A nightmare. That is how Ana María García, 61 years old, describes the situation she and her husband have been suffering since they decided to buy a car at one of the multi-brand dealerships of the Cobendai Group in Madrid. When it came time to reserve and pay for the vehicle (€14,400 out of their own pocket and financing through a loan of €17,000) there was no problem, but when the delivery time came, the odyssey began. “We made the purchase on January 22. We were looking for a car that was in stock, because we need it to go to work and take the grandchildren to school,” she summarizes over the phone about conditions that guaranteed them to have their new vehicle by the end of February or early March. Almost three months after their purchase, the couple is still paying for a car they do not know if they will ever receive.
“First there was a small delay and they changed the delivery to March 25. We trusted their word and sold our old car, but on the day they told us they didn’t have the money to deliver it and that they were being audited by Hyundai Spain [the brand that names the dealerships where the majority of cases are located],” she recalls nervously. “We were very excited about the purchase, but it has turned into a nightmare. They are playing with people’s money and effort,” she concludes indignantly.
It is a pattern of delays and unjustified excuses that repeats itself in at least 150 cases recorded so far by the affected parties themselves, who are considering filing a class action lawsuit for alleged embezzlement or fraud. They estimate that the dealership group has collected about €4.6 million (between what customers paid directly out of pocket and financed amounts) for vehicles that, in some cases, have been waiting to be delivered since September.
Javier and David, who prefer not to give their real names so their situation does not get even more complicated, have not even been given a clear answer as to why they cannot have their new vehicle. The first of them made the purchase in October, paying about €40,000 that he inherited after the recent death of his father. “The delivery time was four to six weeks. The car is at the Alcobendas dealership, but I don’t know when they will give it to me,” he details before criticizing the lack of information.
“Practically the only communication we have is with Hyundai, but they don’t give us a date either. The dealership has not responded for months and the only option to talk to them is to show up there, which creates quite unpleasant situations because they tell you one lie after another,” he says about tense conversations that have even involved police presence in the area.
David is in a similar situation, whose case started during the Christmas holidays when he allocated about €24,000 for what was going to be his first car. He made the purchase on December 26, hoping to receive it by mid-January. Three months later he still cannot drive it. “They told me the vehicle was at their facilities in Tarragona. The delivery date was mid-January, at the latest the end of January, and they could even register it before the end of the year. This was not the case and from then on it has been a series of lies,” he details to denounce the inaction.
The affected parties who have approached the dealerships this week found them closed with a sign stating they will reopen on April 21. EL PAÍS has contacted the Cobendai Group to hear their version of the facts, without receiving a response at the time of publication.
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Hyundai Spain insists on delimiting its relationship with Cobendai. They say these are multi-brand dealerships licensed to sell their vehicles, but that it is an external company. Through a statement, they show themselves “committed to supporting users who have not received their vehicles” and affirm to have “initiated an investigation into what happened.” “We cannot allow these bad practices to happen and we regret the situation the affected parties are experiencing,” the statement concludes.
On the afternoon of Thursday, April 16, according to Hyundai and confirmed by this media outlet, Cobendai contacted the affected parties to assure them that in the coming days they will receive a concrete date to pick up their vehicle. Buyers remain cautious and say they do not rule out a class action lawsuit (whose procedures have already begun) until the promises materialize.
Money that does not arrive
Francisco José Santos, 39 years old, lost his two vehicles in Catarroja (Valencia) during the dana that devastated the region on October 29, 2024. This forced him to acquire a new one and, after a long search, he did so at the Cobendai dealership in Alcobendas back in January 2025. Santos says that just minutes after leaving the facilities with his new vehicle, a motor failure alarm went off, which appeared again that same day when he started his trip back to the Valencian province.
“I took out a loan and spent €21,500 on that car that gave problems from the start. I sent two emails less than 48 hours later to request contract withdrawal, but they told me they did not consider that option, only repair,” he recounts about the start of his particular odyssey that led him to hire a tow truck to return the car to Alcobendas in March 2025 and to file a complaint in the Catarroja court last October to claim the refund.
“My wife and I went to pick up the car with great excitement, but when we got home the world fell on us… I had to take out another loan and buy another car, so I am paying two loans that add up to more than €40,000,” he details about the economic and emotional impact of the situation. “It is regrettable that more than a year later, and after everything we went through with the dana, we are still like this. I cannot wait any longer,” he concludes while awaiting the date for the trial.
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