Martin Main Line Honda

I bought a new 2009 Honda Ridgeline in June 2009 from Mike Rostin. I courtesy traded a 2005 Honda Accord. When I took delivery of the truck, it was raining and almost dark. The salesman had me sign the "I owe you" form before I looked at the truck. That form lists everything the dealer must fix and all things promised as part of the deal. The "deal" included the installation of a trailer wiring plug for dealer cost with free installation and $700 from my courtesy trade-in. Unfortunately, I didn't get anything in writing and nor did I get a good chance to look over the vehicle due to the weather/light. The clerk had to do the paperwork twice since the VIN number of the trade-in was incorrectly recorded so it was quite a while before we actually got to look at the truck. While inspecting the truck, I noticed that it was covered with a yellow clay-like material which was splattered all around the body. I carefully wiped off a lot of the stuff to make sure there were no dents and dings as best I could and then drove the vehicle directly home. First thing next morning, I washed the truck and dried it. I also had to strip off protective plastic covering from the doors and under the dash. It was apparent that they did an extremely poor job of detailing. At that point, I noticed a large scratch and dings on the front bumper as well as rust in the bed and along the tail gate. I cleaned the rust as best I could and then immediately returned the vehicle to the dealer to ask about the rust and to point out the damage to the bumper. Bruno, the sales manager, said that the dent was not there the night before. He was rude and arrogent and all but accused me of lying. When I asked him about the rust, he said "all metal rusts". I said what should I treat it with. He said "Whatever works for you". He then instructed Mike the salesman to get some touch-up paint to cover the dent. I said, don't bother as I will have it fixed properly when I return to get the wiring plug installed. The damage was well beyond touch-up paint. About a week later, they called to say the plug was in. I took the truck back to have it installed and waited a few hours. Someone gave me a bill and said it was all done. When I looked at the truck, the plug was not installed. It turned out that they ordered the wrong part even though I sent a picture of the part to the salesman to make sure he got the correct one. To their credit, the 3rd party dent man showed up and they let him fix the ding in the bumper. He did an amazing job. When the part came in, Bruno said he'd give me 10% off and said he did not agree to install it for free. That is on me because I didn't get it in writing. I simply got the part at another dealer for considerably less than what he quoted as "his cost" and had that dealer install it. Next came getting paid the $700 for my courtesy trade. I called Mike several times over the next few weeks asking where the check was. In the meantime, I talked to the person who bought my car so I knew she paid for it and took delivery. Mike said that Bruno the sales manager wanted to hold the buyer's check for a month. That sounded crazy but I agreed. It is now almost two months later and after several emails and calls, there is no check. I finally sent a letter to the owner of the dealership and I am awaiting his reply. If that fails, there is the Better Business Burea and then small claims court. There are other small elements of the deal not worth mentioning but suffice it to say that this was the worst car buying experience ever. Moral of the story is as follows: Get everything promised in writing. Pick up your new vehicle in the daylight on a dry day. Take your time and go over every inch of it with a fine toothed comb. If that is not possible, get it indoors where you can carefully inspect it. I normally do both but I was hurried to make the deal and get out of there quickly. Shame on me for trusting a salesman!