since I was 8 yrs old I dreamed of owning a Vette. I fINALLY purchased a 2010 C6 with my wife sacrificed/trading in her Lexus as well{we still owed 14k on it} 3 months ago. Dealer assured me with "CarFax" that it was accident free. Car has 80k miles and a new targa top. 29k was what we ended up signing for. Reputable dealership. When I got home I found a police accident report wadded up in the compartment in the trunk. and found that the front nose piece had a different primer base than the rest of the car. I went the following day to the dealership and marveled at the lies and dismissive attitude I ended up becoming angry to the point of pushing him into the wall and kicking their[plural} lying teeth out. After calming down at the behest of my wife whom was upset and in tears by the Snake's audacity to perpetuate his deception. I ended up taking it home after their promise to repair a few things. They didnt follow through on that either.. because of as is policy I m stuck. Isnt there a breach of contract by misrepresentation? This is only the beginning. .... 3 months and 3grand in repairs and monthly payment of 470 I started hearing belt slippage so I sought out Another supposed best dealership in the city. Who also lied plus dismissed my opinion. I swear the car was stripped of some power after I got it home after A "program update" and suposed new harmonic balancer that I didnt ask for. I just wanted a frikin belt tightened which shoudve been under 700 dollars not 2300 #**!# dollars and taken 8 days to repair. {yes there was unaccounted mileage put on the car during that time} Before I took her in , she would put a little fear in me. Now she doesnt just a regular v8. No solid passing gear. I may as well be driving a frickin camaro. I want to rip someones head off. Also the front splitter was damaged so I had it replaced. It is broken again after 2 days home and I baby it when driving into parking lots. ANY ADVICE or am I ##$%ED

 

The belt slipping and chirping most likely was due to a bad harmonic balancer. Well known deficiency in the LS motors.

 

Not everything gets reported to Carfax. Dealer has no control over that.
You should calm down before you do anything else.

 

It is important to get the maintenance report before purchasing (GVIS) . You should have brought your mechanic to check things out. Sometimes accidents are not reported to car fax. The dealer sometimes does not know about the accident especially if it has a clean car fax. The salesman only goes by the paperwork ( car fax) he is not interested in checking out the car 100% . He is only interested in selling it . Good luck

 

In Florida you have a three day grace period to return a car to the dealer. Too late now, so just correct the problems and move on or get rid of the car.

You can't tension/tighten the belt on the main belt, the tension is accomplished by a belt tensioner (a pulley on a spring).

 

Man, I know how you feel getting your 1st Vette... but, you paid $29k for a 2010 w/80,000 on the odometer, you paid top dollar for that car. As far as the harmonic balancer goes, this is one of the few issues with the C6, especially with 80k on it

 

You've been offered some good advise, especially concerning a GMVIS. Never believe a salesman concerning any pre-owned vehicle w/o seeing a GMVIS, first. Period.

Really sorry they're hosing you, low class bottom feeders.
Well, it didn't kill you so it can only make you stronger/wiser.

 

"Program update"?

 

Very true, they only show what was reported and unfortunately far more goes unreported. I just bought my C6, 2006 with 40K miles and clean Carfax, still had my guy take it in and go over it thoroughly even though it was a very established dealership I know well and have supplied for years.

New to me;

 

Sorry to hear of the misery. I truly hope all issues are resolved so you and the wife can begin to enjoy the car.
no point in thinking 20/20 hindsight it doesn't change the state of things.

give it a good lookover this holiday break and go back to talk to the owner. Don't bother with any sales person.

 

Helluva first post.

As far as advice goes, all we can offer is hindsight.

You CANNOT depend solely on Carfax, GMVIS, and kbb to buy a car. They are just little bits to buying a car. A pre-purchase inspection (PPI) is a must have to minimize risk. Carfax is not reliable and does not get it right all the time.

Reputable dealers buy cars with previous damage all the time. How long do the manager/appraisers actually look at the cars they buy in trade, 3 minutes?

Car salespeople are not car experts. Even if you found one who is 110% honest, how would he know there was an accident? You missed the repair too, right?

"As-is" sales are just that, there was no breach of contract. If they promised any repairs, it should have been in writing. What were these repairs anyway?

