I bought my FBP 4dr Si on 8/25 with 52k. I had the car in my possession for about a week. I got sick and didnt drive my car. When I got better I finally went out and drove it. This is where everything went upside down. I purchased the car as a certified honda. The transmission's 3 gear went completely out. In the shop it went. They covered the tranny and they broke the positive terminal harness so that was replaced. It had a couple small dents that I noticed and got an 800 dollar quote for repair...not happy. I picked up the car after almost 2 weeks in the shop.

I brought it home and the left front brakes were making a ticking noise going from a medium/firm stop from 35-0mph. So back to the shop. On the way there I noticed that the car was pulling hard right under no acceleration. When I would accelerate. Torque steer would kick in and I can change 3 lanes of traffic not touching the wheel. The shop called me on Friday and said they tried rotating the tires (Brand new Yokohama Avid's) and did not see any improvement and the alignment was "perfect"...lmao. The Service Manager himself said "This car is unfit and unsafe for your family, I wouldn't put my family in this thing"

I only bought this because I didnt want to cram my family into my Hatch.

I called the Honda dealership I bought it from and they said they would not help. They would fix the problems but after a few weeks of ownership the car has been at the shop more than I have had it. I got the check sheet for the 150 point inspection and it fails almost 10 points giving them a fair shake. I would say it was more like almost 20 points of failure.

What should I do...this car has more issues than I can stand and the dealership is not help nor accepting responsibility for the obvious failure of it being a true certified car. This seems to me as being a true breach of contract as falsely selling me a car I can not drive. It has had 500 miles put on it and only 50 were miles driven by me.....They will not talk to me because I was talking circles around their service techs and managers. So they will only talk to my wife...what a bunch of BS!

This is my 9th honda and I have never dreamed of such a lemon having a Honda badge.

 

for your issue with the alignment, I had similar problem and my friend (who's a Honda tech) told me to make sure they use the Si alignment specs and not the normal Civic alignment specs.

Well to my understanding is that the last time it was aligned it was done with the incorrect specs as now I do not have any pulling from either side!


Try also calling Honda America... and how is it that they won't allow you to speak to them? Honestly, I would tell them it's either me or my lawyer at this point! Wife shouldn't be part of this unless she made the purchase or it's her car...

 

No it is my car. Like I said I was making the manager sound like an uneducated idiot when we spoke cause he thought he could give BS answers like most dealers do. When I started talking specific specs, etc. He stopped returning my calls. When I called last time, I asked for him and the receptionist put me on hold and came back on and said my name...I never said my name. In turn a call from this a-hole was made to my wife instead of calling me.

This car is so scary when you drive it now. I dont know what they did to it when the tranny was addressed but it will violently pull and wonder around. I had the wheel point to almost 10 o' clock and it was still darting right.

All corporate offices to Honda and this Dealership is closed until tomorrow. So I thought I would post this up to get a few ideas from fellow Si/8th gen owners to blast them with.

 

Honestly if he doesn't want to talk to you then ask him next time would it be best to have my lawyer present for out discussion...

Pisses me off when they don't want to take care of you! At least if he would of said, I see there is an issue lets try to figure out where the problem is coming from. Take the tranny off and start from there. But I guess this wasn't the case!

 

Sometimes you have to go over the manager's head and talk to a general manager to get the results you want. If not, then get a lawyer involved.

As far as calling it a lemon, though, I don't think that's accurate. The term 'lemon' gets tossed around so frequently by dealership customers and they don't know what it means. A lemon refers to a DEFECT in a car that requires the vehicle be repaired 3 times for the same thing in a short period of time. It's usually only applicable to new cars and it's VERY rare for a manufacturer to buy back a 'lemon' from a customer. Not busting *****, just throwing in my $0.02.

Good luck, I hope everything works out with your civic. Keep us posted on what happens with the dealer.

 

I understand the term lemon...I just blast this car right now as a lemon because it has been in the shop longer than I have had it in my driveway. Also to the fact that once one problem is fixed something else is fubar'ed in the process.

The General Manager wants nothing to do with me. He would not answer my call and has yet to return it. He filtered a message of the car is what it is to my wife...They intentionally go out of their way to call my wife instead of me. I am going to be placing several calls in here in the next few hours and see what happens.

