Greggsg

Hi all,

I purchased my '05TL 6MT on 12/31/06 certifed from a local Acura dealer. The front seats were damaged and I got a "to do" sheet from the dealer saying that they would replace the seats as well as repair a couple of dings and scratches on the car. As well as replace the trunk seal, as it has a whole in it.

I now have noticed the following:

1) The driver side heated seat switch does not light up when the headlights are on, but the passenger one does

2) Cruise control buttons, with the exception of the main on/off switch do not light on the steering wheel, but the radio buttons do.

3) The 150 point certified inspection sheet was not in the glove box

4) getting fed up with the delay on the seat issue, I brought the car to another Acura dealer today, to see if I could flip it into an '06 left over without too much of a beeting and he told me that the rear bumper had been removed from the car and was either replaced or repaird, but definately repainted and put back on the car. He wanted to know if the selling dealer informed me that the car had been damaged and I told him that they had not. It also did not show on a CARFAX report supplied when I got the car.
The manager showed me the rough, I could almost cut my finger on it, area where it was rejoined to the car under the trunk lid, as well as a dimple on the drivers side, he also pointed out another dimple on the driver's rear wheel well area.

I thought something was strange, when I was looking in the trunk the other day and noticed that it was missing to of the screws that hold the back liner to the rear of the car.

I live in Florida and would appreciate any input on how to resolve this issue.

Thanks,

Gregg

italian_spak

id call up Acura offices and report this, give them the car back and find yourself another one , with certified sheets

01tl4tl

First- Have you spoken directly with the General Manager AND to the Owner of the selling dealer to report your problems?
They can make things happen that the sales dept promised and service is not getting done
Service only does what they get a work order for
If your 150 point inspection sheet was not with the car- it should be at the dealer in the sales dept records
If you have a contract in writing you have rights!

The dealers just buy cars from auctions-lease returns etc- luck of the draw BUT the 150 pointer should have seen the problems with damage repair

A call to Acura Customer Care at 1-800-382-2238 X 5 will grease the wheels of progress
That is company headqurters and when you call them an email alert goes out to managers all over the place- especially the selling dealer

Certified cars simply mean they have gone thru an inspection and maybe some parts were replaced. There have been cert. cars that needed cabin air filters! It does NOT mean the car was serviced properly or anything like that!!!

You likely have a bad seat warmer switch - does the heater work even though no light?

Check the owners manual for info on the lighting of the various controls- even go try another TL of the same year. Not all the buttons are lit- cuts down on glare and distraction in theory

Carfax only knows what it is told- meaning by insurance companies about accidents.
So if one were to pay private/cash/check to a shop, they are under no obligation to say anything to anyone.
Check into the Carfax guarantee and make those calls!

Greggsg

I have already raised the seat issue to the general manager level and was supposed to hear back from him on Saturday. I received no phone call. I called them GM twice last week about my seats. Left him a VM on Tuesday, and spoke to him Thursday. He seemed very annoyed that I called him.

I was there last saturday to show him the seats and even asked if he could work a good deal to upgrade me the 07 TLs that one of his guys is demoing, he told me my car and about 15k.

Not a happy camper right now.

Thanks for the replies

Gregg

TL1999

report them to your local state consumer affair office for this type of practice.

Pat D

Certainly not defending the dealer, but it's possible they had to replace a brake light lens or something and that's why the bumper was removed and replaced incorrectly.

Bob289

From what im reading right your car sounds like it got into a fender bender. Repainted bumper and a replaced trunk seal. Also this dealership is giving you a run around. Get the 150 point inspection check list. See if this was caught and or ignored if so you got them. I would blow/ring all the bell and whistles I could find. Call Acura corp. if they can help you call your local claims office. This may also fall under your local lemon laws.

