esmith

Would YOU Trust Acura Certified if this happened to YOU?

I purchased a 2014 Certified RLX Acura with less than 35k miles from a dealership in NY.

I flew one way to make the purchase. (at the time last Fall very few Certified RLXs available in the region) That decision was based on over 25 years of experience trusting the Honda brand and great quality service at large - that's 15 cars between my wife and I and our immediate family. Stepping up to Honda's premium brand of Acura was easy or so I thought.

By the time I got more familiar with the Certified RLX back in my state over 10 hours away, I knew something was off in addition to the alignment issues I had the dealership in NY address. Long story short, they sold me a certified car with two major hidden issues not detected on the test drives on rough roads at moderate speeds - 2 blown struts and 3 bent rims.

After visiting my local Acura dealership, Acura to their credit replaced the 2 blown struts and 3 bent rims.

I asked my local Acura technician, "How does an Acura Certified car get sold with 2 blown struts and 3 bent rims?"

He said, "I HAVE NO IDEA."

Clearly this was not a mistake based on his inflection. Because of that, my final request was to re-certify the car to restore trust in the car I bought and in the Honda brand my family has embraced for over two decades.

VERY ODD RESPONSE FROM ACURA CUSTOMER CARE

ANSWER 1 - Yes they can re-certify the car - if I drive back to NY over ten hours to the dealership in NY that sold me the car with 2 blown struts and 3 bent rims. Logistics, time , and huge credibility issues all make that a big no.

ANSWER 2 - The the answer is a no, we can't have the local Acura dealership that has treated me well and with integrity that I trust to re-certify the car in my local market. Then the Acura customer care person went on to offer for me to pay to have it inspected in general at the local Acura dealership I do trust???

Candidly, I thought I was stepping up to a premium brand with premium service?

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Has anyone else had certified Acura car issues or been abe to get their Acura re-certifed?

What do you think Acura should do?

What would you do if you were in this situation as a long time Honda loyalist?

Thank you.



1 of 3 bent rims my Certified Acura car had sold to me. Along with 2 blown struts. Was not detected on a test ride at lower speeds on rough roads - going over 55 on smooth roads back in my state the car shaked worse and worse in a short period of time...how does this happen?

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

When I was doing the certifications for Acura (Many years ago) I did it for two different dealerships and they both did it differently regardless of the CPO paper work. There's a CPO checklist that the technician must follow and repair the vehicle as needed. Here's where the typical dealership bullshit comes into play. More money invested into a "CPO" vehicle, less of a profit for them. They pay the labor, parts and the technician doing the work. The list of what the vehicle needs get handed over the the used car manager and or service manager. They decided what they want to do, regardless if it meets Acura's CPO checklist. The 1st dealership allowed us to pretty much do everything needed and then some. After some point, they hired a new service manager who insisted to me ONLY DO WHAT THE VEHICLE CALLS FOR ON THE MID.... A vehicle comes in and needs filters, brakes, tires, ect but on the screen it says A1 service, then you only do the A1 service. Surprise! It came back to bit him in the ass, well, MY ASS because someone purchased a "CPO" MDX that needed brakes, tires ect and I did what my dead from the neck up manager told me, the customer came back screaming because it needed additional work. I saved every copy of the CPO's and recommended work list, so when he decided to have a meeting with me and the furious customer, I pulled out the CPO paper work and showed him what I suggested and what my so call asshole manager only recommended. Needless to say, I found another job after that week. A year after that, I left the industry due to all the corruption and lack of respect they have the hard working technicians trying to make a living.

Just so you know, the sales people have NO idea about these vehicles, let alone what was done even if the paper work is in front of them. They only know sales and numbers, they are not technicians. Service manager and used car manager are the ones that should be doing right by you. The technician most likely knew there was an issue, but the dealership wasn't willing to eat the loss. They have this ass backwards logic of "when it leaves this lot, it's their problem" to get away with not doing the correct repairs.

Personal experience also, My wife and I went to look at two different Mercedes, two different dealerships. One had AMG brakes and they were due for replacement as the rotors had serious waves in them. Their "MASTER" head technician and shop foreman told me " OH WE JUST NEED TO CUT THE ROTORS..." while cross drilled AMG rotors can't be cut and you replacement them with the pads. They didn't want to fork out the money to do it right. 2nd dealership marked on the paper work that the vehicle had 6/32 tires and passed CPO, I had my tire tester with me, they were all at 4/32 (I've done this for 12 years, I know when tires are low) here we go with the technician and sales manager tell me "Its because they are low profile tires so they are the same as 6/32 blah blah blah" criminals... every dealership.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

Certified Pre-Owned (or whatever else various dealerships may call it) mean very little to me. It's a used car that probably had a flashlight waved at it, along with a few very basic maintenance items done. You should have a list (written or in your head) of things to check on a CPO just as you would any old used car on Craigslist. I wouldn't treat the two any differently.

The only thing that's value-added for a CPO is the warranty, if available. If something breaks you can take it back. To a degree anyways. But I'd much rather purchase a used car that passes muster than a CPO that doesn't just so I can take it back when it breaks.

WHEEELMAN

iTrader: (14)

My Honda was supposedly CPO, but a test drive prior to purchase revealed the front brakes rotors were warped - shimmy and shake was the tell tale sign. Front Pads looked really low also. I asked about that issue. "No, rotors are good and the pads have enough material according to the CPO parameters. Even had a technician ride with me as a second opinion - same story "no ,they are good, nothing wrong." Purchased the car anyway, had the front rotors replaced that same week with Brembo's. Solved the shimmy and shake.

Yeah, I knew they were lying but, front brake rotors was an insignificant issue. The car was only 2 years old w/ 44k miles in great condition otherwise. 15 years later, with preventive maintenance, she never gave me any trouble, never left me stranded.


Exactly what your local Acura dealer already did.



Chock it up to a life lesson that Brand Name Car dealerships are dishonest.

esmith

Agree with you...I can deal with a mistake. This was NO mistake. Another word for dishonest in this case may be fraud.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.