Getting Hosed

Hey all,

First I will need to apoligize for a long post.

I've been lurking for some time and finally found my dream car, an Acura certified pre-owned, 2008 white on black TL-S 6 spd 18K miles. I purchased the car from a dealer about 200 miles away from me (this will become important later). The dealer did not give me positive impressions, but when someone has the car you want you do what you gotta do right?

This is where the fun begins. I test drove and examined the car in a late afternoon downpour, which limited my examination of the handling and appearance of the vehicle, but after the test drive I noticed the parking brake did not work at all (warning sign maybe?), and that the car was debadged. Not a dealbreaker for a sweet car right?

I made the deal and drove the car home. On the ride home, i noticed that the car is pulling badly to the left. Considering that the parking brake is not functioning, I became concerned. The next day I took the car to get its Maryland inspection, and the car failed. Certified pre-owned car failing a rudimentary safety inspection? Say it ain't so.

Yesterday, I took the car to my local Acura dealer to have these minor details corrected. I left the car and got a call from the service advisor today. He took it upon himself to do the Acura 150 point inspection again, and what he told me was appaling. I am going to list the things he found.

First, the reasons the car cannot pass inspection:

-Parking brake non-functional
-A blue LED license plate illumination light (illegal in MD)
-Bad wiper blades
-Window tint (below 35% illegal in MD)

Next, the items that would need correction to be an Acura CPO car (in addition to what is listed above):

- Not OEM tail lights
- All side marker lights and mirrior indicator lights PAINTED (not tinted) black
- Painted front grille
- Damage on rear bumper that doesn't meet appearance standards
- 3 out of 4 wheels are bent
- Alignment is out of spec
- Debadged
- Engine cover cracked
- Damage (tears) to front passenger seat and rear seat
- Painted front calipers

Also I would like to list the CARFAX service history that I WAS AWARE OF going into this purchase:

- Replaced CV axle and rear brake pads at ~11K!!!!
- Head gasket replaced at 15K!!!!

(Abused you think?)

I hate to admit to being an uneducated consumer, but I had not seen one of these cars up close and did not know what I was looking at until I saw it side by side to another TL-S. I also was unaware that Acura had strict standards on the appearance of CPO vehicles.

After speaking with the GM of the dealer I purchased the car from today, they told me they would fix only what was preventing the car from passing the Maryland safety inspection, and that any appearance or interior discrepiencies were not preventing the car from being certified. Also, I have to bring the car to them (200 miles each way!!!) Meanwhile, I have my local dealer telling me the car never should have been certified until the items listed above were corrected.

At this point, the service advisor here advises me (haha) to contact Acura client services. I do that, and a quiet but friendly woman explains to me that basiclly the certification process is somewhat subjective, and a car that may be certified at one dealer may not be at another. To me, this sounds like total BS.

If I had seen many of these cars up close in OEM appearance I would have never purchased this car, but the deal is done and I would like some advice here, how do you think I will proceed?

Thanks in advance for your time and replies!

murph145

I'm not sure to what extent the dealer is responsible... yes bent rims and alignment issues seem a little extreme... how bent are the rims though?? Tears in seats should have been easily visible during test drive yes?

Sounds like the car was owned by someone and modified like many of us have done to our own cars is this bad?? I dont think so just something a buyer should be aware of upon purchase and if they do not like the mods then find one thats non-moded. I have never bought a used car before but CPO vehicles should live up to some standards and not so subjective.

Good luck on your purchase hopefully it pans out and is a decent car and just FYI the OEM brembo pads go fast in these cars especially hard drivers with a 6 speed!

mentalcase

I would be pretty upset my self. I went through the same thing with a CPO (and POS) Ford in the last 6 months. Traded in my last car for a larger family vehicle. Well they didn't really do much to certify the car and it had to go back to the dealership 5 times in 4 months. In short i got rid of it and went with a CPO Acura.

I've learned that the dealer you buy from makes a huge difference. The Acura dealer i bought from sold the 3rd most CPO vehicles in the USA and it showed. They let me drive the vehicle a second time to calm my nerves and when i had brake issues with my newer car they just had my bring it in. Fixed free of charge.

Now with your situation I think you are SOL with the interior rips and the debadging (i actually debadged my car today). Those are things that should have been deal breakers while making the deal. I would push hard on Acura to fix everything else though. Create a little bit of noise. You would be surprised how well it works.


Good luck!

Getting Hosed

The tears in the seat were difficult to notice because they were sewn up. I have no doubts that the car is mechanically sound.

Modding a car isn't bad at all... my plans for this car included an ATLR exhaust if I could still get one. Having seen a stock TL-S, the painted grille (which is starting to peel if I didn't mention that earlier) and blacked out side markers look rediculous, not to mention in Maryland that is the type of mod that gets you pulled over the one night you had three beers before you drove home lol...

