Was my truck damaged and still sold to me as new?

Q. I have a 2019 Honda Ridgeline that was purchased new from the dealer. I struck a post protecting a fire hydrant, resulting in good ding in the rear passenger door frame and a scrape of the rear quarter panel. The strange thing is that the framing dent exposed white body filler. My local body shop also said that the real quarter panel seemed to have a less glossy paint finish than the rest of the car. I have to admit I never noticed that. Have you ever heard of a car being damaged in production or at the dealership and then passed off as brand new? Do you think that four-and-a-half years later I have any recourse? 

A. Body damage is graded. If it’s minor, it is repaired and sold as new. If there is more damage, the car may be repaired and typically the car goes to auction and is sold as used. Years ago, I was an arbitrator for several vehicle manufacturers. A new Lexus owner had a complaint about a poor color match. When the manufacturer checked the history, it found that during assembly the trunk lid hit the body. When that happened the car, which had the interior installed, went to the factory paint booth. The issue is that the paint baking temperature is different when the car has interior components in it.  All was okay up until that point. When the car was being delivered, the truck driver dropped a chain on the other side of the trunk lid. Now the car was painted again (once on the left side, once on the right side) again with different paint curing temperature. The car was sold as new. Lexus ended up repurchasing the car. Do you have any recourse, since the car is now damaged? I would say not likely. 

Q. I installed a new AGM Diehard battery in my 2015 Toyota 4Runner. No issues to date. I saw online an ad for a diode upgrade to allow more voltage to the battery, getting longer life and more cranking amps out of the battery. Is this an upgrade on which you have information to share?

A. In many cases, battery manufacturers sell batteries as good, better, and AMG batteries as best. If charging system modifications were necessary to maintain the battery warranty, it would be noted by the battery manufacturer. Also, I’m not sure whether adding a non-Toyota diode and bumping the voltage .5- to .7 volts is a good idea for the rest of the electrical system. I upgraded to an AGM battery in one car due to available inventory at the time with no issues to date, and the battery is always fully charged.   

Q. We have three cars in our family, and I enjoy cleaning and waxing them. I am considering an electric buffer. Some are oscillating and some are rotary.  Some are very expensive. What do you recommend? 

A. I have one of each. The rotary-style buffer is what was used for years by professional detailers (which I am not). The biggest issue is that in the wrong hands you can get too aggressive and cause paint swirls or even burn through paint. The random-orbit polishers are easier to use and with different pads will produce very good results with just a little practice. I recently purchased a random-orbit six-inch sander/polisher on sale for $35, and I am happy with the results. As a sander it worked well for a woodworking project and also shined up my wife’s Volkswagen. 

Q. What’s the best way to get paid if I’m selling a car? Checks can bounce, wires can be fraudulent, cash is just plain dangerous, etc. I am thinking of selling my 2004 Honda S2000, and for a nice chunk of change ($40k). 

A. Cash is best, but I would do it somewhere safe such as a bank or police station. I have seen bank checks that were fraudulent, and ETF (electronic funds transfer) can take a couple of days. So I wouldn’t sign over the title until you see the money. I actually went to a buyer’s bank once to have them generate a check in person. If you do take a certified cashier’s check, only take it during business hours and call the bank to verify funds (look up the phone number, don’t use the number on the check. Then sometimes you can trust your gut. Years ago, I sold my Chevrolet Corvair and a couple that showed up in a Nissan 280Z. They were nice and I trusted them. I offered to take a personal check for a deposit and a bank check for payment, and all was good.  

Q. I purchased a new 2018 Tesla Model 3.  My only regret was not dumping it during the pandemic when prices were high. The recharging infrastructure has nothing to do with this (I have a road trip vehicle, a 2015 BMW X3 diesel). I find the inaccuracy of the available battery life most disconcerting. I worked approximately 28 miles from home. In the winter, I would drive out of my (unheated) garage in the morning with a range of 150 miles and arrive at work with a range of only 90 miles (not 132).  Then, when leaving work, after the battery would cool during the winter day, I would have a predicted range of only seven miles.  This was, as you can imagine, very unsettling, as well as a recurring event.  I would then have to charge the car before returning home. Fortunately, there was a Tesla supercharger nearby.  Add to that the lack of an AM radio, CD, and a completely non-intuitive interface, and I am done with EVs (or at least Tesla) for the present.

A. You might do better in cold weather by slow charging. Using a slow, level 1 120 volts charging cord may get a bit more range and precondition the car for cold weather. I recently evaluated the Genesis GV60 and found for limited driving I was easily able to get by on 120-volt charging. I found the same experience a few years ago with the Ford Mach-E even in winter. EVs work great for some people but we found similar to you that many buyers are not happy. A recent AAA survey shows that only 18 percent of U.S. adults reported they would be “very likely” or “likely” to buy a new or used EV, down from 23 percent last year. Perhaps more compelling, 63 percent said they were “unlikely or very unlikely” to select an EV for their next car purchase.

John Paul is AAA Northeast’s Car Doctor. He has over 40 years of experience in the automotive business and is an ASE-certified master technician. E-mail your Car Doctor question to [email protected]. Listen to the Car Doctor podcast at johnfpaul.podbean.com.