Has anybody ever "returned" a car?

[Jesse36m3]

What I mean is that my dealership misled me, hard. I bought a '13 BRZ Limited exactly two weeks ago. The basic Carfax they had on the website showed up clean and it only had 15k miles. The price was right; $22,997 and I was looking forward to driving a newer car finally. I kind of had it in the back of my mind that "this was the one."

So, I was washing my car earlier today and noticed a spot on the rear quarter going up the roof-line where the paint didn't quite match. My stomach sank. I've been detailing cars for over 6 years and I know exactly what this meant; it's been in an accident and an incompetent body shop tried to blend a pearlescent paint. I totally didn't even see this when checking the car out on the lot. I came to look at it three times before buying/paperwork and it was always after work either getting dark, or in the shade.

I looked under the car to find body clips missing on the rear bumper (obviously removed during paint), a new OEM Subaru fender liner, different markings on the strut housing, masking tape behind the bumper cover where the diffuser goes, and just the horrible paint match. It's all I can see now. On top of that, an amber sidemarker was out (no big deal, bought one at napa for $2) and the e-brake boot was pulled up and out of place. Guarantee you some douche before me drifted this car into something.

I pull up a carfax, the legit $40 one, and find out that it has in fact been in an accident about 5k miles before I picked it up. It obviously drives perfectly fine, I took it for a test drive; but just knowing that it's been wrecked before drives me crazy. The dealership mentioned nothing about this to me. It was a "Certified Pre-Owned" car for what it's worth. Also purchased GAP insurance.

Here is the segment from the Carfax:

09/18/2013 Virginia Damage Report - Accident reported.
Involving right rear impact
It hit a fixed object
Airbags did not deploy

Here's a screenshot of the online listing

I know it's 100% my fault for not going through this car with a fine tooth comb. Is there anything I can do about this? I know I obviously can't just go back and demand they take the car back and write off the loan; but does anybody know if I can pursue any legal action against my dealership for misinforming me? They straight up told me that this was a clean car and never in an accident. I asked for the Carfax twice before signing the papers. Also asked if I could check it out on a lift before signing anything. They failed to deliver either of those and kind of left me on my own.

[was385]

Go back to them. As a car dealer, they are held to a much higher standard than if you had bought this from an individual. If they refuse, I would go get a lawyer.

[suaveflooder]

Originally Posted by was385

Go back to them. As a car dealer, they are held to a much higher standard than if you had bought this from an individual. If they refuse, I would go get a lawyer.

this

[subiestyle]

Originally Posted by Jesse36m3

I know it's 100% my fault for not going through this car with a fine tooth comb. Is there anything I can do about this? I know I obviously can't just go back and demand they take the car back and write off the loan; but does anybody know if I can pursue any legal action against my dealership for misinforming me? They straight up told me that this was a clean car and never in an accident. I asked for the Carfax twice before signing the papers. Also asked if I could check it out on a lift before signing anything. They failed to deliver either of those and kind of left me on my own.

So they didn't give you a copy of the carfax then?

[quasi86]

Your an owner!

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

[CoupedUpSubie]

23k is actually slightly low. The dealer I got my BRZ from was selling used '13s for around 25k with around 10k miles on them. 5k miles doesn't change much on the price. KBB says a 13 with 15k miles should sell for $26,744 as a CPO vehicle.

That being said, you signed the paperwork before they fulfilled what you asked. You kind of screwed yourself there. At the same time they should have disclosed that the car had been damaged, you may have a winnable fight on your hands.

[was385]

Also, this may not be directly applicable because of different states, but it's an interesting read nonetheless.

http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/do...-c-670182.html

[eyedeez]

Originally Posted by Jesse36m3

What I mean is that my dealership misled me, hard. I bought a '13 BRZ Limited exactly two weeks ago. The basic Carfax they had on the website showed up clean and it only had 15k miles. The price was right; $22,997 and I was looking forward to driving a newer car finally. I kind of had it in the back of my mind that "this was the one."

So, I was washing my car earlier today and noticed a spot on the rear quarter going up the roof-line where the paint didn't quite match. My stomach sank. I've been detailing cars for over 6 years and I know exactly what this meant; it's been in an accident and an incompetent body shop tried to blend a pearlescent paint. I totally didn't even see this when checking the car out on the lot. I came to look at it three times before buying/paperwork and it was always after work either getting dark, or in the shade.

I looked under the car to find body clips missing on the rear bumper (obviously removed during paint), a new OEM Subaru fender liner, different markings on the strut housing, masking tape behind the bumper cover where the diffuser goes, and just the horrible paint match. It's all I can see now. On top of that, an amber sidemarker was out (no big deal, bought one at napa for $2) and the e-brake boot was pulled up and out of place. Guarantee you some douche before me drifted this car into something.

I pull up a carfax, the legit $40 one, and find out that it has in fact been in an accident about 5k miles before I picked it up. It obviously drives perfectly fine, I took it for a test drive; but just knowing that it's been wrecked before drives me crazy. The dealership mentioned nothing about this to me. It was a "Certified Pre-Owned" car for what it's worth. Also purchased GAP insurance.

