Dealer sold me a vehicle that has been in two accidents

[E1Allen]

Bought a 2005 Ford Freestyle from a dealership in feb. Paid what they were asking. My wife and I asked if the vehicle has ever been in any wrecks/recieved any damage from anything and they said no. When we were doing the contract stuff they failed to mention anything that would make us even think there was a problem. Needless to say we went to look at a new vehicle today and they carfaxed it and it has been in one minor and one moderate collision. One to the front, one to the rear. Has anyone in the forum had this experience or know how to deal with it? I'm not one to get pissed at much but this is rater upsetting to me. I wouldn't have bought the damn thing or paid as much if I knew it had been in not one but two accidents. Any help is appreciated.

Eric

Tom Smith Ford in Lillington, NC so you don't have to go there.

 

[twowheelnut]

Call your state department of consumer affairs.

 

[dcarver]

E1, I wish I had words of wisdom and experience, but I don't. Hopefully others do and will.

 

[E1Allen]

Call your state department of consumer affairs.

and sue the ****** right???

 

[twowheelnut]

Call your state department of consumer affairs.

and sue the ****** right???

Not necessarily. Find out the proper steps to return the car and get a full refund. Don't drive the damn thing - park it in a safe, secure place. Once you get your money back, jimmy kick the ****.

 

[IndianaTom]

I'm not a car salesman, I don't know any car salesmen, and I don't like most car salesmen. Saying that, maybe he didn't know. I suspect he did, but maybe he didn't.

And this isn't meant to sound preachy... cause I've never used carfax, and I've bought plenty of used cars, but I thought you were supposed to use it before you bought the car.

 

[E1Allen]

Call your state department of consumer affairs.

and sue the ****** right???

Not necessarily. Find out the proper steps to return the car and get a full refund. Don't drive the damn thing - park it in a safe, secure place. Once you get your money back, jimmy kick the ****.

I found the site, it's to file a complaint with consumer affairs. They even send the letter to the dealer.

 

[HaulinAshe]

Eric,

I'm pretty sure that NC has laws requiring the full disclosure of any accident that involved more than $500 in repairs. There's supposed to be a state requirement for that disclosure on the title form.

 

[bmwhd]

I don't usually dog pile but I can't imagine buying a used car without the carfax in hand first.

 

[Kevin Daly]

I'm not a car salesman, I don't know any car salesmen, and I don't like most car salesmen. Saying that, maybe he didn't know. I suspect he did, but maybe he didn't.
And this isn't meant to sound preachy... cause I've never used carfax, and I've bought plenty of used cars, but I thought you were supposed to use it before you bought the car.

Hate to admit this... but i used to sell cars. On the up side, it was the only job i got fired from. :clapping: Indiana, your most likely right. It would be unusual for sales people to know much about the car. What you should do is use carfax before buying a car. And keep in mind that there is no such thing as "the last one" for the cars that the "real people" buy! That said I think the TWN is close to right about what you should do. I would first go back to the dealer, assuming that the sales man did not know politely tell them that you are not happy and how they can rectifiy the situation. If you plan on buying a car and you can still get what you want from them I would suggest a retail-for-retail swapfor something else on the lot. If there is nothing on the lot then suggest to them that you will be happy to tell everyone you know how well they treated you if they refund your money.

If that dont work then do what TWN suggests. There are lemon laws and you do have a certian number of days (usually 3) to return a car that you are not satisfied with in many states!!

 

[FJRSTAR]

Bought a 2005 Ford Freestyle from a dealership in feb. Paid what they were asking. My wife and I asked if the vehicle has ever been in any wrecks/recieved any damage from anything and they said no. When we were doing the contract stuff they failed to mention anything that would make us even think there was a problem. Needless to say we went to look at a new vehicle today and they carfaxed it and it has been in one minor and one moderate collision. One to the front, one to the rear. Has anyone in the forum had this experience or know how to deal with it? I'm not one to get pissed at much but this is rater upsetting to me. I wouldn't have bought the damn thing or paid as much if I knew it had been in not one but two accidents. Any help is appreciated.
Eric

Tom Smith Ford in Lillington, NC so you don't have to go there.

They most likely took it in as a trade from John Q Public or from another dealership. They had to have known its history. I would suspect that they are lying.

I hate used car dealers and their salesmen, much less new car dealer's salesmen. Do not take any crap from them. Return it asap.

 

[Windjammer]

Bought a 2005 Ford Freestyle from a dealership in feb. Paid what they were asking.

When buying used Fords, only shop at dealers with the Certified Used Car program. This automatically gets you the carfax report, complete vehicle inspection and extended warranty. Other brands have similar programs.

