When "cerified" isn't certified to spec
 

Hondoo's post about buying a "certified" car with improper clear bra install and bald tires is the second discussion I had today on this topic . https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...nd-victim.html

The scenario typically goes like this . Person A buys a "certified" car and then travels with it far enough from the purchase dealership to bring to to a new one . Then he finds out something like Hondoo . Tires are worn, clear bra not right, or even more expensive like brakes worn , or clutch slipping etc...

So what's a buyer to do?

1) First the person must find a dealership he has confidence in . Trust is very important with a car experience. If he faces dealing with TWO dealerships then he not only has to have confidence in BOTH but he also has to feel that they can work together on any issue .

2) I feel that a certified car ought to get a second opinion . Pay a private mechanic to really verify if the specs are being adhered to.

those are my initial thoughts .. add as you wish.

3. Find a salesman that you really trust. My salesman has sold me 3 cars - 2 new and 1 certified (the dealership has sold me a total of 6 - 4 new and 2 certified). I trust him to point me in the right direction and only to show me cars that he himself would want to drive/own.

+1^ good point...the less you know about these cars yourself the more important the relationships you guys are talking about become...if you have to rely on others then you better know something about them...this obviously points out that either there is no standard for CPO cars (which I doubt...I'm sure the dealer network wants all dealerships to follow the CPO guidelines) or there are some unscrupulous dealers out there (imagine that)...this will become even more critical as the "good ole days" are gone and fewer and fewer people are going to be buying these cars and more dealerships are going to be treading water...know who you give your money to is the best advice ever...

+2
Both you guys are spot on.

It's not what you know but how well you can find what when you don't . Google for example can practically erase years of formal education yet for some reason with all the guidelines and technology there is still this human component of trust .

This is the cornerstone of every car deal . It's also quite often the first thing which goes sour with a problematic vehicle,

i purchased my car about a week after dajgazu at the same dealership. we had different salesmen but i did meet his salesman.

in this instance, they did try to make it right with dajgazu so i think he is satisfied with the settlement.

the salesman told me that they used cars that come with front tags are left as such and they never thought to look behind it for damage.

i dont know if certifying a car includes looking behind an existing front tag bracket. i personally dont think they are cheating anyone if they dont look behind the bracket but given these circumstances, they probably should do that as it would avoid problems down the road.

my sales man had sold me two cars before this one but they were both new. he burned his bridge on this sale. i saw the car on line on there web site and made the deal over the phone. when i wraped up the deal and picked up the car the milage was over by 1000 and the really cool black mats with red trim were not in the car. the list goes on. i still love this car and it is great to drive. its a porsche. is it really worth it for a dealed to burn a bridge over somthing so petty

Bara: I agree, I would not expect them to check every nook and cranny. However, I asked for a clear bra to be installed on the car before I flew to Florida to pick it up and to install a front plate that what not originally installed on the car when they sent me pictures.

Also, the original car came with exterior color matched rims that looked like crap (IMO). I negotiated with the dealer to exchange them with non color matched rims. The dealer agreed to exchange the rims with a non certified car that was on the lot. When I got home and looked closely to I found that I received painted rims. When I phoned them about the rims they told me they could not find a car on the lot to exchange with and painting rims was done every day and I was being too picky. (you decide?)

I know this has nothing to do with certification however it does have to do with the trust that yrralis1 is talking about.

BTW: Would you trust they are doing the certification correctly if this is their definition of quality work?

Hondoo,

That's an amateur paint job on those wheels! I would definitely fight that all the way to Porsche North America, if necessary. You negotiated for swapped wheels and, instead, they went and gave you a disastrous paint job on those wheels.

Seriously, start with a phone call to the GM of the dealership and clearly and calmly explain what happened and tell him what you need him to do. If that doesn't work, he get's a faxed/mailed letter with the same. (And tell him that you will be sending a letter to him if you don't get immediate satisfaction.)

If they don't respond to your letter and call satisfactorily, go to PCNA with it. And you'll want to save a copy of your letter to the dealer so you can sent that to PCNA as well. That will help show how you were getting screwed and that your requests have been totally resonable.

That is a crappy paint job. Another option would be to find a wheel painter near you and get them re done, then call the dealer and try to get them to pay all or part of the bill.

idiot dealers. what does it really cost ? a few bucks extra. the point is to keep the cust. happy and coming back.

you certainly have a right to be ticked. didnt know the whole story till now...