I am trying to buy a 2006 Honda CR-V and took it to my mechanic who told me that it pulls to the right, which it does a little. I explained to the salesman that it needs an alignment before I will buy it. The used car manager then told me that all cars are supposed to pull slightly to the right to avoid head-on collisions if the driver falls asleep at the wheel. Am I being lied to?
Boy it is really hard to say yes, all said yes! It could be a brake or alignment problem, but I think it is a dealer problem and you need to go somewhere else, or have it fixed before you buy it.
The used car manager then told me that all cars are supposed to pull slightly to the right to avoid head-on collisions if the driver falls asleep at the wheel.
I’d bet he has a different story for the one’s that pull to the left. You don’t want to buy that car. You know the salesman and the manager are liars. What you don’t know is what else they are lying about.
Good Luck
It seems to be a salesman’s motto. Anybody who would buy a car from us is an idiot. Some of them will say anything, even if it makes no sense. In the process of buying a beaten up 79 Corolla, back in 89, I told the guy that I wasn’t going to pay big money ($900) for a car that could fall apart next week. His argument was that he knew a guy who spent five times as much and his car fell apart in a week. How reassuring.
If you really like the car and the deal have it checked by an independent mechanic to make sure there is nothing serious, or due to a previous wreck. Some cars seem more sensitive and tend to pull to the right due to the crown of the road, (ie it is higher in the middle than along the curb to facilitate storm water runoff).
Cars that pull to the left are set that way for passing slower cars with less steering effort.
This is one of the funiest lies I have ever heard of from a salesman!
Clik n Klak ought to take this one onto the show.
I am still wetting myself
( eyes watering from laughter )
That’s sad. A little more honesty does more to keep a customer that any act like that. A salesman is one thing but when the manager makes a bone head comment like that, I’d report him to the owner or dealer manager. Tell him you lost trust in the whole dealership and leave. I feel it’s worthwhile. Whether you like the car or not, how can you trust ANYTHING else they say about the car; and if the dealership backs him, how can you trust their service department ?
A salesman that’s looking for a commission can be expected to “reach” to sell a product; but a manager that should be looking at the long term viability of the company, should be held accountable in my opinion.
"he used car manager then told me that all cars are supposed to pull slightly to the right to avoid head-on collisions if the driver falls asleep at the wheel. "
Is that anything like; sailboats should have a weather helm (tendency to turn into wind), so if you fall asleep at the tiller there’s less chance of a capsize.
Well, if they made the car in such a way that it never moved, then you would almost avoid all accidents. Now that would be a safe “car”.
What a bag of pus. What a liar! What a stupid thing to say. This putz hopefully lost a sale because the store was to cheap to pop for a $60 alignment. I would hope you called him on this in a loud voice repeating what he said in front of other customers.
What a bag of pus. What a liar!
I don’t know, I think he was rather honest, for a used car dealer.
“Well, if they made the car in such a way that it never moved, then you would almost avoid all accidents. Now that would be a safe “car”.”
Is that why the Yugo/Fiat may ultimately be one of the safest cars ever made ?
Well, you can look at the accident reports. If not that many are able to get on the road, then less accidents per car. The car is sitting at the mechanic’s bay and the owner is forced to use public transportation. Thinking of it they might even want to advertise those cars as a “green” car too, not producing a whole lot of pollution either!
No car should pull to a specific side, rght or left, in normal driving.
I do want to add for clarification that some FWD vehicles will pull to one side under heavy acceleration. This condition is known as “torque steer”, and while designers have mostly compensated for it, it can still exist.
In this case based on the response you got I’d say walk away…fast! This vehicle ould even have been in an accident.
This is interesting. I just bought a 2005 Ford Freestyle, and while I did not notice it on the test drive, I did notice a slight pulling to the right on the highway a couple days later. Yesterday, after only a week of owning the car, I called the salesman to discuss the issue (granted, probably not the right person to call), and he fed me the exact same line, that all cars are designed that way now.
I know the salesman’s answer sounded incredibly lie-ish, but I thought, he already made the sale, why would he feel the need to lie about this?
Which led me to do some Google-ing, which led me to this forum!
Then I thought, maybe Ford themselves can give me some documentation one way or the other. I tried emailing Ford about it, but all I got was a reply that said “the Customer Relationship Center (CRC), we are unable to provide technical response, due to the fact that there are no technical departments at the center that will be able to handle such inquires.”
All kidding aside, if this was something that all manufacturers did, wouldn’t knowledge of it be more widespread? Not just a couple salesmen here and there that have this secret knowledge.
Unfortunately, without any proof positive or to the contrary, all I can do is avoid that dealership in the future.
But I sure would like some definitive statement from Ford (or any car company) saying, yes we do design cars with this in mind, or no we do not.
But I sure would like some definitive statement from Ford (or any car company) saying, yes we do design cars with this in mind, or no we do not.
Designing a car with a tendency to pull in any direction would, in my opinion be unsafe and make them co-liable for any accident involving a collision with a right lane motorist or bicycle traffic etc. Ford is still living down the alleged “exploding Pintos” that many feel they knowingly put onto the market as an unsafe car.
So I for one can’t buy it.
oh I didn’t buy it either. well I bought the car, I didn’t buy the line. But right now it’s just the salesman’s word against mine. I’d love to catch them in a lie.
Like they always say…it’s easy to catch one, they open their mouth. I think it starts from the top. I feel that most honest salesmen are found at dealers where the owner is that way also.