^^^This^^^
I had a similar thing happen when we went to trade in my wife's car back about 10 years ago - car had been wrecked, but the salesman lied to our faces when we had bought it. Lesson learned.
^^^This^^^
I had a similar thing happen when we went to trade in my wife's car back about 10 years ago - car had been wrecked, but the salesman lied to our faces when we had bought it. Lesson learned.
I am going to call today, I will let you all know How it turns out.
Hater!
I'm split on Nikel's dealership. Ben, one of the service managers (on a recent commercial, actually) is an awesome guy. When my wife had her liberty, he really went the extra mile to take care of us.
Since things had gone so well with that Jeep, I bought a car there, new. Things didn't go so well after that, since the salesman was a lying sack of .. uh.. biological hazardous waste.
We bought our last car at southpoint, which wasn't much better. If I had the time, I'd just rebuild an old land sled for the misses, but alas, I do not. I still think she'd look good running around in a 50's wagon with a big block
Look for paint lines in the crevices around the doors, truck beds, and tail gates. Look at the holes in the frame and see if any look like they've had a hook in them an pulled. Look for fresh paint on the frame. Using your finger tip, check all the crevices where you looked for paint lines and make sure it goes in the same amount all the way around. It should unless it has had body work because they can make it look good, but not new. It'll still be a little out of whack. There's lots of stuff to check when buying a used vehicle.
Tricks of the trade:
First: check for signs of frame damage
Look at body panels from three angles, two at 60 degrees and at 90 degrees. Look for warping, dents, gaps between panels. Anything that stands out at 2 angles or more may signify frame damage.
Pop the hood. Look at bolts. They are put on and painted from factory so if paint is missing or ratchet marks are present, signifies panel has been removed or modified. Next, look a pinch welds and creases. Any change in paint, cracking in paint, or wavyness indicates frame damage. Check radiator supports and see if they are oem and show signs of being removed.
Next climb under the car and look at frame rails and pinch welds. Clamp marks will be evident from a frame straightener and penetrating rust may indicate previous unfixed damage and/or damaged frame from a salty environment.
Second: Paint check
Run your finger along all the body grooves such as grooves of the hood, quarter panels, doors, trunk lid, etc. Paint should feel like glass, if it doesnt it isnt factory paint. Such feelings that indicate non factory paint are rough edges, wavy edges, or uneven blending (smooth to rough to smooth). Also do a three angle check of paint to make sure colors look right.
Lastly, pop some trim panels along the doors on the inside and check the integrity of the creases and paint there.
Other things you can do: verify VIN panels match on panel parts, etc.
Do all this first before you consider examening the other parts of the car.
Next examine interior and exterior to see if it meets your Okay and then test drive. Turn off all sounds (radio, air, etc) and listen during turns and straightaways for clunks, yatta. In park, shift a couple of times between modes if automatic and listen for noises. Many other things to look for here to.
Only upon passing those two things will I consider a car, but I also must have a carfax and I still have a mechanic throw it on a lift and do some more thorough inspecting.
First: check for signs of frame damage
Look at body panels from three angles, two at 60 degrees and at 90 degrees. Look for warping, dents, gaps between panels. Anything that stands out at 2 angles or more may signify frame damage.
Pop the hood. Look at bolts. They are put on and painted from factory so if paint is missing or ratchet marks are present, signifies panel has been removed or modified. Next, look a pinch welds and creases. Any change in paint, cracking in paint, or wavyness indicates frame damage. Check radiator supports and see if they are oem and show signs of being removed.
Next climb under the car and look at frame rails and pinch welds. Clamp marks will be evident from a frame straightener and penetrating rust may indicate previous unfixed damage and/or damaged frame from a salty environment.
Second: Paint check
Run your finger along all the body grooves such as grooves of the hood, quarter panels, doors, trunk lid, etc. Paint should feel like glass, if it doesnt it isnt factory paint. Such feelings that indicate non factory paint are rough edges, wavy edges, or uneven blending (smooth to rough to smooth). Also do a three angle check of paint to make sure colors look right.
Lastly, pop some trim panels along the doors on the inside and check the integrity of the creases and paint there.
Other things you can do: verify VIN panels match on panel parts, etc.
Do all this first before you consider examening the other parts of the car.
