If from texas...

AzN Retribution · 10-19-02, 07:40

Avoid Vandergriff Honda in Arlington off of 20 like the plague.

They are disrespectful, condescending and arrogant.

I bought my car new from them in february.
(transmission failed after 22k but that was replaced under warranty but thats not the issue although it pissed me off. tranny failure after 22k !?) note: I do drive alot.. close to 30k miles since i bought the car in early february/late january.

I also noticed 2 or 3 weeks after I bought it that it had hail damage. I guess I should have inspected it closer(Note to self never buy cars at night again) they say its my fault.

so they won't fix it.

My main issue is now the paint on my car has begun cracking from underneath. The clearcoat is cracking in neat little patterns
all over the hood and top of my car. Apparently for some bizarre reason it had been repainted twice. 9 - 12mms of paint according to my insurance's bodyshop. My insurance advised me to go to the dealer as I had bought this car new not less then 6 months ago.

They give me the runaround for weeks telling me they were checking their records and asking honda for records on my car.
Just because Im young(18) doesnt mean I deserve any less respect then any other customer. Not until I got my parents 3 weeks later to step in and ***** did they finally concede and agree to repaint the car except they refused to give me a rental.
so now I'm paying for a rental out of my pocket while they take their sweet time re-painting my car. North America Honda was no help either.

When I brought it in the guy my mom talked to wasn't there. So I had to go through the whole questioning and sketicism again. "We haven't ever seen anything like this before" "There is hail damage. You should just buy a new hood" "The insurance should cover it" "This looks like bad bodyshop work"

I did my best to hold my temper but this pissed me off so bad... my uncle who was there to drive me back to mesquite didn't though.

Obviously from this I have drawn the conclusion that Vandergriff doesn't care about their customers. and they do not deserve any new customers(victims) Please take your business with honda or acura or anything vandergriff sells to a different dealership.

I thought I would any fellow DFW autopians know so they could avoid this sort of nightmare. =( Paint failing is after all our worst nightmare is it not? :scared

tkr128 · 10-19-02, 09:31

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. It's good that they're going to fix it, but I'd be really skeptical about the quality of painting they're going to be doing.

The tranny issue for the V6 Accord is a big problem. The problem actually extends from the Honda models (Accord, Pilot, Odyssey) into the Acura models (CL, TL, MDX). I'm watching my Accord really carefully for the first signs of failure, I even have an extended warranty on it because of the failures (just in case).

Good luck with your car!

Scottwax · 10-19-02, 09:58

I would never buy a car from Vandergriff. I do get parts there, but I wouldn't let them work on mine, nor would I buy one there. About a year ago, I was thinking about getting a V6 Accord. I specifically told the salesman I was looking for a silver V6 Accord, but I did not want a spoiler or tint (spoilers are a waste of money to me and I prefer to have Z-Tint do my window tinting). What does the guy show me? A silver V6 with a spoiler and tint. Not only that, but the trunk was scratched. I told him I was in no way interested in the car because I don't trust dealership body shops to repaint properly. We looked at a few more and the guy kept having to look at the window stickers. I asked him why and he said so he would know if it was a V6 or not. I had to point out to him the V6 Accords have 5 lug wheels and the 4 cylinder Accords have 4 lug wheels. You'd think he would already know that.

Anyway, I told him I wanted a ballpark figure what it would cost me per month assuming $3000 down and my 90 Accord in trade. He said he would run the numbers and be right back. Finally, after about 10 minutes, he and the sales manager came in without any firm numbers except they wanted a total of $25,950 (or very close to that) for the silver V6 with spoiler and tint I didn't want. I told them again there was no way I would pay for a spoiler and tint I didn't want and I didn't want a car that needed the trunk lid repainted. I then told them since they obviously don't listen to what the customer wants, if I decided to get an Accord, it would be somewhere else and left.

Dude · 10-20-02, 09:54

It sounds like you may have gotten a lemon. The car has been repainted three times? That's simply not acceptable.

This is the time when you need to see a lawyer. You are probably reluctant to do this- I certainly am, and I am a lawyer- but sometimes it is necessary to turn to the judicial system, and this sounds like one of those times.

