Dealer Misrepresentation - Part II

[urban_legend]

Go back a couple of weeks - I asked the forum for advice on a car that had been hit in the rear quarter panel by a driver that went through a red light. I spoke with the body shop and got photos of the damage. I didn't get the final tally but the damage was over $5K and counting from an original $3K estimate.

So on the recommendation of the forum members I took a pass and did not buy it.
Well now I see a dealer (non-porsche) has the car for sale and claims that it has never been in a wreck.

Can't the delaership get into serious trouble for this? Or do they just claim the original owner never informed them and the carfax was ok?

If it matters the body was repaired and painted...not a new body panel.

Originally Posted by urban_legend

Can't the delaership get into serious trouble for this? Or do they just claim the original owner never informed them and the carfax was ok?
l.

carfax has a section where you can make statements about a car you saw, and it stays with the vin.

You should also call a police officer with your states department of motor vehicles - yes, they will most likely want to know about this, and yes, they will most likely send an officer out.

For fun, you should take a camera out, see the car, and see if you can't get the salesman on tape lying.

I'd love to see a link to the ad, tia

[husker boxster]

+1 with following Fred's advise.

You see the following stmt all the time on AutoTrader:

"So-And-So makes every effort to ensure that our information on this website is accurate and true. However, we can not be held responsible for inaccurate information."

Gives them the out they need in case someone is capable of proving that a car has been repaired. But the average consumer can't spot the tell-tale signs of repairs, so they blindly believe the salesman's lies.

The dealer knows its been repaired - they're way too smart not to. If they claim it hasn't been wrecked and someone spots the damage, that person walks away knowing these guys are cheats. If they advertise it as having been repaired, they lose 90% of their potiential customers. If the dealer claims its never been wrecked and someone can't tell the difference and buys it, the dealer makes a sale. Which road do you think they'll travel?

[Cloudsurfer]

Doesn't surprise me at all, this happens everyday. Unfortunately, while Carfax and their competitor are certainly worth the $20 when you're looking at a car, there's a lot of stuff they won't find. I believe there is a way that you can add to their database, but I'm not sure. To me, whenever I buy a car (which in my case, is always pre-owned), I trust no one, and do my own homework on whatever I'm looking to buy, and make my decision from there.

[JTP]

I agree with cloudsurfer in not trusting anyone when buying a car. I was looking at a car that looked good for the right price but something told me to be suspicious. I held off and went to the police station to run the VIN. Turned out the car was stolen and was on their hotlist. Two undercover cops went there posing as buyers to investigate. The car was stolen, recovered, but never removed from the hotlist. If I bougt it and tried to register it I would have been arrested.
Always get your own information and don't take someone's word unless you personally know them.