Houston we have a problem... new damaged car
Well I guess it was too good to be true. The smoking hot deal I made on my "new" 2017 Arctic white C7 looks like it wasn't so hot after all. I'll try to make this as brief as I can. It's hard to type when I have smoke coming out of my ears.
I bought the car 2 weeks ago at Dave Smith Dodge,Ram, Chevy blah blah in Kellogg Idaho. Oddly enough one of the biggest dealerships in the country. In the middle of nowhere. The car was parked in their showroom right in front of the bimbo salesperson I was working with. I looked over the car carefully before I said yes. In fact I pretty much detailed it right in their showroom as it had gotten dusty and had a few So now the excitement of owning this great car is shot and sadly this will be the last domestic vehicle I ever buy. Before I hear the choruses of "that could have happened to any car" my answer is "not likely". Frickin GM doesn't even know how to ship these vehicles properly. I've read other damage reports on new C7's due to shipping. This type of thing should never happen and many of the other issues that are reported on new GM,Ford and Chrysler cars/trucks are just ridiculous. Panel gaps not in spec, fenders rubbing paint off, transmission issues ,AC compressors failing (Ford),more paint issues, I mean come on its 2018 ....learn how to screw a car together for God sake. I know it happens to BMW and Mercedes and all the rest but you know what? Not in my experience. My wife's 2016 Mazda CX-5 is 3 years old with 40k miles and it has none this stuff happening. It's had two minor recalls and 3 oil changes and have a nice day. I never even looked at the panel gaps on that car because there is no reason to and they are all normal like every other non American car I've owned (about 15 ) So back to the issue. I now have a "new" ( 800 miles) 2017 C7 that has been in the body shop twice, has been pulled partially apart and parts repainted ( Instead of replaced). The question is what would you do and do I have any recourse against this dealership? I can say I will first calmly raise holy hell and if I get some BS run around from a sales monkey I'll take it to a higher court quickly. If I have to lawyer up I've got the time and I've got the money. Bottom line I want a new car. Curious to hear what you all think. Anybody want to buy a nice 2017 C7 Arctic white? Didn't think so. Too bad because it really is a fun car to drive. |
montanaman,
Sorry to read this on your car. Do you have any of these on writing? If you do, immediately file a lawsuit against the dealership, if they won't take the car back. That's my line of what I'd do - immediately. |
:lurk: Sounds like there was extensive damage done to the car if they had to repair the rocker panels. I wouldn’t want the car if it was sold under the pretense of a new leftover unsold 2017 and the damage wasn’t disclosed at the time of sale. My opinion. |
See what the dealership will do and if not to your satisfaction, at least consult with a lawyer and get some legal advice. Sorry you are having to go through this - no way that dealer should have kept that damage a secret from you.
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So is this something one should normally do, have a car fax pulled on a new car? I honestly want to know....
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You're right...Dave Smith is a huge dealership. It's shocking and disappointing to hear about this. I'm hopeful they'll make it right for you.
Seems like I read somewhere that there is an extent of damage/repair that they don't have to disclose, but after a certain point, they are supposed to? Might wanna research that.... Also, on my car's Carfax report, it shows that it's "guaranteed accident free". Does your report show this? I assume so... You may be able to go back on Car Fax too? Good luck and keep us posted! |
I would speak directly to the GM and tell him what would make you happy. No progress, then get a lawyer to write them a letter stating the facts. That will likely get you to where you need to be. Just a lot of aggravation, time and money over shady business practices.
One would think there would be some type of disclosure required by a dealership if the "new" car was damaged. Much like the voluntary disclosure required when you sell a house. I know we have many lawyers here, interested to hear their thoughts. Speak up!! |
Originally Posted by DeAdEnD
(Post 1597896544)
So is this something one should normally do, have a car fax pulled on a new car? I honestly want to know....
OP, you shouldn't have any trouble voiding the sale if they represented it as a 'new' car and didn't divulge the body damage/repair. |
Ok. I looked again at my car's Carfax again and it states that if damage, etc was reported to the DMV and they don't list it, they'll buy it back.. So that shoots that suggestion.
