Dealership found suspension issues during test drive on Honda CPO car. Leverage for price or warranty?
Posted by guikazoid@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 14 comments
Test drove a CPO 2023 Honda Odyssey and heard a clunking sound. The salesperson heard it and agreed its an issue so he brought it to the service department. They came back and said its a suspension issue on the 2 front wheels. They will be fixing it and allowing me to test drive next week. Its annoying because this "182-point inspection" missed something so obvious. The current offer includes a 1-year/12,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Do you think I can negotiate an additional free year?
CarbonReflections@reddit
Everything is negotiable you just have to try.
ScaredExchange9175@reddit
one thing worth knowing before you get to that conversation: 2023 Odysseys are listed at an average of \~$36k right now. depending on what they're asking, the underlying price may already have room in it on top of the warranty ask. if you share what they're offering, i can tell you where it sits vs the rest of the market
oppositelock27@reddit
I suspect the tech found the issue during the initial inspection but sales department looked at the quote and said “Fuck it, throw it on the lot, maybe they won’t notice.” People wrongly assume a billion point inspection means they fix every problem they find.
jrileyy229@reddit
Well, most likely is it's a low mileage Odyssey... It never even saw the rack... It went right to the sales lot
Own_Shallot7926@reddit
I would do some poking and ask how long the car has been on the lot and when/where it was "Honda Certified."
There's always a chance that the suspension was acceptable during inspection and failed during many months of test drives and sitting on the lot. I'd probably accept that repair and buy it as is - shit happens and they fixed it right away. What else can you do?
Or there's a chance they're bad at their job and lying. I'd walk and find another dealer. Odysseys aren't exactly rare cars.
guikazoid@reddit (OP)
its a "homegrown" car (i.e., the dealer sold it originally and has been servicing it). whats interesting is that the carfax shows that they replaced all the tires/brakes/rotors late last year and then a few weeks later they inspected it for "noise". in april they received the car, they serviced it in preparation for sale. and listed it last week.
the price is right and honestly the car otherwise was ok. i just cant fathom on how they missed that clunking sound when they conducted their checks.
jrileyy229@reddit
Here's the answer... They didn't do any checks. That's not uncommon.... A newer low mile car gets traded in, has no immediate needs, the paperwork gets rubber stamped and it goes on the lot for sale
IF there was actually anything needed, then the next owner is going to notice it on the test drive or early in their ownership... And it's going to be covered under warranty. Customer isn't out of pocket any money, just some inconvenience.
IF there was actually nothing needed, then they saved two hours of technician/lift time. Especially true if they have a backlog of work and all the racks have projects going on. They'd rather keep making profits.
guikazoid@reddit (OP)
good point
jrileyy229@reddit
You should pretend you don't know that though.
"I'm really concerned that this car just went through your rigorous 700 point inspection, so I know it had to be perfect... But then immediately broke when I drove it.
I'm worried it might be a lemon and that's why the last owner decided to get rid of it. Or the last owner abused it and that's why the suspension broke on such a new car. I'd feel much better with a longer warranty period based on the fact the suspension just broke out of nowhere"
MansomeHan@reddit
The first rule of negotiation is: If you don’t ask, the answer is “no.”
gettin-hot-in-here@reddit
you can certainly ask. is this in the USA?
guikazoid@reddit (OP)
yes, USA
FlounderKind8267@reddit
Only 1 year? Thats sus as hell. Almost like they probably knew it had a problem and was hoping for it to last 13 months 👀
I'd just tell them something like "I'm not sure if I trust you and your dealership to have my best interest in mind. I feel like I'm getting ripped off here" and walk out. They'll call you with a better deal, or you can go to another dealership that doesn't pull that BS
guikazoid@reddit (OP)
Honda CPO standard is 1 year. If the car was certified during the initial 36k/3 years then it adds 2 years of bumper to bumper. This car is eligible for the 1 year or 12k miles of bumper to bumper from sale price and then the 7 year 100k powertrain warranty kicks in.