Dealers (West Herr Honda) are shady (long read)

NYSpeed Automotive
1

so, the gf and i saw a car for sale we both liked (04 Honda Element) it turned out i used to work with the guy doing online sales years ago. gave him a call, he lives in the same area as i do still, and brought it home for us to test drive on a sunday. this was cool.

so the gf loved it, i did too, and she called her dad to co-sign the loan. they met at WEST-HERR HONDA in Lockport on 1/28/10 to sign the deal and pick up the car. we were both very excited. sadly, i could not make the trip to the dealer to pick up the car, i was stricken with scarlett fever

she brought the car home and immediatly said that it made a funny noise when “i hit the gas, or maybe the brake? i dont know, i cant exactly remember.” typical girl. whatever i think, i’ll call them next week.

Sat (1/30/10) rolls around, very early, my gf is going home to spend some time with her family. she wakes me up and says the car has a flat tire. im like wtf thats weird, fill it up with the compresser, drive it around a bunch and send her on her way. i didnt hear any sound that made me think there was a puncture, it was holding air fine. the tire was almost new, so i sent her on her way.

it was at this point that i noticed somethign sketch about the tires- the fronts were worn, almost at half tread, while the rears were near new. the car is an AWD EX, all wheel drive cars (from what ive read, ive never had the pleasure of owning one) need to have tires of even tread on the car AT ALL TIMES to avoid differential failure.

my gf drove the car home and back with no issues on sunday 1/31/10 (her brother had to fill the tire before she left)

on 2/2/10 i took the car to swerve motorsports (awesome dudes) thinking that the tire had a slow leak. they told me that the “structural integrity of the tire had been compromised” ie bulges in the sidewall, not seating on the rim properly. they did what they could, cleaning the inner lip of the rim, looking for punctures, ect. but nothing. the tire was just fucked.

so i call west herr honda the next day and complain. seeing that the tires didnt match, i demanded that they replace all 4 tires, which i think is only fair for an $12,000 car. they told me that the car was a “budget vehicle” and is sold as is.

they claimed that the car went through a 115 point inspection before being sold. they only put these “low budget cars” on the lot after said inspection, which if the tires pass tread wear theyre fine, even if they tread wear doesnt match on an AWD car. also, apparently, when the car makes a horrible squeaking sound when it goes over bumps or accelerates somewhat hard. (again, no idea, awd cars are new to me. subframe bushings? strut mounts? i dont fucking know)

ive been arguing with these fuckers for days now, and im growing tired of it. to the point where im just ready to give the car back. basically, WEST HERR HONDA has been dicking me around, saying they will replace 2 tires if i pay for 1. unfuckingbelieveable. :fu:

i have a contract in front of me stating that we can return the car within 30 days. there is also a 60 day or 3k mile drivetrain warranty. but we both really like it!

wtf do i do?

2

arson.

on a serious note: i want to say their 30 day return policy only allows you to exchange the car for another, correct me if i’m wrong.

3

you are correct sir, only an exchange

dude, why are you always on so late?? haha

4

haha i work midnights, i’m at work right now.

it seems as they would have you by the balls if you exchanged the car because you would have virtually no bargaining power.

5

you could go spend the day there and tell every customer that comes in that they will get screwed if they buy a car there. That would do wonders for motivated sales.

:slight_smile:

6

A friend of mine is a tech at west herr honda, PM me jam, i may be able to help you with said noises over bumps.

7

How much are the tires anyway?

I think that paying for one tire and having them pay for the other is not as bad as trying to exchange it for another vehicle.

8

She accepted the vehicle as it was. The time to fight over the state of the tires was before agreeing on a price.

That said, if the tires really won’t hold air that’s pretty shitty. In their defense though they were obviously holding air on the lot and when you test drove it so who’s to say your chick didn’t nail a big pothole.

9

i’m inclined to agree with these statements.

giving you 2 for 1 on the tires is more than they even have to do at this point. tell her to suck it up and move on, live and learn.

10

That is correct that all 4 must be the same brand and tread depth,if you measure between different brands they are not the same od.Its not the diffs you have to worry about though its the t case,it causes the clutch in it to slip all the time burning it out.My best guess would be on the squeek would be a stab link,they seem to be pretty common on hondas for squeeking.It sucks people get dicked around by dealers,i have had a good experance with west herr dodge on southwestern.we bought my wifes jeep there and anything we asked them to fix they did without question.I would go and bitch about the tires,as far as i know they must cover anything for 30 days.Or go in there and tell them the t case is chattering and they will say its needs tires,that would give them a reason to fix the tires because they sold it to you that way.

11

x2. sucks but she totally took delivery and they dont have to do shit. maybe take it to a different honda dealer? its a Certified Pre-Owned correct? with the warrenty and all?if so you have a 1yr bumper to bumper warrenty. go there and bitch about every little defect you want replaced :slight_smile:

12

Look at it from this point of view.

  1. She is taking a loan to pay for this vehicle. She cannot afford one outright at this price point. If you are going to put yourself into debt to purchase something you might as well get what you want. New tires is not something outrageous to ask for.

  2. What is the price of 4 new tires?

Look at it this way. Which route is going to be the larger PITA?

If you are within the grace period of the vehicle you could take the vehicle back.

You could also buy 4 new tires and call it a day. What is going to cost you more?

Is she going to lose time at work and mobility causing headaches that make the price of the tires much more appealing? If so then just getting the tires and being happy is easier. Then never buy another vehicle from west herr again.