As far as your experience at the other dealer, I would need more information about the lies and mysterious miles on it. It's a used car with 80k on it, something is going to need to be addressed, a PPI would have caught it most likely. Assuming it's a Chevy dealer that sees a fair amount of Corvettes, do you really think they were out joyriding a 6 yo base w/80k miles? I'll put this as gently as I can regarding the work done, it sounds like you know enough about car repair to be dangerous.

 

I too have a 2010 C6 and love it. They are very reliable and when taken care of can provide a lot of enjoyment for the value. Couple things:

1. Having previously owned a body and custom shop and currently rebuilding Vettes as a hobby, please send your repair invoice to me in a PM. I would be interested in looking it over and seeing exactly what $2k got you. Likewise, since you have the accident report, contact the previous owner and get the name of the shop that repaired it. They might be able to provide an invoice for the repairs or at least a parts list of what was repaired.

2. An ABS front splitter can be purchased on ebay for $150. Make sure you order the one for the base model because the width on your front bumper is different from the Grand SPorts and Z06/ZR1. You can replace it yourself in less than an hour in your garage with basic tools. I have the extended splitter on mine and am super careful also...but caught mine on a curb this AM. No damage thankfully, but it happens even when we are careful

3. Spend some time reading through this forum. Many people join here prior to purchasing a Vette and these guys are able to assist in answering questions pre-purchase. However, since you already made your purchase, use this place to keep you from getting screwed by dealers and repair shops. Use the search, it is doubtful you have a question that someone has not previously asked. If you don't find an answer, ask the group. We will be more than willing to help, however we understand you are upset at the dealer, and quite possibly yourself, but we are here to assist with questions and provide advice. If you want to bitch and moan, well, there is nothing we can do about what has happened in the past.

4. Get the issues resolved and enjoy one of the most awesome vehicles you can buy for the money.

 

Any salesman isn't your friend, they are there sell you car, they also know once you leave the dealership, you aren't coming back.
When you buy used car, you sign a paper, telling you dealership isn't responsible for anything you find later that they didn't tell you.
Sorry, you think you were taken, but now, please enjoy your new ride, with your wife, there is lot of clubs to join that have fun with there car going on cruise's and different locations for either lunch or dinner, or getaway weekends. You will also meet lot people with same love of the car you are having, and helping you repairs and service.
Please I know you are mad, but don't get stroke over it, or worst, enjoy thrill of driving and owning Corvette.

Merry Christmas & have Happy New Year.

 

I would have paid a few extra thousand and bought a car with much lower miles. And if it was important to you to own a vehicle that never had an accident, I would have had an independent 3rd party inspection done. I know lots of people who have had an accident, fixed the damage themselves, then traded it. They only fixed what could be seen. If a dealer is going to auction the trade, they don't care. That's the new owners problem.

 

1. Car may have clean CarFax. Not all is reported to that outfit.

2. However dealer is the expert and has a burden you do not. Had you demanded a money back the next day, you likely would have prevailed.

3. Instead you agreed to a settlement of your dispute which puts the refund off the table.

4. Now you have to live with the settlement agreement leaving you with:

5. A valuable lesson and a crapped out car which willl never be right. If it were me, I'd sell it to a private party who will like trading a low price for a project. Sometime in our lives we all have to eat a bad financial deal. Most of us more than once.

....today is your turn in the barrel.

 

I would be asking for my money back and running away very quickly. Sorry for your bad experience.

 

^Three months later?!

 

Oops, missed that!

That's what I would have done then!

 

Sounds like the worst of things are over now with the repairs you had done. Did it really need the harmonic balancer....who knows at this point but they are a known problem so you have that taken care of now... does the color match from the outside appearance on the bumper? who cares what the primer looks like under it. I would be asking questions and be interested in what the program update consisted of and why it would cause a power loss....they should be able to tell you what they did in the update. Did you car have any aftermarket power parts or evidence of some sort of tune?

 

When buying used high performance cars, I make it a cardinal rule never to buy one that is not Certified Pre Owned. It may cost a few extra bucks upfront but could save thousands after the purchase. I bought a 2011 Convertible from a dealer with only 7000 miles on it. Only issue I had was the convertible top not cycling properly and it was fixed with little problem. Good luck with your problems.