Sold vehicle with undisclosed frame damage - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

shotime · 01-07-2016, 12:47 AM

ok this might be a little long and would really appreciate any advice.

I purchased my camaro in 2014 from a local dealership love the car. Went to get it appraised at carmax who found out that my car was previously sold as "structural frame damage" therefor greatly reducing the value of my vehicle.

i have a report that reads as follows

7/5/13 registered in vegas
7/16/14 reported at auto auction
7/17/14 auction announced as structural frame damage
8/26/14 passed emission inspection
9/9/14 odometer reading from dmv
10/9/14 registration renewal

the registration renewal was from when i purchased my vehicle, so according to the dates, the dealership i purchased my vehicle from bought the vehicle from the auction as structural frame damage. correct? due to the vehicle being registered in nevada then no more registration until mine would mean the dealership was in possession of the car that entire time therefor knowing of the damage

This information was not disclosed to me under the used vehicle disclosure or verbally disclosed the dealership actually told me it was a young lady who wanted a smaller car.

along with this i believe the dealership was trying to cover it up due to me purchasing my vehicle on 9/19/14 and now i am realizing that the "NMVTIS" report that was ran on my vehicle was printed on 8/28/14 i did not notice when i bought the vehicle that the report was printed at a later date.

i know i know very long very confusing just hoping some one here has some advise for me do i talk to the dealership do i get an attorney???

All of this is very devastating to me due to my vehicles value being so low and having so much negative equity...

any help would be greatly appreciated.

SS376 · 01-07-2016, 01:36 AM

Call a lawyer. Someone who deals in lemon laws should also be able to help with possible fraud cases involving dealerships, or at least they can point you in the right direction. They may be able to work on a contingency basis where they will get paid from the defendants side so you risk nothing.

GetYouOne · 01-07-2016, 02:14 AM

Someone is in trouble!

songsj · 01-07-2016, 02:17 AM

You can even run into this problem with a new car, I know of a brand new 2SS for sale at a dealer that was hailed on and repaired last summer. For awhile it had a hail sale sign on it but it no longer does and is not listed anywhere in the dealer advertising as a price reduced hail repaired car. The repair does not show up on carfax because I ran it. The dealer said if you buy the car there is an affidavit you have to sign and I don't know if it is just a disclosure or if it basically voids the paint warranty. We never got that far. I tried to buy the car for what I felt it was worth considering it was hail damaged, repaired and may not have a clean carfax in the future. They did not accept my offer. If I were you I would seek legal advise unless the repair is fine and you plan on driving the car into the ground. If you are going to keep it until it is worn out it is kind of a moot point other than it sucks that they did this to you. You are right to be concerned if you may sell or trade the car while it is still relatively new as a dealer or buyer will discount it because the report is not clean.

sdynak · 01-07-2016, 05:21 AM

I'm not sure I understand.. when you purchased the car even if the report was printed at an earlier date it would have showed that no? Did you not run a report yourself at that time? Not sure about the law itself and what you are entitled to sorry.. regardless it is wrong and unethical to have hid it from you. I would absolutely have an issue and look into it.

PROZ11 · 01-07-2016, 07:35 AM

That's a tough situation. Was the car purchased as a used car? There is no Lemon Law on used cars so that's out if it was used. If the dealer bought it at an auction they may not have even known about the damage unless they bought it with the damage and they repaired it. If it was sold as a Certified Used Car by a Chevrolet dealer then you have a case, especially if they were the ones that did the repairs. If it was not a Certified Used you might be in for a battle and or stuck with it.
.

paul84043 · 01-07-2016, 07:39 AM

Unfortunately, it's your job to research the vehicle.
Now it's your burden to prove that they misrepresented it. If, somewhere in the paperwork you signed is states that the vehicle is completely free of defects, you have a case. Otherwise, you're pretty much stuck.

oldfriend · 01-07-2016, 07:51 AM

OP , if I was in your shoes I would be going to your local DMV and ask to talk to the place manager , he or she will be the best source of what's your rights in the case above , DMV can , and had file cases against dealers
They will explain to you what by NV law what the dealer should have disclaimed to you about the car
You may or may not even need a lawyer , give it a shoot

JDP Sales · 01-07-2016, 08:24 AM

Not sure of the local laws where you live but I just left a management job at a large Honda dealer here and I know that frame damage is supposed to be disclosed. Make sure they didn't slide a paper in front of you that you unknowingly signed and if they didn't, go after them. We had to buy a car back that ended up showing the frame damage on a carfax report, AFTER we sold the car. They should be on the hook, I THINK. Good luck!!

All the best,

Jared Royce
888.308.6007

2011shelby · 01-07-2016, 10:11 AM

Retail prices on a 1LS are in the 12-15K range. how much negitive equity are you looking at?

Maybe you overpaid or went with too small a downpayment.
No excuse for a frame damage report showing though.

polizzio · 01-07-2016, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul84043

Unfortunately, it's your job to research the vehicle.
Now it's your burden to prove that they misrepresented it. If, somewhere in the paperwork you signed is states that the vehicle is completely free of defects, you have a case. Otherwise, you're pretty much stuck.

