My first post - please be gentle!

I bought an '05 TL w/o nav on Wed 28-Feb as a CPO from an Acura dealer about 3hrs away. I the selling price was $25490. It was sold to me with 13,541 miles on the odometer. The carfax report showed the current mileage to be 21,174. After some investigation I discovered that the odometer had been replaced at 8732 miles. (there is a sticker on the door jam) The dealership didn't disclose to me at the time of purchase that the odometer had been replaced, but I called them and they have the service record of the replacement. I don't know if this was an honest mistake or a shady deal. I won't be going to them for anything further so that's kind of irrelevant I think. The dealership immediately tried to find me another car, but they don't have any other TL's for a comparable price. They have offered to pay me $.10/mile for each mile not shown on the odometer (almost $900) if I keep the car.

I'd like to keep the car, but if I keep it will I run into trouble down the road when I try to sell it or trade it in? I would get all service records from the dealership showing the odometer replacement. I expect to keep the car at least 3yrs and will likely have between 80K and 100K miles by the time I get rid of it.

Any/all input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Todd H

 

As long as you disclose the actual mileage & the Odom replacement, you should not have any problems selling it later.

I have had 2 cars in which the odometer was replaced, and the new owners didn't care. as a matter of fact they liked it, because even though they knew the truth, they liked the "look" of less mileage on the odmoeter.

Kinda like people who set their clocks ahead 5 minutes so they will be on-time or early.

 

As long as you keep the paperwork and have the sticker- its all legal

If they had nothing- it would be fraud

Take the money and enjoy your new baby

 

FYI
In my area the TRADE-IN value of that car is $25,124. (going on the 21K mileage) The Dealer price is $28,161. (again using the 21K mileage)

I would be VERY happy with your deal.

 

Did the dealer advertise it with 13k miles?

 

No. I searched the Acura.com website under the CPO section and the car came up as having 21K+ miles. The price listed was not what they were selling it for, but the mileage was correct.

The first time I heard anything about 13K miles was when I called and began making the deal over the phone. The salesman told me it only had 13K. I asked him to confirm this and he did. He obviously didn't know (or withheld the knowledge) that the odometer had been replaced.

At no time while I was at the dealership did anyone mention odometer replacement. I had the salesman print out the carfax report right while at the dealership. When I asked about the discrepancy he stated that carfax is not always 100% correct and that the mileage could have been entered incorrectly.


Only today did the dealership admit their mistake.

 

If they didnt disclose the changed odometer, they are in very hot water. At the very least Id ask free services for a year in addition to the $.10 a mile. That 30k service will be coming up much sooner than you bargined for.

 

I agree, but thats the LEAST they could do IMO.

 

The dealership I bought the car from is 3hrs from me. I'm not going to drive there just for service. Could I negotiate to have my local dealership do the service and charge the other dealership?

 

Probably not, but just ask them for .15$ per mile over that way you get an extra 450$ to pay for the 30,000mi service.

 

I had the same incident sort of when I bought the TL used. THe paperwork all said 14k on it but when i went to pick it up, t had 16K. I confronted then and threatened with lawyers and said I atleast deserve 25 cents a mile. They gave me a rate of 25 cents a mile and the the topic never arose again until I found out that it had been totaled, yet the dealer nor carfax had no knowledge of it.

 

Keep the car, try to get a minimum of $.25/mile. Check what the IRS lets you use for the deduction and what 3A says it cost per mile to drive. Those numbers are both over $.25 so they should have no trouble refunding the higher rate. If they balk and you feel wronged, give them their car back and find another. Let us know how it goes.

 

I guess I'm confused. Doesn't the dealer have the ability to replace the odometer with a correct mileage? If not, that makes for some serious confusion. If I were to buy a car new, put 100K miles on it in 3 years, and then find a junkyard cluster with 20K, no one would be the wiser. That's pretty messed up. I would think in 2007 there would be better protection for things like that.

