I have a 2015 Certified used Honda CRV with 55000 miles. Last week was adventurous. My son graduated from medical school. The family visited and we were going to get dinner. My niece sat in the driver side back seat. When she was about to get out of the car, her seatbelt got stuck and did not release. She literally had to crawl out of her seat.
The next day, we were moving some furniture and had to fold the back seat. We noticed that the seat did not fold all the way down. While investigating, I noticed something shining under the folded seat. I thought I broke something while folding the seat. To my surprise, it was a piece of broken glass that was tinted. My back windows are tinted. I stuck my hand in the gap ( the back seat is still folded) and founded at least 15-20 small pieces of tinted broken glass.
Well, I di not get into any accidents. The car has a clean carfax and the dealer told us and gave documentation that the car never got into an accident. My question is what happened and how did broken glass get under the back seat? How should I approach this? All I know is the car does have some scratches on the front left bumper and the wheels have been aligned as the car was swerving to the left when we bought the car. I have to make an appointment to get the seatbelt taken care of. I want to show the broken glass to the service manager and ask for an explanation. Please advice, thanks.
Broken glass won’t show up on carfax reports…only accident report.Anyone could get there windshield shattered by a rock while driving.
Contact your auto insurer, tell them what you found. Ask them to do an investigation of the VIN to see if there were any accidents before you bought the car. If so, find out what the damage was. If they don’t find an accident, the tinted glass might be from something other than a car window. Your auto insurer is more likely to give you a straight answer than the dealer. I’m not saying the dealer is a liar, but they have a lot to lose in this deal.
I really do believe that many of those CPO ( Certified Pre-Owned ) stickers are filled out in the coffee shop .
Or else the window just got broken and they put a new one in. Windows do break from time to time and the tech just didn’t get it all cleaned up. As far as if it was in an accident, I don’t care how good the body shop is, there will always be tell tale signs of body work. Yeah you can’t rely on Carfax but you could ask a good shop to do an inspection for you.
If someone smashed a window to steal stuff or because they locked themselves out of the car there will be glass everywhere, and no matter how carefully you clean it up, there will be more in odd places. And not every broken window results in an insurance claim, so Carfax wouldn’t every know. If it was a leased car the prior driver might have wanted to keep a clean record so the dealer wouldn’t charge for a loss when the car was returned. In any case, a replaced broken window, if that’s all there was done, is more like routine maintenance and should be of no concern to you.
It’s possible there’s a tiny bit of glass in the seat belt buckle, too.
I have found particles of tempered glass in many cars, they don’t have to be certified vehicles to have had a broken window.
Tempered glass particles can jam door latches, jam seat belt retractors and create noises when they land on speakers.
I believe the dealer will correct the problem if this were a recent sale.
To have a replacement window in the car does not disqualify this vehicle from a certified sale. Pessimists might believe that this vehicle was involved in a roll-over accident but that is unlikely.
You’ve received some good advice from a few folks.
I like manufacturer’s (GM) certified pre-owned (used) cars. I like them for the warranty (same coverage as new in many cases, although possibly shorter time/mileage period). I have purchased several.
However, they are used cars, and I accept that. That’s why a wise shopper can save thousands of dollars! Therefore, I inspect each certified pre-owned vehicle I buy as though it was a used car.
Also, I get a copy of the (100 or 200, etcetera, whatever) point check-list used to certify the vehicle (required by the manufacturer and whether done or not the dealer verifies an inspection and is paid to perform one.) Actually a dealer pays the manufacturer to certify a car and then the dealer pays a dealer tech to perfor the certification.
I do a brief inspection of my own to certify the certification.
I managed a body/collision shop at one low point in my career so I know what I’m looking at, but if I didn’t, I’d do as Bing has suggested and have a quality shop assess the vehicle for previous collision damage. They’d know what to look for. I do that before purchase, but you’d do it after, at this point.
I wouldn’t even mention the glass, except to have the dealer’s staff clean it up, until I looked for evidence of prior collision damage. So what if it’s just a broken window that was replaced. Collision damage would be another matter.
Not all CPO (certified pre-owned) warranties are the same. Some manufacturer’s CPOs are not too great. I’d check out Honda’s and read the fine print.
Knowledge will behoove you.
CSA
Before I bought my Accord in 2017, I looked at 2 and 3 year old CPO Benz E350s. The closest dealer had several on the lot. Most were off lease cars from NYC/NJ and had been in accidents according to the provided CarFaxes. That turned me off. They didn’t have any local CPOs either, and that turned me off too.
Perhaps there was a smash and grab when the previous owner had the car.
Having said that, “certified used car” is a marketing gimmick. I can’t tell you how many times someone I know has bought a “certified” used car only to find something wrong with it that would have been spotted easily in even the most cursory of inspections.
