Bought a approved used car from Honda Dealer with undisclosed damage.

metso

Hi,

Last week I purchased a 2014 Honda civic Tourer from a honda dealer.

Having had the car for less than a week, I noticed a panel that has obviously had some paint work done, (rear qtr passenger side) Some paint on top of the rubber seal.

When I purchased the car, I specifically asked the dealer if there had been any damage or any repairs done to the car. He responded no.

He advised that the car had a full honda history etc.

So I'm wondering is there any customer protection for this sort of situation.

Its not that i'm un happy with the car. I would like to know and have confidence that the car has been repaired to spec and I'm not driving around in a car that could have an issue that I'm not aware about.

If I were to take this up with the dealer, Any advise on how I should approach this.

Should I take it up with the dealer or get in touch with Honda customer services.

One of the listed benefits of the "Honda approved" used car sales lists: "has incurred no major accident damage"

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any assistance.

mattyprice4004

It could have been done by a ‘smart’ repair company out with of Honda, it could have been touched up in the PDI when new or it could have been a very minor scuff that Honda sorted (note: their promise is no major damage).

How big is the affected area? 

born_again

7 year old car. So 4 years out of warranty at a guess.
Owner may have damaged car and got it repaired, but not mentioned this when P/X. No where would this be recorded. So dealer is not trying to pull a fast one, if they had not been told.

bris

Is it on the insurance database? Get a vehicle history check and if it come up with a Category letter then a dealer is legally obliged to tell you this (private seller isn't). If it's not recorded then there is no case to answer as they can't make you aware of something they know nothing about. 

Fixing a car before sale is normal practice too so there is not a lot you can do about it. 

There are hundreds of brand spanking new cars damaged every year on transporters that get fixed before sale so it's nothing new and no they don't have to disclose that either.

deannagone

It might have been done 'off insurance'.  We were lucky, had a mobile mechanic inspect a car at a dealers, he found the car had been clocked, much more engine wear than you'd expect and wing replacement off insurance (we had done HPI check).  Saved us a few wasted thousands.  But if the Honda is in good working order, I don't think there is a lot you can do.  But after that incident, we used to get cars independently checked.  One dealer showed us a supposed AA certificate of inspection.., it was actually for an AA 'like' inspection carried out within the dealers and not even worth the photocopy paper it was printed on.  But we were told it was an AA inspection, the like word was missed out.

When you are buying a car, you can't trust anyone with a car for sale.., they just want to make a sale.

Norman_Castle

I'd ask what they consider major damage and how they asses it. Hopefully this damage was spotted and assessed so they should be able to tell you more about it.

DB1904

deannagone said:

It might have been done 'off insurance'.  We were lucky, had a mobile mechanic inspect a car at a dealers, he found the car had been clocked, much more engine wear than you'd expect and wing replacement off insurance (we had done HPI check).  Saved us a few wasted thousands.  But if the Honda is in good working order, I don't think there is a lot you can do.  But after that incident, we used to get cars independently checked.  One dealer showed us a supposed AA certificate of inspection.., it was actually for an AA 'like' inspection carried out within the dealers and not even worth the photocopy paper it was printed on.  But we were told it was an AA inspection, the like word was missed out.

When you are buying a car, you can't trust anyone with a car for sale.., they just want to make a sale.

An HPI check won't show insurance repairs. 

macman

A ding on the rear wing that has been filled and resprayed does not constitute 'major accident damage'. As already pointed out, this kind of repair is rarely done through a dealer as they will routinely charge twice what a local bodyshop would. So, if you couldn't spot it before purchase, it's not likely that the dealer could either.
It's a 7 year old car: few vehicles of that age would be completely without a blemish.