VinceBlack

ALL: This might be a long post so I apologize in advance. On Monday, I traded in my '16 Stingray Z51 for a '15 Z06 with the Z07 package (6500 miles). This was at a Dodge dealership as I was getting a company rig serviced and noticed the Z06 in the lot. Fast forward past all the haggling/dealing between myself and the dealer, we come to a fair price and trade-in for my Stingray. I show back up later that night to do the trade and drive the Z06 home. Salesman has the Z06 inside the shop and switches out the previous owner's rear plate and adds a paper plate with dealers name and such until I get my new plates from the state. The next day I decide to remove the plate because I'm not into free advertising. To my shock, I discover a huge vertical crack in the rear lower fascia behind the license plate and a little indentation in the fascia to the left of the plate. I was like WTF? The guy had to have seen this when he switched out the plate the night before and didn't say a word about it. This crack will only get worse to the point it will eventually spread from behind the plate....and I'll be out over $1000 to replace it. I call the salesman immediately. He says "I'm the one who switched the plate and didn't see anything, but won't this be covered by the warranty?" I said "what?!? Are you kidding me? This thing was backed into (or some such negligence), do you really think that would be covered by the warranty?" He asks me to come into the dealer the next day (today) and discuss it.

I show up this morning and am met by a few salesmen who ask to take a look at the crack. I could tell they were surprised by what they saw but they refrained from making any statements. Shortly thereafter, I'm met by some sales manager who walks up to me and says, "hey 'boss', you're not gonna like what I'm gonna say but there's nothing we can do." I calmly explain that the salesman who switched the plate the night before would have clearly seen the damage to the fascia but decided not to say anything about it. I also explain that the dealership should have an obligation to the customer to report damage like this (if they knew about it). He said, "actually no, we don't have any obligation to tell customers about damage. Every used car on this lot has some sort of damage here and there. If we told customers about every bit on damage on a used car we'd never sell any cars." I said I cannot believe you just said that to my face, can I quote you on that? He said, "yep." I asked to speak with his supervisor. He returns about 5 minutes later (without his supervisor) and says "we ran it all the way up the chain and there's nothing we can do. You bought it as-is." I said I realize that but they made a very shady "oversight" and did not report existing damage they were fully aware of. I would not have purchased the vehicle had I known about the damage (which they damn well knew). He again says to me with a straight face that they were not obligated to tell me about any damage, or any other customer for that matter. I stand up, shake his hand, and tell him I'll take it from here.

So please, tell me if I'm some idiot or if I have a right to be pissed off about this. I cannot believe they'd run a business like that and make those kind of statements to my face. It would mean nothing to their bottom line to make this right....it shocks me they're willing to lose future business and gain bad publicity over something they were clearly hiding from me. Pictures to follow when I get my iPhone to cooperate with my computer.

dvilin

So far not a good situation did you go in and discuss it with them?

robert miller

Maybe it will work out man let us know some dealership will fix it & like you have said a bad one will not. Robert

LIE2ME

Buying used is always a challenge. When I bought my 14 new, the transport driver noticed a small crack in the driver's door. The dealer immediately wrote it up and it was repaired without question. One of the advantages of buying new... I hope this all works out for you...

DWS44

If truly stuck with it and no help from the dealer, and the location is hidden behind the license plate, could a small hole be drilled at either end of the crack to at least keep it from spreading beyond the area hidden by the license plate? I know I've read of that as a potential fix to keep cracks from spreading, but I admit I've never needed to try that approach. If potentially out $1K+ anyways, maybe it would be worth trying first.

sTz

Yeah, that’s shady. It’s hard to believe that he didn’t see the crack. Hopefully they’ll make it right, but certainly tainted the trill of getting your Z.

The lower fascia is easy to replace. I removed mine during an exhaust install. I would ask for it to be replaced rather than repaired.

Also, make sure that your exhaust tips are not damaged or pushed in... It would be hard to hit the license plate area and not hit them as well.

DALE#3

I would demand my car back.Call the finance company.Leave it their get a ride back home.
Tell your Buddy...GAME ON..That was a dirty move with the plate..They Drew First BLOOD (rambo)
If your within 48 hrs? Financial Emergency can't pay,Sorry
Did you run a check with GM On previous issues?
Sucks to hear that..You have options

jimmie jam

I understand the issue with "disclosure" and I would be pissed too. That being said, the stealership is under no obligation to point out cosmetic issues on a 3+- year old vehicle. I would move on and get another lower fascia piece and be done with it for your own sanity.