I cannot understand why anybody would purchase a used car without spending $20 on a Carfax report is beyond me!

And many times they are free. Good luck to the OP.

scandata · 01-07-2016, 12:27 PM

At least yours is from a dealership, so you have some chance of justice. I once bought a car that was less than two years old from a private owner. It was a Chrysler Le Baron so I figured, a quasi-family car that's that new, what could be wrong with it? This was in 1996, I knew nothing about cars, and I don't know if Car-fax even existed yet. BIG MISTAKE. The convertible roof leaked, it ran hot, the A/C was almost non-existent, etc. Two years later I tried to trade it in on a brand new car and the dealer wouldn't even accept it to sell to a used lot. Then he showed me all the (now obvious) signs that it had been in a wreck. About this time Car-Fax did exist and I looked up its history. It went something like:

NOV, 1994: purchased from lot
JAN 1995: Side impact accident
MARCH: 1995 sold to 2nd owner
JUNE 1995: sold to 3rd owner
FEB 1996: sold to 4th owner (that was me)

It sounds like the first owner got t-boned and sold it to a backyard mechanic that got it in presentable enough condition to flip it, then sold it to the people I bought it from. So count your blessings; you have a better chance of getting your money back than I did.

JLSuperfly · 01-07-2016, 01:08 PM

OP, was it a salvage title?

shotime · 01-07-2016, 01:50 PM

sorry guys was dealing with it all day not a salvage title i signed a disclosure stating the vehicle has no damages known. the dealership bought the vehicle from an auction as "frame damage" and did not disclose this information to me i belive the report was printed earlier because they knew it would show on the report if it were printed later. will let you all know the final case.. hopefully sooner than later! thanks for the reply!

01-07-2016, 12:47 AM	#1
shotime Drives: 2010 camaro 1ls Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: United States Posts: 12	Sold vehicle with undisclosed frame damage ok this might be a little long and would really appreciate any advice. I purchased my camaro in 2014 from a local dealership love the car. Went to get it appraised at carmax who found out that my car was previously sold as "structural frame damage" therefor greatly reducing the value of my vehicle. i have a report that reads as follows 7/5/13 registered in vegas 7/16/14 reported at auto auction 7/17/14 auction announced as structural frame damage 8/26/14 passed emission inspection 9/9/14 odometer reading from dmv 10/9/14 registration renewal the registration renewal was from when i purchased my vehicle, so according to the dates, the dealership i purchased my vehicle from bought the vehicle from the auction as structural frame damage. correct? due to the vehicle being registered in nevada then no more registration until mine would mean the dealership was in possession of the car that entire time therefor knowing of the damage This information was not disclosed to me under the used vehicle disclosure or verbally disclosed the dealership actually told me it was a young lady who wanted a smaller car. along with this i believe the dealership was trying to cover it up due to me purchasing my vehicle on 9/19/14 and now i am realizing that the "NMVTIS" report that was ran on my vehicle was printed on 8/28/14 i did not notice when i bought the vehicle that the report was printed at a later date. i know i know very long very confusing just hoping some one here has some advise for me do i talk to the dealership do i get an attorney??? All of this is very devastating to me due to my vehicles value being so low and having so much negative equity... any help would be greatly appreciated.

01-07-2016, 05:21 AM	#5
sdynak Drives: 2010 1SS Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Bayville, NJ Posts: 936	I'm not sure I understand.. when you purchased the car even if the report was printed at an earlier date it would have showed that no? Did you not run a report yourself at that time? Not sure about the law itself and what you are entitled to sorry.. regardless it is wrong and unethical to have hid it from you. I would absolutely have an issue and look into it. __________________ 2010 1SS LS3, Black, 235/250, .621/.615, 114 + 4, Kooks Stepped Headers, 3.91's, Bo White PTB, Flowmaster Mufflers, Cold Air Industries CAI, Apex Scoop & Windshield Washer Relocate, SLP Wheels, Skip Shift Eliminate, Barton Flat Stick, OEM HID/Halos, Dyno Tuned by ECS

01-07-2016, 07:35 AM	#6
PROZ11 Drives: 2012 RS/2SS, 69 ProStreet Camaro Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: North NJ Posts: 478	That's a tough situation. Was the car purchased as a used car? There is no Lemon Law on used cars so that's out if it was used. If the dealer bought it at an auction they may not have even known about the damage unless they bought it with the damage and they repaired it. If it was sold as a Certified Used Car by a Chevrolet dealer then you have a case, especially if they were the ones that did the repairs. If it was not a Certified Used you might be in for a battle and or stuck with it. . __________________

