vtec1jk

I just purchased a RL last night and when getting home i noticed i had hail damage on the car. Not major but slight. So the first thing i did was call the dealership this morning and tell them what i found and they asked me to come in. Upon arriving i explained to the manager on site (my salesperson and GM were out today) that i did not want a damaged car and did not want it fixed and wanted a different car. The manager then asked me wait. After 90 mins of waiting in the waiting area (with no communication of what was going on) i finnally got up and went into the office they were sitting in to ask him if i should just come back tomorrow. The manager then with an attitude said "Why cant you just take the car we will just fix it" i then explained how i did not want a damaged car and that shouldn't have to be an option. I then told him i heard there is a 3 day policy to return a car. He said that it wasnt true. I then just said i would wait till the next day and be back. I left my RL at the shop and got a ride home. Can someone tell me if the 3 day policy is not true in Illinois. Also what do you guys think i should do tomorrow when i go talk to the GM? I have no idea what to expect right now. Do you guys think i should call the acura national hotline? if so whats the number? please HELP!!!!!!

GoHawks

The 3-day policy IS NOT true. It only applies to door-to-door (or cold call) type sales.

What dealership wasn it?

vtec1jk

Am I allowed to say what dealer it was? or is that against the rules?

Tully44

I'm not sure what recourse you have (I'm sure the sales agreement states/implies the purchase is valid having inspected the car). And I do not know how Illinois law may apply to this situation. What I do know is a car manufacturer (and dealer) do not want an unhappy customer or bad publicity. I'd get on the phone and call the Acura regional rep and (politely but adamant) start making waves.

CBRTLS47

yea man go ahead and post the dealership its not against the rules. People post stuff like this all the time. sorry to hear and sorry I cant be of more help with your problem. good luck!

vtec1jk

Where do i get the number for the Regional Rep specifically Illinois of course? All i know is am pretty freaking mad by just the disrespect while in the dealership today. Its like what the hell did they want me to do? just sit there till they closed and possibly forget i had a problem?

GoHawks

Why not? others have.

vtec1jk

The dealership was Mcgrath in Morton Grove

vtec1jk

Also what would you guys do if you were in my shoes? would you just let them fix it and move on? or would you guys agree i should get a different car?

GoHawks

I'd demand a different car.

synth19

was this a new or used RL? What year? But respectively, did you not do a full inspection of the car when you took it?

vtec1jk

brand new 2006. I didnt do a full inspection cause the dealer didnt have time to go through delivery because they were so busy. I didnt even sign off that i took it

CBRTLS47

I would for sure demand a new car, you paid for one now your not getting one. Thats not fair. I think I have heard something bad about mcgrath before. Im gonna search and see what I find.

CBRTLS47

If you didnt sign that you took del then maybe that will help. The fact that you left it at the dealer is also good. I was wondering why they or you didnt find it.

CBRTLS47

1 more thing any recent hail storms there?

CBRTLS47

Ok i searched and couldnt find anything so im probably thinking of another dealer.

synth19

If that's the case, I would demand for a new one as well. You may also have some legal rights if you didn't sign. I suggest going back tomorrow and talking to the General Manager and try to get a new one.

kgd

I would hope that since the dealer did not do the delivery for you that would help. I believe Acura requires that for all new car deliveries. I would leave the car there until you get the desired result. Start with the sales person and GM at the dealership. If you get no where there I would talk with the regional factory rep. I would let them know if they did the delivery walk through with you there is a good chance you would have noticed the damage then and not when you got home. I would not be satisfied with repair of the car. Was the damage just to the hood or the roof and trunk also? That is too bad what you are going through. This is a great car and you should be enjoying it, not dealing with these issues. It is unacceptable that you had to wait that long without anyone checking in with you to at least let you know they were working on it. Good luck.

sleepinxlionhart

that is utter bull crap. the dealer should replace the car. since they can just fix it, and sell it later considering it'll be fixed like new. so technically they won't loose any money, i don't get why they won't do that...but there's always the mileage problem. how many miles did you put on the RL?

neuronbob

I think it is within reason to request a different car given yours has hail damage. If the car had hail damage, what other damage could be hidden elsewhere?

