ad74

Hi Guys, I've been lurking on these boards for awhile and could always find the info I needed. Have a little situation I need some advice. I'll try to sum this up as quick as possible, but I'm pretty pissed off right now, so I may ramble......

I purchased a used 2003 CL-S back in the middle of March. The car had 102,000 miles on it. I brought it to two mechanics and had my dad and best friend test drive the car (both acura owners) and the car checked out.
One of the selling points the sales guy was using was that the timing belt had been replaced, and, the guy had been coming there(dealership) for service for YEARS!
Just went in for the initial oil change and the service tech came out and told me that with the mileage on the car we should really discuss changing the timing belt....I reply with "nah, it's cool, it has already been replaced"...crickets...Where was this done....little bit of back and forth...guys goes to check the records for this vehicle....no record of timing belt being changed! The service tech then tells me he could talk with the salesrep to find out....I tell him that would be an excellent an idea!
Techdude comes back with a grim look on his face, and I prepare myself for the line of BS that is forthcoming....I spoke with the salesrep and he said "the previous owner TOLD us that the timing belt was replaced, we never actually checked" I then give a little speech about selling a product under false pretenses, techdude just stares at his shoes in complete silence. The only reply he can muster is "well you could go discuss this with him" Feeling the urge to grab a tire iron, I think I better cool off before confronting him. I asked him how long it would take to check if the timing belt was actually replaced - hour and half!!! Due to work, couldn't sit around for this.
Any advice on how to handle to this situation would be greatly appreciated

Pseudomaniac

iTrader: (1)

Skip the sales guy.
Go directly to the sales manager or the owner.

Inform them of your purchase.
Inform them of your dissatisfaction on the conditions of the purchase.
Inform them that your expectation is this is to be corrected at no expense to you.

I would check your state lemon laws, and see if the vehicle is eligible to be returned under them. This is a huge expense to the dealer, and they would most likely rather service your vehicle anyhow.

This is how I would proceed anyway. Sales guys are usually just tools - skip the chance for them to play the good cop bad cop game.

Might approach it with the service manager as well. It's all on who will listen to your calm, but firm concerns.

ad74

Alright, thats pretty sound advice. Definately not thinking too clear right now. I definately needed a cool down period, that was a bad scene waiting to happen.

I'll give you an update on how it turned out.

This is the lemon law for NH - http://autopedia.com/html/LemonLaw/NH_lemonlaw2.html

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Forget lemon laws, they do not apply to used cars.
Did the car come with an "as is" sticker attached to it. If it did, the dealer doesn't have to do anything. That's why a used car comes with "as is" stickers. By law this covers the dealer, if after you drive 1 mile from the lot the engine blows up.

Buyer beware

You can talk to the dealer manager owner or whatever, but if they want to screw you they can, or they can be nice, depends.

Dan

If you have nothing in writing, suck it up and pay to get the belt changed. Education costs money, consider this part of your education. I also would suggest you find a independent Acura service shop to get it done at. Good luck.

clpassenubye

iTrader: (20)

Forget the lemon law because the car isn't a lemon that applies to new cars.
I agree with skipping the salesperson and go to the Dealership General Manager or Owner and hope that the salesperson hasn't already poisoned their point of view with some BS story to cover his a**. Then if that doesn't get you anywhere file a complaint with the dealership with your states equivalent of the Dept of Motor Vehicles they are usually the ones who oversee the dealerships licensing and they keep track of complaints and step in when they find out dealerships are jacking people. I wish you lots of luck hopefully this dealer will do the right thing and replace it for free but if they don't just tell them you will give them a lot of negative publicity by telling everyone you know not to deal with them and they will lose more in the long run than what it costs to replace the timing belt.

ad74

Hopefully my dad buying a few cars from there will help sway there decission. They are known as a reputable dealership.

Also found this info, not sure how much relevance this has -

http://doj.nh.gov/consumer/sourcebook/autos_used.html

FTC BUYER'S GUIDE

The FTC has a very helpful set of rules called the "Buyer's Guide" rules, which apply to used car sales and advertising. The nationally required rules apply to all used car dealers who sell more than four used cars per year.
The FTC rules require used car dealers to give potential buyers certain information about the cars. The used car dealer is required to post a window sticker called a "Buyer's Guide" on each used car stating whether the car is being sold with a warranty or "as is." If the sticker states that the car is being sold "as is," the dealer is prohibited from making any contradictory statements in advertisements, sales pitches, or sales documents.

Any statements contradicting what appears on the FTC Buyer's Guide posted on the vehicle are prohibited. The Buyer's Guide information, however, should put the careful consumer on notice to disregard any warranty statements the dealer or salesperson makes.
A dealer's violation of the FTC Buyer's Guide rules is not a direct violation of New Hampshire law. Nevertheless, if a dealer violates the Buyer's Guide rule, it provides strong and persuasive evidence that the practice also constitutes an unfair and deceptive practice as defined by New Hampshire's Consumer Protection Act.

ad74

This is getting better -

"Three states—Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Washington—require different disclosures than those on the Buyers Guide. If the dealer fails to provide proper state disclosures, the sale is not "as is." To find out what disclosures are required for "as is" sales in your state, contact your state Attorney General.