 

I would definitely do this!! Take the documented proof in there with you when you go to show them. If they were being honest, then they should have no reason not to be fair.

As for the trade in, keep a record of this transaction, and their eventual payoff to you. They will see that it is a dealer move, and not yours. Also, ALL you are required to do is disclose it (actual mileage). The resale is not a problem.


So you got a hella deal anyway!!! Plus you getting something of a "rebate" too? Don't over-think this! You have documentation. Take the money and run! Even if they just give you the $900! You would have gotten nothing if it was disclosed or showing the actual mileage. (you probably would have paid more!) Nothing is wrong with the car, just the odometer. Take the money and buy yourself something with it to calm your nerves. LOL! Like towards an aftermarket Navi setup!!

 

So you bought the car understanding it had 13k on it. So why were you surprised when he said it only had 13k? I’m a bit confused.

 

I initially thought the car had 21K on it due to the way it was advertised on the Acura CPO site. When I called and worked a little with the salesman he told me it only had 13K. The carfax report that was run at the dealership showed 21K miles. After I bought it and got it home and began reading the FAQ section here I came across a thread where someone else had had their odometer replaced. In that thread someone stated that when the odometer is replaced they put a sticker on the doorjamb near where the tire pressure sticker is. When I checked there I saw the sticker that stated the odometer was replaced at 8732 miles.

I was a little suspicious about the mileage being "only" 13K on the odometer, but the salesman told me that carfax isn't always completely correct. I guess I was wrong to believe him.

Only when I began reading this forum did I think to look for a replaced odometer. I probably would have eventually discovered the sticker showing the odometer was replaced as I tend to look at the tire pressure sticker often to get the correct tire pressures (I can never remember.) I'm just glad I did it now and not 6 months from now.

I'm going to review the service records over the weekend and will make a decision on Monday whether to keep the car or not. I'm leaning towards keeping it and taking their money. I did call around to my 2 local Acura dealerships and they told me they have nothing under 30K miles for less than $28K. I think I got a pretty good deal to begin with, and it's only going to be better with the extra $900 back. I'm also going to try to negotiate the service cost into the "refund" if I keep it.

 

I think its almost $.50/mile. It used to be $.33 but with the increasing gas prices I believe they raised the amount. I'm not sure if there is a difference between what you can bill for with travel expenses and what you claim for a deduction.

In any event, I'd definitely start with $.50 and anchor there instead of giving a minimum or a range.

 

actually... either way.. the dealership is still screwed....

they should be able to rewrite the old odo info..

http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SN/B050500.PDF

 

to me the real question is what does your buyers order/purchase order/buyers agreement say for mileage. if they wrote 13 on the buyers order they truly are screwed. it is one thing for the saleman to make an honest mistake but the dealer should know the mileage of a car. i don't think it is a big deal but i know they are sweating bullits and will be more than willing to help you. if you signed the buyers order at 21k then they really don't have to do anything to help and are offering you extra cash as a courtesy. just my

 

FWIW

I had to have the non-working odometer replaced in a car I had purchased new. New part installed by the dealer. By law according to the dealer and a few places I checked, the new odometer could not have mileage adjusted in any way. Dealer had to place a certification of odometer mileage and car mileage and date on the odometer and my receipt. Never became an issue; disclose, disclose and document.

 

that gave me an idea but i need some info this: how can we check if our odometers match the serial numbers of our cars? Do we have to remove the clusters or anything like that...but i wouldnt think so since the odometers is marked by the CPU....can anyone inform me on this?

My car was a demo with 3000kms on it but you never know especially with all these odometer problems we hearing about these days

thanks in advance for some help

 

I believe that if the odometer was screwed with it voids your warranty from Acura so you might want to check up on that.

 

Turns out the MID was replaced not due to an odometer issue but because the MID became unreadable. It was replaced under warranty. Therefore I believe the warranty on the rest of the car remains intact, but I will check this. Thanks.