The major issues are cosmetic. Many I didnt discover until I washed it Saturday, and others the dealer here found that I didn't. The problem is I've got a dealer who certified this car, and another who says it "isn't certifiable in its current condition." I'm hoping with input I can determine who is right.

1islandparadise

I've personally never bought a "new" car before. My TL-S was CPO and so is the wifey's TSX. I asked for the 150pt CPO inspection paperwork after I test drove mine and seen that the brakes, tires, all fluids were replaced because they were below the "tolerance" range in order to be sold as CPO. Look over your CPO inspection that was done on your car and dispute it with the dealership or Acura services. I hope this helps a little....

TLperfection

You should have checked the car thoroughly, inside and out, and take it for a long test drive before buying the car.

Crestwood1001

Sounds like you got excited and bought a car you shouldnt have.

VQPower37

most of the problems with the car don't seem to be too major. instead of spending money on mods u should spend the money to get the car back to like new condition imo

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Kind of a shitty situation, but it seems like you got a little emotional and rushed into buying a car that you wanted... especially test driving it in the rain.....

The TL-S side markers come smoked from the factory...why would any one paint it over???

lucnex

iTrader: (3)

Overall, it seems that the problems that keep the car from being CPO do not seem too major. Besides the bent wheels and alignment, nothing else seems too bad....except the head gasket....but that could be any reason....

Remove the illumination light and pull off the tint yourself. The car is already debaged so that could save you some work if you think of it that way....

I would agree that that fact the dealership can claim the car as CPO seems a little absurd. My personal opinion....make alot of noise. It will work. If the dealership can not fix your problems, I am sure Acura Corporate can.

Maybe the previous owned is on these forums....hunt him down and beat his ass!

Getting Hosed

The previous owner left his cell phone number in the nav system!! lol

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Call him!!!

GatorPhinatics08TL

Man this sounds like a nightmare and Im sorry you have to go through all of this. I just bought a CPO TL and had my concerns at first on minor things, but Acura has covered everything I asked them to. Your only bet here would be to complain as much as possible to the dealer and have them fix as much as they can. Dont most dealers give you a 14-30 day return policy? I know I was given 30 days to return the car for a full refund.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Gator, you got hosed as well. Most states, there isn't a return policy on used cars. once you buy it, its yours as is.

Type Steve -O-

First off, it sucks you got hosed on that deal but at the same time you should of thoroughly inspected the car. I know that feeling when you think you found something that you like and you want nothing more than to get it out of excitement. If I where you I would raise some hell and have the dealership you bought the car from fix EVERYTHING that is wrong with it. If they dont comply, u should really seek getting legal help.

Im sure the car is mechanically sound, if not you always have the warranty.

If your serious about the ATLP V2 exhaust, Mike has two non res quad exhaust systems left. If I where you I would jump on it cause a lot of the memebers that inquired on them waited at least 5 months to get them. Heres the link where Mike posted them, you will need to pm him if your interested. First come, first serve.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...730168&page=16

ionojimbo

sounds like a young kid bought the car,did his DIY thing to it and got rid of it. seat tears at 18k? thats appalling, i bought my TL-s 2 months ago at 63k and the seats were like mint. the only major flaw to my car is the numerous rock chips on the front and i have 3 holes in my front bumper which is where there are 3 additional screws for the license plate.

next time it rains when you test drive, try and ask if you can bring it inside the garage so you can get a better look. they better fix everything because if they advertised the car as CPO and it does not meet CPO standards then you have a lawsuit in your hands i would think.

lucnex

iTrader: (3)

^^ Those holes in the front bumper can be fixed...they are just caps that snap in when you do not have the license plate on.

Waltah

iTrader: (3)

where can you buy these? stealership?

oldguytsxer

Carfax showed you a car that indicates extremely abnormal maintenance issues and you still bought it?

Consider it another life lesson learned...the hard way.

ionojimbo

no its not those ones. its 3 custom holes that were drilled in to hold the license plate

BradE

A blown head gasket at 15k miles? Jesus. From the sound of it, the previous BEAT on that car hard.

Personally, I would ask to return the car to the dealer and go find another one. They will tell you no, but it's worth a shot. They misrepresented the car, it doesn't meet CPO specs, and it doesn't even pass state inspection. If you get an attorney involved, you might be able to pull this one out.

ionojimbo

just mention a lawsuit and see their facial reactions

Type Steve -O-

Better yet, you should just take a lawyer with u.

