Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/31/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I leased a vehicle from ********* Honda (now Honda of Stamford) under the assumption that it was a new car. However, upon taking delivery, I noticed several indicators suggesting prior ownership. These included excess mileage, physical damage, debris, and personal items left inside the vehicle. I documented these issues and contacted the dealership, requesting that they take the car back and release me from the lease. They refused, claiming the items belonged to one of their mechanics.
  
  Friday, while shopping for a new vehicle, a dealership ran a ****** report and informed me that the car had a previous owner. With this new information, I am seeking assistance in further investigating the matter, as I lack the resources to determine whether this lease was fraudulently misrepresented.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/02/2025

  Good afternoon,

  I was able to pull the deal file for **** ********. I found that he had come in on April 29th 2022 to pick up his new vehicle 2022 Honda **** with vin# *****************. All the paperwork we have show's April 29th 2022, being the date of registration and delivery. It was registered as a new car with a Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin from the Honda Factory that I have included in the attachment. If this car was previously owned, ********* Honda would not have had a Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin. Also, if you look at the date on the ****** of sale, it will match up with his Lease date. This car may have been test driven a few times either by a single customer or with their family and possibly leaving a toy behind but does not constitute it being a used car. The picture of the miles on the car in his attachment was taken 3 days after delivery and could have been put on by customer. This lighter in the door panel was left behind by our new car porter while moving the car. This issue was addressed when Mr. ******** brought it to our attention. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/25/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Date of Transaction 5/11/2023
  
  I came to this dealership looking for a car that was better on gas and would potentially cost either the same or less than what I was paying for my 2022 Acura TLX ($677 a month). The dealership initially gave me a quoted price of $100 more a month, so I left. A week later, I get a text from the sales associate asking if i'd be interested in the car if her "manager can do something crazy". We agreed on a price of $699 a month, and I was extremely clear with what I could afford to pay out-of-pocket for this lease. I was told I was approved for the car and that my monthly payment would be $699 with the terms I proposed. When I got to the dealership (in a rush, because I had to get back to work), I meet the finance manager and then get told that the payment would be around $750 a month with all I was putting out-of-pocket, and if I wanted to pay $699 a month, I'd have to put out another $1K, which I didn't have. All that was discussed with me at the time of sale was $750, and I was signing all the forms rapidly because I had to get back to an important meeting. I got my first invoice for the month of June and my payment is now $806. When I reached out to the dealership and complained, I was told they would see what they could do, and that certain managers would follow-up with me. Nothing happened except for the finance manager offering to give me $50 a month from his own pocket. The resolution I wanted was to just get my Acura back and surrender the car I got from Honda, but no...He then told me he was gonna check with his buddy if he could get me cheaper car insurance; which wasn't possible. So his offer to help with $50 a month for 6 months until he could get me into a new car...Long story short, I'm at risk of repossession because I cannot pay my bills. My insurance also went up and his solution for that was for me to lower my limits to $25k. Now my monthly debts are more than my monthly income. And my credit has tanked to the 500s.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/28/2023

  Due to the exorbitant car payment, I’ve been forced to make only the minimum payment due on my revolving lines of credit, and my score has significantly tanked down. Which means, I can’t even trade this car in for something cheaper, because I’ll be right back where I started. I can’t even look for a cheaper apartment because no one will approve me for anything with this credit score. I can’t even get a consolidation loan. I will reiterate that I am not looking for personal compensation. I just want them to take this car back and clear out my lease on it. Please…otherwise this car will be repossessed, and that will hurt my credit even more.  Again…I truly was bamboozled, and I want them to own up to what they did. This is a solid questioning of ethical sales, and there was nothing ethical about this. This is not purely a buyers remorse thing, this is them playing with my livelihood just to make a sale. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/28/2023

  As per the finance manager’s suggestion (Jason), I had to lower all of my insurance liability limits, and increased the deductibles to over $2K. So, my car and the cars of others are hardly even close to covered, because of these absurd limits and deductibles, because I simply can’t afford to protect this car with proper AND required limits/coverages. The amount of financial and emotional distress that has come from this lease is absolutely insane, and I’m torn and have no idea what to do. The $50 a month he offered to give me until he can get me out of the lease, don’t even begin to touch the tip of this iceberg. 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/11/2023

