So I Owe Honda Money
 

Hi
I recently picked up a 2007 RX-8, that I love, but before that I had a 2006 Acura TL that I hated, and tried for months to get out of. Finally I did but now honda wants more money from me. I've posted this description of my problem elsewhere, but figured I'd post i there too just for the hell of it. See if anyone here maybe works at a dealership and knows the situation?

I sold my TL this February. It was a lease, and I found a buyer myself. Since I can't buyout a lease, we went through a dealership. The same dealer i bought the car from. So the dealership bought the car from me. I have a bill of sale here and everything. They called honda, got a payoff. I put in about $500 cash out of my pocket, and my buyer then bought the car from the dealer at a price we all agreed upon. An odd but not unheard of arrangement.

So every day I go online and check and finally my account balanced via the honda finance web site showed $0.00 owed. This is besides the fact that the guy at the dealership took my money and my car and said I was done with the car.

So then a little time after that, I got a bill from honda for excise tax for $500. I have yet to pay it as I had to fax them my plate return receipt 3 times before they actually GOT it. That brings us to today.
They are getting the tax reduced from the town since excise tax is paid forwarded and i only owned the car for 1 month of the year.

MEANWHILE they are expecting me to pay them $500 and then if they get it reduced, they will send me a refund.

But, I don't even own this car. My account was paid off by the dealer. They even sent the title to them, so the buyer I found now owns the car, title in hand. (well the dealer has the title, I'm pretty sure he financed it but whatever, the title was sent out). Based on this, I don't think I owe Honda shit, do I? I think they are just trying to scam me for the money. The dealer was responsible for paying off the car, and if honda sent them the title without the car being paid off, this is Honda's problem, is it not?

I'm sure my lease says I am responsible for taxes levied, however my lease contract must be dissolved at this point right? Since the car has been bought out, and the title mailed to the new owner? When the dealer bought out my car, they called for a payoff. This extra $500 should have been part of that payoff.

This is how I look at this situation. Hopefully I'm right because that car was nothing but trouble and I'd hate for it to be fucking me over one last time.

I don't know if I'm reading this right but isn't excise tax suppose to go to the city and not Honda?

I hate Honda as well. Their cars are over-rated and their dealers suck.
Good luck with the fight. It seems reasonable that you would at most be responsible for a pro-rated amount of the tax. Since they released you I can't see how you're responsible.

What was so bad about the Acura TL? I see a lot of them on the roads and in my neighborhood. To me they are a sharp looking sedan, yet I know they share the same drive train with the Accord and or FWD. So DarkBrew tell me what what you didn't like about the TL.

Excise tax does go to the city, but with any lease, the lease company pays the tax (since they technically own the car) and then they bill you, the lessee.

In the end honda will only want the prorated amount. However the more I think about it, the more I think that I'm not actually responsible for any of it. Hopefully someone in the know for certain reads this.

Aye, I'd like to know as well. My parents are currently looking into a TL and if there are significant issues, I'd like to be able to warn them before they go ahead with the purchase.

my parents own a 2006 TL, which is going to be for sale in a few weeks btw... (pm me if interested.) it's really nice as far as luxury car goes. so, i can't say that it's a car worth hating. here's my take on it...

pro's:
1. acura navigation system.
2. spacious cabin, comfortable seats, roomy trunk, and lots of storage space.
3. easy to drive and it handles about 75%, maybe 80%, compared to a bmw.
4. honda reliability.
5. great bang for your buck as far as price goes for a mid-class luxury car.

con's:
1. terrible turning radius- so bad that u basically avoid u-turns whenever possible.
2. disappointing gas mileage- slightly better than the 8, and requires 91 octane gas.
3. volume 1 on the stereo is like volume 3 on other cars.
4. climate control has no passive pass-thru for "free" hot or ambient air.
5. rear-view mirros auto-adjust when u go into reverse.

Pay the tax... you don't want your credit messed up

I'm not going to pay it if its not mine to pay.

If you owned it for one month for the new year of the license then you owe the excise tax.

Honda and big Corps. don't care. They sent you a notice once. That's it.

No pay then put against your credit.

You shpuld get a pro rate upfront and pay that. Give them a 100 and you will probably still get money back.

Yes but I sold the car. This tax should have been part of the buyout. I'm not just going to pay because honda is a big company.

Remember, Honda paid the tax. So what is owed isn't money to the town for taxes, it's money to Honda to payoff the account, even though the account has already been paid off and the title has been mailed out. The town has already been paid though, its not like i'm trying to get out of paying my taxes, this money should have been part of the car's payoff.

You didn't sell that car to Honda...

I guess good credit is not worth $500 to you. It should be since a poor or medium credit score will increase the interest rates when you try to buy something.

and its just $500

Maybe you should consult a lawyer? Or just not pay it.

if you dont want your credit ruined better consult a lawyer who knows whats going on first

I would pay it but would explain that I would not give them an interest free loan on my money. Why is it so hard to figure out the correct amount? Doesn't make any sense. I would want to see an offical statement of how much I owe and confirm it.

my credit score SUCKS from student loans not being paid off, i forgot about them and then my score goes down in the 500's. Long story short im paying about 350 a month for the car until i can refinance