we feel it's important that you and the general public are aware of the corruption, fraud and negligence that's happening at a local Honda dealer (Honda World Downey) when it comes to their "Certified Pre-Owned" Used Cars. On their Web site and on their commercials, Honda makes claims that their certified cars go through a rigorous inspection, are trustworthy and will give you the peace of mind you're looking for when purchasing a vehicle from them. We fell for that hook, line, and sinker, and I think you'll see that our current experience would instead leave most people disgusted, angry and skeptical. What's most sad is that the very greed and corruption that has sent this economy and country into a tailspin is still being practiced right in our own backyard and it needs to stop. It's a bit long but forgive us. Here's our story...
On February 13th, 2009, my fiancé, Kirk Rossi and I purchased a 2006 pre-owned Certified Honda Ridgeline RTS from the Honda World Downey dealership located at 10645 Studebaker Road, Downey, CA. Our desire to purchase a pre-owned certified vehicle was premised on our belief that certified vehicles are put through a rigorous inspection. The certification and inspection process was of extreme interest to us as new parents who intended to bring their new born baby home from the hospital in this certified vehicle. On February 12 and 13, we spoke with the dealership to discuss the purchase of a certified Honda Ridgeline, making our intentions regarding our baby clear to both Vincent Santos and Mark Hay who assisted us with the purchase of the vehicle on February 13. I wish to make special note that it was raining that evening as we drove our baby home in the certified Honda that we had just picked up from the dealership.
Upon inspection of the vehicle the following morning, Kirk noticed a two inch piece of rubber missing from the side wall of the rear passenger side tire. Upon closer inspection, Kirk also noticed cracking on all four tires. Furthermore, when reviewing the dealerships own inspection report, we have noticed several inconsistencies, most notably a certification that the sunroof and heated seats were in working order despite our vehicle not having a sunroof or heated seats and the additional key being held together by scotch tape. Kirk immediately contacted the dealership and returned the vehicle that day so they could see for themselves the unacceptable condition of the tires. After Kirk asked for a new key and four new tires, Vincent Santos and a service technician informed a manger of the situation, looked at the truck tires without raising it on the service lift, and said the only tire they would replace is the one with the chunk missing from the sidewall. They acknowledged that the rest of them had cracking but met Honda standards since they did not have "excessive" cracking. Honda World subsequently replaced the right-rear tire with another unsatisfactory tire that contains cracks within the treads and said if we wanted anything else done, they would rather unwind the transaction and/or we would have to discuss it with the managers. As for the scotch taped key, they said their only requirement was to simply provide it; regardless if it was taped together or worked, which it doesn't.
During the week following the transaction, we made numerous calls to the dealership to remedy the situation, but our claims were ignored and summarily dismissed. Most concerning is the fact that the dealership knowingly allowed us to drive our new baby home in a vehicle that on a number of points had not passed the Honda certification safety standards. We have offered Honda World the opportunity to review the vehicle and bring it up to standard; however, Honda has denied that opportunity, further failing to deal with its customers in a reasonable fashion. Only after receiving a similar letter to this one, and finally returning our calls, has their Sales Manager, Steve Shabazian, asked us to drive almost 30 miles back to the dealership for a second time so that they can inspect it for a third time and/or unwind the transaction without replacing the vehicle. Since we now know this to be an unsafe vehicle, we think this is a ridiculous invitation and once again demonstrates their unwillingness to resolve the matter, and again, put us in a dangerous situation. We encouraged them to inspect the vehicle once more by retrieving it themselves which we know is a basic capability of any dealership. They claimed to not have that capability. Furthermore, on March 9 and March 12, a customer service representative from American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (Jonathan Yu, 800-999-1009, ext. 117755) contacted us and tried to defend the dealership's actions by stating that American Honda Motor Co., Inc. has no leverage against the dealerships regarding situations of this nature. We find that extremely difficult to believe and in fact know it not to be the case.
to be continued read more