Yesterday, we shared the story of a California Hyundai Elantra N owner who had a shocking interaction during a traffic stop. After speaking with the officer about his stock exhaust system, he was informed that he’d need to spend thousands to have the car fixed and may need to sue Hyundai. Your Test Driver contacted the owner for more information and found that he’s in the process of obtaining a resolution from Hyundai but currently remains in limbo with the car and its suspended registration.
The owner told YTD that he’s currently working with Hyundai on a solution to his dilemma. The automaker immediately rejected his first buyback claim but offered a second case manager to review the situation. Nothing is guaranteed, though, so he’s waiting until later this week for a resolution.

If a suitable answer doesn’t come, the options available are slim. He could try selling the car to someone out of state, but some platforms have paused buying vehicles like the Elantra N. Carvana offers the “oh, sorry” message when entering the car’s information, and Kelley Blue Book’s instant cash offer stops at the 2021 model year before the N went on sale. The owner stated that the pause is due to emissions regulations. We’ve reached out to Carvana for comment.
 

That means a denial from Hyundai could put the owner in a tight spot, even more so because the car has accumulated miles and would likely need to be sold at a loss. The good news for the owner is that the used market is still (for now) showing solid prices for the Elantra N, as units with 15,000 miles or more are listed for not much less than MSRP.

We’ll update this story later this week as more information becomes available.