To Whom It May Concern:

When I purchased my 2005 Acura TL two-or-so years ago, I thought I had purchased one of the safer bets on the used car market. My parents own a 2005 MDX and a 2004 TL, both of which have been not only problem free, but even defect free. Having owned a VW Jetta (among others), I know some brands are more likely to have you exercise factory warranties than others.

My TL had about 70000 miles on it when I purchased it. Fast forward 2 years and 20000 miles and I have a serious problem that, really, shouldn't exist at this point in any car's ownership.

I have two enormous and a third smaller crack in my dashboard (the two large ones kind of wrap around the passenger air bag). This basically makes the car un-sellable. Since I cannot speak to the car's former owner's care of the vehicle, I need to provide other evidence that this is simply not possible after 5 years of ownership

I had a 1998 Nissan Maxima that I purchased brand new at the end of the 1998 model year. The car was a stripped down model with cloth seats and only a sunroof as an option. It was a killer deal at only $22,000. I drove that car until it had 125000 miles on it. The interior of the car was absolutely flawless right up until the day I sold it. That car spent nearly its entire life outside. 5 years in the northeast climate and more than 2 years of the heat and humidity of Florida. Not once did any piece of the interior exhibit any wear at all, never mind a cracked dashboard.

For a 5 year old luxury car to have a cracked dash is frightening, until you do research. Then you find a Facebook group dedicated to your particular problem. Then you search forums and find other people also having the problem. Now you're confused. Some people are getting full replacements for free while others are given a 50% discount. Sometimes it seems to be the dealership that's just good at taking responsibility, other times it's because the person is the original owner with relatively low mileage. After completing some research, it’s easy to turn from confused to pain old angry.

When I visited my dealership in Tampa, Ferman Acura, the regional manager was tapped and given a bunch of statistics for my car as far as how many miles and how many owners. They came back and told me that I would be responsible for half of the cost, to the tune of about $700. When I asked to speak to the regional manager, I was told he could give him a message but that "he won't call you".

So here I am with a car that I hate to look at, but can't sell, unless I want to put $700 into for a problem that, by any logical account, is a defect. The wholesale cost to replace the dash is probably right around $700 including real per hour labor rates, and for this measly $700, Acura could have had a stellar reputation with me for years to come. Instead I was met with pessimism, lackluster attitudes and a $700 problem.

Can someone with some sympathy please contact me to see if we can come to a more reasonable resolution to this issue? I'm saddened that I need to reach out to a fax machine for help, but it is my last effort before I'm forced to give up all hope.

Thank you for taking the time to read my complaint.

Sincerely,