Never buy a newer used car without the carfax report. Don't pay for it - tell the dealer you won't do business with them if they fail to provide it. There's a reason that car's back on the market. Might be a legit reason, but maybe not. Why take a chance?

Don't pay what they are asking for the car. Many dealers inflate prices so they have room to dicker. Look at autotrader.com to see many examples of the brand and year you're interested in and get pricing info relative to the number of miles. One local dealer quoted my girlfirend $17,000 for a used 2006 Taurus, then "discounted" it to $15,500. After showing him printouts of half a dozen comparable cars from autotrader, he apologized and dropped to $12,500 - the going rate for that model with that number of miles.

Do your homework. Buyer beware!

 

[RatoneMuerto]

I'm not a car salesman, I don't know any car salesmen, and I don't like most car salesmen. Saying that, maybe he didn't know. I suspect he did, but maybe he didn't.
And this isn't meant to sound preachy... cause I've never used carfax, and I've bought plenty of used cars, but I thought you were supposed to use it before you bought the car.

Hate to admit this... but i used to sell cars. On the up side, it was the only job i got fired from. :clapping: Indiana, your most likely right. It would be unusual for sales people to know much about the car. What you should do is use carfax before buying a car. And keep in mind that there is no such thing as "the last one" for the cars that the "real people" buy! That said I think the TWN is close to right about what you should do. I would first go back to the dealer, assuming that the sales man did not know politely tell them that you are not happy and how they can rectifiy the situation. If you plan on buying a car and you can still get what you want from them I would suggest a retail-for-retail swapfor something else on the lot. If there is nothing on the lot then suggest to them that you will be happy to tell everyone you know how well they treated you if they refund your money.

If that dont work then do what TWN suggests. There are lemon laws and you do have a certian number of days (usually 3) to return a car that you are not satisfied with in many states!!

Well Kevin I sold used cars years ago and made great money.I found out the cars were built out of clips.Reason I quit?I sold a Vette to a young man and the repair failed at 70mph. He died in the crash.Always suspicious now of any vehicle transaction that is not brand new from a dealership in cars or bikes.

 

[Thug]

Call your state department of consumer affairs.

and sue the ****** right???

Not necessarily. Find out the proper steps to return the car and get a full refund. Don't drive the damn thing - park it in a safe, secure place. Once you get your money back, jimmy kick the ****.

Hey Nut what's a Jimmy Kick???

 

[Fencer]

Just cause carfax said there was an accident does not mean there was a prob with the car.

I had an 1996 Isuzu Trooper, comming out of a shopping center. An old man driving the wrong way came around a corner an hit me square in the front tire. It crushed my center cap and scratched my rim, BUT completely knocked his bumper off the corolla. I replaced the centercap and moved the rim to the spare, aligned the front and pocketed the rest ($400 for a rim)

Same Trooper hit opposite rear in the tire again, same result. I sold it to my good neighbor 3 years ago and its still going strong. (great SUV BTW)

Moral: Carfax would show both a front and rear collision but there is no prob with the vehicle.

BUT the dealer should have disclosed, and as you go back, I'm sure you will find they did on a paper you signed but did not read on that mound that they slip in front of you. If thats the case a shady dealer for shore.

 

[FJRMGM]

as my used car salesman friend was fond of saying: "hey, if I don't screw 'em', someone else will."

 

[Scab]

Most states have some type of full-disclosure laws. Fence is prolly right also. They prolly slipped in a form into the pile, that you signed, that states the vehicle may have had prior damage and/or paint work. It's a pretty standard 'cover their ***' form. Also, I don't know about your state, but here they will also require you sign an 'Arbitration Agreement' that prevents you from later suing. If you refuse to sign the arbitration agreement, they will not sell you a car. Not that you cannot win in arbitration, but the system clearly favors business.

 

[E1Allen]

So If I asked them to their face "has this car been in any accidents" and they tell me "no". What do you consider that. The wife and I both asked if it had and as far as I'm concerned they lied. I was pretty lazy about looking through the paperwork, but still. If I ask, they should tell right?

 

[Scab]

Yes, they should tell you. Did they by chance video the transaction? It's pretty common here, for just such an occasion.

I would start with the dealership manager. Perhaps he/she is a reasonable person and will be willing to resolve the issue.

There is a local used car dealer here that sold a co-worker a car. Upon inspection (a year later), it was discovered the car had been in a major accident. The co-worker returned to the dealership owner and inquired. He stated he did not know that the car had been in an accident and PROMPTLY refunded her FULL purchase price. He said that was not the reputation that he wanted. She basically got free use of the car for a year! Of course, he got a customer for life.

Anyway, it is possible they were dupped. Slim, but a chance. I would first go see what they had to say.