Ave Atque Vale - Hail and Farewell

Hinoki said:

Little bit of a story here, but I'll keep it short.

I purchased a 2018 Honda Clarity from CarMax for around 30,000 with 47,250 miles on her.

Everything was fine at first, until I had to take it to the dealership to have the traction battery looked at.
While the traction battery was fine, nothing else was, evidently. The previous owner had done literally no maintenance except for an oil change.
The dealership claimed... and I verified once I got home by testing it myself...
1) The Engine Coolant was in need of replacement. I verified this; the hydrometer indicated it would not be able to hack even a mild Tennessee winter.
2) The Hybrid Battery coolant was bad. Same as above...
3) The Inverter coolant was bad. Same as above...
4) The Brake fluid was bad. I tested it.. and yeah, it was turning acidic fast with somewhere north of 4% water contained.
5) The transmission fluid was bad, too.

The dealership wanted around 1500 for all this work. Seems steep, but.. it's a dealership.
Could I have done the work myself? Mostly.. everything except for the hybrid coolant. Never done it, and not about to melt the thing by trying.
Was I willing to pay for it? Hell no. I didn't take on a car note for 30k only to put another 2 into it before I've even owned the thing 30 days.

Was CarMax willing to pay for it? Nope. They said.. and I quote.. "We don't follow the manufacturer's recommendations for maintenance. We find them too strict."
My reply? "Gotcha. I'm within my 30 day guarantee, so here's your car back."

They gave me my money back, and invited me to depart the premises, which I of course did.

As it turns out, across the street was a Chevrolet dealership. They had a 2022 2LT Bolt I could sit in.. not drive, because it was sold. But it was a comfortable little car.
And as it turns out, they had received seven or eight of them to use as displays at CMA (Country Music Awards). One arrived too late, and Chevrolet wasn't going to come back for it and take it downtown.

Within 30 seconds, I'd put down my deposit (Beating someone else out by 3 minutes). We're waiting for the paperwork from Chevrolet to arrive, and then I go get my Bolt.Should happen sometime this week.
Silver metallic color, leather interior. Fully decked out... 5900 off sticker, to keep it in line with Chevrolet promotions.. and a free 240v EVSE install in the garage.And only 6 miles on the clock.

I'd have kept the Clarity if CarMax had taken care of the maintenance.. but perhaps they realized they could get it back from me and sell it for even more, considering how hot these cars are right now.

Anyway, Cheers, all! Good luck and have fun!

-Hinoki

Click to expand...

Hinoki said:

Little bit of a story here, but I'll keep it short.

I purchased a 2018 Honda Clarity from CarMax for around 30,000 with 47,250 miles on her.

Everything was fine at first, until I had to take it to the dealership to have the traction battery looked at.
While the traction battery was fine, nothing else was, evidently. The previous owner had done literally no maintenance except for an oil change.
The dealership claimed... and I verified once I got home by testing it myself...
1) The Engine Coolant was in need of replacement. I verified this; the hydrometer indicated it would not be able to hack even a mild Tennessee winter.
2) The Hybrid Battery coolant was bad. Same as above...
3) The Inverter coolant was bad. Same as above...
4) The Brake fluid was bad. I tested it.. and yeah, it was turning acidic fast with somewhere north of 4% water contained.
5) The transmission fluid was bad, too.

The dealership wanted around 1500 for all this work. Seems steep, but.. it's a dealership.
Could I have done the work myself? Mostly.. everything except for the hybrid coolant. Never done it, and not about to melt the thing by trying.
Was I willing to pay for it? Hell no. I didn't take on a car note for 30k only to put another 2 into it before I've even owned the thing 30 days.

Was CarMax willing to pay for it? Nope. They said.. and I quote.. "We don't follow the manufacturer's recommendations for maintenance. We find them too strict."
My reply? "Gotcha. I'm within my 30 day guarantee, so here's your car back."

They gave me my money back, and invited me to depart the premises, which I of course did.

As it turns out, across the street was a Chevrolet dealership. They had a 2022 2LT Bolt I could sit in.. not drive, because it was sold. But it was a comfortable little car.
And as it turns out, they had received seven or eight of them to use as displays at CMA (Country Music Awards). One arrived too late, and Chevrolet wasn't going to come back for it and take it downtown.

Within 30 seconds, I'd put down my deposit (Beating someone else out by 3 minutes). We're waiting for the paperwork from Chevrolet to arrive, and then I go get my Bolt.Should happen sometime this week.
Silver metallic color, leather interior. Fully decked out... 5900 off sticker, to keep it in line with Chevrolet promotions.. and a free 240v EVSE install in the garage.And only 6 miles on the clock.

I'd have kept the Clarity if CarMax had taken care of the maintenance.. but perhaps they realized they could get it back from me and sell it for even more, considering how hot these cars are right now.

Anyway, Cheers, all! Good luck and have fun!

-Hinoki

Click to expand...