[sean_numark]

Hi all

OK I've put a deposit down on a Honda Civic 2.2 Diesel (58 plate) its got 87,000 miles on the clock from a car dealer (not Honda dealer).

When we went to view the car at the garage all seemed fine until I tried to tick it over.......nothing! I spoke to the dealer and he said it was ok this morning let me go have a look. He came back about 10 mins later and told us the battery was flat! Ok fair enough, he said it would take about 10 mins to charge and we will try again! Anyway we tried about 10 mins and it ticked over no problem. It was left running whilst we looked around it some more.

I then tried to use the radio....... Bare in mind it's the first time I've got into a Civic and wasn't sure what was what. The radio isn't working and neither is the radio display....there is a crackling noise coming from the speakers that can't be switched off or turned down! Also because the radio display isn't working its also not showing the heater controls but they seem to work ok (blowing air).... I then went and seen the dealer again and he said "oh yeah I know about that, it's booked in at the garage in the morning, I think it might be a blown fuse" anyway we took it out for a test drive and the guy who come with us mentioned the noise coming from the radio and he said "it sounds like water damage" But he said not to worry it will be sorted out no matter what.

That was Saturday, as part of the deal when we said we would buy was they put 12 months MOT on it and service it. I rang up today and they told me that it had been MOTed and serviced, they was just waiting for a Auto Electrician to have a look at it...........obviously alarm bells start ringing.......it can't be just a fuse???

Anyway should I be worried with the fact the battery was dead in the first place? With the radio/dash not working? And also the guy mentioning it sounds like water?

I'm waiting to hear from the dealer when the car is "ready to be picked up"

Any advice would be much appreciated

Cheers

Sean

 

[dablink]

Don't buy it. Water and electrics never mix. If they mentioned it could be water damage then it's been to hell and back.

In summary if your alarm bells (spider sense ) is going off...I would advise you listen to it and just walk away.

Cheers
M

 

[adammole]

Don't buy it. Water and electrics never mix. If they mentioned it could be water damage then it's been to hell and back.

In summary if your alarm bells (spider sense ) is going off...I would advise you listen to it and just walk away.

Cheers
M

+1, walk away. Plenty more around you can buy

 

[sirkuk]

I don't trust dealer's that cannot be bothered to even check or try to rectify problems that they think might be as basic a fuse before putting the car up for sale.

It does indeed sound to be more than a fuse if there's a crackling coming from the speakers though. I would avoid.

 

[Bog]

I'm afraid I agree with everyone else... walk away!

 

[Relic]

I don't trust dealer's that cannot be bothered to even check or try to rectify problems that they think might be as basic a fuse before putting the car up for sale.

It does indeed sound to be more than a fuse if there's a crackling coming from the speakers though. I would avoid.

+1.... walk away :facepalm:

 

[sean_numark]

Sounds very suspect doesn't it? I've already but a 10% deposit down, will I be able to get it back without any problems I wonder?

Thanks for the advice guys

Sean

 

[Grayfox]

Stay away, if their was water damage anywhere you will have rust, mold and more issues down the track.

Get your deposit back and claim it is unfit for use and you would not have put a deposit down if you knew about these issues.

 

[sirkuk]

Sounds very suspect doesn't it? I've already but a 10% deposit down, will I be able to get it back without any problems I wonder?

Thanks for the advice guys

Sean

Have you signed any paper work? You will need to check that whether your deposit is refundable. It can sometimes be the case you won't see all of it back.

At the end of the day, when you buy from a dealer, part of the premium you pay over a private sale is the after sales service and if a garage has put a car out for sale with an issue such as that, it's questionable how reputable they are.

I've looked at cars at dealers before now that won't start when it comes to a test drive, low on oil, worn brakes and bald tyres. It speaks volumes about the dealer and I can safely say that none of these dealers saw a penny from me.

 

[The Gimp]

Put it this way, walk in to burger king, get a burger and find a finger in it...."dont worry sir we will get you another one"...


.....run....run for the hills!

 

[Jpetrie]

Sounds very suspect doesn't it? I've already but a 10% deposit down, will I be able to get it back without any problems I wonder?

Thanks for the advice guys

Sean

Yes! Make sure you get that back. It's inexcusable what they've done. The car is DOA and a long stream of problems. That's a good enough reason not to purchase the car.

Don't let this put you off another civic, though! There's plenty of good ones out there!

 

[Mebz]

All these problems and you still put deposit down.

Walk away.

If you paid deposit using credit card, the credit card company may be able to help.

Hope you get it sorted.

 

[Relic]

He was deceived.
He was told its just a fuse.
Talk to the manager about fraud if necessary.

 

[RobertUtley]

He was deceived.
He was told its just a fuse.
Talk to the manager about fraud if necessary.

AGREED!

When they sell you something it has to be as described threaten trading standards for misrepresentation of the item if they are difficult or say no and blag that your cousin just so happens to work for them

 

[LincsPoacher]

Without a doubt walk away from it. It took 9 weeks of looking before I found the Civic and the deal I wanted, one car I went to see ticked all the boxes and looked great, I wasnt happy about the dealer selling it thought, needless to say I didnt buy it.

 

[sean_numark]

Ok just an update on this everyone......

The garage they take there cars to couldn't fix it so they they called an Auto Electrician..... They couldn't fix it and couldn't even find what was wrong with it!

They then booked it into Honda themselves. It was booked in for 10am yesterday morning. In the mean time I thought I would ring Honda just make make sure it was in fact booked in and they weren't fobbing me off. The helpful guy at Honda Coventry confirmed it was booked in I asked if it was ok if I rang up later to find out what was wrong with it and to make sure that the story's would be right coming from the car dealer.

I leave it till about 1730 to ring up Honda to find out what was up with it! Again I speak to Paul who is very very helpful, he tells me that they can't find anything wrong with the wiring and no signs of water damage, however he said what they think is wrong with it and it's the CD player itself, however they won't know till its replaced so it could be the screen as well!!!!! A new CD player is nearly £800 and it's the screen as well ** talking nearer £1500!!!!!!!!! Wow

I then rang up the car dealer (obviously not letting on that I've spoken to the Honda dealer) and asked if it had been sorted yet....... The answer was no but they think they know what's wrong with it and they think it's the CD Player, so at least they are telling the truth there. However they are having problems getting it sorted. Honda won't do it under warranty because the car has always been serviced at an independent garage and he said its about £800 to replace the head unit and the manager is sceptical about doing it especially when it could also be the dash so he said we might have to source a 2nd hand unit.............to which I said **** that! I want some sort of warranty with it and the only way I'm going to get that is if it's brand new! I mentioned how do I get my deposit back because I'm not liking the sound of this at all he said I would have to ring back in the morning to speak to the manager about it!

So that's where we're at at the minute...........talk about a pain in the ***

Cheers

Sean

 

[sirkuk]

Their fault at the end of the day for not looking into the problem earlier. Quite rightly so you should request brand new parts.

 

[Grayfox]

Does england have any consumer protection/consumer rights laws?

 

[Fonzey]

Those problems and you still put down a deposit

 

[Grayfox]

Those problems and you still put down a deposit

He may have thought it was a simple fuse issue.