State laws hold dealers responsible if cars they sell don’t meet reasonable quality standards. These obligations are called implied warranties—unspoken, unwritten promises from the seller to the buyer. However, dealers in most states can use the words "as is" or "with all faults" in a written notice to buyers to eliminate implied warranties. There is no specified time period for implied warranties."

http://law.freeadvice.com/resources/...d_car_3_98.htm

Pseudomaniac

iTrader: (1)

Keeping a cool head is half the game. The other half is being professionally persuasive.

Zippee

Did he give it to you in writing? If not, you may have a problem.

Go to the sales guy first, give him a chance to get it done before getting him in trouble with his boss. Pissing him off will only get him to say "I never told him that" and you will be out of luck.

If the sales guy doesn't do anything then go to the manger or Owner.

Whatever you do don't get mad and start calling him an asshat!!!

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Again did the car have an "as is" sticker. If it did your SOL IMHO.

The whole thing you quoted means very simply the dealer has to either post a used car for sale "as is" meaning no warranty or any other form of claim against the dealership upon buying.

Or

With warranty, or implied warranty.

I went through this with my moms Altima. When I bought it the dealer claimed it was fully serviced & checked over. Well 2 days later my mom had a huge oil leak. Turned out the oil filter was the wrong size put on the car, & also the oil pressure switch was toast.
Tried to get the dealer to cover all costs to repair. They refused. I had no recourse cause the car was sold "as is" My only option was to sue, or get it fixed & toss it up to learning.

black label

Essentially the lemon law in NH on a used car is "If your car breaks into 2 pieces, you now own 2 pieces of a car".

It sucks, but NH has no protection for used car buyers.

hemhaw

Psuedo's earlier advice is sound, too, but will onlu bear fruit if you are reasonable and don't go in with a big chip on your shoulder.

Even if it did have an "as is" sticker, if they are half as reputable as you say, they will see the wisdom in taking care of this and likely earning a return customer.



And if they don't take out a full page ad in the local paper and tell the world they suck balls!

YeuEmMaiMai

if after talking to the dealer and they do nothing, call Acura customer service and explain to them when you bought the car, who was the sales guy, what he said, and what happened. V6 timing belts are 8 years or 105K whatever comes first

noodle

iTrader: (2)

everyone has given some really good advice to you here. i'm sorry to hear about this shady Stealership. i bought an 03 cl a little over a month ago with a little over 100k miles on it. i was fortunate enough to have a friend who recently got a job as a mechanic for a honda dealership. he told me there was a great mechanic in there who would change my timing belt for $125. took guy less than 2 hours. i gave him $175 because he saved me like $400. use your resources, talk to some people you know. but hopefully, these jackasses will take care this since you were entirely misled. best of luck to you

mclarenf3387

Don't hate the tech because you believed a used car salesman. Most of the are the scum of the earth.

pits200

Ya, but he isn't complaining about a warranty on his car or something that is broken or that the engine has been destroyed cause the timing belt went out. He is complaining about a preventative maintanence part that was said to have been replaced but it wasn't. There is a difference between what you are saying "as is" warranty and something that the salesman told him was done. He definetly has a gripe and this does not relate to an "as is" warranty situation.

A salesman can not directly lie to you and then pawn something off and say its only "as is".

But unfortunately, it falls into a gray area, if you don't have it in writing. Because it will just end up being He said, She said and you don't have a leg to stand on in regards to what the salesman said.

If you can prove he said it was changed prior to you purchasing it, you have a legit case regardless if there was no warranty on the car.

tnobori1

Most dealerships know the laws pertaining to used car sales better than the local lawyers. They get sued like crazy and learn to walk the fine line of the law. I deal with these guys all the time for my job and hear the stories. The bottom line is that you probably won't get anywhere trying to fight the "legality" of the terms of sale.

Your best bet is to try and take the "loyal customer" approach by using the fact that your dad bought several cars from them. If that doesn't work, let them know that you'll be reporting the issue to the Better Business Bureau as well as any other similar local reporting centers. A bad reputation will hurt them worse than a small claims lawsuit and they know that. This will be most effective with the General Manager of the dealership, don't waste your breath on the salesperson.

Good luck, unfortunately you have an uphill battle to fight in the coming weeks.

spiderman3098

if they dont give u anything just start picketing in front of the dealership and harass there customers be like this guys a liar to every salesman dats with a customer and tell dem sum outrageous story i did that once and then the manager said well get ur stuff fixed so i told dem only way im leavin is if u give me sum extra shit too and they did cause i was ruining all there sales. i say when a person lies to you u screw wit dem in return. and when it hits them in there wallets it really hurts.

pits200

LOL< you realize that you can't do that and all the dealership has to do is call the police and your ass is in jail for disorderly conduct or multiple other charges... Don't go the immature way, deal with it professional and don't put yourself in jeopardy of getting arrested.

Tosh

You can't get arrested for standing on public property with a sign. Police can try to hassle you, but not much they can do.

Anyhow, OP is hosed for not doing his homework. Why would anyone not assume every word from a salesman's mouth is a total lie? Live and learn, Grasshopper. Still, you could at least present your case to the dealership owner, as it wouldn't hurt. But it doesn't sound like you'll be able to keep your cool, so.....

Bottom line: You'll have a really nice car once the TB is done!