Complaint Review: Randy Kuehl Honda - Cedar Rapids Iowa

We had the worst possible experience at Randy Kuehl Honda. We looked for a "newer used car" for my wife and this place was local and, for some reason, we trusted them. The salesman, that we  worked with, for a year or so, knew that we were looking for a "clean" car without previous damage. This low mileage car was sold (almost at new price) with a sob-story trade-in sales pitch. We asked multiple times if the vehicle was clean and didn't have previous damage. We were assured, with a clear Carfax report, and with so few miles that this was a "Sunday driver". We looked at the car in the dark showroom and test drove it in the dark. We were then told that others were interested in it and were asked for a non-refundable deposit to hold the car. Non-refundable to cover the cost of getting it certified. A two year old, "clean" car, with less than 2K miles, you would think it would be certified.

The next night, Friday after work, we bought the car, brought it home and parked it in the garage. The next morning we backed it out to inspect it. I started to discover that the car had previous body damage and called Kuehl. We got the run-around and put off so the "managers" could discuss it on Monday, two days later. We couldn't wait so we went to the dealership in hopes of talking with a manager. When we drove up we were met at the door and told that no managers were there and that we'd have to wait until Monday.

While waiting for the meeting, that we're sure never happened, we took the car to a reputable, independent body shop only to confirm that the whole passenger side (every panel) had been repainted and "worked". We looked in the owner's manual and found the previous owners name, called them and they confirmed that the right side was "taken out" on the garage stonework. I then asked them if this information was given to Kuehl at the time of the trade, they said "Absolutely".

After many phone calls and getting nowhere we showed up at the dealership and had the total displeasure of dealing with Nate Kuehl, the sales manager. We told him of the damage we had noticed on the car and asked him if he knew if the car had previous damage. He denied everything, and informed us that he personally took the car in on trade and it's a great car. I told him about all of the issues and he still denied knowing of previous damage. I then asked him what he'd think if I could guarantee that the car had all of the damage and that he knew it. He still denied and asked how I could be so sure. When I told him that I talked to the previous owners he leaned back in his chair and said "Oh boy". Nate then stated that he didn't do anything illegal. I asked him if the salesperson told him at the time of the deal that we were particular and that we were looking for a "clean" car. He responded "Yes, but it is a clean car, the Carfax is clean. I asked him who should be the judge of how much damage is too much for a customer. He responded "I don't know". I then asked him if the customer should be the judge of how much damage is acceptable or if he should be the judge. He replied "I don't know, the guy doing the 150 point inspection?". I then informed him that the customer should be the judge, not him. I asked him what the dealership was willing to do for us and he said that he would have to inspect the car to see if the previous damage was that extensive.

We ended up driving an employee back to our home to have him drive the car back to the dealership
so they could have it inspected. When we showed up the next night we physically pointed out the damage and he claimed he couldn't see it. He said "I'm not a body guy, apparently you're a body guy if you can see all of this. I told him that we were lied to about the car and he knew about the damage, and we wanted to reverse the deal. He said that there was no way that he'd do that. The only deal that he was willing to offer would be, give us $3000 less than we paid for the car (9 miles earlier on the odometer) in trade for a new car. We then asked him what he'd sell us a comparable new car for. The price he quoted us on a new car was $1000 more than they had it listed on their website. He then stated that he wasnt even sure if he wanted to sell us a new car because he was afraid that we wouldn't be happy with the quality of factory paint. Insinuating that we were so picky that we wouldnt even be happy with the quality of a new car.

We never should have trusted Randy Steal Honda but did. We thought that this dealership was different but it turns out we couldn't have been more wrong. This dealership is based on shady, morally bankrupt principles that will do anything to make a sale, right or wrong. They may not be acting illegally, but they're not even close to ethical! We will never be doing any business at this dealership and warn others to do the same.