Buyers Beware: I bought a used 2006 Acura TL on December 30 2016, for my 17-yr. old son, from MJ (owner and operator) at Certified Auto Deal. The location of Certified Auto Deal is also known as MJ Auto Repair. The "Specialties" listed on the Yelp website state "MJ Auto Repair Shop is a full-service auto repair shop, dedicated to making you feel safe and comfortable when you leave our auto repair shops". I test drove the vehicle and although there was some noise in the engine it ran fine. I brought the issue up to MJ. He stated it was the power steering area and that they were previously working on the power steering. He noticed it had too much fluid in the reservoir so he asked his helper to drain it down. It did seem to ease the noise a bit but it was still there. We saw some air bubbles coming out of the reservoir after some fluid was taken out and MJ stated that it would be fine once all the air came out. That was just the beginning.
On January 2nd 2017 I took the car to a Honda dealership (maker of Acura) to give it an overall inspection to see what if any maintenance was needed based on the current mileage of 111,000. I just thought they might tell me it's ready for a timing belt replacement. I was shocked in what they told me was wrong with the vehicle. The power steering pump that MJ was "working on" was leaking. Hence the noise and air bubbles from air coming through the pump seals. I was told that it looked like it was wiped down to make it look clean but it was not serviced or repaired. I was also told that the oil pump, timing belt tensioner, and radiator are all leaking and need replacing. The front-end bushings on both sides need to be replaced and the engine mount was so worn that it needed replacing. I understand that vehicles are sold "As-Is" but that does not give a dealership the right to deceive a buyer by intentionally covering up or withholding known and visible major issues. MJ owns and operates MJ Auto Repair Shop. His business has three car bays with lifts in which he can perform a thorough inspection, maintenance and repair. He couldn't even change the engine air filter which when I did it looked like it hadn't been changed in years.
Certified Auto Deal, which recently received a license to sell cars, had every opportunity to inspect this vehicle and conduct the proper maintenance and repairs on it. And for that matter sell it for more after those repairs. Instead, it looks like MJ chose to buy this car at auction, vacuum the carpets, clean up the spills in the engine and put it on the lot for sale. Maybe this is what has been done to all the cars on his lot. And finally, I found this car through TrueCar.com. TrueCar offers a discount certificate for using their service. I was supposed to get $250 off using my TrueCar certificate. When I brought this up to MJ he lied and told me that I would only get the discount if I used one of the banks that was advertised on the site. Speaking with TrueCar they told me that was not the case. That I didn't have to finance the vehicle to get the discount and that the dealer should have provided me the discount. I would not recommend this business to anyone that is looking to buy a car from a trusting used car dealer. I would not recommend or trust MJ Auto Repair Shop for even changing an air filter.
I can't believe this dealers website http://www.certifiedautodeal.com/ claims "Buy with peace of mind from a reputable licensed dealer" read more