Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell

Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell sold me a 10-12 year old used car recently. The car test drove ok and rode ok. Isabel Azevedo was the sales associate and she was nice although clueless about Paul Mille old used car recently. The car test drove ok and rode ok. Isabel Azevedo was the sales associate and she was nice although clueless about Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell’s used car intake and inspection process. During the sales process, I signed a section of Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell’s sales contract that acknowledged that the dealership was obligated under New Jersey state law to fix any repairs that cause the vehicle to fail the state motor vehicle inspection as long as I get the vehicle inspected within 14 days of receiving the permanent registration. This is all despite buying the “as-is” car which is the policy of the dealership not the state. The night that I went to pick up the car from Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell , NJ the final paperwork asked me to "elect to waive my rights" to Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell’s state obligation to fix the car should it fail inspection. I flat out stated that I wasn't signing it because I had already signed the other Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell contract with my deposit that put them on the hook for the repairs. The used car manager Joseph Fardella came in with an attitude and said that it was an “as-is” car yadda yadda but I said that has nothing to do with their obligation under state law to guarantee inspection for used cars and I was not going to sign anything that waived the rights I had already acknowledged that I had. At that point, Joe Fardella of Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell, NJ said he refused to SELL ME the car unless I was unwilling to waive my rights. First off, no one disclosed to me that a condition of them selling me the car included giving up my rights to be protected under New Jersey consumer protection laws. FYI - the dealer inspection obligation is COMPLETELY separate from agreeing to buying the car “As Is.” The “as is” clause is between you and the dealer NOT/NOT the state. I told Fardella that I was not buying the car then he left in a huff yelling to give me my deposit back. I showed the finance fellow my contract and he said to me "Oh you are right ...you already signed that we are obligated to pay the inspection repairs if your vehicle fails." (FYI- there is a box on Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell, NJ’s contract that requests that you sign to waive the dealer’s state law obligation to guarantee inspection. Before you buy a used car from Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell, NJ or anywhere else ask them if a condition of them SELLING YOU the car is for you to waive your rights to protect you under NJ’s dealer guaranteed inspection law for used cars. If they say you must waive your rights - then walk away.) However, I had signed their contract box saying they would fix the car if it failed inspection and it had be countersigned by Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell, NJ’s manager. So the signatures were there it was all in my favor. Joe Fardella, used car manager, was very irate when he offered to give me my deposit back. But he came back into the finance office at which point I showed him my contract which showed that a manager countersigned that Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell, NJ would be obligated to make repairs to the car should it fail inspection. He decided to call his boss for further clarification. Well wouldn't you know it his boss, who I believe was the general manager, said that because I signed the contract and so had his manager they were obligated to honor it and I didn't need to waive my rights. Only then did Fardella agree to SELL ME the car. So that settled it and we drove off with the car. One important note - Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell, NJ showed the car very dirty. They didn’t bother to detail it to show it to customers. Once I agreed to buy the car I asked Isabel,the sale associate, to have the car thoroughly detailed and to provide floor mats. She did honor those requests. If I didn’t ask they would not have detailed the car at all - they may have washed the outside only. She is a nice salesperson but can’t help who she works for. In addition to that shady “waive rights” incident, Isabel said “was nothing wrong with the car” but turned out to need $2,900 in repairs less then one week of driving it off Paul Miller’s lot. In less then one week the car started smoking and I had it towed to my local mechanic who then did the full look over. The car needed brakes, shocks/struts, it had a bad oil leak, and it still had its original spark plugs - so it needed a tune up. Luckily the car was repairable and runs fine now. But it would have been nice if Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell, NJ didnt sell the car with the oil leak. I asked Isabel what Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell, NJ does when they get in a used car with an oil leak - she said “we fix it” - that was not the case with the car I purchased and I am sure they don’t bother to fix the issues in the other used cars they sell. I do not recommend Paul Miller Honda of West Caldwell, NJ to anyone looking for a used car because of their lack of integrity and because they sell used cars that need many repairs as you can see from my review and other reviews on this site. More

Frank was the best sales man. Did not put pressure but provided education on what may be the right choice. He made us feel extremely comfortable and there is no doubt that we will go back to him soon for provided education on what may be the right choice. He made us feel extremely comfortable and there is no doubt that we will go back to him soon for another car! More

Frank and Justin made my leasing experience fantastic! They gave me a terrific lease and made sure I was satisfied with my purchase. I would definitely buy from them again! They gave me a terrific lease and made sure I was satisfied with my purchase. I would definitely buy from them again! More

We responded to an add for a 2001 Acura MDX with 122,000+ miles, and the car appeared to be in good condition. We paid a deoposit, and they agreed to drive it to our mechanic, who examined it and put it on miles, and the car appeared to be in good condition. We paid a deoposit, and they agreed to drive it to our mechanic, who examined it and put it on a lift to check underneath. He said the car needed close to $3,000 worth of work (air conditioning compressor had been recharged and was leaking; timing belt had not been replaced at 100,000 miles, rear brakes and rotors were shot, exhaust pipe was rusted and needed to be replaced). Being close to 40% of the sale price of the card, we were told by the finance manager that he could only take $400 off the sales price. I told him that was unreasonable, and the price kept coming down to a few hundred dollars over what he said his 'cost' was - $6900, which he said he could show me in his books. I told him I didn't care what his cost was, and to refund our $500 deposit. After four days they have not refunded the money on our credit card. (I will post again if we have to have the credit card company contest the charge.) Since the Acura is basically a Honda, it's pretty underhanded that a Honda dealer would try to pawn off a car in need of so much mechanical work. I will never visit this dealership again. More