I purchased my new 2016 Civic from a certified Denver area dealership back in January and it has been a great car. I took the vehicle in for service and dropped it off on Wednesday October 19. I received a phone call from the service advisor stating that not only could they not hear the noise I originally brought the car in for, but that an "inexperienced" lot tech had backed into my car while it was sitting in the shop. The service advisor reassured me that "it wasn't that bad" and was "just a scratch". The next morning I arrived at the dealership to see the damage. It was far worse than I was told. A large scratch covered the length of my bumper as well as waves to indicate the plastic was bent in several spots across the bumper. The service advisor was adamant that they would repair the bumper. The more I thought about it, the more angry I became knowing that my brand new car that I will be paying on for years to come is no longer brand new and has essentially been wrecked. I contacted the salesman who sold me the car and explained what had happened and asked if they would be able to trade me out of the vehicle. He said he spoke with the GM and that they would give me a "great value" for my used vehicle. When I came to the dealership to meet with the salesman, my first question was whether or not the damage would be reported to CarFax to which he said it would be, but they were going to give me a trade allowance based on the assumption that the vehicle had not been damaged. However, when he showed me the car deal for a new 2016 Civic I would be purchasing, they had me paying approximately $3000 more for the same car I purchased 10 months ago. Also, they were going to be cancelling the extended service contract I had purchased and using that money as a "down payment". When I explained to him that I prefer to have an extended contract due to the high miles I put on my cars, he gave little sympathy knowing that by the time I was finished with finance I would essentially be paying $5-$6000 more than I had earlier this year. I then asked what they would pay me for the vehicle if I just sold it back to them. The number he gave left me paying almost $6000 to pay off my original loan. Blue book value for trade on my car is about $3000 higher than they are offering me. I feel as though I am the one being penalized for the damage they did to my vehicle and I don't feel simply fixing the damage is a solution, especially since it is being reported to CarFax as an accident. My car is still in their body shop over a week later, so I am concerned there is further damage given the "minor scratch" they made it out to be. I am hesitant to take delivery of it when it's finally done and need to get this resolved. I understand they don't want to try and sell a wrecked car anymore than I do, but I think they should take responsibility for depreciating my vehicle's value. I would prefer not to have to get an attorney involved, but I am willing to so if necessary. Am I being unreasonable for thinking they should take the monetary loss? Any advice is welcomed! Thank you!

 

welcome to the forum. I would get in touch with American Honda. I believe they are based in Torrance and open up a file on what happened and the ding on carfax due to collision now on record.