It is possible that she picked up a foreign object somewhere and she rode on low pressure which would cause the sidewall to be compromised. If this is the case it is not the fault of west herr. If the tires were worn it would have been nice for them to replace them. What probably happened is that the fronts were worn and the rears were not too bad so they put new tires on the front and rotated them to the back and put the semi worn ones on the front. Most technicians are not that smart and most of the ones that get to work on the used cars at the dealer are really not that smart just more or less parts changers.

If it were me I would ask them to reimburse you the cost of 4 new tires or take the vehicle back under the agreed return time. I would give them one day to decide and then show up with the car the next day if they don’t agree to it.

If you need 4 tires cheap let me know I will get them for you at my cost she just needs cash.

13

Look at it from this point of view.

  1. She is taking a loan to pay for this vehicle. She cannot afford one outright at this price point. If you are going to put yourself into debt to purchase something you might as well get what you want. New tires is not something outrageous to ask for.

  2. What is the price of 4 new tires?

Look at it this way. Which route is going to be the larger PITA?

If you are within the grace period of the vehicle you could take the vehicle back.

You could also buy 4 new tires and call it a day. What is going to cost you more?

Is she going to lose time at work and mobility causing headaches that make the price of the tires much more appealing? If so then just getting the tires and being happy is easier. Then never buy another vehicle from west herr again.

It is possible that she picked up a foreign object somewhere and she rode on low pressure which would cause the sidewall to be compromised. If this is the case it is not the fault of west herr. If the tires were worn it would have been nice for them to replace them. What probably happened is that the fronts were worn and the rears were not too bad so they put new tires on the front and rotated them to the back and put the semi worn ones on the front. Most technicians are not that smart and most of the ones that get to work on the used cars at the dealer are really not that smart just more or less parts changers.

If it were me I would ask them to reimburse you the cost of 4 new tires or take the vehicle back under the agreed return time. I would give them one day to decide and then show up with the car the next day if they don’t agree to it.

If you need 4 tires cheap let me know I will get them for you at my cost she just needs cash.

14

A car is like a t shirt you should return it if you dont like it.

15

were you or your girlfriend ever informed it was a certified pre-owned or a budget buy as is? when her and her father went to sign for the loan were they ever explained that or was she just rushed through the paper work with the typical “oh just sign here, here and here, initial this here. this all just says you agree to…” line of bullshit someone usually tries. Make your friend look like an asshole, call him every day, bitch and complain. he will cry to the manager that its making him look bad. if sales tactics are anything like the one the BIG guy runs on the island, profits are made off of stuff paid for up front and never given to the customer unless they realize its missing, for example new tires or even a set of floor mats. I have a feeling she signed a paper she shouldnt have until she read it and the dealer pulled a fast one. Tell them you are filing a complaint with the BBB. No manager ever likes to hear that. Good luck, hope they resolve everything. I have never dealt with W/H for anything so i really hope this isnt a common practice with the entire company.

16

Don always has wise words. :slight_smile:

West herr…yeah FUCK THEM.
They sold me a lemon and after 3 repair trips back (in a months time) they still refused to give me a switch to a different vehicle. The manager insulted me and compared my $12k vehicle purchase to his faulty VCR purchase at Rosa’s. I wanted to smash his face in over the phone. I reminded him that while I may be young, I’m not a fool and he shouldn’t insult my intelligence.

So they allowed me to test drive another car under the guise that we could exchange, only to be offered $9k for my trade in. GRRRRRR. I went to the VP via email and he never replied but he aperantly told the manager to shut me up probably. Their solution…I got a 4th repair (this time I got a rental, unlike the first 3 times) and a $50 gift card for the Boston Hotel steak house. FGGTS!!!

They were lucky I didn’t drive through their window and drop the keys off. I beat on the loaner bad and returned it on E. They had the balls to try and charge me for gas, without asking my approval. I told them to credit my card back or I’d file a dispute. After several angry calls they agreed to refund me.

Don’t EVER buy from West Herr. Basil on the other hand…I’ve bought I think 3 cars through them with no customer service issues. Now I just buy cash 4 clunkers and don’t pay into the debt machine…but if I did I’d probably visit a Basil franchise. :wink: (I know there’s a Basil on here…no need to mail me a check for this review. :stuck_out_tongue: )

17

This makes me feel horrible for Cait. :confused:

18

if its an $11,000 honda im almost positive its NOT certified.

And as long as tires pass inspection thats all they legally need to sell it to you. I understand your side of this as well but do you have any idea how many customers drive off in a new car and then a week later “have tire issues, a new scratch, a chip in the window” and they were supposedly never there when they picked it up. People love to BS and managers know it… So for all the people that cry wolf fucks it up for people like you that have a legit issue.

A lil OT but wasnt BASIL the one that was fined like $70,000 for being shady and lying to people during cash for clunkers?

19

Oh West Herr…

Don’t give the car back. Believe me, they don’t offer that opportunity because it’s a pain in the ass for them. Everything falls back on you.

Generally speaking, if a vehicle needs tires it’s one of the first things a dealership is willing to do before it goes on the lot. It’s cheap and people get boners over new tires.

I’d take up their offer to split it.

If the two rears are new, then split the fronts with them and get the same manufacturer.

Having 1 shitty tire and asking to replace all 4 is asking for a lot. Especially when you’re dealing with a company who spent entirely WAY too much money on the “not too successful in Lockport” Honda franchise. Gotta pay dem billz.

20

Shouldn’t have purchased a Honda. LoL JK

I’d have them fix the squeak and I’d buy one tire and have them buy the other.

Actually I wouldn’t be doing either, because I’d never let my gf get ripped off paying dealer prices.