Dealer Didn't Disclose Previous Damage

[cdq85]

Originally Posted by Namuna

What's the outcome you'd be looking for here? If it's monetary compensation for misrepresenting the true extent of damage originally done to the vehicle? You're (or rather your lawyer is) fighting a pretty steep uphill battle to prove anything beyond what's on the contracts...And even if you did get something out of it, that lawyer wasn't free and the amount of time required to go through the process won't be quick either.

Now that you've got the proper mindset...DO IT ANYWAY!!

Yeah, okay you're partly to blame because you were awestruck at the time because you were finally able to afford a car you loved...To which the dealership took full advantage of and played that against you.

Seek legal guidance and take these predators to court (or better yet, come to an agreement and resolve with a settlement). Even if it's a wash and whatever you get out of it is trivial, you've got the piece of mind of knowing you caused that dealership to lose time and money with their own lawyers having to fight the case (a form of 'compensation' in and of itself).

Good luck with whatever you decide.

this is dangerous advice my friend

[Fishbed77]

this is dangerous advice my friend

Agreed. This only makes sense if you have time and money to burn, and feel like entrusting your car back to the same folks who lied to you already.

[Tcoat]

And in about my 50th repeat on the theme:

If you are ever, even slightly, for one second considering taking any form of legal action against anybody do not post anything on a forum or social media about the issue. Do not say one freakn' word about it. Not one.
You may feel you are anonymous but it isn't hard for the lawyer's experts to pin point you in any form of social media. In the mean time you have handed all of your facts, thoughts, plans and arguments to them on a golden platter.
When it is all over and done with then we would all love to hear the story but talking about it before hand is just the same as playing poker with your cards face up and theirs hidden.

[fika84]

The title of this post is very misleading... they DID disclose that it was in an accident.. you failed to ask more questions and blindly bought a wrecked car.

[soulreapersteve]

Looks like they preyed on you, my comrade. I know we are in the "should've/could've" phase now so I'll add this: should've brought your parents or a trusted friend/other family member along who has past experience in buying cars.

I brought my parents along more as morale support than anything else. Still asked for their advice regarding numbers and looking over the contract. Would a second pair of eyes have helped you here? Who knows. But now you learned your lesson. Life experiences!

To parrot what others have said here, if the car works fine now, keep it. I know you want something else but a potentially costly court battle vs selling vs keeping the car - which one be more wallet sucking for you?

Originally Posted by humfrz

Hello dat 86 guy and welcome to our forum ........

Well, like mentioned above, now you have gained an important life experience.

OK, you are 21 and you like (liked) the FR-S. So, it had a few bangs and got a new engine. Does it look good? Does it run good? Can you still fit your family in it?

If so, I suggest that you continue to drive it for a few more years (or until your family outgrows it).

Kind of like stocks ..... you don't lose any money until you sell.

Don't let that "bad deal" wreck up your enjoying the car.

Just be thankful your purchase wasn't a house, that you found out later was sitting on top of a sinkhole.


humfrz

You forgot "make an alcoholic drink" at the end of your advice. I am disappointed, kind sir.

[Fishbed77]

And of course, you can also get Autocheck for free anyway with this helpful hint.

Just tried this and it totally worked for all of our cars.

I just read a few reviews in there and it appears even if the CARFAX was clean when you bought it, it doesn't mean anything later as accidents mysteriously appear.

Carfax won't even show all accidents anyway. If you damage the car yourself, don't file a police report, and pay for repair yourself or through a claim with your own insurance company, nothing will show up on CARFAX unless the repair shop decides to report it. And most don't.


.

[Big D Design]

Why can't you get more for it with a private sale. I'm sure it could gather an extra few thousand, if not more. A dealer is going to sell the car for 19k probably. Making 7k off of you seems strange, but what do I know about cars that have been in accidents.

[thill]

Sorry, did not read this but was the title a rebuilt or salvage title, or clean?

Based on the trade-in value from the other dealer I assumed salvage?

[dat 86 guy]

It's actually clean.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by dat 86 guy

It's actually clean.

Which is normal for most accidents. It was repairable instead of being totalled out.

As others have said, feel free to talk to a lawyer but I don't see that the dealer did much wrong here. They clearly told you about it so at that point you should have had it inspected elsewhere if it was a concern.

[thill]

Originally Posted by dat 86 guy

It's actually clean.

Sounds like you are really getting lowballed on the trade-in. I don't see how this car is worth $12K used when even a salvage title is worth more. I suspect the other dealer was trying to take advantage of you. $20 says they would buy it for $12K and then turn around and sell it for $18K.

