Everest Auto Center

Review: Hello, my name is [redacted], on January 3rd 2014, My father and I test drove a 2005 Acura MDX [redacted] with 115,000 miles on the odometer from [redacted] at Everest Auto Center located at 3228 Fulton Ave, Sacramento, Ca. (www.everestautocenter.com) formerly located at 305 Riverside Ave, Roseville, Ca. We told [redacted] that we wanted to make the purchase and would be back in the morning 01/04/14 with the loan paperwork.

At the time of purchase there were a few concerns with the vehicle that [redacted] and I came to an agreement would be repaired if I purchased the vehicle. On good faith and with reassurance from [redacted], I went ahead with the purchase. One such item being the dash vents for the climate control, as they were all broken. The navigation system was not working, which [redacted] assured me would only require the map disc (520 on-line we were told) papers were signed, and we returned the following day. Upon our arrival, we were informed they [redacted] had taken the vehicle to have the tires rotated, and would return shortly. Just before leaving, [redacted] told us that the engine service light "may" come on, but not to worry, it was just an evaporation system sensor he would replace, and that he had already ordered the part.

The very next morning (January 4th, 2014) the light did in fact come on as he stated. I called [redacted] to inform him of the situation and he said he would make an appointment with his mechanic to have it fixed. We also discovered that the navigation system was completely locked out, and required a factory reset, which costs $120, and only available thru a Honda/Acura dealer.

The following Saturday January 11th, 2014 I traveled to Sacramento and waited approximately 5 hours while the technician at Smog Kings http://www.smogking.org/ replaced the sensor. Upon completion, the mechanic informed me he felt the entire evap system should be removed and cleaned, otherwise the service light would come back on soon, but since Saturdays were his busiest days, he did not have the time to complete the repair. So I went ahead and drove the car home. During the trip home I noticed the car was pulling to the right and vibrating badly when going over speeds of 50 MPH. I also ran into some rain and when turning on the windshield wipers, noticed that they were so worn that they were scraping metal across the windshield and required me to stop immediately and buy new ones to drive home.

The following morning (Sunday, January 12th, 2014) when I turned the engine on, the service light came back on and the engine was idling very poorly. I called [redacted] to inform him of the situation, and he asked if he could take the car for a few days to sort it out all the issues. In the meantime, he supplied me with a loaner vehicle.

He took my MDX to Niello Acura in Sacramento on January 17th, 2014, where they diagnosed the problem as needing the valves adjusted, but he was unhappy with the 5750 estimate for the labor, so he then took the vehicle to Mel Rapton Honda, who performed the service at a discounted rate. I asked if he would have the navigation reset at this time but [redacted] refused to pay. The next day (Jan 18th, 2014) [redacted] called and said the car was ready to be picked up. When I arrived to pick the vehicle up, [redacted] informed me the tires had been rotated by Select Tire and Wheel, front to back and the vibration/pulling to the right were gone and the light was fixed. While driving home I noticed the idle had improved, but it was making a hard "thump" between shifting, and gear selections. During the test drive none of these symptoms apparent. After some research online, it was discovered that these vehicles are susceptible to prematurely worn transmission/motor mounts which may be the cause

On January 20th, 2014, the service engine light returned, at this point I asked a friend to use his diagnostic scanner to retrieve the error code, which read PO420 "catalyst efficiency below threshold" (Faulty 02 sensors and a nonfunctioning catalytic converter). I phoned [redacted] to inform him of this, he was very upset and stated this has never happened before, and to purchase two bottles of a fuel system cleaner called "sea breeze" and put them into half a tank of gas, and to have the cleared by my friend. However upon reading the can and asking around, I learned that the maximum amount was one can for one FULL tank, and as the MDX runs on premium unleaded only, two bottles would have raised the octane rating so high, it would have damaged my engine due to its small displacement/high compression ratio. On January 21st, 2014 we followed the manufacturer's directions and added only one can, to one full tank of premium unleaded, and we cleared the code. However by the time we drove the car around, emptied the tank of gas and filled it up again, the light came back on. I informed [redacted] that we had followed his directions, but it did not fix the situation. [redacted]'s suggestion first was to again put two bottles of the "SeaBreeze" in the tank. I told him that I was uncomfortable doing so as there are warning labels all over the bottles saying that it was dangerous to do so. I said if he would be willing to cover whatever damage it may cause to the motor, then I would try it, but otherwise, I wasn't going to do that. He said no and asked me to take the car into a dealer to make sure that it was in fact the catalytic converter and he would cover the cost of the inspection fee.

I took the car into Tracy Honda on 02/04/14. They reported back that the catalytic converter was in fact bad and needed to be replaced. They also found that one of the tires was out of round, the cabin filter needed replacing, the left rear strut was leaking and needs replacing, rear brake pads need replacing.

I called [redacted] back and told him the inspection results and all the other issues that they found. He was again very upset and told me that he would not fix anything that they found other than the catalytic converter. He said he was going to call up one of his friends and see if they had a converter available and he would fix it in his garage. He also said that afterward he wanted me to sign a document stating that I could no longer call him for anything further if anything else happened to the car. I told him that was completely unreasonable and that I wouldn't sign anything like that. The ageement was made that if I buy the car from him that he would fix the rough driving (wheels/alignment pulling situation), the broken vents, fix what-ever was causing the sensor light to come on, and that the Navigation system was only a $20 fix (buy the CD and drop it in... none have been accomplished to date. This car has been completely misrepresented from day one.

At this juncture I am no longer satisfied with the car or [redacted]'s unwillingness to address/fix these problems correctly. To date the vehicle suffers/suffered from:

1: nonfunctioning Bluetooth/navigation

2: no movement on the broken dash vents

3: unsafe/unusable wipers

4: unfinished evaporation system repair (this IS a smog system, which he knew about before the sale)

5: worn/un adjusted valve train

6: alignment issues (one tire is out of round, thus the vibration in the wheel. AWD cars must have all 4 tires replaced at the same time due to the differential systems)

7: faulty catalytic converter and accompanied systems

8: burnt out lights in the cruise control, climate controls, audio tuning, dimmer and door switches, as well as nonfunctioning gear indicator and floor lights.

9: burnt out backup lights.

10: non disclosed body repairs he was later forced to admit to.

11: Right rear strut leaking

12: Cabin filter needs replacing

13: Rear view mirror fell off— 01/04/14

14: Rear Brakes need replacing

15: No Front License Plate

16. AWD lock system inoperable

Desired Settlement: Either complete refund of vehicle or certified dealer repair of failing systems and agreed replacement parts and unlocking of navigation system.

I seek this bureau's assistance in dealing with this situation, as [redacted] and Everest Motors are in direct violation of many smog and repair laws, such as smog being seller's responsibility, and this vehicle obviously was unable to pass smog from the day I purchased it, as well as the safety issues with the wipers and lighting. I have followed [redacted]s requests diligently, save for the two bottles of system cleaner in half a tank of gas, as it would have damaged the vehicle. I appreciate your time in considering these matters, Sincerely, [redacted]

Business

Response:

We like to let you know on Jan. 42014 we sold the car to her on the terms as is condition at the time of sale we offered her to purchase a warranty on the car by she declined the warrantee. It is stanard in our used business to sell vehicles as is condition and it is up to buyer to buy the warrantee which we advise her to buy but she did decline it.

If you have any question please call me at

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[redacted].