AzN Retribution · 10-20-02, 03:20

Thanks for the support and advice! you autopians are great.
I plan to call vandergriff today and see if my car is done being painted. I have a strange feeling its not and is just sitting there.

as for the lemon law thing.. I dont know if i have enough wrong with my car to bring it to court.
Paint failing on my hood is one. They gave me run-around and stuff about it too. The dealership said they were not required to disclose the car had been repainted when a person buys it.
but if i do i have no idea how to go about doing the lemon law thing. HmM I do know that i have taken care of my car full autopian detail once a month and regular oil changes and i always did transmission fluid changes 3000 miles early due to
how hot the transimission gets.

My transmission failing at 22k could be one

but doesnt there have to be a third one?

and from this whole experience i have learned alot...
like never buy a car from the salesmen...
go to edmunds.com get a TMV price.. and then call
fleet managers of different dealers and pit them
against each other.

and yes honda's accord v6/tl/cl trannies are extremely bad.
first off honda cut corners by not using the traditional
planetary gear design. They didn't want to pay royalties you see.
instead they used what they call "racing automatic" or what is basically a manual tranny with two clutches and something else.
It means less power lost to the wheels as its more efficient
but that doesnt mean anything since the V6 is anemic with torque at the low end without modification(pulleys/headers/CL cam swap). I prefer to call their transmission "autotragic".
22k is too early and on the acura tl/cl forums ive read stories
by people who have had their tranny down-shift to first or second while on the highway sending their car out of control. others who have theires fail at under 10k. and honda's reponse to this?
just a 10 year, 100k warranty. big whoop. 100k doesnt last that long. it should be unlimited mileage like toyota had to do with their oil-sludged V6's.
anyway. If you have a Honda V6 Automatic I highly reccommend a transmission cooler.

clint · 10-20-02, 03:38

Car dealers are the only entity that can make me so angry I can't sleep..

I recently helped my Bulgarian neighbor deal with toyota-
His engine in his 2000 corolla was rattling and using oil, so they replaced it (engine) under warranty- 2000 miles later does it again- but they try to blame him and won't listen. He barely speaks english, and since this is georgia, the mechanics also barely speak english- even tho they were born here.

So I offered to help- I went with him to the biggest toyota dealer in atlanta, and spoke to the service manager there.. He gave me instructions on how to start a file with toyota of america, and toyota of america will give a case number and all that..

I told them the story, and told them how surly and mean the dealership was. They entered the whole history into 'the computer'--
also provided me with the service manager's name and number for the dealership in question.

What a difference that made! Armed with a file number and some names to drop from toyota of america- we were greeted by the service manager of the 'bad' toyota place, and they gingerly provided a loaner- assuring us all the while that the most senior mechanic would personally take over the car and get to the bottom of all the troubles..

Perhaps before you go looking for a lawyer, such a call to the 'boss' would be the next easy step in your esculation..

BMW was sued millions for similar dealings in a suit in alabama..
The car had been re-painted but sold as new. I think the settlement was like three million of something..

Good luck-

AzN Retribution · 10-20-02, 04:28

File with North America Honda HmM
I'll try that..
the thing that i was pissed about the most
was the run-around with it taking so long.
and it was the service manager i talked to at this
dealer. he told me it woudl take 3-4 weeks to
"requisition" records from honda of my vehicle.
WTF?

and they REFUSED to give me a rental
I let my mom do the talking cause she got
alot more results then me..
maybe Im too nice and passive.
this is where I said NA honda was no help..
they said they didnt have any control over loaners dealerships gave you.. I guess i was so mad i forgot to ask if I could lodge a complaint.

but if my car not done tomorrow(tried calling now but they were closed).. Ill try that
with north america honda.. and threaten
lemon and some other stuff.
So hard to get my car perfect(still have a scratch over my rear center tail-light piece from vandals who ripped off my badges 3 days after I bought it)
I think this is gonna be the last honda i buy..
unless i get a used NSX.

Sigh If it isnt painted im gonna be tempted to register vandergriffsucks.com and drop flyers by every single one of their dealers.

Ktulu · 10-30-02, 08:30

You guys are making me nervous. My civic is getting the door repainted at Rusy Wallace as we speek. Actually, its probably just sitting there....

Thanks for the heads-up on that dealership though.

Ktulu · 11-01-02, 10:43

Ya, ummm. Stay the hell away from Rusty Wallace...wow