That said, you learned a few lessons here.

The first being never go upside down on a trade-in. It's just a really bad place to be with cars.

The second is don't ever trust the dealer especially when buying a used performance car that lots of people drive hard and have been known to mod. Always have a trusted mechanic look over the car.

Carfax is useful but even then you can't trust it. There are plenty of wrecked used cars out there that were never reported on Carfax.

And you just can't trust dealers. Especially with used cars. Even though they told you the car was wrecked so they were not totally lying, that should have been a huge red flag to you.

At this point you can get lawyers, etc. Or you can just keep the car, drive it, and enjoy it. Pay it down over time and at some point put yourself in a position to buy a different car if it bothers you that much.

Do not go even more upside on another car though. That's just a really bad cycle to be in.

[thill]

Oh, and I will give you $12,500 for it

Not kidding....

[BlackJesus]

Originally Posted by dat 86 guy

Hi all,

I have a few questions, I'm looking to get help from anyone that might be knowledgable on the subject or have advice as to what I should do.

I purchased my 2013 FR-S used, in July of 2014. Now let me say this, I couldn't have been happier, I'm 21 and was finally able to afford a car I really wanted, this was also my first car purchase 100% by myself. Which turned out to be a mistake, and I'll explain why.

The dealership I purchased my Scion from was King's Toyota in Cincinnati, Ohio. When I originally financed the car, it was for $24,XXX. It was immediately upside down due to my trade in being $2,000 less than what I owed. (First mistake, but I was well aware of this.)

Second, this car had just arrived at the dealer, it wasn't available for sale yet, but they did the inspections and were ready to sell it in a couple days. When I got back, ready to sign the papers and drive home in my new vehicle. They told me the car had been in a previous accident, but all they replaced was the front bumper and front passenger, tiny corner window. This being my first major purchase, I didn't think anything of it.

No big deal right? (Second mistake)

Now, I didn't sign any paper work regarding the accident or damage. They also didn't show me a CarFax and I also didn't think to ask for it as the title was clean, which I did ask about. (Third mistake)

This year, I drove to a few dealerships looking to test drive a few cars, something a bit

Kings toyota is very shady when it comes to sales and especially service but try to get the original document and see what you signed on. If it directly say that you're buying a damaged car then it's your fault for not checking the damages.
Do you remember who you worked with? I remember seeing that car on lot back in 2014 before I got my whiteout. The person I talked to did mention a problem with this car regarding an engine issue but not the bumper replacement. That's when I backed up and looked somewhere else when he mention that the car is basically "new" after informing me about the damages. That crap aint new lol.
As for the documents, sorry to say but you're not going to get any documents Unless you bother them everyday by actually driving there. You got ripped off on this one and there's really not alot you can do if you signed off on a damage car sale. You might be able to get them on falsifying information overall good luck!
If you want me to go yell at them with you hmu!

[RustySocket]

The best advice I can give you is go enjoy your car and move on. Car dealers do this shit all day long, everyday. Anyone who has ever watched peoples court knows how this turns out.
You allowed a financial decision to become an emotional decision. The dealership showed you the pathway to have the car of your dreams and once it became attainable common sense went out the window. Consider this a learning experience. Your young, you will make many more bad decisions


The path your going down now is not productive, it will continue to aggravate you while you pay the next higher scumbag on the financial scam ladder good money to fight a case he has no chance of winning.


By all means, if you can get a free hour consultation with a reputable attorney to discuss the merits of your situation , do so. But honestly there isn't enough money involved for a reputable lawyer to give a shit about it.


What's really happening is the car dealer sees another sucker coming in to by another used car he can't really afford and he's setting you up to pay the most amount of money possible and give you as little as possible for your trade, using your emotions yet again. He senses that you want out of the car and into something different and he just planted the it's been wreked so it aint worth much seed to lock you into that mindset.


Cars get wrecked everyday, they also get fixed. So what if it's been wrecked. It took you going to a dealer to trade it in to figure it out. It's got a new motor, that's a good thing. Does it drive straight? Can it be aligned to spec. Does it have any major issues? Sell your car outright. Personally I'm surprised they offered you that much. There are new '13,s ,14's and 15's sitting on lots here with 16's showing up already.


Yeah, it sours the experience to find that out, but I suspect emotionally you have already moved on and see yourself driving a different car. This time just make smarter decisions and do your research before rather than later.


Most car dealers lie. Not all of them, but most.