My new car nightmare...

[CHMSC]

I bought a car and found out it had $10k in damage done.

I made the dealer take the car back and refund my down payment and the couple of payments I made on it. Put 3000 miles on it and got all of my money back.

It wasn't easy but it was worth it to me.

Wreck check car scan center wrote a book on my car that helped me out.

[two_wheel_mayhem]

They always try to rush you through the deal because it serves them best. Try to avoid being in that situation. I'm sure if you talk to the right people you will get your car fixed at major inconvenience to you.

I never accept pay now fix-it-later promises for this reason alone. That sales manager would have been driving that car right back where he got it.

[bluBlud]

I have a similar story with my wife's car where the dealership tried to conceal damage - the worst being a hole in the bumper where they backed the car against some shrubs when we were taking delivery thinking I wouldn't pull it out to look the whole car over. They told me they didn't notice.... a dime sized hole in the bumper. A complete hassle followed with service managers missing appointments, the dealership owner saying "whadya want me to do about it" and Mazda HQ not doing a damn thing either. It eventually got fixed but like two_wheel says, I'll never take delivery of a damaged car again.

[USMUCL]

Looks like there are two threads on the same subject, so let me respond identically:

A few things:

The key recall hold is a joke. I bought mine on 7/25, and the recall was not performed and still hasn't been performed. When they called AFTER SALE to set up the recall service, I politely declined. Nonetheless, I recommend you lose this complaint in your letter, as it is irrelevant to the matter at hand and makes you just appear to be complaining about anything and everything.

Driving the car to you, as opposed to trailering, is very common. I ended up driving 300 miles to get mine. After shopping around several dealerships, each told me that, should they find the car at another dealership, they would DRIVE it to me anyway and would not haul it. So, I figured I might as well travel and get it if it was going to rack up the miles anyway, rather than let some low rent dealer smuck deliver it. If the damage can be seen on the photos before it was even delivered to you, than the means by which it was delivered also becomes irrelevant. It would only matter if you were asserting it was damaged enroute to you.

As for the damage, I'm not sure what to tell you. It's a terrible situation. The problem is, you accepted it, i.e. you took delivery. Theoretically, they could deny even fixing it, but at least they are doing that. Absent hiring an attorney, it will probably be the best you will get. BTW, it is highly unlikely it will be on Carfax.

I'm sorry this is happening to you. I'm not far from Koons, and I have never heard anything bad or good.

[BAD DAB]

Wow, this is jacked up. I hope everything works out for you in the end.

[two_wheel_mayhem]

Originally Posted by bluBlud

It eventually got fixed but like two_wheel says, I'll never take delivery of a damaged car again.

My dealer did a trade to get my 2012 SS for me from Virginia. I won't even do that ever again. As to be expected, it was not in new car shape when it arrived. It really wasn't worth all the stress to me, they were really disappointed and acted like I was being unreasonable. My salesman, caught up the mix was just dumbfounded, he hated me at this point, but this would change later. I'd definitely buy another car from him.

[stoopid]

Sounds like a horrible dealer.

[kevinw]

OP. i would do one of two things. 1 , if you keep the car, i would have dealer fix the $2000 damage at their expense, give you a rental, and give you an additional $2500 or so for any "depreciation" that may occur. if it dont hit carfax, then i think you would be good to go.
if they wont do that, i would return the car and then ask for another new one of the like. if they refuse again, i would get an atty.

but, sorry for your frustration. when you spend that kind of jack for a new car, it needs to have 0 damage. period. the fact they have given you this runaround this much is indicative on how GM has been of late, expecially to the poor 11 and 12 camaro vert owners and the problems they have had. good luck to you!!

[Cam2011]

Just out of curiosity, why did you take delivery of the car? I would have told them to keep it after the initial round of BS, and when the guy drove it the 130 miles I would have had him turn right around and take it back. Never take one of the "I owe" sheets, they're about as good as an IOU. Sorry to hear of you plight, but I would imaging it may be time to contact an attorney, but before you do make sure you call your contact and let them know that this is the last call you'll be making as from here on in it will be in you attorneys capable hands.

[RobertRS]

If the damage to your car is considered no big deal to the dealer in question and can be easily repaired to factory specs, then why wouldn't they just get you into another one that is in pristine condition and fix that one and resell it to someone else?.....I mean, since it's no big woop. Unless of course they were just waiting for some out of towner to buy it so they could just wash their hands of it and hope that maybe the buyer thought the damage occurred while in his/her posession.

[SSmokinSS]

The issue I see is that you have proof of damage before you bought it, BUT you still bought it? If I was the dealer, I'm afraid I would refuse to repair anything. It sounds mean, but by having pictures of damage before you took delivery kinda works in their favor, doesn't it? Unless I am reading something wrong, you are more at fault than they are. If they are willing to fix it at no charge, consider yourself lucky.

I hope you get it worked out, and if you end up with another new car, I hope you are a customer for life at that dealer. That would be above and beyond what they should have to do.

[Evergreen6]

I think they definitely owe to fix the car. It's a new car, and if the pictures prove it was damaged before the sale, the dealership needs to assume responsibility. It's a new car, and it shouldn't be sold with unrepaired damage--the dealership was going to have to fix it anyway. A whole new car? That's going to be a tough negotiation, but maybe not totally unreasonable--and I hope that's what you get if that's what you really want. Good repair work should be virtually invisible and should last the life of the car, and if it's a car you were planning to drive anyway, that might not be a bad way to go. I'd try to work with the sales manager on something a little extra-- maybe they'll throw in an extended warranty, or something/anything to help you out in return for a bumpy ride during the sales experience.

I think car buying is supposed to be an enjoyable experience, especially for a fun car like the Camaro. You should feel good about what you bought and the experience shouldn't cause you this level of stress. I think we're all sorry to hear it went this way. If it was my deal, I'd be looking to put it behind me as quickly as possible (I'd probably agree to the repairs, personally) so I could get out and enjoy my new car. (But I'd want a silver lining, too...) Good luck in your dealings to get everything resolved.

[DriftinSSRS]

You bought a car from Koons. None of this is surprising.

[Dfault]

Good luck, this is why I require at least one hour to look over everything up close before I buy a vehicle.