Ruby

Hope you learned your lesson buddy. Check and car thoroughly before you buy it. If it looks good...Look harder

jchan2

Ouch. That car definitely sounds like it shouldn't have passed.
Like the others, I think you might have a case here- the dealer clearly misrepresented the car as a "Certified Pre-Owned" when in fact, if they did what they should have done, there is no way the car would have passed.

However, I do have a side question: Since he bought it as Certified Pre-Owned but another dealer says the car would have never passed, would he still get the warranty since the 1st dealer (falsely) said the car was CPO?

I was worried right up to the day I got the official letter from Acura saying my car was Certified Pre-Owned that my dealer might have pulled a fast one, sold the car to me as CPO, and not reported it as Certified to Acura. (my local dealer puts 2 prices on each of their CPO cars: one for the CPO warranty and one if you don't want it; seems to be a pretty common practice here in Nashville as I saw it at Honda, Volvo, and Infiniti dealers too)

And the CarFax would have raised a ton of red flags with that kind of maintenance work that early in the game.

Most of the problems seem to be relatively easy to fix and mostly cosmetic, but I am afraid what kind of problems will pop up on the car as the miles roll by.

And if his number is really in the Handsfreelink, I would definitely call him up and ask what happened to the car that would cause it to have this much damage this soon. Also, if his number is actually in there, that means the dealer fell down on the job as the dealer is supposed to clear all that stuff (Handsfreelink, HomeLink, the memory seats) before delivery- all those things were cleared out in my car.

I hate cars

I like the username, we're like half brothers lol. I think we were on the same page when we registered.

Whatever you do, don't give in. It does not matter that you overlooked a few things. You trusted that they would actually do the inspection they said they did and you paid a premium for a CPO car. You've got them on every item that is checked that was not done. You need to flip this around on them and make them realize just how nice you're being by not involving a lawyer yet since this is a slam dunk case on most of the items.

They know they're wrong and they're counting on you folding but trust me, they will kiss your ass once they realize you're going down a different path.

The process is not subjective, there's no gray area, it's black and white and there is a list they have to follow. The items they missed are HUGE items. It's insulting that they would give you the run around and say it's subjective.

Honestly, what this car sounds like with the wear and tear and blown headgasket is a supercharged car that had the supercharger removed. These cars do not have a headgasket problem. It either overheated badly or it had one of the very untuned supercharger kits installed at one time. I have a feeling it was some spoiled kid's car that the parents' took away when they realized the kid was going to kill himself.

If possible you should have them buy it back and find a better stock TL. You will be happy you did in the future.

Phaelenx

Sounds like what you got is someone's project car and something you should've not only walked away from, but ran. My red alert would've gone off with the parking brake not working.

What you need to do is make more noise with Acura Client Services. If I were you, I'd take all the anger you have, sit down and write a professional, grammatically correct letter to ACS, the owner of the dealership, GM of the dealer, the manager of the person that sold the car to you, and whomever else has the power to hire, fire, and embarrass. If you need to know how to get an email address or physical address, call the dealership and tell the front desk person you need to file a serious complaint, and you need to know how to get it to the person that RUNS the dealer not manages. They will tell you. By the time you're finished, they should know who you are and they will probably talk about your complaint at their area meetings. Believe it or not, I had to do this to get my car out of service when I got the run around for 2.5 weeks. I emailed the GM of the dealership a 3 page letter single spaced telling him what happened. I sent it to him at 5:00. The next day at 10:30 I got a call from the dealership telling me my car would magically be ready for pick up. It was washed, fully detailed, gased up, and I got a HUGE apology from the service manager that waited an extra 2 hours for me to get there as well. I dont see how you got a CPO car from Acura with all those issues you've described. You may also have to get legal advice too.

Cars like ours get into the hands of people who have no clue what they're doing and when they're finished they trade the car in and move on. I wish you the best of luck, but i'd start with a very to the point, professional letter and see where that gets you. All I can say is my Acura dealer knows who I am. Its a shame you have to loose your religion, but to them they have their money. You are but one disgruntled client that can be covered by 3 that just bought a car from them that day. Make yourself heard, but while you do it, dont make yourself look like a fool.

odehboy

I would honestly think that once the state knows the wheels are bent that they should not pass the inspection. Tell them you will sue them for the price of the wheels. Even try to have someone from the inspection place to give you something in writing that it will not pass because of the bent wheels...show the state the paper from the dealer and that will be there proof that they are bent And when they pitched the car to you when you baught the car.... they told you it met the cpo standards.. then they need to contact the dealer and ask them what it needs to be done to it.. you honestly have a case. And they need to make it right...my cousin had an 08 350z lemoned and got a 370z.... some states have lemon laws on used cars... I would scare the dealer and tell him that he misused acuras warranty and he committed fraud because he told you it was a cpo when it wasn't.....that's how I would handle that