Just fyi... My car originally came from Dave Smith too. |
Ordered my 2014 Z51 through them because they were offering a $3K discount off MSRP when everyone else was charging OVER MSRP (November of 2013).
Not only was it the best car buying experience of my life (utterly painless and easy), the delivery and car were just fine. |
Originally Posted by KenHorse
(Post 1597896659)
Ordered my 2014 Z51 through them because they were offering a $3K discount off MSRP when everyone else was charging OVER MSRP (November of 2013).
Not only was it the best car buying experience of my life (utterly painless and easy), the delivery and car were just fine. |
I would be livid if my brand new car had an undisclosed accident history. Good luck, hopefully someone along the line does the right thing. |
Originally Posted by DeAdEnD
(Post 1597896544)
So is this something one should normally do, have a car fax pulled on a new car? I honestly want to know....
There's a guy here on forum from Houston, Texas advising to never ever pull a Carfax on a used car. That's sheer lunatic advise, from any perspective. |
Originally Posted by KenHorse
(Post 1597896659)
Ordered my 2014 Z51 through them because they were offering a $3K discount off MSRP when everyone else was charging OVER MSRP (November of 2013).
Not only was it the best car buying experience of my life (utterly painless and easy), the delivery and car were just fine. That's nice. I don't think this is the only place this has or could have happened. It just happens to be Dave Smith. I'm sure they have thousands of perfect transactions. This wasn't one of them. Good news is they are one of the biggest and you know what they say.. " the bigger they are"...... |
And yes to pulling a Car Fax on every vehicle new or used. It's mandatory. Even if the sales person says there is no Carfax on a new car. Just more lies from car salesman.
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Originally Posted by Kevin A Jones
(Post 1597896588)
I do, if the car is a leftover, has more than 15/20 miles on it and/or has been on a dealer's lot for a while.
OP, you shouldn't have any trouble voiding the sale if they represented it as a 'new' car and didn't divulge the body damage/repair. |
montanaman,
Consider pulling the above attachments. I think it best to keep the information contained for you only at this stage. You're such an honest guy, you don't want to give away info at this point. I'm just real sorry for your situation at this time. |
Delete the part about burning the dealership down.
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Originally Posted by Ron'sGS
(Post 1597896481)
:lurk: Sounds like there was extensive damage done to the car if they had to repair the rocker panels. I wouldn’t want the car if it was sold under the pretense of a new leftover unsold 2017 and the damage wasn’t disclosed at the time of sale. My opinion. As to OP, doesn't look like "Houston" has a problem but Montana does. I wouldn't expect the damages described in a new car, even a two year old, new car. But the damage was fixed, and if it's the epoxy glued rocker panels of the prior gen Corvette, it is almost never pulled off and replaced---so, you are mistaken to believe that replacement due to damage is a normal procedure. They do get cracked easily and regularly, not by everyone but it's not uncommon. You can ask for anything you want, but if they give you a straight-up new car, meaning a '19 for your '17, they are unusual. You might like to ck first but every state seems to have a different threshold as to how much dollar damage on a new car has to occur before disclosure, possibly with a consumer affairs agency, or state attorney general's office. That would be helpful info to have before talking with the dealer about a new car for yours. Lawyering up is a right of America, but the true damages to you might be less than the bill for services. jmo. Maybe a case for deceit or fraud but I don't know that for a fact and a lawyer will advise you in that first, hopefully free, hour of counsel and wisdom. Good luck. If this dealer is smart, altho you may think right now there is little they can do to make you a satisfied customer, there may be something besides giving you a new car. I hope so for your sake. And so that we can read a happy-story resolution follow up thread. Edit: If I were that dealer, I might apologize profusely and search the country for a new '17 in perfect condition as close to your model as possible and do the switch. Then, take your car and list it as used-for-sale. |
While I certainly feel for you about the situation with this car and dealership, I also am wondering why you bought it in the first place, based on your follow up rant about how domestic auto makers seemingly can’t do anything right. Certainly, that opinion wasn’t created based on this experience alone. Honestly, it takes away from your initial, and seemingly totally valid complaint by allowing it to tailspin into a rant about delivery issues, and poor panel fit, particularly when citing Ford and Chrysler into it all. They literally had 0 to do with what happened to you. |
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