinarily rendered within forty (40) days of AUTO LINE’s receipt of a properly completed Customer Claim Form. BBB would then mail you a copy of the arbitrator’s decision and, if accepted by you, Hyundai would be required to comply with the decision of the arbitrator within certain time limitations. BBB would, thereafter, verify that the arbitrator’s decision had been completed. Again, this service is offered to you at no cost and if you do not agree with the BBB’s decision, it is not binding on you, but any BBB decision in your favor is binding on HMA should you choose to accept it."

I can't get my case manager to answer the phone but I'm planning to force them to give me a battery replacement or I'll file a Lemon Law claim. (I'm an attorney so it's no sweat for me.)

 

(j) That Releasor agrees to keep strictly confidential and not disclose in any manner to any person, entity, website, blog or social networking site the following: terms and content of this settlement, and any discussions and negotiations pertaining to this settlement other than, should the need arise, a Court of Law;

 

I don't doubt that your offer states this. Mine however does not. My terms/conditions were numbered 1-13 and contain no such language. Again, I am in NV so your state is likely different.

 

Well, I guess that answers the "Lemon Law" question. If your state has a strong Lemon Law, you get a buyback, if not, you don't. I'm in RI and it does not have a strong Lemon Law. Based on it, my car would not qualify because of date of purchase/mileage. Darn. I really wanted a 2022 Kona and I'm now stuck with a worthless car at least until the battery is available. And who knows when that will be? Ugh!

 

So it seems I guess the buybacks are actually because of the Lemon Laws and not just Hyundai using the Lemon Laws to calculate the amounts for the buybacks as we had assumed. I guess that makes more sense why they denied my buyback request also since I'm in CA and my 2019 has 35k miles on it. Our Lemon Law states it only covers up to 18k miles.

It looks like NJ's lemon law covers up to 24k miles, so I'm guessing you're over that too?

And it sounds like BlueKonaEV's buyback with 50k miles was because he's in Florida where they don't have a mileage limit.

So I guess the conclusion is, move to PA (where they have a good mileage calculation), and then initiate buyback.

Edit: Scratch that theory.. Mattsburgh is in PA and their Lemon law states 12 months, 12k miles.. so under this theory Mattsburgh probably wouldn't have qualified. OK.. Do not move to PA!

 

Question: Are these rejections from Sedgwick or Hyundai? I'm currently dealing with Sedgwick--are they the ones that determine eligibility? Just wondering how dejected I should be .

 

Mine was direct from Hyundai Case manager.. so if they told you they were going to do a buyback and sent you to Sedgwick, you probably are already going to get one.

 

I just read the actual Lemon Law from RI, and I'm no lawyer (lawyers feel free to answer me), but I'm feeling a bit better about things:

Any action brought pursuant to this chapter shall be commenced within three (3) years of the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to the consumer or lessee or within two (2) years of the date on which the mileage on the motor vehicle reached fifteen thousand (15,000) miles, whichever is earlier. SECTION 31-5.2-13

 

UPDATE: I emailed my signed form back. Within an hour, I got another email with the Settlement Agreement that needs to be signed and notorized.

 

It appears that they go strictly by state law..

 

I got mine notarized already and sent it back.. Now, I just have to wait for handover.. Hopefully before July 10, so that I won't have to worry about my payment.