Honda dealer complaint
 

Hey there. So I'm posting today to get your advice on an issue that is bothering me and also to warn you of a crappy dealership. Sorry, but its a long read.

So I got my 05 si sedan from a Honda dealership called "Castle Honda" in Etobicoke this July. Last Saturday, I took my car for rustproofing at Krown Lakeshore. Those guys are great by the way. They pointed out that my car has been in a minor accident on the rear right quater panel. It is not noticeble when you look at the car, but they showed me this hole on the panel. The hole is where the panel bends in to make space for the door to sit properly. Does that make sense? Basically where the door locks onto the panel. It is covered by a plastic cap. The hole is much bigger than rust proofing holes and it is only on the right side. When I purchased the car, I made sure that all the VIN numbers matched, but since this was a minor accident, maybe it wasn't reported. I guess they used that hole to put tools on the inside of the panel to beat it out. Now at this point, 6 months into the purchase, I don't know what to do. I tried contacting Honda customer service and as expected they advised me to talk to the dealer about this. They said they were only responsible for the manufacturing of the cars and for these purposes I will have to contact carproof and the dealer. The carproof report by the way, is completely clean.

What do you guys think I should do, I had a bad experience at this dealership at the time of purchase and now this. So let me fill you in on why I have bad things to say about this dealership. Getting into the used car sales showroom, you'll notice that it is well below the standards of most other dealerships. But anyhow, i won't bi*ch about that. The tires that came with the car were really bad. They had huge cracks on the sidewall. I was concerned about them at the time of purchase, but the used car manager was like.. if they don't pass the 150 point certification, we will change them. And obviously, it "passed" certification or they made it pass certification. And on the phone, they were like, oh yea, we put new tires on for you. When I went and saw the car, all they had done was paint the friggin sidewall to hide the cracks. I went to the manager and bi*ched about this, and he is so rude to talk to. His veins like pop up from his forehead and he spits on your face when he talks and he shouts and everything. Very ill mannered guy. Since I had already purchased the car at this point, I had to deal with this stupidness. After a week of complaining, he finally agreed and put crappy triangle tires on my car, which are better than the cracked ones i guess. But overall, what I'm trying to say is that they treat you like shi* and you feel like you're doing them a favor by buying a car from them. I would not recommend that dealership to anyone. If you search castle honda on google, all you can see is people bi*ching about their shittyness. So just a heads up for you guys.

Now I dont know if I want to deal with that same friggin guy again spitting on my face if I go tell them that they sold me a car that has been in an accident without telling me about it at the time of purchase. What if they say, "we didn't know about this either". Arn't they supposed to thoroughly inspect all cars when they buy them? Bah, :confused:

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for reading.

After taking the time to read your post in it's complete entirety, I've come up with a couple observations:

1) Maybe next time you go to buy a used car, take someone who knows more than you... and don't be such a whiner.
2) Granted, if they knew about the damage on the vehicle, it would definately be nice if they disclosed it to you.
3) How old are you, like 16 and sensitive?

Listen, I'm not trying to pick on you, but you gotta learn some life lessons eventually... and not all dealers are how you make them to be.

...Just sayin'.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience...

But you said that you had a bad experience at the time of purchasing, my question is, why did you continue?

Also, many dealerships don't actually do the "150 point" inspection. The mechanic looks at the car and checks off each box. Since it is a "proper" dealership, i believe you can contact TADA and explain your experience(s) with them. (i'm not 100% sure though).

FYI, carproof only records accidents if they are reported with police and/or insurance. Also, if it shows that the car was repaired at ABC bodyshop, it will be only because the insurance company or the driver or the facility reported it to carproof (carfax, etc).

Heck, sometimes even brand new cars get paintwork/touchups on panels + bumpers...
Things happen within shipping, you know.

How do I Know ? I used to work for a Honda dealer for 9+ years.

Thanks for your constructive post. By reading your post in its complete entirety, I think you're a loner living in your moms basement and its understandable that you're mad about that. But you should take it out on something else, not people around you.

I like how you summarise it in bullets though, makes it easier to read, but FU anyways.

This was my first car purchase in Canada, this dealership wasn't the first I visited, but it was a rush decision. I guess there is a price to pay when you're rushing into things, but I still expect some level of standards from a Honda dealership. Isn't that why you pay more for the car?
I get what you're saying about the carproof, and that is why I was hesitant in going back to the dealership about this. They would probably say that they didn't know about it either.

They would need to drill a hole in my door frame for paintwork? I understand what you're trying to say though, if the damage is small enough, I shouldn't be complicating stuff and just move on, and that is probably what I'm going to do.

You should never be in a rush to buy a car, especially one as new-ish as yours, I'm assuming you paid around $10K for it. Also, since you bought it from a dealer, i would suggest you go back and get your money's worth. At least, that's what i would do. Good Luck! (On whatever your decision is, and for the future)

Well if you want something done about it then you are going to have to stand up for yourself and deal with this shitty dealership.

To be honest, I didn't fully read it, I just skimmed, but did you not ask the dealership if the vehicle was involved in any accidents? If Krown pointed out the accident, then the dealership you bought it off of would have noticed the accident too. What are you wanting in return for complaining about it? As for them giving you shitty tires, well if you didn't specify what tires you wanted, they aren't obligated to really go above and beyond. At least you got new tires now anyways.

There is a way to go about complaining about this. Set up a meeting with the dealership manager or whomever you need to speak with, maybe bring someone with you who just have more experience dealing with this. Keeping a cool head is the main thing. Anytime I have to deal with this type of stuff I always bring someone with me, I get irritated easily.

This is your first car purchase right? Making mistakes is the only way to learn, at least you will know for next time.

.... guess you didn't do a google search prior to purchasing the car

Yet another example of why I don't go to dealers to buy cars and will never let them work on my car.

Yes, I did. They handed me this one page summary stating that it had not been in any accidents. I had to insist the manager for getting the full car proof report.

Maybe a couple grand off my finance payments?

Yea, I F'ed up on many levels here and this was definitely one of them.

Well then they lied to you. Dealerships are shady, it's a sales position, any sales position is shady, they want the sale, they want the commission.

Then fight for what you want.

meh, we all fcuk up once and awhile.

sorry to hear about the bad experience...dealership are not trustworthy...
my dad rushed into buying a dodge caravan, dont ask why...and we had that **** box die on us after 3 months and when we went back to the dealership we got it from, they had claimed bankruptcy and took off lol...

oh and triangle tires...man, i had them on my car, that **** wore off in 3 months and i put about 20,000 klix.

anyways about your issue, I would go back to the dealer; i would report the dealership to Honda Canada as well...and get a quote on how much it'll cost you to fix this thing. good luck