I think I got s---wed!

dslater524 · 06-28-2005, 10:54 PM

2 weeks ago I bought an '05 SE 4x4 CC with only 1700 miles on it for $27,775.
Love the truck, no problems...has all the bells and whistles I need. I bought it from a dealer (non Nissan) who said the guy was mightly angry at the Nissan dealer for a delay in getting parts. Truck had been tied up for over 2 months waiting for parts...so as soon as it got fixed, he traded it in on a new Chevy truck.

I took it in today for it's first oil change. The service manager recognized the truck and told me the history. The truck had been in a bad accident and it took them nearly tow months to get all of the replacement parts for the body shop. The total damage (I have the bill from the body shop that did the repair) was nearly $11,000.

So, I went back to the dealer I bought it from and showed them the bill from the body shop. They seemed genuinely surprised and showed me the paperwork where the guy trading it in didn't divuldge the information. They also said it is their policy to run a CARFAX report on every vehicle they get in and that nothing had shown up on the report.

What are my options in your opinion. I really do love the truck. All of the damage was to body panels that were replaced...new front bumper, new grill, radiator support, new headlight and bucket assembly, new ps front fender, new ps front and rear doors, new skin for the bed on the passenger side, and new rear bumper. They did a great job...you'd never know. The Nissan dealer put it on the rack for me at no charge and checked everything out. They said if they didn't know, they would never suspect it wasn't a new truck.

What should I do?

Vegas04 · 06-28-2005, 10:57 PM

enjoy your Titan!! it's a great truck and the bumper-to-bumper warranty should ease your mind a little. It can't stay new forever and dwelling on what I think is a helpless situation will only diminish your enjoyment of a great truck.

baseballfanz · 06-28-2005, 10:58 PM

Of course the dealer is gonna tell you it look good, they did the job. A wreck is a wreck, now that you know it, it's not the same.

NorCal 4x4 · 06-28-2005, 11:20 PM

I'd take it to a body shop that has a frame alignment laser system and have them check it out. If not perfect I would give the dealer a choice. Full refund or court. If perfect, still get something out of it like free oil changes and tire rotations for 100K, etc. They had to know and shouldn't get away with fraud.

dslater524 · 06-29-2005, 12:17 AM

The Nissan dealer that checked it out did NOT do the work. It was a separate body shop approved by Allstate Insurance. I know the service manager personally, he offered to have his mechanics check it out for me. They are the ones that said if the hadn't known it was in an accident, they would never have known.

On the repair bill...which is itemized to the "nth" degree, it shows where they had they had checked the frame and okayed it. They show 4.5 hrs of "sheet metal pulls" and replacement of the rt. front brake hose bracket...and of course a new 4 wheel alignment for a charge of 99.95. It drives out fine, but it worries me none the less.

I do feel I have a good Nissan dealer and I am hoping to negotiate either a better price (rebate) from the Chevy dealer I bought it from. Even if they didn't know it and it wasn't thier fault...if I known about this beforehand I would either have gotten it cheaper or not at all.

Seerex · 06-29-2005, 12:49 AM

Did you ask to see the car fax report? Did the chevy dealer specifically tell you it hadn't been in a wreck at all? These are key questions . Carfax also has a refund policy I believe for situations just like these, I would look into that as well as see if any of the paperwork you signed noted or specifically said the vehicle had or had not be wrecked. If it was a claim it should have been on the car fax unless the repair and claim was too recent. Good Luck

dslater524 · 06-29-2005, 12:57 AM

They indicated no knowledge of it being in an accident and "said" they had run a carfax report as general policy on every trade-in they get. I'll ask to see it tomorrow. But I suspect they are telling the truth. I think the guy got it out of the body shop and immediately traded it in.

You're right though. If it's on the Carfax report as a damaged/repaired vehicle, I would think the dealer has Carfax by the short hairs...maybe not. I think the only guy that was dishones was the guy trading it in.

They may compromise with me and lower the price...we'll see. Always the optimist. The truck seems to be fine, but who knows down the line?

mudfinder · 06-29-2005, 02:42 AM

i'd consider that truck a salvage title. it's not necessarly salvage. salvage title is when a vehicle has been in an accident and the cost of the repair (insurances companies have different percents) is more than 50% of the cars value. but anyway, my family is in the buisness of repairing totaled vehicles and saleing them as salvage titles. i had the option of buying a salvage 04 titan LE 4x4, navi, dvd, everything. for 11,000. but instead i bought an 05 SE 4x2 for 30,000. when a vehicle has been involved in an accident, the car/truck isn't going to be the same. no matter how good the repair has been, it's not. you had no idea that the truck had been hit, if i was in your shoes, i'd do something about it. personally i'm not going to pay 28,000 for a truck that's been hit and repaired. if you signed a contract, you might not be able to do much, but i think that if you can some how find a record somewhere about the history, i'd try and take it back, or see if you can get a much better deal.

tweety · 06-29-2005, 06:31 AM

Quote:

but who knows down the line?

I think that this is what you need to be thinking about most right now. What are you like as a person? By that I mean, does it matter to you if the machine was wrecked. The guy that traded it in felt that it mattered. I would have to. Fixed right or not, it's damaged goods.
For you, if you get the A-okay from everyone that you trust, is that enough? I would be looking for some form of token gesture from the selling dealer. If you believe that they really didn't have a clue then I doubt that you should expect anything from them.

rholland · 06-29-2005, 06:33 AM

Find out what your legal options are, try to get the dealer to buy the truck back, a wrecked vehicle will never be the same as one that has not been wrecked. My Titan was rear ended a year ago, when it was 2 weeks old. It was never the same after.

the head · 06-29-2005, 06:39 AM

I had this happen with a BMW 540i. I took it to the dealer and they bought the car back. Now I have my Titan

I would get another truck. One reason is that eventually that wreck will make it onto the records for that VIN # and the resale or trade value will be next to nothing. Even if you plan on keeping the truck for a while, just know you're going to lose a little more money when you decide to get rid of it.

Also, there might be problems down the road from the truck suffering damage. It might not, either, but with $11k in damages I'd be worried if it was me. Just my opinion, your milage may vary.

**nmanley** · 06-29-2005, 07:51 AM

Quote:

I would get another truck. One reason is that eventually that wreck will make it onto the records for that VIN # and the resale or trade value will be next to nothing.

I agree with the guy in the crazy mask!

GO_VOLS! · 06-29-2005, 09:42 AM

I'd have the chevy stealer run the carfax report while you watch. Surely, if the salesmen heard the car the truck was in a shop for 1~2 months, they'd HAVE to ask "Why?". I'm sure the guy selling it knew the thing wouldn't be the same and was proably disappointed the insurance company didn't total it, so he just traded it.

mhwo · 06-29-2005, 10:06 AM

Why create a problem if there isn't one? If the truck was fixed right and the power train is good, enjoy the truck. It seems it was all cosmetic repairs.

dslater524 · 06-29-2005, 10:23 AM

Interestingly enough, I ran a CARFAX report on it myself last night. Clean! Yet I KNOW the truck has been damaged. Guess it still hasn't been reported to CARFAX. So, I still suspect the dealer was being honest.

Nevertheless, I think I'll go get a price on a new one and see what I can get for $28,775. If I can, I will try to get the dealer to buy it back from me. The irony is, now that the dealer knows it was wrecked, he has to consider that when selling the truck...which means he'll have to take less for it. If he would lower the price to me, I'd probably keep it.