Also, car salespeople will say whatever it takes to get you to buy the car, so treat everything they say with a grain of salt, particularly when they over-promise something they can’t possibly know, such as “this car has never been in an accident.”
Carfax only records repairs that are reported to Carfax. A Carfax report can give you red flags so you can avoid a car, but it can’t determine that a car is a good choice. The only way to get that kind of certification is to pay someone (yourself, to make sure there is no conflict of interest) to thoroughly inspect a used car before you buy it.
That statement is incorrect in my experience and I have purchased several of these cars and have utilized the warranty included.
I suppose a car lot that advertises “certified used car” as a gimmick to sell generic used cars would illustrate your standpoint, but I stay clear of those places and those tactics.
However, a genuine GM CPO car is not just a sales gimmick. Besides the buyer receiving a 6-year/100,000 mile power-train warranty (no deductible), a 12 month/12,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty (no deductible) is included. It works as well as a new car’s bumper-to-bumper warranty. That’s no gimmick. That adds value to a used car purchase, certainly.
I have actually had a longer genuine factory bumper-to-bumper GM warranty on a CPO I purchased than would have been provided on a brand new car! The CPO coverage is in addition to any remaining new car warranty (they do transfer!). No gimmick. No bull.
CSA
I’m glad you’re happy with the warranty GM uses for its certified used cars. That’s some good marketing.
Don’t all factory warranties transfer from the original owner to the next owner if they haven’t yet expired?
A 100,000 mile powertrain warranty is hardly rare or exceptional. A one year bumper-to-bumper warranty doesn’t excite me all that much either since these are relatively young cars we’re talking about.
Also, does your “bumper-to-bumper” warranty really cover everything between the bumpers, including wearable parts like brake pads, tires, and windshield wiper blades? If not, it’s not really “bumper-to-bumper,” making it a gimmick to call it “bumper-to-bumper,” right?
With GM, yes.
Looks to me like Honda and Toyota are 5 year/60,000 miles.
These are used cars. I like knowing that if I missed something that doesn’t function properly, during my checking on a used car, that it will be corrected.
Besides, that warranty is in addition to any remaining warranty. A buyer could have over 36 months/36,000 miles of warranty. I have done that! As I said, better than a new car.
Most warranties don’t cover wear items. Read your vehicle’s Owner Manual! Used cars don’t have wear item warranties.
However, I will tell you that if the wear items on a GM CPO are below a standard during inspection, as prescribed by the CPO process they are replaced. That’s why I always get a copy of the report and double check everything.
Examples:
Tires have to have a minimum 5mm tread and all four tires must match and be of the same brand and size or be replaced.
Brakes must meet a minimum of pad/shoe friction material or be replaced.
It’s all in the inspection and reconditioning form.
I really don’t care if you like the GM CPO warranties or not, but I certainly don’t consider them gimmicks. I’m done. Do what you want.
CSA
Wow, look at that. GM’s marketing is so good they have you shilling for them online. Do you have a GM logo tattoo? That’s the sign of truly great marketing. You’ve got to give Harley Davidson credit for that marketing milestone, that people actually get their corporate logo tattooed on their bodies.
Then, by definition, they’re not “bumper-to-bumper” warranties if they don’t cover everything that is between the bumpers.
Thanks for you input. I will call the insurance first and see what they say. Will look closely if any glass pieces were stuck in the seat belt buckle. Then make an appointment with the dealer about the seat belt and will show them the glass and exactly where I found them Then ask them what they think and where it came from. Will keep you posted. Thanks
I think a window was broken and that is where the glass came from.
How would the dealer know why or how or when a window was broken and replaced ? It was a trade in or lease return. The problem happened with a previous owner.
If they did a thorough job cleaning the CPO car, I’m sure they would have noticed the glass. Don’t you think the dealer should clean the car before they sell it?
That’s not part of the 32-point inspection they do when they “certify” a used car. 
Neither is checking the rear seat belts, evidently.
I think we’re making a bigger deal over a broken window than what it is. Sure, may indicate an accident but windows do break. As far as the dealer cleaning up cars, guess who cleans the cars? Its the kid that hasn’t yet graduated to be trusted changing oil. Can they miss glass under the seat and that fell in the seat belt? I certainly wouldn’t put it past them that Jimmy missed a few things. A friend in high school had to work at his dad’s Ford/Mercury/Lincoln dealership after school. His job was cleaning cars, and cleaning the wax off of new ones-a 15 year old kid.
So, it’s OK if the dealer waves at a CPO car as it goes through the car wash? They charge a couple grand more for a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle. IMO, they should have found the broken glass.