BEWARE: College Park Honda/Hyundai - MARYLAND

ghott

Well-Known Member
4
2
Hey 9thCivic members. I was sent over here from the 8thCivic forums to let you guys know about the dealership problems I've been having in College Park, MD. I know it's a long read...but it might be worth the time to read if you're in/around this area. The cliff notes version would read: think twice before you buy anything from College Park Honda/Hyundai/Toyota/...maybe more?.

Here is the original thread: http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/deal...ware-college-park-honda-hyundai-maryland.html

This is my original post on the 8thCivic forums:

Long story short, College Park Honda/Hyundai/Toyota are all owned by the same person/people...Imported Cars of College Park. These guys sold me a 2008 Honda Civic with "Certified Used Car" all over it...even had the "check-list" for the 150 point inspection in the glove box...all the window stickers and the check-list had my car's matching VIN on it. A few weeks later the car develops some MAJOR problems (vibration at idle, bad hesitation between 2-3k RPM during acceleration, clutch problems, low on oil). Come to find out, when I seek warranty work, there is no Certified-Used contract on the car (no 12 month/12,000 mile warranty and no 100,000 mile powertrain warranty). This was confirmed by Honda USA Customer Support and Honda Customer Care. I bought the car on 17-DEC-2011...two months later and BIG headaches, the car still has major problems, I have no warranty, and the dealership will not help at all. They have been utterly useless in the entire process. They constantly give me the runaround and are constantly trying to make even more MONEY off of me. Honda USA Customer Support cannot do anything about it because it was technically sold to me by "College Park Hyundai," which is a separate entity...even though they are owned by the same people. The two dealership even share a lot and are side-by-side.

I now know why the College Park Honda dealership does not sell any used cars. They slap "Certified Used" stickers on Honda's that won't pass the 150 point inspection and set them on the College Park Hyundai lot right next door. When a buyer finds out that his or her car doesn't have the warranty and complains to Honda Customer Support, the dealer(s) are now covered because the car wasn't technically sold by "College Park Honda."

In the coming weeks I'm going to do a full write-up on the experience and will post it, along with pictures for proof, VIN numbers, receipts, and the whole nine yards. I'm probably stupid for buying a certified-used Honda from a Hyundai dealership, but I did not know beauracratic red tape was in place to protect these people.

All in all, College Park Honda and College Park Hyundai are the two worst dealerships I have ever had the displeasure of working with.

After I posted the above, an employee at the College Park Honda dealership actually created an account to state the following:

We are well aware of this posters issues with the 2008 Civic that he purchased. There is more to the 'certification' story that this poster did not include; however we do not feel that it would be right to elaborate on what transpired during the transaction on this thread.

In the end, as a sign of goodwill, College Park Honda/Hyundai did cover part of or all of the cost of labor and American Honda covered part or all of the cost of the parts.

We are a great dealership and we do no 'slap' 'certified used' stickers on vehicles that do not pass inspection. We sell over 200 hundred new cars and 40-60 used cars per month and the majority of our customers are very happy. We are sorry that this poster has had issues with this vehicle and we have worked hard to help resolve the issues. Thank you.


They were questioned on their integrity and also posted this:

To address other posters comments.....we wanted to note that we (including Honda) had contributed to the original posters repair costs, without discussing all the details (in respect to customer's privacy).

Our used car department is not a 'b' lot. One of our 'legal' names is Imported Cars of MD.

Regarding certification, customer can choose to forgo the certified warranty if they are looking to reduce the price of the vehicle.

Thank you for your time.

I responded to both of their posts with the below (I've stated this both in person, over the phone, and on the forum with this dealership...and they still question my accountability):

This dealership does indeed put "CERTIFIED USED HONDA" stickers all over vehicles that do not undergo any inspection (or do undergo the inspection but clearly do NOT pass). The used Honda vehicle that I purchased had a large windshield sticker across the top that read "Honda Certified" and two window stickers on the rear windows that stated it had undergone a 150 point inspection, that it came with a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty, and an extended 7 year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. It also had the Honda Certified check list in the glove box with everything checked off (I have scanned pictures of ALL OF THE ABOVE). Even on the dealership selling agreement that I signed, it read that "5.) USED CAR BUYERS GUIDE. The information you see on the window form for this vehicle is part of this contract. Information on the window form overrides any contrary provisions in the contract of sale." (I have a scanned copy of this that I will be posting too). I did NOT choose to forego the Honda Certified Used warranty. Foregoing the Honda Certified Warranty was NOT even given to me as an option. It was stated that the car was already a Honda Certified Used vehicle (hence the stickers, paperwork, and checklist). I had 2 members of my family that were there with me at the time of the purchase that will vouch for this as well.

