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Help with damage to new vehicle

chaffmcchaffmc Member Posts: 4
edited March 2014 in Honda
I hope someone here can help with this. I purchased a new Honda Odyssey and when I went to pick it up I noticed a paint run in the rear quarter-panel. After much discussion with the sales manager, the dealer had it sanded and repainted by a local bodyshop. I had already negotiated a good price on this vehicle, so I agreed to accept the repaired damage with the stipulation that the re-painted area was warrantied by the body shop. This was a leftover 2006, so there wasn't another similar model to choose from. Now, 2 months later, I happened to catch the sun at just the right angle and noticed that there are paint blemishes along the entire side of the vehicle. It looks like there were isolated scratches or dings that were repaired and painted over. I didn't notice this when I took delivery of the car because of lighting and maybe a good wax job.

Before I took delivery I had a CarFax report pulled and nothing showed up. The dealer claims to have no knowledge of the damage and says it came from the factory that way. I seriously doubt Honda would ship a new car out with what has become such a blatant repair. I think the dealer had the damage repaired and never reported it...and now I have a new car with damage that makes me cringe whenever I look at it.

So, when I go to the dealer on Monday, should I try to have the doors replaced, re-painted, or try to seek relief under the warranty or Lemon-Law? I have already contacted Honda and they tell me to go through the dealer.

Except for the damage, we love the van. Can anyone give any advice on this???

Thanks!
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Comments

  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    You are beginning to feel like I did. I think your story just confirmed my decision to not ever buy a honda product again. Go through the dealer was the excuse they gave me and good luck getting help from the dealer. You better hire you a lawyer or have one in mind. ;)

    Best of luck and hope all works out for you. :surprise:

    Rocky
  • kapbotkapbot Member Posts: 113
    Here is what I'd do first.

    Go to a reputable body shop and get an estimate for repair. Tell them exactly why you want this estimate, and hopefully, get one of the experts there to verify your suspicions in writing, if possible. You need a pro to verify your claim.

    Take your evidence to the dealer and politely explain your findings. You will likely get further with a non confrontational attitude. The dealer MUST declare damage over a set amount, but the dealer's body shop probably charged $1 less than that amount.

    Honestly, I don't know if this will help, so hopefully your deal was good enough that you can live with this. Your eye will always be more critical than anyone else, until trade-in time of course.

    If my idea doesn't work, please attempt to get advice from someone smarter than me! Legal action should be your last resort, in my opinion.

    Also, be careful about how much you spend getting this fixed to your satisfaction. You probably shouldn't spend so much money fixing this that your good deal turns into a truly awful deal.

    Just food for thought, and let us know how you make out.
  • chaffmcchaffmc Member Posts: 4
    Thanks, that's good advice to get an estimate. I'll keep you posted...
  • audia8qaudia8q Member Posts: 3,138
    I seriously doubt Honda would ship a new car out with what has become such a blatant repair

    sorry to hear about your problem...but regretfully every mfg ships damaged repaired cars all the time. When you have several thousand cars moving around in the huge shipping lots the mfg uses accidents are bound to happen. We got in a Mazda the other day that clearly had some work done and it was terrible. We refused the car and it went back to the port..but it will end up on some lot somewhere.

    Of course it could have happened at the dealership but don't be so quick to dismiss the mfg...they also never disclose that kind of stuff to their dealers...leaving the dealer in the middle of the mess to take the bullet. SOP for car mfg's.
  • cccompsoncccompson Member Posts: 2,382
    You don't so much need an estimate as you need a professional to offer an opinion as to what has happened with your vehicle. Spot paint repair is pretty easy for a pro to detect.

    It sounds to me as though the paint run that you saw before you bought was likely evidence of the repairs previously done. If so, I'd scream fraud loud enough for the dealer to take the vehicle back and give you an '07 at the same price.
  • joshbenjoshben Member Posts: 2
    I just learned that more than half of the body panels on the 2006 model-year car I bought new from the dealer in May 2006 were repainted prior to delivery. According to a pro who assessed my car and reported this to me, my car's value dropped an additional 20% as a result, even though he also said they appeared to have done a good job with the repaint.

    Do I have any recourse with the dealer or manufacturer?

    (In case you're wondering, I took my car to an assessment pro because I was already planning on trading it in or selling it for a new, higher-line model before I found this out about it. The dealer doesn't know yet that I've learned this about the car.)
  • chaffmcchaffmc Member Posts: 4
    If there is any way to prove that it was repainted prior to you taking delivery, you might have some recourse through the dealer or the manufacturer. Was it a Honda? You should run a CarFax report just to see if anything shows up re:body work. If nothing shows up, this may help you prove your case that you didn't have the work done after you purchased it. Call the manufacturer's customer service dept and have them open a service file, then go talk to the GM at the dealer. If the dealer doesn't resolve this to your satisfaction, then continue to pursue it through the manufacturer. Check the lemon laws for your state also and see what recourse you have through that. I'm going through the same thing right now, and hope to find out more from the dealer tomorrow.
  • mitzijmitzij Member Posts: 613
    Since your car's 8 months old, I doubt you'll get very far with the dealer. Alot could have happened to it in 8 months that would not be the manufacturer's fault. You'll need some serious proof. At this vintage, you may as well be trying to prove that a cigarette burn on the driver's seat was there when you bought it.

    Edit: I went back and read your full post on the other thread. It looks like your 'professional car assessment agent' was a saleman giving you a line. He has a vested interest in giving you a low price for your vehicle. Try posting your car's particulars on the 'real world trade in value' thread and see what they think over there.
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