Appraisal surprise. Apparent accident not reported

[miguelfranco]

I need help guys/gals. I went to Carmax today for a free appraisal and to my surprise, the used Camaro I bought had been in an accident. When I bought the car I asked the sales rep if the car had been in an accident never reported to The police (with Carfax and Autocheck in mind) and the response was no.

The appraisal officer from Carmax stated the car had frame repairs (welding) and the front fender had been replaced. I called the dealership claiming that I was lied to and the manager stated they had no knowledge on this apparent accident.

Is there any way to get a serial number of possible parts replaced (ie. fender) to see who bought the part? If it was the previous owner or if the dealership bought it and they are lying to me?

Please help me, I need to straighten this out. Thanks everyone, be safe!!

[CHMSC]

Not sure what the laws are in your state but if you bought it used I think you might be SOL.

You would have a leg to stand on if you had bought it new.

[fp115]

Unless you asked for a Carmax specifically, the dealer sadly has some legal ground here in stating they were not aware. This could very well be true.

Doesn't mean you are screwed, however it does mean that somewhere down the chain someone has lied, likely the previous owner. If the dealership did in fact not know of the damages, you likely would end up suing damages from the previous owner.

If this is a GM dealer, I would just report it to GM and see where that takes you. No sense in going through the courts. The process alone would drive anyone nuts.

[SSteven]

Car salesmen will often say just about anything to sell a car. "Only driven on Sundays by an elderly woman..." for example. Unless you have it in writing that there are no accidents (check your paperwork), you may may be in for an uphill battle.

[BluePhoenix]

Problem is that if it was never reported then there is no liability for that. I'd look to blame the shop that did the repair and the owner who wrecked the car.

[2010SLVRBULIT]

buying "As Is No Warranty" could be a problem.

[miguelfranco]

Thanks everybody! Yeah i though about getting the fender serial number and tracking back who bought it and when so I can get to the root quicker. I was told that it may have been the dealer itself who wrecked it but I called the dealer collision center and there is no record of this car being there. I think I'll have to suck it up and deal with the financial hit. Thanks a lot for your time guys.

[punkindave]

My Wife stopped for a very slight bumper tap from behind (the person was shoved into her by another who hit) the contact left a slight rub mark on the car that wasn't even big enough to rub out. Of course it was never reported and no claim filed.
When we went to trade the car, the CARFux report said the car had been towed from the scene as undriveable. The only reason she stuck around was to make sure the woman who was hit was OK. WTF??? Took us a while to figure out what it was about (as the car had NEVER been in an accident) Pointed the rub mark out to the dealer (who couldn't see it at first) and after a brief argument they gave us full value for the trade.

I wouldn't believe anything on those stupid reports unless I see evidence of the repairs. Was the frame welded?? The evidence of that kind of work should be pretty obvious.

As always, if you're buying used, you should have the dealer produce the Carfux report for you..

[pickwithaustin]

Originally Posted by fp115

If the dealership did in fact not know of the damages, you likely would end up suing damages from the previous owner.

HUH?
Good luck with that concept.

[miguelfranco]

Originally Posted by punkindave

My Wife stopped for a very slight bumper tap from behind (the person was shoved into her by another who hit) the contact left a slight rub mark on the car that wasn't even big enough to rub out. Of course it was never reported and no claim filed.
When we went to trade the car, the CARFux report said the car had been towed from the scene as undriveable. The only reason she stuck around was to make sure the woman who was hit was OK. WTF??? Took us a while to figure out what it was about (as the car had NEVER been in an accident) Pointed the rub mark out to the dealer (who couldn't see it at first) and after a brief argument they gave us full value for the trade.

I wouldn't believe anything on those stupid reports unless I see evidence of the repairs. Was the frame welded?? The evidence of that kind of work should be pretty obvious.

As always, if you're buying used, you should have the dealer produce the Carfux report for you..

Yeah it shows welding in the frame and I received an Autocheck that seems to me more accurate. I'll keep doing some research to see what I find

[punkindave]

Originally Posted by miguelfranco

Yeah it shows welding in the frame and I received an Autocheck that seems to me more accurate. I'll keep doing some research to see what I find

It's a shame, but you'll get nothing for your efforts. Even a "certified" used car doesn't require prior damage disclosure and it's on the buyer to determine the car's value and negotiate accordingly. Verbal statements by a used car dealer mean nothing and are never actionable.

[miguelfranco]

Originally Posted by punkindave

It's a shame, but you'll get nothing for your efforts. Even a "certified" used car doesn't require prior damage disclosure and it's on the buyer to determine the car's value and negotiate accordingly. Verbal statements by a used car dealer mean nothing and are never actionable.

Urgh! Ok. Thanks for the info!

[punkindave]

Perhaps if you can prove they owned the car at the time of the incident you might have something to work with (in the unlikely event there is some law in your state pertaining to such things.)

[fp115]

Originally Posted by pickwithaustin

HUH?
Good luck with that concept.

This has been done often. In fact, I had to cover 2 cases just like that in law school. You end up suing the dealer, the dealer names the previous owner as the defendant. It is the seller's responsible to make the buying party aware of any issues during sale.

Not surprisingly, 25% of the cases I had to do related to car sales. Things like buying cars "as is" are not a legal argument that holds up in court.