This dealership did NOT pay for any of the repairs to the clutch or flywheel. The dealership quoted me $946 to repair it from the start (3 weeks into owning the vehicle). 1 month later, after many calls that I made personally, Honda USA Customer Support agreed to pay for $800 of the repair (which they didn't have to do). Even then, the dealership tried to say that I would have to pay an additional $380. $800 + $380 does not equal $946. Only when I provided them with the proof that they quoted me $946 for the repair did they agree to only charge me $146. Honda USA Customer Support paid $800, I paid $146, the dealership paid $0...

In my opinion, it's pretty sad that Honda USA Customer Support felt sorry enough for this dealership's shadyness that they would pay part of the cost. They had no obligation to do so since it was sold by a Hyundai dealership.

And the user "College Park Honda" is correct...I'm not giving all the details. Another important detail is that I've been back to that dealership 4 times within the past 1.5 months regarding MULTIPLE problems with the vehicle...and the dealership is a 5 hour round trip from my house. But again, the "Certified Used Car" was the selling point on this vehicle...and silly me was thinking I could take it to any Honda dealership...if only it had really been a certified used vehicle. Instead I've driven over 20 hours in the past 1.5 months to go see the people who are responsible for this entire thing. The more details that come, the worse these dealerships are going to look.

Again, the full story is coming with pics for proof if anyone cares. It takes a while to get everything typed up because this mess is so convoluted and the fact that they've given me the runaround so many times.

To anyone thinking about doing any kind of business with these people...I would advise against it HIGHLY. I've given them every chance to make this right, but they continue costing me more money, time, and headaches. The level of unorganization there is something I've never seen before. It took over one month for me to be able to talk in person (just over the phone) with the service director.

It really sucks that places operate this way. It is what it is though and I definitely feel stupid for buying from them. I will continue posting this story around on the internet on forums and review sites so others don't make the same mistake I did.
 
So sorry you had to get the crap end of the stick on that deal. Hope something good comes of it for you.
 
Seeing as I deal with Certified Honda's all day long, I figure I would add some fuel to the fire. The Certification process is VERY strict. The vehicle must meet ALL criteria in order to be Certified.
http://automobiles.honda.com/certified-used/certification-standards.aspx
This link show's the criteria. Simply put, if there is a Certified sticker, and 150 point checklist, It should be certified. Which is why Honda USA covered most of the bill. They did this, not to save the face of the dealership, but to save face themselves. Each dealership has to show Honda that they care about the product they sell, and if not, they will be penalized. The best thing to do is file a formal complaint with Honda, and send them all the scans, and pictures of the certified material. I've seen them actually buy cars back before, when vehicles came back to the dealership for the same issue more than three times. Also, follow Webby's advice and hit all of the dealer rater sites, (dealerrater, yelp, google, bbb, etc.) and be honest. Just remember, we buy and work on these cars because we love them, and Honda is always here to help. They need us more than the dealerships, and from what I've seen, they will do what it takes to make a customer happy.
 
cliffs -

car had certified used honda stickers on it..
buyer had issues almost immediately
honda corp says car is not certified used
honda corp pays for almost all his clutch repair
buyer has numerous other issues - dealership not helping
 
You're a lazy butt :giggle:

Yup. ^_^ What ya gonna do about it?! :p

cliffs -

car had certified used honda stickers on it..
buyer had issues almost immediately
honda corp says car is not certified used
honda corp pays for almost all his clutch repair
buyer has numerous other issues - dealership not helping

Thanks.

That sucks :(
 
Thanks for the support guys. I've also uploaded all of the pictures I have onto my photobucket account. I'll be posting the pictures of the window stickers, inspection check-list, and the dealership agreement later on today when I can get some free time.
 
Here are the scanned documents and pictures I have. This isn't all of them, but they are the most important documents. Any other documents you guys would like to see, just let me know...I've got them all.

Sorry for the large sizes of the pictures, wanted to capture all the info.


VIN Number from my vehicle:
DSC03734.jpg


Certified Window Stickers:
01.jpg

02.jpg


Certified Check-List:
03.jpg

04.jpg


Replacement of engine mount 10 days after I purchased the vehicle (engine mounts are one of the 150 items that are "INSPECTED" for certified used Honda's):
05.jpg


Clutch and flywheel failure:
06.jpg


Buyer's order (see #5 - Used Car Buyers Guide):
10.jpg


Dealer agreement (see #2 - warranties on window stickers overrides any contrary provision in the agreement)
12.jpg
 
Sorry about that webby, I didn't even see the PM notification until I saw your post here. PM returned and thanks again for the advice and support!
 
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