Corgidog1

Ok you got screwed by a shady dealer-unless you can negotiate some recourse which appears unlikely the best thing is to move on and eat the 1k cost-try and put it behind you and enjoy the car. The other way is to fight this dirtbag dealership, let it eat you up inside, spend aggravating time with the issue probably to no avail. Go for a nice ride in you Z06 and enjoy your super car!

devnull

I'm sorry to hear about this, but don't let it ruin your awesome car. I see these facias for sale on here every so often for $150-200. Pick one up if you see one, and chuck it in (not too hard to do). I would drill the holes first as DSW44 said, and that would likely be enough to stop it.

What a crap dealer. Way to lose repeat business!!!

phileaglesfan

It is not their responsibility to disclose a problem with the car unless it was in an accident/flood or whatever. That is the disadvantage of buying a "used car" you are accepting it "as-is".

VinceBlack

Yeah, the conversation I outlined in the second paragraph about sums up my progress with them...they were not budging one bit and I don't expect anything more from them at this point. Now, whether or not they're "legally" obligated to tell me about the damage, in my opinion, is neither here nor there. They pulled a major shyster move on me and it's just bad business any way you look at it. Honestly, I think somebody backed into it while it was inside the service area as they were switching the plates. They could make this right but instead they want to lose business and bring unwanted attention their way. That's fine, I can play that game. I talked to a buddy of mine who does fantastic work on all sorts of Vettes/other high performance vehicles. He thinks he can get me the part at cost so I can move past this BS situation. I may just do that, but in the end I will name the dealership and the service manager who made all those bonehead comments to me...we'll see how funny he thinks things are then.

VinceBlack

Also, while I am not too happy about this, I'm slowly letting it go. I'm not going to let it destroy me being happy with this car. It's just a PITA and disappointing. However, I very much believe others need to know about how these guys conduct business. I don't want anyone else to go through this BS.

449er

Let it go & move on...Don't let this issue ruin your experience with your Corvette. If you must, post the dealer's name here so others will have fair warning

Kent1999

You said there was "a little indentation in the fascia to the left of the plate"... so you are saying there was visual evidence of something being amiss -- even without removing the plate -- and you just didn't see it?

I know its aggravating, but when you buy used, the onus is on the buyer to see things like that -- not the job of the seller to tell you about it. I always have the dealer put the car up on a lift so I can really get a good look at everything, top to bottom. Even then, things can be missed, and its just part of buying used.

As others have mentioned, chalk it up as a lesson learnt, buy a used fascia for FAR less than $1000, and move on. Enjoy the Z06!

tcinla

Every state has a rescission period which allows you to back out of the deal. If you waited 5 days, that may have taken you beyond that period.

VinceBlack

No, I'm saying it wasn't there when I made my visual inspection earlier in the day. That's why I think it happened later that night when I picked the car up. They had it inside switching the plates and I think it got bumped into while inside. I didn't notice until the next day when I was taking the license plate off. Again, I believe they would DEFINITELY be obligated to tell me if THEY damaged it...which is exactly what I believe happened.

Kent1999

In Nevada, there is no "rescission period" for auto sales. Once you sign the contract, you are legally bound to pay for the car. You can't back out even if it's been only an hour.

Don't know about OP's state, but the rescission period certainly isn't nationwide, especially when it comes to auto sales.

VinceBlack

I bought this car in Oregon. And while I'm not positive, I'm pretty sure Oregon is the same as Nevada.

Kent1999

Ahhh, I see. That would be a different problem -- if they knew it just happened while the car was in prep.

However, it cannot be determined if the guy switching the plates knew that the crack was not pre-existing. Unless he had switched plates on that car before, or if he witnessed the impact, he likely did NOT know. Unfortunately, it sucks, but unless someone confesses to seeing/causing the impact, it's pretty much he said/she said. And I agree with the dealership that they are not bound in any way to detail and report every bit of cosmetic damage on a used car to a customer, especially when that car is 3 years old. I have seen plenty of used Corvettes on lots that have cracked rocker panels near the jacking point -- can't see it unless you get down and specifically look. I think most people would agree that those dealers are not bound to tell perspective buyers about those cosmetic under car cracks on used cars.

Most dealerships are not inclined to unwind a sales contract simply because the buyer noticed cosmetic damage the day after the sale has been completed.

I do agree with you that the dealership would have been much better served to at least offer to share the cost of replacement of the panel with you than to give you just a flat "thanks for buying an expensive car with us -- but tough luck!".