Already called and left a voicemail. I can't believe I am having this much trouble. It's unnerving to me. I feel like there's nothing I can do.

 

Carfax is probably a dead end. My guess - someone test-drove the car and damaged it, and the dealership tried to fix the damage without it going on the accident report.

 

You need to keep this up. Do NOT quit on this! You need to make it very firm that something happened to the car and it was not reported in any history, and you feel the car is not as valuable and is not a certified vehicle for resale.

Do NOT quit!

 

If you financed it the title should still be in your name, with a lien on it.

You have recourse- what's the small-claims limit in your state? I think that you have a case to have them fix and warranty the repair- they sold you a vehicle they claimed was never damaged? And it clearly shows signs of being damaged and a crappy repair job?

I'm surprised Honda doesn't want to get involved- what does this say about CPO if they won't stand behind it?

Does your town or county have a department of consumer affairs? Does your local newspaper have a consumer help column?

 

Brain, you bring up good points for the OP

But isnt small claims rather limited when it comes to vehicles, especially when they are new?

 

I'm not an attorney.

Every state is different when it comes to small claims court rules and limits, but why would a car be treated any differently from any other product?

Regardless, I imagine that if cars are excluded the clerk might tell you that before you file...

 

Make a complaint against the dealer with Better Business Bureau TODAY. They actually do a good job and you have exhausted the things you can do on your own.

Don't take this crap from the dealer. My brother-in-law bought a "dealer Demo" that was "like new condition" a few years back and when checking out his new car I happened to see behind the trunk liner that some body work had been done. Long story short we pulled off the cardboard type liner in the trunk and found major bodywork had been done.

He went through the steps you did and finally went to BBB and made a complaint.

Shortly thereafter he was called by the dealer and they took his demo back and offered him his choice of new cars on the lot of the same model. So he ended up with a brand new one instead of a demo with mileage on it and NO EXTRA MONEY.

 

Reading the terms for Honda's certified pre-owned program, they make no claims that it hasn't been in an accident to be a CPO car.

Checking FL's laws, it looks like if the dealer clearly wrote "as-is: no warranty, written or implied" they are legally not liable for the condition of the car, even if they knew about it and didn't disclose it. Contacting the BBB can't hurt. The dealer may work with you to avoid a negative outcome on BBB reports.

I'd take the car to an independent shop and get it thoroughly inspected, if just for your peace of mind. If it shows major damage repair that's cause for concern.

 

I am not sure why the title doesn't have my name on it with a lien attached. So I need to figure that out.

Worth a shot. I am going to directly contact the General Manager one more time before doing a BBB call. If nothing happens, I'll file one.

The car's label had "Warranty" not "As-Is" because I have warranty paperwork. Honda told me they can still certify the car despite the car being in an accident, as certification is meant to be taken as "reliable." They told me that if I didn't catch it, their professionals wouldn't of caught it. I asked if my eyes were as good as a professionals eyes and was told that I should be able to tell the difference. I was completely baffled by their response to me as a whole.

I am taking it to a shop to get it inspected. Just waiting on a call-back. After all this headache, I'm a bit tired of call-backs. The waiting game hurts the most.

By the way, I looked at all VIN check related records. CarFax/AutoCheck/what have you and they all say the car has been in no accidents. To me, I feel this is a rather blight on cars in general. If someone does bodywork, there needs to be something that has it stated. It hurts other people down the line. I am on the hook now for damage done to that panel and I had no way to tell.

 

I'd guess that maybe they're excluded by default because many small claims courts have statutory limits on damage awards that are significantly less than the value of a new or recent car.

 

Here in NY they would just limit your damages to the limit your amount, so if you sued over a $20,000 car they'd tell you that if you win you can get only $3000.

 

So I spoke to original owner, he states he didn't have any issues paint wise with the car. He even told me what he got for the car on trade.

Shortly thereafter, the General Manager called me and I spoke to him. I have an appointment to take the car in on Monday afternoon to get the panel repainted. I'll update with any further information and/or progress on the panel when finished.

 

well hell, this is a horse of a different color.

With warranties written and implied (the opposite of "as-is"), it's on the seller to disclose anything they are aware of that impacts the value of the car. As a professional car dealer who probably did the body work they are in a position to know, where you are not.

This contradicts what the dealer told you:

I'd spend $100 or so and have it inspected by a third party. Their findings should guide you on the next steps.

 

I'm not sure what changed between my conversation with Honda and today. But I have an appointment for Monday to take the car in to get it repainted. I just need to speak directly to the General Manager when I go up Monday. Original owner told me he would be fine speaking to a lawyer stating there was no front panel damage when car was traded in. He traded it in for a leased Honda Civic from the same dealership.

 

I think they connected the dots and figured out they couldn't get away with it.

Still, they wouldn't have my trust. Get it inspected.

 

Right. I will be stopping by a collision place today that is BBB accredited to hopefully have the car inspected. I don't think there was major damage, since the panel hasn't been replaced (still factory panel). Panel is flush with the other panels, there's no crazy overspray or anything either. Edit: I'll be honest. I am nervous about this panel being crazy different colors than original factory paint. So I am going to at least ask that the paintwork be documented.

When it gets back, and I give it a few days to cure. I'll be finally able to clay bar the car and wax it. I have held off these past few weeks purely because I didn't want to do all of that to get it removed and sanded by a workshop.

 

Good news DS! Hope everything works out! You got 'um by the... Squeeze tighter... ever so gently!

 

Color match will be an issue. Especially now that you're conscious of the difference. No matter how good they are, it will be slightly different. I've had two back bumper resprays: the 2nd done by a Toyota body shop was better than the first at a Honda shop. Don't expect perfection.

Ask around how long to cure before claying/waxing. I'm under the impression 4-6 weeks is better.

 

From what I can tell, the only reason *I* saw the difference was because of the line. The paint wasnt blended either, so it made it all the more obvious. I have a feeling they will do it right this time since there is no "line" to mask it.

Other than that, it was harder to tell. The car is silver, which helps mask imperfections a little...but we'll see.

I'll ask the collision center about the car care, just to get their opinion. Worst case scenario, I just hold off 120 days or something. But damn, car will be dirty as hell by the end of it

 

IF a car is damaged on the dealers lot when it is their car there will not be a carfax or other service entry if they fixed it in house.