ACTION 9: Man Has Trouble Getting Repair Paid For

More people are buying used cars instead of new ones because of the economy. But one Charlotte man bought a car and didn't pay extra for it to be certified.

Edwin Waleh bought an as-is used 2003 Honda Accord last March for more than $14,000. But after driving it just 6,000 miles, the transmission went out.

"The car was jerking and when I accelerated, the car really didn't move," he said.

After driving the car only four months, Waleh was stuck with a $3,000 repair bill. That's when he decided to turn to Honda Motors to ask for consideration under the car's five year/ 50,000 mile warranty. He was under the warranty mileage, but the car was six years old.

"I thought honestly they were going to cover it all because the car only had 46,000 mile on it," he said.

Honda was under no obligation because the warranty had expired on time. But, it did agree to pay $1,000 of his repair bill.

In hindsight, Waleh's wishes he'd spent around $600 more at the time of purchase for a certified car. He would have gotten a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty to cover break downs.

That's when Action 9 asked American Honda motors headquarters in California to review the situation. It agreed to pay all but $700 of the repair, as a goodwill gesture. It also threw in a three year/36,000 mile transmission warranty.