2018 Honda Fit

Claim Number  |  200423DR030550

Summary

A 2018 Honda Fit was purchased by Jhaysin Gilman from Five Star Ford on January 24, 2020. The vehicle was sold as being in excellent condition, but damage to the windshield was discovered by Mr. Gilman after delivery, making it illegal to drive in the state of Georgia.

Mr. Gilman is seeking to dispute his down payment of $1,500.00 on the vehicle to pay for a replacement windshield because the damage was present on the vehicle before the sale, but undisclosed by the seller.

Documents are linked in the bold text below.

January 25, 2020
A down payment of $1,500.00 was made for the above vehicle to Five Star Ford in North Richland Hills, Texas using a Bank of America card ending in 2024.

January 27, 2020
The balance of the vehicle, $14,500, was send via cashiers check to John Hilsinger at Five Star Ford. Prior to purchase, Mr. Gilman was shown photos of the vehicle and a video walk around, included below. No disclosure of any damage to the windshield was made.

February 07, 2020
Vehicle was received in Atlanta, Georgia via transport.

February 14, 2020
While cleaning the vehicle, Mr. Gilman noticed a chip and crack in the windshield. He contacted Mr. Hilsinger via text and email noting the damage.

February 17, 2020
Mr. Hilsinger responded via email acknowledging the issue.

February 20, 2020

Mr. Gilman sent the below detailed info via email about the damage, photos, video, and quotes for replacement.

February 25, 2020

Mr. Gilman texted Mr. Hilsinger to confirm receipt of email send on February 20. He said he would take a look.

March 15, 2020

Mr. Gilman called Mr. Hilsinger and left a message. No response.

April 01, 2020

Mr. Gilman called Mr. Hilsinger and left a message. No response.

Chip & crack detail

February 14, 2020  |  Atlanta, Georgia

There is a chip and crack on the bottom inside of the windshield. The damage is located just above the driver’s side wiper, on the left side of the windshield, in the bottom frit (black dots). The chip is approximately 3/8″ in diameter and the crack running horizontally through it is 7.5″ long.

In Georgia, it’s illegal to drive a vehicle with a multi-directional crack that is longer than 3″ in any direction. https://georgiacarlaws.com/cracked-windshield/

PRE-SALE Video walk-around

January 25, 2020  |  North Richland Hills, Texas

PHOTOS OF THE VEHICLE ON THE DEALERSHIP LOT IN TEXAS

January 20-24, 2020  |  North Richland Hills, Texas

replacement ESTIMATES

February 15-17, 2020  |  Atlanta, Georgia

I contacted three windshield repair shops to look at the crack to see if it could be repaired. Because the damage extends to the inside of the glass, they refused to do the work. They advised me that they couldn't guarnetee the repair because it would not be structurally strong enough since the damage is at the edge of the windshield. 
 

I then contacted Curry Honda of Atlanta to see if a replacement would be covered under the 3-year, 36,000 mile warranty and was told it would not be. They also refused to do the windshield replacement and advised that the vehicle is unsafe and illegal to drive until the replacement is done. They advised me to have a Honda Certified OEM windshield installed by another dealer to insure the ADAS system would function properly. After-market windshields will not allow the lane-departure system to calibrate correctly because the thicknesses are different.

I called multiple Honda dealerships to get quotes for the replacement. Estimates are below with total after tax and pdf copies from each dealer.