In November we purchased from Tempe Honda in Tempe Arizona a 2007 Honda Civic EX w/navigation VIN # 2HGFG12877H507001, for our daughter, attending college.in September our daughter had an accident. The car was repaired and on October 24th she picked up the vehicle.
In November the alarm system in the Honda was going off frequently in the middle of the night. We told her to manually lock the doors and when she came home Christmas we would take it to Tempe Honda.
Upon coming home to Phoenix on her break, we took the car to Tempe Honda Service to see if they could figure what was wrong with the alarm system and fix a few other minor problems. It took more than one visit and an overnight stay for them to diagnose and fix the problem, or so we had hoped. We had told them that the car had been in an accident and if the repairs were relative to the accident it could be charged to the accident. They said it was covered under the warranty. The alarm problem was so reoccurring that we were skeptical if it was truly fixed
On December 26th we were picking up the 2007 Honda from the Service Department and decided to speak to a Sales Associate. We inquired about the price of a new 2009 Honda Civic EX w/navigation. At the same time we asked how much we could get for the 2007 Honda Civic EX w/navigation as a trade-in. We owed a balance of $15,838.01 and were hoping we would get close to that figure as a trade-in as the retail value of the car was close to $17,000.00.
We were upfront about the car being in an accident and realized we would have to take less than if it were accident free. The car only had approximately 13500 miles on it at this time, the oil was changed at 13435, there was still the remainder of the original 36000 miles factory warranty left, and the car was immaculate. After talking about the price of a new 2009 Honda Civic EX w/navigation, he came up with a trade-in value of $12,000.
We were thinking more in the amount of $15,000. Oh no! The car had been an accident! He gave us a printout from Manheim Auctions indicating the prices they would be able to get for a 2007 Honda Civic 2DCoupe EX (supposedly with navigation) and stated that $12,000 is the best they could do. We agreed to the sale, trusting their word that they would sell the car at auction. Our main concern was that our daughter had a reliable car, free of accidents and recurring alarm problems.
The liability or fault of the accident our daughter was in has not yet been determined. Fault is being determined by Arbitration this month. We are anticipating that the other driver's insurance company will be held responsible. If it turns out in our daughter's favor, we were told it might be possible to ask the other drivers insurance to pay towards the depreciated value of our trade-in. The reason being; we could have gotten a much better trade-in allowance If the accident did not occur.
We feel it will be worth a try. To back up our claim, we contacted our salesman, and asked him for a copy of the Carfax. He was happy to help. On 1/2, he accompanied me to the Used Car Sales Office and they printed out a copy of the Carfax and the Total Black Book Valuation, which is used to determine trade-in values. The gentleman at the counter said, That we definitely would be had gotten more money if the car had not been in an accident.
On the morning of January 7 I was reading the Arizona Republic. Curiously I looked in the classified car section and looked up what a 2007 Honda Civic like our daughters was selling for. There was an ad and the price was $15,977. I knew it could not be ours, as our car would be sold at auction. I decided to go to the website and look at it. As I thought, it was not our daughter's vehicle. However, I scrolled down the page and our daughter's car that we had traded in was there. Not only was it there, it was being sold as a HONDA CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED VEHICLE for $16,988.
I printed the brochure. Not only is it Certified, under the Vehicle Condition section it indicates Original Paint, No Known Accidents, No known Bodywork and more. I could not believe what I was reading. Not only that, the CarMax, states 12/31, Offered for sale as a Honda Certified Used Car. Obviously, our trade-in is what we said, immaculate and well cared for. We feel that we had been violated and defrauded. How can they get away with this kind of unethical business practice? The dealer was dishonest with us and their dishonesty doesn't end with us.
I continued each morning to look on the website to see if the vehicle was still on their website. As of January 11th, the website displays Vehicle Not Found in Database. Did they sell it? Should or can we do something about it? Can we find out to whom the car was sold to? Did they realize their mistake and make things right? Should I call the General Manager? Do I file a complaint with the BBB and the FTC? Do I notify NACA? Should I contact a lawyer? Would any of the local TV stations such as; Channel 3's - On Your Side, Channel 5's - Investigations 5iTeam, Channel 12's-Call 12 for Action, Channel 10's - Investigation or ABC's 15 Investigators be interested?
Perhaps we should have sold the car ourselves; at least we would have been honest about the car being in an accident. We have been a loyal customer, with faith and trust in Tempe Honda. We bought the 2007 Honda Civic at Tempe Honda dealership and feel we were treated honestly then. Not anymore! This deal is costing us close to $4,000 in addition over the next 60 months, as it was added on the loan of the new vehicle.
On Thursday, January 15 I went to Tempe Honda and spoke with the General Manager, Dave Wallace. It was not a good meeting. I decided to just go ahead and get our experience out to other consumers before what happened to us happens to them.
We are their victims and so are the people who bought our trade-in!
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