I have been looking for used Hondas for a while, my poor little car is about to turn in its two week notice. After a lot of very discouraging searches I thought I lucked out when I saw a 2002 Honda Accord EX listed for under $5k at Audi of Peoria.
The sales people were very polite and did not get uptight when I asked to take the car to my mechanic to have it inspected.
Here is the list of what we found wrong with the car (just in the first few minutes of looking).....
There is a large sun fade spot in the paint on the rear roof. There are small dings and dents all around the vehicle, not a big deal, I'm not hung up so much on little imperfections. The previous owner was a smoker and the force is strong with that aroma. The radio does not work even when you reset it. Weather stripping on the front windshield is coming off. The SRS light is on indicating that the airbags have been deployed. The front and rear bumpers had both been replaced and were not fitted correctly so they hang crooked and the rear bumper looked like it could fall off if you went over a speed bump too hard. The front passenger side fender had been replaced and is also missing the guard over the tire. Both the front and rear engine mounts are broken and the car needed a timing belt package which would cost around $1200 just to fix those issues. There were screws missing from the back doors and several parts of the body were missing their VIN stickers which leads me to believe that those pieces are not original to the car. My mechanic was shocked that it was not a salvage title car, that a dealership accepted it as a trade and even more so that they were selling it. He asked if I had lost my mind and gone to a "buy here pay here" chop shop.
I returned the car and my list of defects to the dealer, no one there seemed all that interested in knowing what we found so I am sure they will pass that vehicle off on any sucker willing to put the money down. What really bothers me is that whichever technicians inspected this vehicle before accepting it as a trade did not catch these very obvious defects (what are they being paid for??) and that even knowing all of this information no one even raised an eyebrow which makes me wonder about their ethics.
If they are willing to try and pass this car off as a "great deal" that "won't last long" I just have to wonder what other snake oil they sell. Buyers beware!
**UPDATE**
I received a call this evening from the General Sales Manager apologizing for this car and letting me know that it has been removed from online advertising which is a relief. He said they care greatly about their online advertising so I am not sure if this review got his attention or the list of defects I brought back from my mechanic or both. Either way I am glad they addressed it and have fixed the situation before anyone was sold a lemon.