Sorry you got a bad deal. Keep us posted

Lister00169

You need to document all your contacts with the GM and hire up a lawyer.

wilsel

I don't think it will fall under the lemon law. The car has to have mechanical issues for that to be in effect. Your best bet is to have another acura dealer state that this car is not precertifyable. Is that a word?

A coworker bought a precertified windstar, only to find out that it was in a severe front end collision (frame damage, improperly repaired). It cannot even be aligned it's so bad. You would never know unless you put it on a lift. He spent months going around with Ford, and a lawyer. I think he finally gave up.

BUT don't give up. If the car is not precertified material, then you did not get what you paid for.

csmeance

the dealer did not disclose all information about the car, you can take them up on a lawsuit. Also, which was the second dealer tthat told you the bumper was repainted? Get a letter form the 2nd dealership stating that the bumper was painted and replaced. As a member said, call acura client care services and they will help you out.

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

I would be a bit ticked too...given in was certified and all. That seems out of line to me.

ndabunka

Lemon law's are ONLY applicable to NEW cars. Not resales... This is a case of fraud. The dealer could easily loose his franchise if this is accurate. A bit surprised the GM of the dealership hasn't already picked up the car and written you a check in the amount of the purchase

Greggsg

Dropped by the dealer this afternoon on my way home from work. Met with the GM, got new backs and passenger seat cushion ordered as well as bad switches. He looked at the bumper and said it could have been replaced for numerous reasons, not only because of a fender bender.

He said that if bumpers get scratched in shipping, it is Acura's policy to replace the bumpers and not paint them, as the paint will come off down the road. I saw the sales person, who said he would have the 150 point inspection pulled out of the folder, as it was already after 5, the office upstaris was already closed.

I will be bringing the car to a body shop that is owned by a good freind of my father to see what his opinion is on the bumper. the GM said he could fix the dimple, and possibly grind down the rough area where the bumper meets the trunk,

I will try and take a picture of it later and upload it. I need to see the 150 point inspection to see if they picked up on the bumper. Once I have that, I will probably call Acura directly and see who the local factory rep is. I really don't think Dealer B wants to be part of ratting out Dealer A, since they do need to do business with each other for car swaps and stuff.

Gregg

Greggsg

[img]f:\dcim\101kz650\101_0159.jpg[/img]

Greggsg

Greggsg

Image shows uo to big when I try to insert it so here is a link:

http://members.aol.com/greggsg/trunk.jpg

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

Too late now....the 150 inspection sheet will be flawless by the time you see it. Trust me! They now know what you are after.

Greggsg

As of right now, they can't find the certification check list that should have been in the "deal" folder. The sales person spoke to the mechanic who did the certification and he was going to check his file at home to see if he kept a file copy.

HM... looks like a call to Acura Corp is coming

gregg

Ernie Golfs

I agree, if they don't have the inspection cert, they'll make one up with all the right info and dates!
I'd call Acura customer service and quit messing with these crooks.

Greggsg

Called and spoke to Shanti at Acura Client Services. She will have a case worker contact the dealer to "expedite" the finding of the 150 point check list.

As far as having an Acura Factory Rep in the area to look at the repair work on the rear bumper area, she said that they don't do that. I am more than welcome to go to an independent body shop for an inspection, but I hae no idea what that will accomplish.

Maybe I can talk to the manager of dealer B who pointed out the bumper to me and ask him to give me a list of things wrong and officialy say if he would certify the car or not.

CARFAX show the car to be clean with no accidents reported, but that doesn't mean much. The body shop I took it to this morning said that he didn't see any frame damage from a walk around the car, but he noticed that rear driver side mud flap was not flush against the car like the other side was. This is the same side that has the dimple on the bumper as well as the rough edge that the picture shows.

totlthetruth

Any update?

06 RR TL

take them to court as soon a you can. Definately dosent sound like a certified use car and Acura delaer should be selling. Talk with the GM and demand your money back if not take it to the media you be surpise how soon things will get fixed. With all those probems

deke

stop letting them walk all over you. you are the customer.
of course they are going to fabricate a 150 point inspection. tell them since they couldnt supply one at the time they need to do a new one with you present. before you do this I suggest you do that with dealership B.

