We visited your place last Saturday because we wanted to get a used car since our only car had broken down two days earlier. We were greeted by Moses and started to look for a used Honda CR-V LX model. He showed us a used car previously owned by a smoker. Because of the cigarette smell, we asked for a similar used car for sale from a non-smoker client. We found a 2011 CR-V LX 2WD that according to Moses was also used but with only 1200 miles. The price was $20,888.00. We checked the car and since the price was in our range, we decided to go ahead and talk about financing.
Paulina ** came and told us she was going to take care of the financing and before we knew anything about financing and final cost of the car, they were giving us the car keys. We asked to talk to Paulina so we could have a solid understanding of our financial commitment. After a long negotiation that took a few hours, we were the last ones to leave your building. Surprisingly enough, we ended up leaving your place with this car, and with the understanding that Paulina would find financing in our price range or we would return the car within a few days.
We did sign a contract based on a 9.75% 72-month financing but with a monthly payment that we made clear to Paulina was way over our budget. Paulina told us that she was going to look for a better rate the following Monday once her boss returned and we also agreed that if that rate was not to our satisfaction, the deal was off. She called us Monday to inform us that Wells Fargo was offering 7.99% at 72 months financing and that she was going to talk to a friend at Wells Fargo to get it down as a personal favor to 6.99% 72 months the next day. She did call the next day to confirm the 6.99% 72 months deal.
We were elated because that was getting closer to our budget and after three days of driving the car, our daughters, neighbors and friends were all excited about this car. But there was one last thing we wanted to clear before we signed the final agreement. Since the car had 1200 miles and Moses had initially presented the car as used, we asked Paulina on Tuesday for a Carfax but she didn't answer. Instead, we got an email from Silvia ** on Wednesday, saying that since the car was a Manager Demo there was not a Carfax. This raised a big red flag for us because when we asked Paulina about the 1200 miles on the car, she told us the previous owner (Mr. V and we have his signature in some of the car papers) never registered the car with the DMV, and had to return the car for financial reasons and that the car was not a demo.
This made us very uncomfortable because we didn't want to buy a car and travel with our two daughters without having a full understanding of the car's history. Therefore, we decided to enter the VIN: ** number and pay for a Carfax report. What we found was strange. The Carfax reported a change of the spark plugs at Dublin Honda and in addition, the pre-delivery inspection done on March 25, 2011 by the PDI technician and quality control inspector was not registered on the Carfax. This, together with the denial of the existence of a Carfax, made us very uncomfortable. So we decided to take the car and the Carfax report to our mechanic who is also an auto body shop.
Our mechanic told us he didn't understand the spark plugs but he did notice that the rear bumper had been taking off, repaired and painted. We asked him if we should buy the car anyway and he said we could since the car didn't have any frame damage but that we should ask for a 5-year bumper-to-bumper guarantee just in case and knock down at least $1500 due to the bumper repair. With this information we approached your sales manager on Wednesday ready to negotiate a fair deal for us and for you. We didn't want to leave the store without a car. Besides, we didn't want to spend another week looking, researching and negotiating for another car again.
We felt that the value of a car with 1200 miles was $20,000 not $20,888. Two months ago we were offered a new 2011 CR-V for $19,991. We understand the earthquake in Japan has played a major role in the supply of Honda cars, but this was a car with a record and miles. The replacement or repair of the bumper was another issue, which according to the auto body shop was not done professionally, and there was a possibility that the area was going to discolor sooner rather than later. He told us that if that were to happen the cost to us was going to be around $1500.
The point is that even though you didn't disclose the repairs and were negligent in checking to see if a Carfax existed and providing it when we asked for it, we did our own investigation and concluded that the car was safe and without major damage. To have additional peace of mind we felt that a 5 or 6 year / 100,000-mile bumper-to-bumper guarantee was good enough to take care of the mystery surrounding the spark plugs issue. Your sales manager also agreed with this. Our offer was in good faith and it seems you were also willing to negotiate; we were very close to a point of sale. Actually, your sales manager made an offer of $19,00.00, which was $500 away from our first and only offer.
But he then changed his mind suggesting that for the dealership it was better to take the car to an auction and sell it for the initial price of $20,888. Since you are the general manager and whatever happens there is your responsibility in the end, we wanted you to be aware of our experience at your store and to get a final response regarding the sale or refusal to sell from you. We hope that we can resolve this issue in a manner that is beneficial to both of us and that the time and energy invested from our part is not in vain. My wife is away on a business trip and I am not going to be available until Monday.
