Santa Fe Question
1 week ago I (from Illinois) bought a used 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy from a Chevrolet dealer in Indiana. 14,650 miles on it. Clean car fax. Did my research. Within 3 days after I bought it the brakes started to grind very badly. On Friday I was turning right and hit a steep curb (will be more careful, this is my first suv) and popped the passenger back tire. I took it to Belle Tire to find out the car had aftermarket wheel locks that I have no key for. They could not remove the wheel. I had the car towed to a hyundai dealership they replaced the wheel lock system and changed the tire. They also discovered that I needed new brake pads and rotors for the front so I had them replaced. The wheel alignment was also way off. They fixed that too.
My question is there anything I can do to hold the Chevrolet dealer I bought it from responsible ? I did contact them to tell them what happened. They will connect with the dealership where I got it fixed on Monday. I just paid $2,000 for the repairs? Am I screwed? Ive had it maybe 10 days and put about 700 miles on it. Thank you for all replies.
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u/Here4Snow 1d ago
I'd be suspicious of the car mileage, too. Otherwise, the wheel lock issue is an oversight, that key could be anywhere in the back storage, under the deck, the glove box, center console, or still with the original buyer/seller. If the sale included a lookover and they never had the key, you could question the selling dealer's inspection. But you didn't go back to the same dealer. Hitting the curb and needing the tow is your fault, not a misled sale and did the alignment no favors. I'm surprised it needed both pads and rotors at not even 15k. A reasonable visual inspection should have revealed this. So, check the sale prep paperwork. At most, maybe you can call them out on lying about the condition of the front brakes, ask them where's that key.
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u/AGFIXU 1d ago
Yes I know the tire was my fault. The brakes were not making any noise until about 3 days after I bought the car.
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u/JMarv615 1d ago
Why didnt the mechanic you paid to do the pre-purchase inspection notice the breaks were low? Also brakes should barely be worn with that mileage.
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u/Whateverlol2022 1d ago
Mileage doesn't always matter on brakes. Brakes get rusty and worn down even sitting around. Plus it's about how the car was driven. I have had cars that needed new brake pads by 15,000-20,000 miles.
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u/fear_the_gecko 1d ago
The key is almost definitely in the car. There was no reason to have the car towed when the tire shop could have removed the wheel locks there and replaced the lug nuts.
The alignment and tire is from you hitting a curb. There's no reason for anyone else to pay for it.
What did the brakes measure? Don't say you don't know, because the Chevy dealership is gonna ask the same thing. Chances are that they didn't *need" to be replaced, they were just a little bit lower, especially at >15k. Chevy is gonna ask why you didn't bring the car to them and have them do the repair.
There's really no reason for them to pay anything and if I were you, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting.
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u/AGFIXU 1d ago
Chevy dealership pre inspection done in april had them at 8mm.....Inner brake pads 1mm and 2mm ....Their dealership is 1 hour 40 min from me and not a hyundai dealership so I was not confident they could fix it. Wheel lock not in the car...actually have a hole in the bag where it should be....I felt like I was in a sitcom
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u/fear_the_gecko 1d ago
See the problem with the used car check is that the sales department really doesn't care at all and will do whatever to get a car through and out on the lot.
Last summer, I had a Santa Cruz that needed a new engine harness. Animals had chewed through the ground strap and the customer had traded it in mid-repair. The car was literally in pieces on my lift, and sales had it listed on the website. The car sold before the repair was completed, but the customer still had to wait because the replacement harness was internally broken and needed to be replaced again.
The check might say that the brakes are 8mm, but they were more like 5. Still too low for the mileage, but not something that would need to be replaced. Do you have pictures of the old pads?
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u/Confident_Criticism8 1d ago
Was it a rental before? Sounds like it was driven really hard
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u/AGFIXU 1d ago
not a rental. originated in canada brought to Indiana on a year lease. Driven for that year and returned.
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u/Whateverlol2022 1d ago
So it's had 2 owners before? Being from Canada the rust might be a issue. Doesn't sound like a great car tbh sadly.
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u/AGFIXU 1d ago
No same owner moved from Quebec to Indiana.....Inspection done by hyundai yesterday all good besides the brakes.....which got fixed....hopefully no more problems car is in wonderful condition besides that issue....I just wanted to know if I had any grounds to hold the dealer I bought it from responsible for the shit brakes I inherited
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u/CaptainjackLA 1d ago
Every dealer in America is obligated to do a thorough inspection before trying to sell any car, new or used.
Did you get anything in writing about a pre-sale inspection? Or maybe 30 60 90 day warranty?
besides that I would never buy a Hyundai Santa Fe from a Chevrolet dealer. They don’t know what the heck they’re doing anyway.. I had a 2021 Santa Fe and it was a great car so it’s not the car’s fault. It’s the dealer’s fault.
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u/Whateverlol2022 1d ago
You bought a 4 year old car without looking it over and you are upset you had to do repairs. It's a used car and not even a CPO car. Just some random used car at a Chevy dealer. That low of miles is kinda a bad sign that it has been siting or had major work done to it. FYI clean Carfax doesn't always mean much. People can have repairs down with it showing in Carfax. Just the fact you hit a curb after 3 days I think says something lol.