yes it would void the cert as a cert means it has never been wrecked!

 

I bought a "certified" used '01 last june and discovered that it had paint damage too. I contacted Honda and complained, the dealership told me to go to a body shop and have a frame measurement done on a Genesis machine. It turned out that the frame was slightly out of square and the dealership bought the car back from me. But it was a total PITA. I also found out that when I bought the car, many cars bought at off-lease auctions are certified by mechanics at the auction and the recieving dealership may not have even done the certified inspection at all. I was pretty surprised by that, but at the end of the day, they did the right thing.

 

You may have some rights, but they are sketchy. I agree definitely go into the dealership and know what you want out of it. Speak to them and try all the proper chanels and only if that doens't work, consider contacting an attorney.

I was in a similiar situation. I bought a car that the dealership (not Honda though) advertised as "perfect, no paint or bodywork" and it turned out to have been hit in the right rear quarter-panel and the quarter-panel was fixed and the whole car re-painted. I didn't figure this out until later (and I PAID honda to do an inspection). The dealer did not respond to me, I ended up having to have an attorney friend draft a letter to them. Eventually they did compensate me some money.

Have the car completely inspected (if you haven't already), learn everything there is to know that is not original, and then see where you can get with the dealership, then Honda themselves. I think you do have some rights here, however, I do not know the certified agreement so it is hard for me to say.

Best wishes,

- J

 

J your situation's a bit different. If they said "perfect, no paint or bodywork" then they clearly mis-represented the car. This case isn't nearly as black and white.

Treat this like a game. Don't get too serious about it. See what you can get out of them. KNOW what you want before you go in or they'll just walk all over you. Don't talk to them without a plan or you'll look weak and they'll feel safe ignoring you.

I like the "why was it painted" angle. Tell them you think it was wrecked and they missed it. Ask them if Honda knows they're selling wrecked cars as certified. It doesn't really matter if it was wrecked or not. You're trying to disturb them. Tell them, that since they didn't even know it was painted, how do you know it's not been wrecked too? Look at the VIN tags on the fenders. If they don't match then it's been hit.

Tell them you want out of the deal and that they mis-represented the car's condition. Even if you don't want out. You have to think about this as a game of cat and mouse. They want to give you nothing, you want something. You're trying to meet somewhere in the middle.

 

The dealer I got it from was Baierl of Wexford, PA. I went there yesterday and they BS'ed me out of even talking about it. Since I had other things to do that day I left (a bad move)... but I think I'm going to talk with the powers that be (Honda USA).


I checked the VIN's and they are the same.


Here's all I have to argue with:



Non-disclosure of prior history (gray area)

Repainted Spa yellow, car is Rio Yellow

Certified, passed on 'left fender' and 'left door' for fit and trim (IMO, that means no paintwork)

Certified, if the tech did not notice that a car was painted then it didn't go through proper and thorough certification methods, which is what Honda advertises (mis-representing the cars' condition)

Honda Certified brochure states all certified cars should be refurbished to as-new condition. To me, 'as new' means the same color paint (not necessarily NOT painted).



What I want is to be reimbursed to the cost of a high-quality paint job from the body shop of my choice. I'm going to get a quote from my favorite shop and take it to them. I don't necessarily want the car to be repainted (a lot of trouble/downtime), I just want to pay the price of a car that's been repainted and of which I do not know the history of.



I'm still getting it all together. Right now I'm kinda beat.

 

Markey- I like your plan. It does seem fair not only to you but also the dealer. Everyone can be satisfied if they will just fork over for a new paint job.