NEVER Buy from Ebersole Honda in Lebanon PA

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S

Spyderturbo

Senior Member
I just picked up a 2000 Civic EX from Ebersole Honda in Lebanon PA. The car was sold as is, fair enough. However, it had a fresh inspection, including PA emisions that requires an OBD2 rediness test. I drove the car 76 miles before the CEL came on. Code P0420 for catalyst efficiency. The catalytic converter is toast, the honeycombs are broken loose and rattling around. It baffles me that a dealer would throw an inspection and emisions sticker on a car that obviously had this known issue. There is no way it passed the OBD2 rediness test. I will be contacting the Commonwealth of PA regarding this. The stealership basically told me to F off. NEVER EVER deal with EBERSOLE HONDA IN LEBANON PA, they are liars. Oh and after further inspection the car it also has a blown rear strut, so there is no way they should have stickered it. I hate them....
 
This sucks if it's been a few months but since it just happened you can easily have a case VS them.

Tell them you're lawyer is reviewing the bill of sale, and the saftey inspection info as with the local state officals both DOT and VEIP (if you have them there)

IF you just bought the car the state should have a field day with that dealership.

It should be pretty easy and straight forward.
 
Did you test drive it before signing your life away for it? How did you not hear the rattling?
 
It's PA, as-is, is just that, as-is. I don't think you'll get very far but it's worth a shot.

Personally, I'd replace the CC (obviously not Honda branded cause of the price) and let it go. I never had a problem getting my car inspected in PA, only the 2000 Express, cause we fucked that shit up, with the years of abuse and everybody driving that shit, we practically ripped the rear brake/tail/flasher harness out of the van. I was told to go to Philly to have it inspected and they sniff tested it and it failed. The company I worked for and who actually owned the van coughed up nearly $1500 to repair it, they used genuine Chevy parts.

I've never had any of my personal cars sniffed in PA cause I always got it done at a private mech., only visual for the exhuast and as long as it isn't rusted through you'll pass.
 
2000Si said:
Did you test drive it before signing your life away for it? How did you not hear the rattling?
Click to expand...

I bought the car because it was a one owner trade, it was bought at another local Honda dealer by the same woman that traded it on an Accord, it had all the service history, etc. I absolutely test drove it, and I did notice a slight exhaust rattle, but with the BRAND NEW 10/07 inspection on it I figured it was heat shielding on the cat, after all, a dealer wouldn't sticker a car for emisions with a failed cat would they? That is my main point here, Ebersole Honda stickered and sold a car that they should not have, had the inspection expired in a month, I never would have bought it, or I would have insisted they inspected the car prior to my purchasing it, in which case I would have gotten screwed over anyway, because obvioulsy Ebersole Honda has little to no intergrity....
 
Oh yea, I'm picking up the new OEM style cat today at a local auto parts place for $190, a lot cheaper than the $958 I was quoted at the Honda dealer.
 
Go aftermarket, you'll save another 100 if not more..
 
Spyder, have you ever heard the term, "It's not what you know, it's what you can prove." The burden of proof is on you now. In all honesty, it will be cheaper for you to pay for a cat than shell out the cash it is going to cost you to pay a lawyer. I am not from PA, but I would have to venture to say that the state will tell you that its you against the world here. You bought the car AS-IS. Was the check engine light on when you bought it? Apparently not, or you would not have bought it. Can you prove the strut was blown before you bought it? It still runs doesn't it? If so, you cant call it a lemon. Sounds like a lost cause to me. Keep us informed though.
 
how many miles are on the car?
lemon laws vary by state
but as-is doesn't really exist for a dealer selling a car

in NY the car needs to be connected to the state via the OBD2 connection, which scans the car for codes, i would assume PA has a similar system and the car would not receive a sticker if the CEL was on...
nor would it pass if the CEL's were reset and it wasn't driven at least 30 minutes

i'm willing to bet it passed
just bad luck
 
HONDA_PARTS_GUY said:
Spyder, have you ever heard the term, "It's not what you know, it's what you can prove." The burden of proof is on you now. In all honesty, it will be cheaper for you to pay for a cat than shell out the cash it is going to cost you to pay a lawyer. I am not from PA, but I would have to venture to say that the state will tell you that its you against the world here. You bought the car AS-IS. Was the check engine light on when you bought it? Apparently not, or you would not have bought it. Can you prove the strut was blown before you bought it? It still runs doesn't it? If so, you cant call it a lemon. Sounds like a lost cause to me. Keep us informed though.
Click to expand...

oh yea I'm eating it, I'm buying the cat and not bothering to persue them. But I figured I would tell everyone how much they suck....
 
Buy A Car With A Warranty

:mellow: The vehicle you purchased was bought as-is. Sold at a bargain price due to the as-is condition. Did you negotiated to a lower selling price by buying the vehicle as-is? Maybe you are not an as-is car buyer. If the check engine light would have been set off prior to your purchase I'm sure the dealership would have delt with the issue. Dealing with the issue after you purchase the vehicle could make the dealership liable for further repairs. It's called an Implied Warranty. Any vehicle with over 140,000 miles is capable of requiring repairs at anytime. The misfortune you experienced is unfortunate but next time buy a car with a warranty or have the vehicle inspected by your own mechanic. The dealership lived up to thier end of the deal with an as-is purchase. Where are they missing integrity??:mellow:
 
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