182 Point inspection checklish for Dealter Certified Pre-owned.. is it .BS? the battery just died.
HI guys,
Quick question for you all. less than one month ago, I bought a dealer certified pre owned 2013 Civic.
Today, I found out the battery needs to be replaced, less than one month after I bought it from them.
The battery is past warranty and, in my preliminary talks with them, they just tell me to buy a new one.
But I was curious if how much any of you knew about their certification process and if they botched one of the steps. I feel like they should have caught this battery issue.
For example, they say they do a 12 volt battery (condition and load test) - step 121 of the checklist.
Overall, I'd just feel like I got ripped off if I had to put a new battery in the car right after I bought it.
Thanks for your help.
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Lots of times test drives go poorly because the tires were never adjusted (tires typically are over-inflated for shipping) or you have to stop and get gas because the new cars weren't prepped right.
For CPO cars, we've seen mismatched tires and undisclosed major collision damage, old wipers, burnt out bulbs, etc.
Cold weather can expose a marginal battery and it may have passed a load test when you purchased the car. You could go have the battery tested yourself at a parts store - if a bad cell turns up you may have a better argument that the battery shouldn't have passed a month ago. Maybe someone who knows battery tech can answer that question.
You can also complain to Honda and write some dealer reviews. Squeaky wheel etc.
Oh, you may want to get a "pre-purchase" inspection to see if there's anything else missed.
A reporter is looking to talk to someone who was originally shopping for a new car, but decided to buy a CPO vehicle instead because it was a better deal. If you're willing to assist, please send an email to PR@Edmunds.com no later than Monday, January 16, 2017.