OTOH, if the damage is truly minor (single or couple of shallow dents), it may be just as reasonable to demand a free fix and move on.

And it is OK to post the dealer's name, there's no special rule here about that, it is a service to other AZine users.

desiflava04

i know that by law you have 3 days to return the car but i live in jersey i dunno how it works in other states

ddswv

Keep in mind, that if your car had hail damage, more than likely ALL the leftover 2006's on the lot have hail damage. (Unless its a showroom car)

You may have to fight for your money and find another "area" that wasn't affected by the Hail storm.

BrotherDavid

I would call the sales manager back only for the purpose of telling him that you'd like to resolve this with him, and you want to give him a chance to do that before you contact (a) Acura, (2) your attorney; and (iii) 60 Minutes.

Here's how I use the 60 Minutes line: "Before I call 60 Minutes and Ed Bradley comes over to interview you about this, are you sure we can't resolve it?"

Be cool. Be calm. Take a breath. That's right ... breathe.

I'd call Acura next to report the issue, but I'd also contact an attorney today. You probably have one in the family who needs more work! The attorney will be able to tell you, faster and better than we can (unless there's an attorney on the board who hasn't weighed in!) what your options are.

Just based on common sense, and playing devil's advocate here, the dealer's position is likely to be that you can't prove that the damage occurred at the dealership before you bought it if there wasn't a full inspection before you took it off the lot.

I would also go to the Better Business Bureau website and see if there have been complaints against that dealership before (if they're a member it will be on record).

Good luck. Keep the faith.

I completely understand your frustration. It's also confusing and often busy when you're picking up a new car. In the future, though, take your time and go over the ENTIRE vehicle with the salesperson standing there. The last time I bought a new car, it was finished up at closing time ... it was late, everyone wanted to go home, including me, and I made them go through everything with me, including taking the soft top (it was a Jeep) completely off and putting it back on to make sure everything worked properly. I checked every switch and device in the car. And by the time I left, we all knew it was cool!

If you're committed to getting it replaced, forge ahead. On the other hand, if you live in a place where there's hail, there's going to be hail again sooner or later, too! If they've offered to repair it, you might take that option and push those a**holes to make it perfect.

If they won't, we'll all come out and picket the dealership until they do!

miner

Minor hail damage is not hard to fix - as new. On the other hand, they most likely knew of the damage and should have pointed it out to you before delivery. If nothing else get the fix and negotiate some freebies. Your time and trouble should at least be worth a backup camera (probably costs the dealer <$450).

GoHawks

Yep about a month ago. I was at a light. I heard a loud bang and it began to hail. I immediately pulled into a gas station under a canopy. It hailed pea/marble sized hail for about 2 minutes.

McGrath is a little further south from me so I don't know if they got more or larger hail.

Bob In Miami

One question would be how much hail damage is there? How bad is it? Also, are you willing, and do you have the time to take on this battle? If the dents are not too deep, a paintless dent removing service (obviously provided by the dealership) can work miracles. I found a dent on my car before taking deliver and it was removed before I took delivery (100% removed).

I would suggest letting them fix it and move on. The stress, frustration, and possible attorneys fees may not be worth it. Get them to fix the dents and to toss in the rear back-up camera, and call it a day. Then enjoy a fabulous car.