I gave them two options that I thought was beyond fair the last time I did get to speak to the store manager. One, that I would keep the car if everything was given a point by point check/repair and another tech "Certify" the Honda. Or, Two I offered to even lose a bit of money to buy a 2011 Si and take my Si back in on trade...They didnt even want the car on trade so what does that tell you. To me that was the red flag right there. I do not want to go with the lawyer route until all communication/negotiations come to a stop. Well, cause then its a pretty slam dunk case. I would have given them every possible option to resolve this.

This was the most respected and highly rated Dealership in my area. Too many things that they are doing/have done that would make me believe that they knew what they had in this car...Unfortunately they unloaded the car onto someone who knows what the hell a Honda should be.

 

Personal opinion - have a trusted 3rd party examine the car and diagnose your issues. Have documentation for each item and the suggested fix along with the cost.

Present this documentation/diagnosis to the General Manager at the dealership and ask for either their cooperation in having it fixed at the dealership free of charge or footing the bill as noted on the diagnosis from the third party shop.

You really cannot come out guns blazin' and accuse them of selling you a bad vehicle right off the bat. I'm unsure what your tone and verbiage was when you spoke with them but it is possible you came off poorly and they did not feel like dealing with harassment.

Show up in person, dress nicely, have your documentation of all current and previous problems and the recommended fixes by the third party mechanic shop or other Honda dealership. You in no way need to tell the third party of the problems you're having at this dealership to keep any bias from affecting the assessment. Present your case to the Store Manager, Sales Manager, Pre-Owned Manager, etc and show them the estimates to have the vehicle repaired.

If that does not get you anywhere, do not get flustered and start cursing up a storm, etc try meeting with the General Manager one-on-one and speak with him.

If that does not work, speak with Honda America and present your case to them (fax yours documents, etc)

 

Call one received...Service Manager.

Well, we re-checked the alignment and it was off...My response was did you use a standard civic the first time(Thanks Dave).
Answer; yes.
I asked about the left front brake. Answer; I dunno. Response; Have a tech check shims and installment of the brake assembly, I will not pick up the car today until this is complete and documented. Answer; Ok, I will maybe get to it later today.

Calls into Dealership Corporate and American Honda CS. Still waiting for responses.

Made a call to another non-affiliated Honda Dealer I have done business with in the past.
Answer; Your getting worked over....

 

I 100% agree with your statement. I am in Law Enforcement so I conduct myself in a very professional matter everyday. I do not want anyone that reads to think that I am flying off the handle, cussing, etc. Even when I know I am being BS'ed I have not responded in a negative manner or interjected my opinion. I am trying my best to deal with this as cooperatively as possible. Even though they will not cooperate at all.

My intentions are to take the car to a very respected local shop. When and if I get the car back.

 

 

Ha I knew it

I would suggest also for future alignment to try and get the specs the Si should be at. Just incase you go to a third party shop you can tell them to align with those specs!

I'm glad one problem is going to be solved!

 

That helped a lot! thanks again! No more to update yet...no one will return my calls

 

What I would do is give them a couple of days with out hearing from you... just to calm the waters a little. Then I would go in person and ask to see the manager. Talk to him a nice calm tone and I'm sure it will work out!

I would also bring it up to his attention that the issue with the alignment was because they used the wrong setting for a Civic and not an Si! This will show him that his employees aren't paying proper attention when servicing his customers vehicles!

keep us posted!

 

I have contacts to both Honda and the Dealership Corp.

They are still calling my wife and not me so I typed up almost 15 years worth of Honda knowledge and how things work along with this thread so she can be armed with everything. I have tried to call numerous times and I get nothing. She will call and get to someone right away. Unfortunately, its always while she is at work so I cant just ****** the phone.

I just want this resolved, it is causing so much stress around here. The worst update is that the store manager at the Dealership knowingly admitted to the 3rd gear issue before the car was put on the lot to sell. His tech told him "it would be under warranty." This is just one of many things I am building on...It nothing but a waiting game. I could not believe some of the things they are admitting to now because without going to court there is no way to get out of this.

What a mess...I just hope some people learn from my mistakes I have made!

 

Honda dealers in the ohio valley are notoriously bad. Add one more horror story to the list. Good luck!