  Honda of Stamford denies these allegations. We have been in communications with this customer for some time now and have provided him options as a show of good-will. We always thoroughly explain any changes and the reason for the change and then ask the customer if they wish to move forward with this option. Once a customer agrees, a contract is created and discussed before a customer signs. If you look at the HondaD picture the customer submitted he contradicts himself in the text message with our Sales consultant where he states our finance manager did explain it to him but it still didn’t make sense to the customer which was never voiced at the time of the transaction and yet still signed.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/03/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Date of transaction: 5/23/2023
  Amount paid: $25821
  The commitment was: To sell me 2018 ****** **** ******* in the condition we agreed upon via a telephone conversation with Ray, one of dealer’s Sales Agent.
  Nature of the dispute: I have purchased several of my vehicles online. So, I asked Ray specific questions about the vehicle. Among them were: 1. What are the condition of the tires? I was told the ties had 75 to 80% tread left. 2. Are there any major scratches or dents? I was told there were no major scratches or dents, and it is like new.
  I flew 800 mi to get the car. I had repeatedly told Ray that I had to return home ASAP to take my wife to eye surgery the next day. I waited for over two hours at the dealership until I signed all the documents and paid for the car. While waiting, I was not offered to see the car.
  Issues are:
  1. I replaced the tires which were worn out on the inside due to improper wheel alignment. Also, the DOT date on the tires was 2018 with approximate 45K miles on the car, it is unlikely for have an additional 75 to 80% tread left as I was promised.
  2. As soon as I saw the car with Ray, I saw a deep scratch almost 80% of the entire length of the passenger side of the car. To which, Ray pointed out that “… this can be buffed out...”. Not true, because the scratch was too deep.
  I have sent four separate letters to Mr. P*********, the General Manager (GM). After my first letter, I received a call from Zack, the Sales Manager. He only addressed the tire issue and how it met the State of ************* safety requirements. He stated that the tires must be safe since the car got me home (800 mi) safely.
  I sent the GM a second letter and got no responses. After my third letter, he called. Ray was also online at the same time. Defending that the tires were safe. Ray stated that I was offered to see the car. This simply is not true. The GM offered me $300 for the scratch and nothing else. I respectfully declined the offer. I was seeking $1000.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/20/2023

  Honda of Stamford denies all allegations. We pride ourselves in providing excellent customer service by putting all our customers' needs first and providing full transparency. We did a full investigation which confirmed the following:

  
  - The transaction started with multiple facetime video calls where our sales executive Ray went over all of Mr. ********* concerns and provided a live viewing of every inch of the vehicle.
  - Tires were measured at 5/32nds which meets the 2/32nds state of *********** standards. If Mr. ******* would have brought this concern to our attention when Ray showed him the vehicle prior to delivery, we would have addressed the issue and hope to come to an agreement that would make sense for both parties. 
  - The day Mr. ******* arrived at *********** *******, we provided pick up accommodations. The delay that is being expressed was due to his insurance company not providing us with the paperwork that is required when purchasing a vehicle which we have no control of.

  Mr. ********* written statement has many contradictions. He stated that he wasn't offered to see the vehicle, but then states that when he saw the vehicle with Ray he pointed out the scratch claiming we explain "this can be buffed out" when our real response was " it is a pre-own vehicle which will always have a normal amount or wear and tear and informed him that we can help him with a new car instead if this was an issue" which he declined and then proceeded finalizing his purchase by taking delivery of the vehicle. 
  We contacted Mr. ******* numerous times and tried to compensate him to show goodwill of how much we appreciate the opportunity to earn his business, but he declined because if its not the amount he feels he is entitled to and decided that receiving nothing is a better solution which we are just trying to be reasonable. 

  Respectfully,
  Honda of Stamford

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/26/2023

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ***** *******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/26/2023

  With all due respect, the response from the dealership is
  totally arbitrary and capricious. Here is why:
  I have not had any “facetime video calls” with Ray, the sales agent, or any other members of the dealership. I only had audio telephone conversations with Ray and others in the dealership, period. I will arrest my case if you show any evidence of video calls.
  While tire tread measurements of 5/32 may meet the state of *********** standards, it falls way short of the 75 to 80% tread life I was told by Ray during our audio only telephone conversation. Furthermore, I only saw the car after waiting for over two hours at the dealership and AFTER I had paid for the car and signed all the documents. Again, show me the video proof that I saw the car before I paid for it and I will arrest my case.
  I have NOT “contradicted” myself about seeing the car. Please see why in #2 above, and in my complaint correspondences.
  One of my many questions to Ray was “… does it have any deep scratches or dents…” To which he replied, “no deep scratches or dents… it’s like brand new…”. I have bought numerous cars, some new and others used. I expect used cars may have some cosmetic and mechanical imperfections. But this is a deep scratch about 80% of the entire length of the car. Why was this not disclosed prior to my purchase?  If you can prove that I was shown this via a “facetime video call” I will arrest my case.
  I have NOT been contacted by the dealership “numerous times”, but have had only two calls: one from Zack, the Sales Manager, after my initial letter to Mr. P*********, GM.  I received a call from the GM after my second letter when he offered me a-$300 compensation. I also had a brief phone conversation with Ray after my initial letter. I told Ray I will follow-up with him in a couple of days. I followed-up with Ray and sent him the receipt for the tires, and he never responded to me. So, this by no means is indicative of contacting me “… numerous times”.
  Lastly, the response does not specifically address my two main concerns: the condition of the tires not being 75 to 80%, and the big deep scratch on the passenger side of the car.
  
  Sincerely,
  ***** *******