Opinions please....
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 112
Likes: 0
From: Coral Springs Florida
Opinions please....
I've owned my 2002 coup for approximately 3 weeks. Since the time I purchased the car it has been towed to the dealership twice for column lock issues. This time they promise it will be repaired properly at n/c. The first time it was in their shop the car was scratched so badly they are now informing me they will be repainting the entire door and quarter panel. Should I be concerned with future resale value of this car now that it has been partially re-painted? I'm not trying to be an a-hole about it but a re-painted car with cl issues is not what I bought. I bought a clean, low mileage, 1 owner, never painted, creampuff. (BTW that was the dealer’s description) I could have the choice of getting my money back on the deal. Would you?
Jay
Jay
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,936
Likes: 13
From: Redding California
Holy Moly, what a bummer. Sorry to hear that.
Not sure what I would do, I don't like the sound of a repainted car (and what the hell were they doing to scratch the damned thing anyway!!!).
Like you say, you paid for a creampuff, and now it's been "violated".
Trouble is, you may agree to the re-paint and then find they do a poor job. Maybe the best thing is to get your money back (but what about taxes etc?)
And, I thought the column lock wasn't an issue on 2002 onwards?????
Interested to see other people's opinions here.
Not sure what I would do, I don't like the sound of a repainted car (and what the hell were they doing to scratch the damned thing anyway!!!).
Like you say, you paid for a creampuff, and now it's been "violated".
Trouble is, you may agree to the re-paint and then find they do a poor job. Maybe the best thing is to get your money back (but what about taxes etc?)
And, I thought the column lock wasn't an issue on 2002 onwards?????
Interested to see other people's opinions here.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 12,982
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From: Westchester New York
St. Jude Donor '07-'08
I've owned my 2002 coup for approximately 3 weeks. Since the time I purchased the car it has been towed to the dealership twice for column lock issues. This time they promise it will be repaired properly at n/c. The first time it was in their shop the car was scratched so badly they are now informing me they will be repainting the entire door and quarter panel. Should I be concerned with future resale value of this car now that it has been partially re-painted? I'm not trying to be an a-hole about it but a re-painted car with cl issues is not what I bought. I bought a clean, low mileage, 1 owner, never painted, creampuff. (BTW that was the dealer’s description) I could have the choice of getting my money back on the deal. Would you?
Jay
Jay
Last edited by Nukmeister1; Feb 27, 2007 at 03:03 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 5
From: The 7th layer of hell - Western Washington
Unless you got an incredibly sweet deal on the car I would let them have it back and keep looking for another "cremepuff". Considering the issues so far do you really trust them to do a good job with the re-paint?
If you do keep the car I would find a more competant dealer! Multiple attempts to fix Column Lock and damaging the car aren't inspiring results.
If you do keep the car I would find a more competant dealer! Multiple attempts to fix Column Lock and damaging the car aren't inspiring results.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 834
Likes: 0
From: Palm Beach Gardens FL
you've only had it for 3 weeks so you haven't really gotten attached to that car yet. There are tons of great deals out there on low mile cars. Everytime you walk by it you will think you notice the paint is not right.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 426
Likes: 0
A repainted car will be worth less than one that hasn't been repainted but what are you going to do? The corvette is a hard car not to have repaint done. It gets stone chipped pretty easy. It more likely to get keyed. At the very least you should take pictures to show the repaint was not the cause of an accident. My corvette was repainted before I bought it but I was happy with the price and the work so I am not compaining since I didn't buy a creampuff.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,018
Likes: 48
From: Chattanooga TN
I would get my money back and find another one to buy. There are plenty out there. If I'm not mistaken, all manual transmission cars had column lock issues. The automatics were fixed after a certain year but I don't remember what year it was. I've read that the recall doesn't really fix the problem. You need to buy a column lock bypass kit and that will take care of it. I think they are around $50. Good Luck
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,719
Likes: 1
From: Los Angeles Ca
It doesn't sound like you have a car problem, you have a dealer problem; get rid of the dealer.
Sorry to hear about your CL problem, get that taken care of and you should still have your creampuff.
Sorry to hear about your CL problem, get that taken care of and you should still have your creampuff.
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Safety Car
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From: "Never play games with a bitch who can play them better" NE PA
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08
I don't think that being repainted will be an issue. I have totally changed the color of my car and I get more compliments on it sitting in the garage half done than I did before I started. It would all depend on what you bought your car for. If you bought it to keep and drive the hell out of then have them pay to fix it but take it where YOU are comfortable. If you bought it as a weekend car (garage queen to some) then--as someone said--you are not too attached to it yet--get your money back and keep looking. The column lock problem is definitely their responsibility however there are some real great guys here that will tell you to do it yourself and be done with it---and done right..I'm sure they will chime in at some piont..
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 112
Likes: 0
From: Coral Springs Florida
This is a tough decision. I did buy it as an extra car for weekends and nice days and spent ALOT of time looking for that "perfect" car. I guess my problem isn't that the car will be bad when they are done but I don't think would have purchased the car if the dealer said "it needs this, this, this and some other things". Maybe I'm just feeling the car isn't everything I expected or hoped for. In fact, someone in the thread described it as having been "violated" which is just how I feel! Time will tell. I update this weekend when I see the paint work.
Thanks
Jay
Thanks
Jay
Last edited by hdjay; Feb 27, 2007 at 04:40 PM.
Racer
Joined: Dec 2006
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dealer
It seems that the dealer didnt properly fix the column lock problem the first time, that is not uncommon, that they scratched it that is unforgivable. But if they make it right they may just take special care of you later. Keep a good attitude with the dealer and let it play out. Then make a decision. Maybe it is not so easy to replace.
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I wouldn't give up on the car - have the dealer document to you why the repaint was necessary and keep that in your file of car papers. That way you have something that says it was not in an accident. Get the column lock bypass too and be done with the locking issue once and for all.
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2004
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It seems that the dealer didnt properly fix the column lock problem the first time, that is not uncommon, that they scratched it that is unforgivable. But if they make it right they may just take special care of you later. Keep a good attitude with the dealer and let it play out. Then make a decision. Maybe it is not so easy to replace.
The Column Lock is the single biggest problem with a majority of C5 Corvettes, so take that problem with a grain of salt...very common problem.If the dealer does a good job on the paint, then I would not worry about it..it's not going to effect resale if the job is done well.
Like someone else said, the problem here is the dealer really, not the car.
I hope it works out for you
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2003
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From: Lake Mary Florida
If they offered to take it back I'd let them have it back. There are too many near perfect one's out there.
You can spot a repaint job. I don't care how good they think they are at repairing it, one can always tell.
Don't recall you saying if this was a GM dealer or not. But either way with money in hand I'd find another vehicle somewhere else from another dealer and certainly not visit that service dept again.
You can spot a repaint job. I don't care how good they think they are at repairing it, one can always tell.
Don't recall you saying if this was a GM dealer or not. But either way with money in hand I'd find another vehicle somewhere else from another dealer and certainly not visit that service dept again.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Redding California
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 768
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From: Newport Beach, Southern California
You wanted a cream puff and now it is not a cream puff anymore!I would not buy a repainted car PERIOD!
A REPAINTED CAR IS WORTH LESS!
DO NOT ACCEPT THE CAR.
People who advise you to keep the car ask them if they want their car to be repainted partially like yours...then you know what the real public opinion is
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
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From: Virginia
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