Bob

vtec1jk

We had some pretty crazy hail storms.. The other half of the story was the only reason i traded in my 05 TL was due to the hail storms thats what pisses me off about it the most. The damage on the RL does not look severe i saw a total of 7 dings. But i am not a pro at finding these things so thats what scares me the most.

vtec1jk

The big reason they said no to me returning it was because they stated the taxes had already been paid on the car. Also do you sign an inspection sheet when picking up a new vehicle?

billabong05

My Acura dealer would be ashamed to hand over a car with damage no matter how slight. I would fight!

vtec1jk

Well the worst part was the guy was insinuating this could never happen at this dealership and i possibly had done it

vtec1jk

I just filed a report to my regional rep. I am also suppose to go into the dealership today to speak with the GM

Ernie Golfs

Phone number for Acura client service is 800 382-2238. They should be able to help you start a case on this issue if needed. I reciently called them because one dealer wouldn't give me an internet quote on a new 06 TL. I was put on hold by client services and when he came back on he said I would be contacted very soon by the dealer. Within five minutes of the call I had an email quote and an apology from the manager of the dealership. I hope they act and respond quickly to resolve this issue for you. Be sure to let us know how everything turns out.

Good Luck

synth19

^ Keep us updated. I can't believe the dealer sold you the car with a clear conscience. You bought a new car it should be perfect. This is absolutely ludicrous. I feel like going calling them and going off. But I wont unless you give me permission. Fight this to the end. If possible, try to have them resolve this ASAP and try not to put too many miles on the car.

vtec1jk

So its 4 PM and i have not heard anything back. The receptionist told me that my salesperson and GM were both coming in at 1PM. I have left messages on both their phones as well as the salespersons Cell phone. No response. I finally i kept calling the salespersons cell phone and he picked up just now. He said he couldnt talk because he was on a test drive and he got into work at 3 today so he didnt get a chance to listen to his voicemails (Total BS because i talked to him last night and he knew of my problems so he should have made me his first priorty when he came in rather then a nother customer.) I am getting pretty pissed off now and I did tell him i have contacted my regional acura rep.

PLUS I missed work today because i dont have a car!

lausy

I hope things get resolved to your satisfaction.
I had $5,000 worth of hail damage on a 03 Accord I used to own which was completely fixed via dent wizard type paintless repair. When I picked up the car, I couldn't tell the difference because they did such a great job. I believed they warranted it for the life of the car. It may be a lot less painful to have them fix the damage and throw in some freebie for your trouble and call it a day. Why get yourself too worked up over something like that if they are not willing to budge and swap out the car. Life's too short!

black label

They are supposed to go through the "Maintenance Journal" with you. You would have initialled 5 or 6 spots and signed at the bottom. After you sign, a Manager is supposed to sign off.

I know if you buy a vehicle that was damaged in port, they are legally required to let you know that and you have to sign a form that acknoledges it was a port damaged.

As for damage that occured on the lot, I'm not sure.

Riddler2222

I feel bad for you. You get so excited about getting a new car and this happens.

I know the forementioned dealer you speak of as I live a mile away from them. I just picked up a brand new 2006 RL from dealer NW of your dealer this week. They were incredible to deal with. In fact, I have just purchased my 3rd Acura from them. First a 2000 TL, 2004 MDX and 2006 RL. I have visited the dealer you mentioned as I live in the area and have never been able to work a deal with them. I am more then happy to drive 10 miles away to a first rate Acura dealer in the NW suburbs.

My sales rep. and manager were great, they quoted me a price of a brand new 2006 RL on there lot. I just didn't like the color so they told me they would try to find one more to my liking. They found the car (brand new) and brought it in from Madison, WI.

As I believe the rules are not to publish dealerships, anyone who wants to know who I deal with in Chicago can PM me.

I have my fingers crossed for you that they will resolve this the right way. Best of luck and keep us posted.

2006 RL Lakshore Metallic Silver

GoHawks

Was it from AoL? That's where I bought mine. They have a great service department there as well.

slawek65

I live very close from McGrath and these people are as.... I try to buy car from them 3 times and never close the deal.

Ernie Golfs

Call Acura again and tell them you want to cancel the deal. Tell them you want all your money or trade in back. Advise them that the dealership has not responded to your repeated phone calls and messages. Tell them you want this resolved by the end of the business day tomorrow. Get away from this deal and dealership. Take your business somewhere else. They have demonstrated their bad business practices. If they are treating you like this now, imagine how they'll treat you when your RL goes in for service.