01tl4tl

And people wonder why I am always posting the number for Customer Care
Make another call and another to Acura Corporate!!!!!!!
Find out WHO IS THE OWNER of the dealership?
Call that person and tell them what is going on

Go to your local TV station that has a consumer help line
Just the jerking over the seats, now no cert paperwork...
TV loves this kind of story and Acura hates it

If their involvement does not cure the dealer attitude
Get a LAWYER

Acura Customer CARE!!!!!!
1-800-382-2238 x 5 6a-5p pacific time

csmeance

Once you get the media aware of this, then its gonna be much harder for you and them to get what you want. Back onto subject, i wwould suggest that you go to an independent body shop and have them do a through check through of the car. As well, tall acura client car that you want a dealership that is unaware of this issuenear you to do a 150 point certification inspestion to see weather it passes or doesnt

drdamian

i had the same issues with my lights... the drivers side heater light didnt come on but the indicator lights (high and lo) did... I also had a few of the cruise buttons go out on me as well as the vsa and mirror lights... Well, i fixed the steering wheel lights by getting so fed up that i banged on the wheel in rage and the lights came back on.... the heater light came on misteriously one day as well as the other lights.... now, knock on wood, no other lights go out...

Greggsg

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been real busy at work.

The dealership was unable to find the 150 point inspection and was only able to come up with the mechanical inspection and the invoices for the work that they did on the car. The client services person said that they were supposed to submit a copy of the inspection to American Honda Finance with the loan paperwork and that they could request that a copy be sent back to them.



Acura Client services keeps trying to have the dealer be proactive in communicating with me, but they don’t. Any communication with the dealership has been call to them by me.



Client services rep also told me that if I paid someone to inspect the car that he could not guarantee that I will recoup the moneys paid. I requested that the local Acura field rep meet with me to inspect the car and give me his opinion. Client services person said that he could arrange for the rep to meet me at the dealership. When I said that there was another dealership much closer to where I work, he said that a different rep covered that location and that they would not be able to repair any non Acura warrantee covered items without getting paid. These things would need to be taken care of by selling dealer, if the agree to.



I spoke to client services yesterday and he said that he would speak to the dealership again and have them call me. I have not heard from the dealership or the client services person.



I am now looking for a lawyer to handle this for me and would welcome any suggestions for one in the South Florida area that won’t cost me too much.



Thanks,



Gregg

davenlei

If they did not do the 150 point inspection they should either unwind the deal or refund you the difference in price between a regular used car sale and the premium paid for the 'certified' pre-owned car. Sounds like someone at the dealer screwed up and will be getting yelled at by their boss.

Greggsg

Yelled at might be an understatement.

Since I have gotten the car the following people are no longer employed at the dealership:



Finance Manager who wrote up the deal - 4 days after I got the car

Used Car Manager who did the deal - about 3 weeks or so after I got the car

General Manager of the entire dealership is gone, found this out yesterday



I spoke to both Acura Client Services and the dealership today. They actually called me. I received a call from the Service Manager who informed me that the parts for the seats are on national back order with no ETA for delivery.



I reiterated my lack confidence in the car and how it appears, from a consumer’s perspective, that they had some major problems at the dealership and senior management has decided to clean house to fix the problems.



We will see what happens next.



Gregg

Greggsg

Resolution.

While I am not allowed by agreement to tell you what the final outcome was, I did get my issues resolved to my satisfaction and was made happy by the dealership

lil12002

damn now i wanna know what happened.

MR1

Congratulations. Next time check out the car to your satisfaction before you close the deal. Read what certified means. I don't think that they guarantee that the car is a creampuff garage queen that has never been kissed (or hit). Still glad you got everything worked out.