Help me as to what to do. Bought a lovely Honda Accord Tourer from a Honda main dealer last week. I love the car and got an excellent deal which I was happy with.
Car was advertised on dealer website as having full service history and was sold as "Honda Approved Used". Got home and noticed only one stamp in book. Stamped at 22,500 miles (car only done 22,600 now). This service was slightly early and done by dealer as the 25,000 service.
However, 1st service (12,500) not stamped and on enquiring of dealer, who has in turn has enquired of previous owner, 1st service was not done.
I was annoyed but they've offered to extend warranty to 3 years with a letter from them stating dealership will honour any item that fails that will not be covered by Honda warranty scheme if it were traceable to lack of 1st service. Also offered next service free.
I feel that the mistake was genuine by the dealer and I like the car. They have been very honest about the 1st service not happening and have not attempted to fabricate a story that it occurred. I suppose my question is should I take the car back for a refund (dealer have agreed to do this, they accept car was misrepresented) or accept what's happened and take a car which drives well with the increased warranty package?
What are the possible problems I could run into in the future if I (as always) am meticulous about maintaining servicing from now on? I appreciate there may be an effect on resale value but this will likely be minimised as I tend to keep cars for some time.
All advice much appreciated.
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Keep it. You are happy with the car and now have an extended warranty. Dealer could have tried to palm you off but haven't. Keep the car and use the same dealer and recommend them to your friends.
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This is far from ideal but if it's a petrol model I would on balance keep it. However the statement 'if fault can be traced to lack of first service' (or words to that effect) is really not worth a penny since how will you prove it or they disprove it.
If it's a diesel then I would be far more concerned about the missed oil change. To their credit, the garage have been very honest.
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If he 'forgot' a 12.500 mile service he also probably 'forgot' to check the oil level regularly. Waited until the warning came on, carried on driving and engine went pop.
I was reading a long term test about a Golf diesel and a comment was made that the 'owner' (a member of the editorial team) was surprised to see the oil warning light come on after 4,000 miles! Excuse me, but shouldn't a motor journalist at least have the knowledge to check fluid levels every week or so and top us as necessary?
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If you like the car (ive got a 2.4 type s tourer and its fab!) then why not swap it at the dealer? Give that one back and get them to source you another - at the same price obviously or at a discount for the hassles.
The car was not priced on having missed a service so at the very least you should negotiate a discount if you keep it. But why keep it? There are a few around nowadays at reasonable prices. As the dealers are being reasonable and have offered to take it back, im sure they would be happy to swap it for you.
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Rarely check the oil in mine because it stands on a hill at home, have never put any oil in it, and it is going in for its 62.5k service in 2 weeks at just under 2 years old.
If they are prepared to cover the engine for a reasonable time - I would want more than remaining warranty period - why worry. If they won't get them to change it.
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Go by your own instincts - chances are if you reject it the one you get next will be a lemon and you'll regularly see the one you rejected for the next 15 years looking and driving as good as new.
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Garages are so negligent these days. You would have thought they would have stamped the service book.
Many hire and lease cars have their books kept by the dealers, so they can stamp them before selling them on.
If you are realy meticulous re maintaining cars, the only way to be sure is to buy a new one. I do not trust service records because they can and do forge them. By the way I can prove the last remarks.
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Have a look on Ebay.
You can currently purchase unused manufacturers complete and unused service books.
You can also purchase rubber stamps which have been specifically produced for stamping these books, so producing a complete service history for a car which, presumably, didn't have one before.
Of course, in no way do I encourage or condone people to purchase these items, I am merely pointing out that they are available, and BR members can draw their own conclusions!
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Thanks for your replies. I must admit I expected the 1st stamp to "appear" when I presented the problem to them. It is to their credit that they have not tried to fabricate the service. I am also negligent for not thoroughly checking the service history and believing the advert. I'll muse on what to do over the weekend, I really do like the car!
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Should mention as people have asked - it's petrol, not diesel (the 2.0l engine)
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Well, thought about it. Have decided to let them have car back - this is the first time I've bought from main dealer and I did this for peace of mind which I don't have. I do realise the car sitting on my drive will likely do 200,000 miles now and not miss a beat but the enjoyment of owning a new car is marred by my doubts about its history.
The lesson of course is to always check the service history physically rather than rely on adverts/guarantees from sales staff!
Will see what car they come up with for me!
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Not a great state of affairs, but for once the dealre have been realy honest and reasonable about it all. So what I would say is given that its a petrol engine and assuming the oil was kept topped up, I dont think you will have any real problems, as long as the engine runs okay now. I've heard far worse non-service stories than this. You could, I suppose go after some compensation to keep the car.
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£13,995was £14,118Details
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