Love my Honda, need help with my Acura...

[smuniak]

Just bought a 2007 Certified Acura MDX and the dealer has had questionable integrity to say the least.

Is there another board like this one where Acura monitors?

I am a FlyerTalk user also and there is a continental person that monitors there as well, and it is amazing the responsiveness that occurs as a result.

Thanks,

Steve

[smuniak]

In case you interested here is the back story…

We were looking for a new 2007 RDX when we went into the dealership. This was right around closing on a Saturday night.

They could not find the one they told us about on the phone. But they did have a dealer demo, certified 2007 MDX. Right color, right amount of miles at 14k, and the right price. They started us at $34.5K and we got to $32,750.

This is also the perfect transition car for us, we were saying goodbye to minivans. We both liked riding higher than a car, and missed the luxury of my 528i that I sold and replaced with the CRV. Big engine, great leather interior and on the odd occasion we need to schlep around seven people, we can, tightly.

When we first saw it it was in the service bay being wiped down. They said it was just taken out of service and was being prepped to showroom perfect condition for sale. The sales manager also indicated that the changed the oil every 2,500 miles and took very good care of the cars. Seemed excessive to me on the oil changes, and I was skeptical.

Took it home for the week-end for a test drive and loved it.

Negotiated the deal over the phone on Monday night, came in on Tuesday to drop it off for detailing and to sign the papers.

First hint of trouble was they could not provide me with a document stating that it was Certified. I made them write it on the bill of sale and in the WE OWE document I put the following:

Expiration date of the XM Service
All Fluids topped off
Deal contingent on final inspection

Plus gave them my laundry list of other stuff that needed to be fixed etc. that includes a training session with my wife on the electronics and setup of the Bluetooth hands free.

Came to pick up the car Wednesday night, I had to wait 30 minutes for the car to be pulled in for inspection, I had an appointment and was on time. First thing I see is not plate. Second is a wax smear across the black plastic bumper. At that point the light goes off in my head that this place does not pay attention to details….

So I check the remainder of the car, find a serious door ding, the car not showroom perfect, and no documentation that the car is Certified.

I refuse delivery, tell them to get their act together and they promise to fix all and deliver the car the next day. I call Acura of America the next day and they have no indication that this is Certified, I tell them I want a call to the dealer to confirm, they call me back and say yes it is Certified but not in their system yet. Ok, I can believe this but still wary.

Wife makes an appointment for a 3:00 pm delivery and I insist that they send a knowledgeable person along for the tech review. Our salesperson was on staff for two weeks and had not taken his sales test yet, didn’t know his product at all.

The appointment time passes and I start calling at 4:00, they don’t answer their phones [caller ID] and they finally show up at 5:30. At this point it is dark so she can’t do a good inspection, they guy the send over is even more green, read her the manual on how to setup the seats to the key, and the Bluetooth is locked and they don’t have the four digit key to unlock it.

I had also asked for the service records, they forgot these and faxed me a copy at work. Ends up the oil was not changed every 2,500 miles instead ~5,000 miles. Plus they did not replace the pollen and air filters per the spec in the manual. Manual indicates that this needs to be done at 15k, Certified procedures indicates that any service within 3 months or 2,500 miles must of the time of sale must be performed.

Gas tank is empty, 15 miles until it is dry….

Last, still no document indicating that this is Certified. There should have at least been the 150 point checklist completed by the mechanic, but this is missing…

We take the car, but they don’t get the check and at this point I am pretty teed off.

In the light the next day I find the car in better shape, the detailing was OK, the dent was gone, but there were some scratches on the right passenger door. Not too deep, but in my reading of the Certified process should have been taken car of.

I call on Friday with the issues, again the sales manager doesn’t call me back. I ask for customer service and find a new guy there who seems to want to help. I explain the issues he is sympathetic and says he will do what he can and call me back.

No call back on Friday, non on Saturday, so I take some time off today and go to the dealership to have a sit down with the a new sales manager.

Meet with the sales manager today he tells me if I don’t like the scratches on the door “too bad, buy a new car. He could get a lot more money from the car then he sold it to me for”. I retort this should be part of the Certification process, his response “no it is not”.

I ask for the Certification documents, he says they will find them, they will buff the scratches that’s it, and reset the Bluetooth adapter.

If I am not satisfied he tells me he “can roll the deal back…”.

I’m not happy, but I still have their check. They give me a loaner, I get a call this afternoon we are done come and pick it up. I say you promised to deliver it and they say ok, what time. I say 5:00, they say great see you then.

At 5:15 the phone rings, we can’t figure out how to unlock the Bluetooth adapter….

So here we are. I’m not going to back out of the deal. Great price and now it is a matter of principle. I want is these guys to live by the letter of the Acura Certification process, and don’t care at this point how much money it takes them to make it right. They sold me a Certified car for the agreed on price, I want them to deliver.

So where do I turn at this point?

Sure they pissed me off with missed deadlines, misrepresentation about the level of mechanical service, refusal to repair the scratches, and potential other missed service procedures that need to be done as part of the process.

Who at this point is going to help me out, and should I be helped out?

Thoughts, comments, help?

BTW, they are supposed to fill up the tank, lets se if that happens tomorrow.

:mad:

[Greenzter]

Damn! You have a lot more patience than me. I would have walked for sure.

I'm always hesitant about those company demos. Plenty of opportunity for excessive abuse. Have heard too many horror stories.

Sure hope you make out OK. Good luck.

PS: The 2007 MDX is a beauty.

[2RedV's]

Yes, I would have walked long ago... You mentioned RDX and MDX though - Which one did you actually get?

[drivezki]

I'm always hesitant about those company demos. Plenty of opportunity for excessive abuse. Have heard too many horror stories.

I saw a story in the paper a while ago, where someone purchased a low mileage company demo, a GM car, and had all kinds of problems later. After checking into it, it turned out that this car was in GM's press fleet. Those automotive journalists sure don't baby the vehicles.

[GBM08]

www.acuramdx.org