Excellent point, and one of my biggest concerns. I don’t have access to Kelly Blue Book, but I think i did look it up last December and the price of a little over $21,000 out the door seemed fair, or i wouldnt have bought it, BUT i did not know it had been in an accident, which makes the car worth less. This concerns me, greatly.
Are you going to allow the Irvine dealer to inspect the vehicle so they can make a decision about offering a repair?
Not sure. I did have it inspected for body and frame damage by “Auto Doc Inspections”. I would go by Auto Doc’s report on the condition of the body and frame of the car, over the dealership’s. Unfortunately, I did not have anything else checked on the car, but if you or anyone on here think it would help, I would. I just have to eep in mind that i have had the car for almost 11 months, and it “seemed” to run okay. The man that owns Auto Doc said he inspects used cars for potential buyers to make sure a car is sound before they buy it. He said he also works with lawyers on “lemon cases”. I have not returned the dealership’s service director’s call yet. I am reviewing all of my paperwork, before I do. Right now, I am reading the “Used Vehicle History Disclosure” that they gave me. The disclosure states that the purpose of that document is " to ensure that you (me) have been advised about the prior use, title and/or DAMAGE history" of the vehicle. As you know, I was not. I am open to suggestions and very much appreciate your feedback. Thanks so much.
There is a section on the disclosure in which they could write any prior damage to the vehicle. Nothing is written there. What concerns me is how easily I could find it just by having 2 other body workers look at it, and hiring Auto Doc, yet they couldn’t? I mean, how hard could this be?
Have them buy the car back and decertify it. . . they have the power to do that, even if they say otherwise
I’ve seen it done
Ideally, they should buy it back and put you in a comparable CPO Prius . . . that is, if you trust them at all, at this point
If they go this route, the dealer’s CSI score can get negatively affected. But that’s not your concern
That proves my point from a few days ago . . . this car slipped through the cracks. It should have never become a cpo car in the first place. You need to point this section out to the dealership and say you believe the car should never have received cpo status, based on the damage, and what are they going to do about it.
I don’t know if you paid cash, financed, or what have you. If you own the car outright, I’d be pressuring the dealer to buy it back at full purchase price, and go on your way. Who’s to say they won’t put you in another cpo prius which also fell through the cracks?
Rest assured . . . the dealer will try to tell you that Auto Doc’s findings are inconsequential. They’ll want their own guys to inspect the car. And they may try to feed you some bs along the lines of “We’ll perform a proper repair and you stay in the car” . . . don’t go for it
Thank you so much for your response. Unfortunately, I read a little further on the dealership’s Disclosure document. Section 3 is the section in which they must list prior damage to the car. It states. In this section it states, “It is our policy to advise you if a vehicle has sustained “material damage” of which we have knowledge before you enter into a contract to purchase the vehicle.” I called Auto Doc a few minutes go. He stated if it hadn’t stated “of which we have knowledge” on the disclosure agreement I would have a case, but because i cannot prove that the dealership had any knowledge of the damage to the vehicle, I don’t. He went on to say the best i can hope for is the goodwill of the dealership to do the right thing and repair my car well, by securing the fender, and sanding and repainting the side of the car. Since I have taken a heavy financial hit from this investment, I feel it is the least they could do. I think it’s pretty safe to say that car was not worth what i paid them for it. I do want Auto Doc to inspect their work before it leaves the dealership, if they offer to try to repair it.
I could make a big stink and go through corporate, as one of the posters suggested above, but i am not sure I want to go that route, with no guarantee of the outcome. Such an endeavor would take time and energy which i just don’t have ,right now. Thanks, again, for all of your input and help.
They’re going to point to that line . . . “of which we have knowledge”
But the fact remains somebody performed a lousy cpo inspection, and you need to call them on it
Good luck, whichever route you choose to take
You are right. i meant to tell you that Auto Doc stated that the car was likely inspected by a very poorly trained inspector who did not look at the details of the car very closely, but rather, looked at the car very superficially. At the very least, i will call them it. Thank you.
Please let us know the final outcome, even if it takes a few weeks
This is one of the cases that I think when you are talking to the dealership management, you should mention that the local channel 4 or 5 is interested in your story.
No. Do not mention any retialiaton, it never helps. They know what recourse is available, the OP doesn’t have to remind them. If it turns out that’s the dealership won’t do anything, then a final letter outlining the OPs next steps might be in order. That is only appropriate when talking to the dealer is completely useless, and @moveherfeet isn’t at that point yet.
Thank you. I will try this angle.
I should have read your response, jtsanders. I am hoping my brother and
law can go with me this week to go in and talk to them. The dealership,
still is not calling me back.
Don’t expect them to . . . not yet
Now, if you were to send them a sign-on-delivery type of letter which addresses your concerns/complaints, you might get results
However, I believe the best thing is to show up in person. And yes, taking somebody along is better than going alone.