Post-purchase Honda inspection exposes scumbag seller
Audio By Carbonatix
At first glance, the car looked normal enough. And for under $4,000, it seemed like a good deal. So, the buyer pulled the trigger on the used Honda. Then, they took it to their local shop for a post-purchase inspection. The mechanic put it up on a lift, and soon exposed just how much of a ripoff the buyer got.
Thousands down the drain for an unsafe used Honda
1Concept Auto Inc. posted the reel. The Toronto-based repair facility specializes in Audis and VWs, but works on everything.
The car’s on an overhead lift. It’s a sedan, and by the front end, it looks like an Accord. The mechanic walks viewers down the Honda’s passenger side rocker. It’s about gone from rust. The driver’s side is worse. “I’m [curse] gambling right now…just standing underneath this car.”
Rust is bad, of course – especially if it makes working on the car unsafe. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Heads-up, as the video rolls, there’s some language.
The mechanic pans over to the Honda’s rear subframe. This is like a metal “cage” that holds the entire suspension system in the proper position.
The left rear axle is totally missing. The left rear sway bar link isn’t attached to anything at the hub. And still, it gets worse.
Nightmare weld work
“I don’t even know what the [curse] is going on here,” the mechanic says, getting heated. Someone welded layers of flat squares onto the subframe. Presumably, these patches were meant to hold the frame together, as it’s clearly falling apart from rust.
The lesson here? Get a dang pre-purchase inspection
As one commenter, a mechanic, asserted, some customers avoid paying $50 or even $100 for a pre-purchase inspection. “I bet this person wishes he spent $200 for a pre inspection now.”
All of the found conditions – any single one of them – make the vehicle totally unsafe. Sure, lots of used Hondas, especially Accords, are solid cars, even with tons of miles clocked. But prior maintenance and care are key.
The shop says the customer spent thousands up front. Now, though, it needs at least a replacement subframe plus whatever missing or worn rear steering and suspension components. Still, that doesn’t change the rocker rust. All told, this Honda should have been scrapped, not sold as a drivable vehicle.
