Hm, so I looked at the dealer's site (won't be heading down 'till late afternoon) and I noticed all of their 2013 Base models have the same pinstripe pattern. So it definitely was done by a dealer contracted paint shop...that's my hunch. I saved the pictures for reference.

I have a nice 1/2 page paper with all my times called, when I bought, people I spoke to, etc. And when I bring that in, I think they'll know I keep everything on file. I'm not going to give up on this. They would be foolish to think I am someone who isn't detail oriented...

I am not sure I really can just get rid of the car. I am in FL and I don't think there's a way for me to rescind the contract. My mother is a paralegal, so I've reached out for some legal advice as well just in a "What if" situation.

Thank you for your advice, everyone. It gives me confidence over this issue.

 

Good luck, just be calm about it and explain that there is no way you would be willing to accept a car that has been modified from the factory and you will have to ask that they repaint the panels to match

 

I'm thinking don't let the dealership remove the other pinstripe just yet. If you can't get satisfaction from the dealer you can contact Honda itself. They will be able to see that the pinstriping was put on to hide an issue.

The more I think the of it more I'd want a new car. God only knows what happened to your car that they had to do this. I would raise holy hell with them.

Even if these bastards gave you a new paint job it would never be as good as factory.

The reason you bought certified was to avoid this crap. Maybe jump the gun and contact Honda. Would they want one of their certified cars sold with purposely hidden damage?? I think not.

Carfax will only show accidents that HAVE been reported...

 

Good points. I looked at Honda's Certified Used car details and the route they suggest is:

1) Dealership
2) If dealership won't help, call Honda. I would then need to make a case to state that Honda needs to cover the cost.
3) Third step? We'll see.

What I'm going to do, is call Honda beforehand and explain to them the issue and that I'm going to the dealer. I will have them open a case or at least notify them of the issue and that I will be in touch regarding outcome with Dealer. That way, I am being proactive on it and they are informed of the issues before I speak to the Dealer.

 

Wow!! Can they wet sand it and polish the seam or???

I bought my 09 used and I was VERY concerned about prior repairs. My friend suggested I check the thickness of the paint on all panels with some device??

 

Went down to the Dealer and it didn't go well. Basically said, "What are we gonna do? It's not our fault." He even yelled at me, saying I was wasting his time. So I said, "I'm coming by tomorrow and speaking to the General manager. He said "Go right ahead."

I called Honda as soon as I left and they said they will do their best to make me happy if nothing works with the Dealer.

We shall see what tomorrow brings.

 

If they don't start playing nice, the next thing would be to have it inspected by an independent mechanic (possibly a body shop) to determine what's been done and work with Honda corporate.

It doesn't appear "certified pre-owned" states accident/repair free so I'm not sure if they misrepresented the car.

 

He yelled at you and said you're wasting his time? And you're his customer?

I'd give up on the dealer and go right to court if you think they misrepresented what they sold you.

Which dealer was this?

 

I would look at what others are paying for a new Fit. Have this number with you when you go back. With any luck, they will let you return the car and buy a new one. When I was looking for a new 2002 Tacoma, they had 1 or 2 year old ones that were priced more than new.
How much was the "Certified" Fit you bought, with all fees etc, including sales tax? (what sales tax rate?)

 

I paid 13,890 financed (tax included at 6% including fees). I'm here at the dealership and will speak to another manager. Honda told me they put a note in to the General Manager. So we will see. I couldn't find any Fits in my area at that price for a 2013.

Ill wait to identify the dealer until I get to the bottom of this. Good or bad.

 

So I went to the dealership no luck. The general manager told me to hit the road. He says he doesn't have to do anything to help me and that I bought the car as is. I made mention to him that when I bought the car, That there was no way I could find out that this panel was repainted.

He told me that the car is still certified and that I should be happy. I said well I'm not.

Honda Corporate is closed today and tomorrow. So I will call them Monday and figure out how they want to help me then go from there.

By the way he offered to repaint the panel but then I brought up the fact that one panel is going to have newer paint than the rest of the car and that I would've negotiated that fact when I bought the car.

 

On the positive side they can match paint color pretty well.

But there's no excuse for being rude to a customer who is simply asking what they can do to remedy the situation that they sold a product that was not as claimed. And if there's any evidence that the dealer put in the stipe to cover the defect? That's really bad.

I wonder if you could get someone in the service dept to sneak you the records for that car- whether the body work was done by the dealer or with their knowledge.

 

They didn't seem to match paint to well in this regard. It's a pretty stark difference.

 

Not done correctly- from what I understand they painted only part of the fender and separated the repainted part from the rest by a pinstripe? That's not the right way to do it- they should've painted the whole fender.

 

Yeah... I really don't want to drive more to that place either. I'm going to ask Honda if I can go to a nearby dealer and have them take care of it with the blessing from Corporate. I at least got some assurances or feeling of one when I called last night.

 

I would think if its still certified that means its still under warranty if so shouldn't that cover the paint on the car? Also which dealer did you go to?

 

I went to Port Charlotte Honda. I spoke to one of the general managers, I have his card. The issue I have with a repaint is the fact that obviously whoever did it before did a shoddy job and that car has record of being sold by that dealer and recently serviced. The car has 5,000 miles on it. There is no way the car went anywhere else for the paint job.

I'm worried the quality will be way less than acceptable.

 

I am surprise on the general managers attitude you would think they would be trying to fix this problem. Is the dealership a member of a larger group? File a complaint with the Better Business Burea if they are a member the BBB will try to resolve the issue. I did this once and did get results on a hotel issue. Also if they belong to a bigger group go over the general managers head. I would still go through Honda to get thisa matter resolved but these other approaches will at least get some what back at the management at the dealership.

 

I think you need to keep putting your foot down.

If you lift off at all, you lost the battle.

Keep fighting for it! No excuse to have a new car that is already cruddy!

Let them know you will not accept a poor setup and if they wont fix it they should reimburse you of any and all expenses and put you into another NEW fit that has zero issues

 

Right. Other than keep escalating. Which I definitely plan on doing. But I'm definitely not going to go back to speak to the same people that treated me horrid.