Did dealership sell me a wrecked truck?

[Knightfall]

All this being said, I will speak up to say that there may be no problem with the truck even if it was in an accident, especially if the dealer inspects it and everything checks out (assuming honesty). I've had family members buy vehicles with salvaged titles and driven them 10 years, and I've seen what a body shop can do to a vehicle. Don't ALWAYS be so cynical...

[Easymoney]

I bought a used 2014 Sierra about two months ago from a huge dealership down in Texas. They have been pretty great till this. When purchasing the truck we went through the carfax, which showed no accidents. I know these can be misleading, though. The truck was leased from that dealership as well, not sure if that changes anything.

 

Long story short, I got a spray in bedliner today and the installer told me it had been in an accident. There is overspray between the bed and the cab, and the paint is rougher in that gap. I honestly dont know whether to be pissed or not, cause I would think the dealership would know. I tried to get some good pictures that showed the overspray, what would you guys think or do?

 

This always seems to happen when I buy a car.

 

Just a suggestion when purchasing a used car from a Dealer or Private party.Take the vehicle to a different Dealer and ask for a Pre Purchase inspection.They will look it over and give you a Professional opinion on the condition of the car.

[Binobanbino]

I know a buddy that the same thing happend to him. When he noticed it he took it back and the dealer was helpful trying to address the issue. After several attempts of taking it back because they told him the person that deals with that is not there or busy my friend got fed up. He demanded that someone to fix this immediately and was not going to leave untill someone told him it was going to be fixed.

 

He made 4 to 5 trips to the dealer. They kept giving him the run around.

 

Finally they said is was no way this vehicle left this lot like this and that is was damaged after the customer took delivery. He tried to hire a lawyer but they told him its not worth it. He ended up trading it in to another dealer. I hope this dose not happen to you but try not to be so pushy and be patient. Dont be a push over either.

 

Good Luck!

[StillOffshore]

I think it's been in a few threads on here before...they can get damaged in transit to the dealer. Depending on the dealer and the amount of damage, they repair them and continue on as if there were never any issues. Nothing is reported to carfax.

My last truck was bought used, when I called to say I was on my way to check it out, the dealer straight up told me it was in paint for some parking lot damage. They provided me with a clean carfax. I have no idea how bad it may have been. It's a leap of faith. Honest dealer and good body shop, no real issues. Just depends.

[Ultimate 2022]

I think it's been in a few threads on here before...they can get damaged in transit to the dealer. Depending on the dealer and the amount of damage, they repair them and continue on as if there were never any issues. Nothing is reported to carfax.

My last truck was bought used, when I called to say I was on my way to check it out, the dealer straight up told me it was in paint for some parking lot damage. They provided me with a clean carfax. I have no idea how bad it may have been. It's a leap of faith. Honest dealer and good body shop, no real issues. Just depends.

I know a buddy that the same thing happend to him. When he noticed it he took it back and the dealer was helpful trying to address the issue. After several attempts of taking it back because they told him the person that deals with that is not there or busy my friend got fed up. He demanded that someone to fix this immediately and was not going to leave untill someone told him it was going to be fixed.

He made 4 to 5 trips to the dealer. They kept giving him the run around.

Finally they said is was no way this vehicle left this lot like this and that is was damaged after the customer took delivery. He tried to hire a lawyer but they told him its not worth it. He ended up trading it in to another dealer. I hope this dose not happen to you but try not to be so pushy and be patient. Dont be a push over either.

Good Luck!

Just a suggestion when purchasing a used car from a Dealer or Private party.Take the vehicle to a different Dealer and ask for a Pre Purchase inspection.They will look it over and give you a Professional opinion on the condition of the car.

 

All this being said, I will speak up to say that there may be no problem with the truck even if it was in an accident, especially if the dealer inspects it and everything checks out (assuming honesty). I've had family members buy vehicles with salvaged titles and driven them 10 years, and I've seen what a body shop can do to a vehicle. Don't ALWAYS be so cynical...

I really appreciate all the responses. I really do love the truck, and it drives really well. I will be somewhat pushy when having the dealer look at it, though. I'm actually ok with it having body work done, but what was done wasn't quality. When the paint, even though it's between the cab and no one sees it, is rough and feels a bit like spray paint, that's unacceptable to me.

 

I just need to figure out a time to make a road trip to Texas.

[StillOffshore]

 

I really appreciate all the responses. I really do love the truck, and it drives really well. I will be somewhat pushy when having the dealer look at it, though. I'm actually ok with it having body work done, but what was done wasn't quality. When the paint, even though it's between the cab and no one sees it, is rough and feels a bit like spray paint, that's unacceptable to me.

 

I just need to figure out a time to make a road trip to Texas.

If you're not happy, you're not happy. Tell them exactly what you posted. You don't mind the fact that it may have had damage, but would like to see if they can tighten up the overspray.

They might be thrilled that you're not wanting them to buy it back due to the fact it has been damaged/painted at some point.

 

 

Also...I recall a few guys had issues with paint peeling on brand new trucks. A certain factory had paint issues for a while I believe. Anyway, they had the dealership repaint parts of the truck. Possibly this happened? Better than the truck being in an accident.