Next examine interior and exterior to see if it meets your Okay and then test drive. Turn off all sounds (radio, air, etc) and listen during turns and straightaways for clunks, yatta. In park, shift a couple of times between modes if automatic and listen for noises. Many other things to look for here to.
Only upon passing those two things will I consider a car, but I also must have a carfax and I still have a mechanic throw it on a lift and do some more thorough inspecting.
Dustin's and Doc's tips are good, but they won't catch small fender benders, i.e. a bumper cover or door skin that had no underlying damage and didn't knock other panels and/or frame out of spec.
Those smaller repairs are usually just replace said panel and paint with a blend to adjacent panels. A good shop can do those minor things and it be virtually undetectable. But then again, if the damage was that minor and repair is that good that no one notices, and no hit shows up on the damage record (i.e. Car Fax), then it probably isn't a big deal anyway.
The idea of diminished value, while recognized and paid in many states (some only 3rd party, others not at all), is very subjective. That means any claim the OP may have against Chris Nikel would be hard to substantiate (at least a specific dollar amount).
I thought about this, this morning, and your best bet, if you feel that strongly about it, is ask what type of errors and omissions policy the dealer would have (usually it is separate from regular commercial liability insurance) and tell them you want to file a claim against that policy.
Those smaller repairs are usually just replace said panel and paint with a blend to adjacent panels. A good shop can do those minor things and it be virtually undetectable. But then again, if the damage was that minor and repair is that good that no one notices, and no hit shows up on the damage record (i.e. Car Fax), then it probably isn't a big deal anyway.
The idea of diminished value, while recognized and paid in many states (some only 3rd party, others not at all), is very subjective. That means any claim the OP may have against Chris Nikel would be hard to substantiate (at least a specific dollar amount).
I thought about this, this morning, and your best bet, if you feel that strongly about it, is ask what type of errors and omissions policy the dealer would have (usually it is separate from regular commercial liability insurance) and tell them you want to file a claim against that policy.
Nelson Mazda is the same way. Tell ya one thing knowing damn well they aren't gonna do it. The wife and I had a horrible after the sale experience with them. They forgot to hook up the electric windows after tinting them. When we called to have it fixed it took 4 days of phone calls to get them to finally do it. They had there money, they didn't care about us anymore.
Car dealerships are all evil. Sorry to hear about all your troubles. I know its frustrating.
Car dealerships are all evil. Sorry to hear about all your troubles. I know its frustrating.
enough said
You're screwed. Just chalk it up to experience. You can call and rant and rave if it will make you feel better. It won't affect them at all. They've heard it all.
I actually got a call From Chris today.
1. I figured he was american and didn't expect the accent. He is austrian go figure! lol
2. he is trying to make it right buy giving me payoff (which still isn't enough since I had over $1000 equity in my other car, but at least he returned my phone call and is trying to make it right, Unfortunately he wants me to buy a Mitsubishi which I am not interested in to get the payoff value in trade in. anyways he gave me the na,e and number of his main used car trade in manager. I asked him if they would just buy it back from me so I can get a Jetta TDI. I know it is a ling shot but figured it was worth trying.
anyhow I am gracious for even getting the phone call back regardless of if the buy it back from me. He gave me an offer if I bought another car from him and that is more than I expected.
the thing Is is I can get 0% for 60 on the jetta I want. I will probably have to pay 3-4% on a Mitsubishi so either way I am gonna lose some cash. Might as well be on the car I really wanted.
1. I figured he was american and didn't expect the accent. He is austrian go figure! lol
2. he is trying to make it right buy giving me payoff (which still isn't enough since I had over $1000 equity in my other car, but at least he returned my phone call and is trying to make it right, Unfortunately he wants me to buy a Mitsubishi which I am not interested in to get the payoff value in trade in. anyways he gave me the na,e and number of his main used car trade in manager. I asked him if they would just buy it back from me so I can get a Jetta TDI. I know it is a ling shot but figured it was worth trying.
anyhow I am gracious for even getting the phone call back regardless of if the buy it back from me. He gave me an offer if I bought another car from him and that is more than I expected.
the thing Is is I can get 0% for 60 on the jetta I want. I will probably have to pay 3-4% on a Mitsubishi so either way I am gonna lose some cash. Might as well be on the car I really wanted.
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