01-07-2016, 12:27 PM	#12
scandata Drives: 2015 2SS/RS vert, Spring Green Edtn Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Sarasota, FL Posts: 1,284	At least yours is from a dealership, so you have some chance of justice. I once bought a car that was less than two years old from a private owner. It was a Chrysler Le Baron so I figured, a quasi-family car that's that new, what could be wrong with it? This was in 1996, I knew nothing about cars, and I don't know if Car-fax even existed yet. BIG MISTAKE. The convertible roof leaked, it ran hot, the A/C was almost non-existent, etc. Two years later I tried to trade it in on a brand new car and the dealer wouldn't even accept it to sell to a used lot. Then he showed me all the (now obvious) signs that it had been in a wreck. About this time Car-Fax did exist and I looked up its history. It went something like: NOV, 1994: purchased from lot JAN 1995: Side impact accident MARCH: 1995 sold to 2nd owner JUNE 1995: sold to 3rd owner FEB 1996: sold to 4th owner (that was me) It sounds like the first owner got t-boned and sold it to a backyard mechanic that got it in presentable enough condition to flip it, then sold it to the people I bought it from. So count your blessings; you have a better chance of getting your money back than I did. __________________ 2015 2SS/RS vert, Spring Edition Green Flash (2015 - present) 2014 1LT vert, Blue Ray Metallic (2014 - 2015) Last edited by scandata; 01-07-2016 at 08:20 PM.

01-07-2016, 01:36 AM	#2
SS376 Drives: 2013 1SS LS3 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 807	Call a lawyer. Someone who deals in lemon laws should also be able to help with possible fraud cases involving dealerships, or at least they can point you in the right direction. They may be able to work on a contingency basis where they will get paid from the defendants side so you risk nothing.

01-07-2016, 02:14 AM	#3
GetYouOne Drives: 2012 2SS/RS Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 1,596	Someone is in trouble!

01-07-2016, 02:17 AM	#4
songsj Drives: 2015 2SS/RS Summit White Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: MPLS Posts: 804	You can even run into this problem with a new car, I know of a brand new 2SS for sale at a dealer that was hailed on and repaired last summer. For awhile it had a hail sale sign on it but it no longer does and is not listed anywhere in the dealer advertising as a price reduced hail repaired car. The repair does not show up on carfax because I ran it. The dealer said if you buy the car there is an affidavit you have to sign and I don't know if it is just a disclosure or if it basically voids the paint warranty. We never got that far. I tried to buy the car for what I felt it was worth considering it was hail damaged, repaired and may not have a clean carfax in the future. They did not accept my offer. If I were you I would seek legal advise unless the repair is fine and you plan on driving the car into the ground. If you are going to keep it until it is worn out it is kind of a moot point other than it sucks that they did this to you. You are right to be concerned if you may sell or trade the car while it is still relatively new as a dealer or buyer will discount it because the report is not clean.

01-07-2016, 07:39 AM	#7
paul84043 Drives: 2015 Camaro 2SS RS 1LE Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Lehi, Utah Posts: 1,349 View My Garage	Unfortunately, it's your job to research the vehicle. Now it's your burden to prove that they misrepresented it. If, somewhere in the paperwork you signed is states that the vehicle is completely free of defects, you have a case. Otherwise, you're pretty much stuck.

01-07-2016, 07:51 AM	#8
oldfriend Drives: Fiat 500 E Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: 32.7607/N. 16.95947/W Posts: 7,816 View My Garage	OP , if I was in your shoes I would be going to your local DMV and ask to talk to the place manager , he or she will be the best source of what's your rights in the case above , DMV can , and had file cases against dealers They will explain to you what by NV law what the dealer should have disclaimed to you about the car You may or may not even need a lawyer , give it a shoot

01-07-2016, 08:24 AM	#9
JDP Sales Drives: Chevys at the limit Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: SLC, UT Posts: 9,621	Not sure of the local laws where you live but I just left a management job at a large Honda dealer here and I know that frame damage is supposed to be disclosed. Make sure they didn't slide a paper in front of you that you unknowingly signed and if they didn't, go after them. We had to buy a car back that ended up showing the frame damage on a carfax report, AFTER we sold the car. They should be on the hook, I THINK. Good luck!! All the best, Jared Royce 888.308.6007

01-07-2016, 10:11 AM	#10
2011shelby Drives: 2011ShelbyGT500 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Louisiana Posts: 293	Retail prices on a 1LS are in the 12-15K range. how much negitive equity are you looking at? Maybe you overpaid or went with too small a downpayment. No excuse for a frame damage report showing though.

01-07-2016, 01:08 PM	#13
JLSuperfly Drives: 2014 Red Hot LS3 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: SF Bay Area, CA Posts: 4,266	OP, was it a salvage title?

01-07-2016, 01:50 PM	#14
shotime Drives: 2010 camaro 1ls Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: United States Posts: 12	sorry guys was dealing with it all day not a salvage title i signed a disclosure stating the vehicle has no damages known. the dealership bought the vehicle from an auction as "frame damage" and did not disclose this information to me i belive the report was printed earlier because they knew it would show on the report if it were printed later. will let you all know the final case.. hopefully sooner than later! thanks for the reply!