[audioworks04]

Did the dealer certify is as a certified gm? If so then chances are they were not aware as only factory unrepaired vehicles can be certified by gm.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ultimate 2022]

Did the dealer certify is as a certified gm? If so then chances are they were not aware as only factory unrepaired vehicles can be certified by gm.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, it is certified through GM.

[Donstar]

Sadly, Carfax is overplayed as the definitive source on whether the vehicle was in an accident. Caveat emptor, the question s not whether the dealer sold you a wrecked used truck, but whether you bought a wrecked used truck. After two months you likely get nowhere trying to get a used car dealer to take responsibility or offer compensation other than a detailing.....they'll say either that's the way they received it with no knowledge of an accident or for all they know you caused and repaired the damage in the interim.

The op reported that this truck was purchased from "a huge dealership down in Texas". I believe that his positive attitude will get him what he needs from this dealership. If he gets a detail as compensation, it is because he is satisfied with the reasons provided for the over spray or it has been repaired to his satisfaction. I often find larger companies easier to deal with in matters involving customer relations.

[TheGovernment]

I will chime in being a painter at a large GM dealership.

Since it's a lease, I'd assume is was a cosmetic fix, rather than an accident. We do them ALL the time. Either the person had lease insurance and they pay their 200$ deductible and no matter what's wrong with the truck, will be fixed.... Or they just paid out of pocket.

It could have been a light scratch, stone chip etc, literally anything, don't assume it was an accident because it probably wasn't.

 

Whoever painted it was lazy and didn't take off the rubbers but that overspray comes off really easy. Just bend it back and forth, it will catch any solid paint on it, then get some thinner and wipe it off. You could also use a flat head screwdriver and just lightly scrape it off.

 

As for the orange peel paint. Take it back, have them 2000 sand the panel and polish it. It would take half a hour and look great since that what you do if it's too orange peely.

[Ultimate 2022]

I will chime in being a painter at a large GM dealership.

Since it's a lease, I'd assume is was a cosmetic fix, rather than an accident. We do them ALL the time. Either the person had lease insurance and they pay their 200$ deductible and no matter what's wrong with the truck, will be fixed.... Or they just paid out of pocket.

It could have been a light scratch, stone chip etc, literally anything, don't assume it was an accident because it probably wasn't.

Whoever painted it was lazy and didn't take off the rubbers but that overspray comes off really easy. Just bend it back and forth, it will catch any solid paint on it, then get some thinner and wipe it off. You could also use a flat head screwdriver and just lightly scrape it off.

As for the orange peel paint. Take it back, have them 2000 sand the panel and polish it. It would take half a hour and look great since that what you do if it's too orange peely.

Thank you for the info, makes me feel better. I will definitely push them to fix this.

[maalna2]

Doesn't carfax have a no wreck guarantee? If you have the carfax that shows no wreck and the dealership ends up saying wrecked maybe that is the route to go.

[x219c]

Doesn't carfax have a no wreck guarantee? If you have the carfax that shows no wreck and the dealership ends up saying wrecked maybe that is the route to go.

They do, but you have to read the fine print. It basically says that if it misses a REPORTED accident, then it kicks in. I would bet they pride themselves on never having paid out on that guarantee.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[1kwik72]

Here at my independent repair shop we do used car inspections all the time. One of the things we see quite often is poor quality body & paint work. A professional job will be next to impossible to detect there may be clues that something may have been replaced such as part number tags on the inside of a panel, different color e-coat on the inside of a panel etc. What that looks like to me is exactly what the painter who replied to this thread said. Whoever painted it was lazy didn't disassemble, remove or mask it properly. If he took shortcuts with that what else did he shortcut? White is a pretty easy color to blend/hide, I would get it under some bright fluorescent lighting and take a look at the panels adjacent to the overspray. Look at it from different angles so the light reflects off it differently. What you are looking for is differences in the texture of the paint and or subtle color differences. Look at a panel you know has not been painted and compare the texture and shine so you know what to look for. That way you can see where the repair starts and ends so that you can get an idea of what was done. And small repairs done properly can end up with large amounts of the vehicle being painted. I just turned in my 14 lease I had 2 scratches in the passenger door just in front of the handle one was about and inch just through to the primer and the other was about 2.5" long to bare metal with a slight dent. My buddy who is a painter did the repair no insurance no report and if I didn't tell you where he fixed it I doubt you would ever be able to find it. That said to match the color properly he had to blend it out to where the color went almost to the back edge of the door and the entire door was cleared after that. I have no worries that the repair was done correctly and if the buyout on the truck wasn't so stupidly high my other buddy wanted it even knowing it had some cosmetic work.

 

As was said they should be able to clean up the overspray and smooth out any orangepeel if they did a decent enough job on it. If the texture is too bad or if the undelaying bodywork is poor (shrinkage or sand scratches) I would see if the selling dealer is willing to make it right. It may be a lot to ask to have them completely redo the repair if it is extensive but my guess is it probably isn't and if they want to keep you as a customer it may be in their best interest to do so. On the flip side dealing with customers everyday my advise is to be polite and simply ask them what they can do to make the situation right, they may surprise you. If you go in guns blazing being a jerk and making accusations you will most likely get pushback and wont get very far IMHO

 

Craig

[Madcow2020]

Car fax supposedly will buy back a car that has been wrecked but did not show up on the report. I don't know how well that works.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk