I purchased a 2007 Honda Odyssey on January 4 from Tiffany's Auto Co.
The US Border officials cleared this vehicle for export out of the USA and Canadian Border officials cleared the vehicle for import into Canada January 17 at the Pembina/Emerson border crossing.
As part of the import process I now needed to have the vehicle inspected by a Certified Auto Inspection Center, which authorized by the Government of Canada was Canadian Tire.
The vehicle was taken to Canadian Tire on January 16 for the first of two inspections, the Federal Inspection, to ensure that it was equipped with all of the safety features specified by Canadian Law. This inspection was also to ensure that the vehicle did not have any outstanding manufacturing recalls for defects, or other.
Once the vehicle passed through the Federal Inspection, I was required to have the vehicle inspected by the Province where I reside, to ensure that it is road worthy and physically sound to drive. On January 21 I again returned the vehicle to Canadian Tire, and was advised that the vehicle had damage to the subframe, which holds the motor in place and could not be cleared to drive in my province until this was fixed.
On January 21 I contacted Tom Nguyen, owner of Tiffany's Auto Co.By telephone 713-376-9056 and email [email protected] to discuss my concerns, and he denied that there could have been any frame damage to this vehicle. I then sent him pictures and a copy of the Provincial Safety Form indicating the damage, to which he submitted that there was in fact frame damage, but that he fixed it. As a solution Tom Nguyen offered to send me a new subframe for me to install. At this, I advised that I would first have a Certified Honda Dealer, inspect the vehicle in order to understand the full extent of the frame damage.
On January 26 I brought the vehicle to a Certified Honda Dealer to assess the damage and was advised that the extent of the frame damage was well beyond the subframe and there was substantial damage to the vehicle's front uniframe.
On February 13, Winnipeg Honda was finally able to have the vehicle moved to its frame pulling facility and continued to dismantle the vehicle to assess the damage. I was then advised by the Honda Service Center Manager, that the vehicles frame was damaged beyond repair and would actually need to be cut away and replaced. The Service Center Manager actually explained that the damage was unrepairable due to previous repairs that had been conducted on the vehicle. He indicated that because the frame had been previously welded together to accommodate a bent subframe, and had not been pulled straight prior to the installation of a new front bumper, the whole front quarter panel would need to be replaced. At this he advised that my cost for repairs would be anywhere between $4,000 - $10,000 and/or more and that is only what he could see before starting to cut away the visual damage.
On February 13 I contacted Tom Nguyen to understand how he wanted to proceed, and I suggested that I return the vehicle to him, at his expense, and that he refund my money and pay for any costs I incurred regarding this van. He advised me to call him February 16 to work it out.
Between February 16 and February 18, I tried contacting Tom Nguyen several times, but he has not returned a single call or email since.
Tom Nguyen, operating under the Business Name Tiffany's Auto Co, sells the majority of his vehicles on eBay under the user name tom1650 http://myworld. Ebay.ca/tom1650. Every listing that I have viewed from him since the date I purchased this 2007 Odyssey has claimed to be restored to new condition and explicitly states NO FRAME DAMAGE. His listings indicate that his vehicles have passed Texas Department of Vehicles Safety Inspection, but after contacting TDOV I discovered that this test is a joke all they do is connect the car to a computer to check if the readings are accurate REALLY THAT'S IT.
I filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Vehicles Dealer Enforcement Division, Texas Attorney General, Better Business Bureau, the FBIs Internet Crime Complaint Center and now usacomplaints.com. My next step is civil litigation
I have learned NEVER to buy a vehicle online, NEVER trust a good deal, and NEVER trust a Texas Auto Dealer because the safety standards for Texas vehicles are from the Stone Age.
I would really just like to return the car for my money back but I am running out of hope:- (
Pat
esp, Manitoba
Canada
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