Here is the segment from the Carfax:

09/18/2013 Virginia Damage Report - Accident reported.
Involving right rear impact
It hit a fixed object
Airbags did not deploy

Here's a screenshot of the online listing

I know it's 100% my fault for not going through this car with a fine tooth comb. Is there anything I can do about this? I know I obviously can't just go back and demand they take the car back and write off the loan; but does anybody know if I can pursue any legal action against my dealership for misinforming me? They straight up told me that this was a clean car and never in an accident. I asked for the Carfax twice before signing the papers. Also asked if I could check it out on a lift before signing anything. They failed to deliver either of those and kind of left me on my own.

Wow man, I'm sorry to hear this. This brings up bad memories of when I attempted to buy my first car. It was a used '07 Sti with about 40k on the ODO. I bought it from an Infiniti dealership that promised everything checked out (mistake #1 of many I made during this transaction - in my defense, it was my first time buying a car from a dealer). I ended up purchasing the car and taking it to my local Subaru dealership where some of my friends work. I had them perform a leak-down test among other things. The results came back and compression was severely down in cylinder #3. The lead tech recommended I try to get my money back from the dealership. Long story short, I raised hell at the Infiniti dealership. I eventually agreed to let the tech's at the Infiniti dealership perform their own leak-down test only to find out that they didn't have the know-how to work on horizontally opposed engines and had the car towed to the Subaru dealership where I had the original leak-down test performed. In the end, they agreed to fully refund me all of my money and I walked away from the car - but it was not without a lot of frustrating phone calls and meetings.

I'd say I had a lot less leverage than you do. I'd start by lodging a formal complaint with the dealership and see if they'd be willing to make you whole. I'm pretty sure somewhere in the paper work you signed when you bought the car it says that you must agreed to give the dealership an opportunity to work things out with you before you take any further action. Go meet with the head-honcho at the dealership (that's what I did, several times) and emphasize the fact that they mislead you and that you feel you were severely taken advantage of. I'd also refer to your state's bar association website and see if there are any attorney's listed that handle these sorts of things. You might be able to get in contact with an attorney who can give you some very basic legal advice to get you started down the right path.

Best of luck my friend. I know how awful of a feeling this is. I'd say you and I have learned a valuable lesson. Hopefully your situation turns out as well as mine did.

[mission2toilet]

Here in GA, you have 3 day to return the car. It's kinda like a grace period which gives buyers 2nd thought. Lot of the people doesn't know this but working at a dealership few years I found out. Again different state might be different.

I hate to tell you this but if it has been two weeks, I am afraid not much can be done. How ever I can tell you few things. But let me ask you something. I understand your frustration and concern. Take your BRZ to couple reputable body shop and have them inspect the car(it will be free most places) and trying to find out how bad the damage was? Also did you look at a carfax time of purchase and do you have a copy of carfax from the dealership? If the carfax reads clean then you can take your case to your state's attorney general's office. Attorney general can do some serious damage to the business(like suspend or take their business license). But you have to prove you were treated unfairly. Not by words, document ETC.

Hiring your own lawyer is out of question. Too much money and you have to wait forever.
Also try to cancel your gap. Thats just putting money into finance managers pocket.
Sorry and good luck! If there is anything else I can help let me know.

[Ganthrithor]

$23k seems like a pretty low price for a limited. I don't know about your area, but when I searched for used BRZs within 300mi of me I only found 20 total, and the cheapest limited was ~$26k IIRC. Plus I think that car had more than 15k mi on it as well.

I guess if it's really bugging you it's worth a shot at seeing if the dealer will take the car back. Then again, based on their little Carfax blurb it looks like they didn't technically mislead you, since the blurb only mentions that a few specific occurrences weren't reported in the case of your car (frame damage, airbag deployment, etc), which may all be true.

Anyway, good luck-- I hope you get the situation resolved to your satisfaction. Sucks that whoever did the bodywork did a bad job.

[robwbright]

Lawyer and former car salesman here... Try to work it out with them... if you're ok with the car, but upset about the non-disclosure, I'd suggest trying to negotiate a percentage partial refund. If they won't work with you or you want to return the car, then contact an attorney and discuss options. I'd think you could get a consult and some good info for $100-$200. I doubt they'll do anything about it without some legal action. That said, if your state has a consumer sales practices act or equivalent, the dealer might have violated it. If the dealer did violate it, then the consumer sales practices act in some states (including both I practice in) would - if you win the court case - result in them having to pay your attorney fees and triple the damages that you were awarded.

FYI, I bought my new '13 Limited in early December for $27,100 on a $29,000 sticker. That seems to be a rather common price point for new ones. There's apparently about $2,000 markup on the front side of these cars.

In my experience, if a dealer is asking anywhere in the $20,000 to $25,000 range for a used car, they almost certainly have $4,000 markup. If they're asking $25,000, you should be able to buy it for $23,000 without much trouble at all, and $22,000 is probably obtainable with a bit of negotiation.

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by quasi86

Your an owner!

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

Huh??

[Turbo95eg6]

For 23K, that's a steal... Maybe the dealer priced it low because of the history?

Pics of the paint? So you're saying the suspension components were replaced as well?

[BadMoon]

I would try to get more off the car or see if they will have someone fix it right. Good luck!