When Patricia Leone and her husband purchased a new Hyundai Tucson in 2014 from Jenkins Hyundai of Leesburg, they assumed a few other customers may have taken the SUV for a quick spin on the streets surrounding the new car dealership. But the couple said they had no reason to believe the vehicle had spent much time on the road.
[WEB EXTRAS: Car Buyer's Rights handbook | Statutes governing demo cars]
After all, a video posted on the dealership's YouTube page advertised the vehicle as "brand new" with 16 miles on it. Likewise, the sales contract Leone signed when she purchased the SUV stated the vehicle was “new”. Although Leone said she did not think to check the odometer while test-driving the Tucson and several other new cars that day, all of the vehicle's paperwork indicated the SUV had logged only 105 miles.
So it came as quite a surprise to Leone and her husband when they were getting ready to drive their SUV off the dealership's lot and glanced down at the odometer for the first time.
"It was over 2,000 miles," said Leone. "We were stunned. We didn't realize the car had that much mileage on it."
The SUV advertised as "brand new" had been driven 2,852 miles before Leone bought it, the equivalent of a cross country trip from Orlando to Los Angeles.
Exhausted after spending several hours at the dealership, Leone said she agreed to take the SUV home and return a few days later so the salesman could revise the sales contract to reflect the higher mileage. She said she did not immediately question why the vehicle had more mileage than expected.
When Leone pulled in her driveway, she opened up the SUV's glove compartment. That's when she found a pink slip of paper titled "rental agreement". A quick phone call to a customer's phone number listed on the agreement confirmed Leone's suspicion: the dealership had loaned out her SUV to other Jenkins Hyundai customers who were getting repairs done in the service department.
"It just didn't feel like a new car then," said Leone. "It could have been in an accident. God knows."
Under Florida law, a dealership can advertise a vehicle as "new" as long as the vehicle has never been titled. Once an owner applies for a title, the vehicle is considered "used."
According to Jenkins Hyundai of Leesburg, the vehicle the company sold to Leone is considered a demonstrator vehicle, or "demo."
A demonstrator is a new vehicle that is used by a dealership's employees or driven by prospective customers for the purpose of demonstrating the vehicle's characteristics, according to state law.
A demo vehicle can also be rented out to the dealership's customers, according to an industry trade group.
"Loaner vehicles can be sold to customers as new, just as demonstrators, unless the dealer puts them in a rental car fleet and titles them to a limited liability company (LLC)," said Ted Smith, president of the Florida Automobile Dealers Association.
The Leone's SUV has only been titled to them, state records confirm.
However, under state law, a dealership must provide written notice to customers that the vehicle is a demonstrator.
Leone said no one from the dealership informed her the SUV was a demo that had been loaned out to other customers.
On Leone's sales contract, an "X" is marked in a box accurately indicating the SUV was "new". However, a box that would have disclosed the vehicle was also a "demo" is not checked.
"We do need to have that listed in writing," said Allison Campbell, a public relations representative for Jenkins Auto Group, which operates Jenkins Hyundai of Leesburg. "We want to make sure going forward we never have an issue like this again."
Campbell acknowledged the dealership did not accurately reflect the SUV's mileage on Leone's sales contract. She also indicated the vehicle's status as a demo was not properly communicated to an employee who posted the SUV's advertisement on the dealership's YouTube page at the same it was being loaned to customers.
"That was a paperwork error on our part," said Campbell. "I've made sure those processes have been corrected."
At the time Leone purchased her SUV, Jenkins Hyundai of Leesburg and Jenkins Hyundai of Ocala were under investigation by Florida's Attorney General for possibly using deceptive and unfair trade practices, records show.
According to state records, the Attorney General's office investigated allegations the dealerships falsely represented the cost of financing plans, failed to disclose that extended warranties were optional, offered trade-in amounts in marketing materials without knowing the vehicles' condition, and added extra charges for items like floor mats that were already included in the price of the vehicle.
In June 2014, the Attorney General's office halted its investigation into Jenkins Hyundai after the owner signed an agreement promising to comply with Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Without admitting that the company violated the law, Jenkins Hyundai agreed to refund customers $75,140 and paid $25,000 in attorney fees and investigative costs, state records show.
None of the 40 written consumer complaints received by the Attorney General's office involved demonstrator vehicles or inaccurate mileage printed on sales contracts, records indicate.
Leone said she is not sure whether the dealership tried to rip her off.
"I hope not," said Leone. "I'm trying to think it's an honest mistake. But the more I look into it, there's a voice going 'maybe not'."
When Leone and her husband returned to the Jenkins Hyundai of Leesburg a few days after purchasing the SUV, she said the salesman verbally acknowledged for the first time that the vehicle may have been loaned out to customers.
The Leones signed a revised sales contract that included the vehicle's accurate mileage of 2852. However, the updated contract once again failed to indicate the vehicle was a demo, records show.
Despite knowing strangers had driven her SUV for thousands of miles, Leone agreed to keep the Tucson and did not ask to return it. She said she believed the original sales contract was binding and she did not want to go through the lengthy process of selecting and purchasing another vehicle.
At the time, Leone said she did not know that demonstrator vehicles are typically sold at a discount. Leone paid full price for her SUV, records show.
"I can't understand them charging you full sticker price for a loaner," said Leone after later learning some car buyers purposely seek out demonstrator vehicles to save money.
Since her SUV was legally sold as "new", Leone incorrectly assumed that her warranty period began the date she purchased the vehicle.
When Leone recently took the SUV in for service at Jenkins Hyundai of Leesburg, she discovered the 2-year warranty on her battery had expired.
According to the vehicle's manufacturer, the warranty period on Leone's SUV was activated when Jenkins Hyundai began using it as a rental vehicle more than three months before the couple purchased it.
Jenkins Hyundai of Leesburg replaced Leone's battery for free during her service appointment. However, the customer expressed concern that future vehicle repairs might not be covered.
"We've lost three months of warranty," said Leone. "What are we going to do if something breaks?"
After News 6 contacted Jenkins Auto Group, the company offered to extend Leone's warranty coverage for three additional months. If the vehicle needs warranty work during that period at a location other than a Jenkins-owned dealership, company officials said they would cover the expenses.
"It's the right thing to do," said Campbell. "I want to make sure we get the customers taken care of, and we are definitely taking care of the Leones."
Leone said she is satisfied with the dealership's response.
"The fact that you've gotten them to say they want to make it right, that I'm really glad for," said Leone.