The Hyundai Santa Fe has been a popular choice for UK motorists since its introduction, particularly in the period from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024. During this time, it was commonly sold on
Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and
Hire Purchase (HP) finance agreements. However, many of these agreements were part of an FCA investigation into motor finance mis-selling, which found that the practices used by dealerships could have affected thousands of car buyers across various makes and models, including the Hyundai Santa Fe.
How the Hyundai Santa Fe Was Typically Financed
The Hyundai Santa Fe was often financed through PCP or HP agreements, with typical loan amounts ranging from £15,000 to £30,000. These agreements were commonly provided by a range of finance providers such as
Black Horse, Barclays Partner Finance,
Close Brothers Motor Finance,
MotoNovo Finance, and
Santander Consumer Finance. Under PCP contracts for the Santa Fe, consumers typically chose terms ranging from 36 to 48 months, with balloon payments at the end of the term representing a significant portion of the car's value.
The FCA Motor Finance Investigation
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched an investigation into motor finance agreements, focusing on
discretionary commission arrangements between dealers and lenders. These arrangements were found to incentivise sales staff to sell higher-cost products like PCP deals over simpler HP contracts or outright purchases. As a result of this investigation, the FCA identified that 12.1 million eligible agreements (FCA, March 2026) may have been affected by these practices, with an estimated total value of £7.5 billion (FCA, March 2026). On average, consumers could be owed up to £829 (FCA estimate) if they were sold a finance agreement through a discretionary
commission arrangement.
How to Check Your Agreement Look for any reference to "Discretionary Commission Arrangement" (DCA) or similar language indicating that your dealer received a commission based on the type of finance deal you chose. agreements made between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024 are within the scope of the investigation.
If you believe your Hyundai Santa Fe finance agreement may have been sold through a discretionary commission arrangement, it is important to know that you can complain directly to your lender without needing to involve a
claims management company. Common lenders like Black Horse, Barclays Partner Finance, Close Brothers Motor Finance, MotoNovo Finance, and Santander Consumer Finance all offer free complaint processes for their customers.
When making a complaint, be sure to provide detailed information about your finance agreement, including the dates of purchase and any relevant documentation. Your lender should respond within a reasonable timeframe with an explanation of whether your agreement was affected by the FCA investigation and what compensation FCA-estimated redress under the scheme is available. Remember, seeking help from claims management companies is not necessary; you can handle the process directly with your lender.
Sources and References
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). "Motor Finance Discretionary Commission Arrangements." 2024.
- Office for National Statistics (ONS) Census Data. 2021.
- Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), various publications, 2024.
By following these steps and seeking assistance directly from your lender, you can ensure that any potential issues with your Hyundai Santa Fe finance agreement are addressed in a straightforward and cost-effective manner.
Based on 38,380 MOT tests conducted in 2024 (source: DVSA anonymised test data), the Hyundai Santa Fe has a pass rate of 76.6%. This is close to the national average of 79.6%, meaning the Santa Fe performs about average in MOT testing.
The Santa Fe pass rate is slightly below the overall Hyundai average of 81.4%. The average mileage at MOT for this model is 90,478 miles.
- MOT pass rate: 76.6%
- MOT failure rate: 23.4%
- Tests analysed: 38,380 (2024 DVSA data)
- Average mileage at test: 90,478 miles
- Hyundai average pass rate: 81.4%
- National average pass rate: 79.6%
Data source: DVSA anonymised MOT test results 2024, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.