 

Looks like this is over...I guess as of right now they are buying the car back. This is so frustrating and disappointing.

Nothing is completely inked but the potential for things to go wrong outweighed the positives as the only agreed to "check the car over again"

Guess I will wait until my credit re-buckets and be on the search again...

 

This is the reason I will never buy a used car again, even if it is certified. Have you tried to search for any new 2011's that might still be on dealer lots? I'm sure if they are any around they're trying real hard to get rid of them.

 

Just because the car is certified don't jump to conclusions about the car being perfect.

That 06 I had last year was wrecked(left front suspension) and repaired by honda then sold as a certified car.

What puzzles me is why someone would buy a used civic when a new one is only a few thousand more, then pay 6 to 10% financing on top of what they paid for the car.

I saw used civics like the 04 ex cp I had with more miles selling on the lot for just under what I paid for my car new.

If you are really counting your pennies, a new car is a way better deal, sorry just my opinion.

 

I went originally shopping for an 11 model si. The closest one new was in Tennessee. I would have preferred a new 12 model but I am not crazy about some of the reviews and in this area they overprice the hell out of new Si's. Just reading some of the buy questions in the sticky thread....well, the price I had paid would sound outrageous to anyone not around here.

A 500+ car payment for a new Honda Civic period is just insane. Unfortunately, that is where they were at so that is why I took the route I did. My rate through AH financial for this car was really low all things considered.

 

As i sit here reading your post I had to reread it several times. Okay I get that your mad that the car had to have service work done because it was a certified Honda. Its an 07 so its five years old and has 56k on it. It sounds like the dealer did a good bit of work to resolve the problems. Trans went out they replaced it everyone knows 3rd gear is a problem in the 07. broken batt terminal again really a non issue they replaced it. I have owned many Hondas and the batt terminals are crap I have had to replace them on every honda that I have owned even on 4 year old car. Dents really the car is 5 years old, has 56k on the clock and $800 isnt that bad. It sounds like the dealer dropped the ball on the alignment and the brakes but again it sounds like they fixed the problem. If it had been me I would have asked to see the check sheet before I bought it and would have had an outside shop check it over. I have walked on several cars because the dealer didnt want me to check the car out before buying it. So your pissed that you bought a used car that had problems that where fixed when what you really wanted was a new car. Now it sounds like you got what you wanted and can get that new car that will more than likely have a handful of problems right out of the box. good luck

 

Honestly I don't think that was the only issues... and to say that he was asking to much really??? Who doesn't ask for more? Everybody is looking for deals... its part of the game!

I think he was right with most of it... also the alignment isn't just a ball drop! Trust me cause I had that problem and now my tires are all crooked! I asked Honda to compensate for a new purchase of tires they told me a big fat no! But who's fault is it that my tires are wearing badly? It's Honda because they used normal Civic specs and not Si spec alignments but I have to fork the bill for new tires...

It's not a dealership but a stealership for a reason!

 

No where in my post did I say that he asked for to much. He even stated that the dealer fixed the problems. Yes the alignment is a ball drop someone screwed up period and the dealer should make it right,and again they did as stated in his other posts. If your dealer is unwilling to fix a problem that they caused then stop using them and find another. I guess I just have a good dealer they have always taken care of me so I go back to them. It was very apparent from the start of this the OP wanted a new car but settled for a used because they couldnt get him a new car. So he bought pre owned certified it had some issues that took some time to fix and in the end he got them to take it back.

 

In would get the car up there and park right in front the entrance of the service dept. I'd say they'd have to deal with ya then.
Lol

 

Sorry I just got that impression from your first post... things could be misunderstood when reading in front of a PC unfortunately...

 

when a honda is certified it has to meet a certain standard. u need to look up corporate and call them. dealerships dont like dealing with the people who can pull them out of their money. if it was certified correctly all of that should have been found during the inspection/test drive. the 3rd gear issue is common in those and they extended the warrenty on it. your pull issue is prolly due to them no reprogramming your EPS (electrical power steering). is it easier to turn one way then the other? the alignment can cause a pull but it is unlikley due the fact that there are no camber and castor adjustments. they shouldnt be an issue if you didnt hit anything. tires is the #1 reason for a pull. an axle can cause one too.