Thoughts
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Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 40
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From: Naples Florida
Thoughts
We went to trade our '15 CD only to find out the vehicle had two previous accidents, now when we purchased this the Porsche dealer said that it had a clean car fax which they showed us. Now upon hearing this we contacted the insurance company that had the claim and they told us that the vehicle was repaired at the dealer we bought it from, they say that the Carfax came back clean.
So how does a dealer that repairs a accident vehicle claim that the Carfax is clean with no prior damage and was repaired at their shop? We paid a premium price almost 50k now we will lose about 6k over one that does not show a accident. We feel the dealer has been very deceitful in this transaction as they should have know about the prior damage as it was fixed at their shop.
We have contacted both the dealer manager and Porsche north America and have not heard anything from Porsche north America but the dealer manager is still refusing to own up to this. If we had have known about the damage we certainly would not have purchased it.
Is there any recourse in your opinions? Dealers (especially) High end ones should not be taking advantage of their customers, I am a true believer that with all of todays social media that something like this could ruin their reputation...so much for wanting to have a stellar reputation as a company!
So how does a dealer that repairs a accident vehicle claim that the Carfax is clean with no prior damage and was repaired at their shop? We paid a premium price almost 50k now we will lose about 6k over one that does not show a accident. We feel the dealer has been very deceitful in this transaction as they should have know about the prior damage as it was fixed at their shop.
We have contacted both the dealer manager and Porsche north America and have not heard anything from Porsche north America but the dealer manager is still refusing to own up to this. If we had have known about the damage we certainly would not have purchased it.
Is there any recourse in your opinions? Dealers (especially) High end ones should not be taking advantage of their customers, I am a true believer that with all of todays social media that something like this could ruin their reputation...so much for wanting to have a stellar reputation as a company!
RL Community Team
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You asked for thoughts:
If the carfax was clean then the dealer wasn't deceitful. Sales people know very little about a car's history beyond what's in front of them. So if they have a clean Carfax in front of them (do you know when it was run?), then that's what they know. A salesman will not investigate anything further; they just want to sell a car. In general, Carfax's aren't worth what Carfax will make you think they're worth. Stuff shows up at random times, or stuff just doesn't ever show up. Same with Autocheck.
If car damage of any kind is a deal breaker for you, you should have run your own Carfax, run your own Autocheck, and then called and gotten an insurance report on the VIN to ensure nothing is in the system that is not on Carfax or Autocheck. Then had the paint metered and inspected to ensure no bodywork. Or just buy a new car to avoid the potential issue.
Trade in that Diesel and move forward!
If the carfax was clean then the dealer wasn't deceitful. Sales people know very little about a car's history beyond what's in front of them. So if they have a clean Carfax in front of them (do you know when it was run?), then that's what they know. A salesman will not investigate anything further; they just want to sell a car. In general, Carfax's aren't worth what Carfax will make you think they're worth. Stuff shows up at random times, or stuff just doesn't ever show up. Same with Autocheck.
If car damage of any kind is a deal breaker for you, you should have run your own Carfax, run your own Autocheck, and then called and gotten an insurance report on the VIN to ensure nothing is in the system that is not on Carfax or Autocheck. Then had the paint metered and inspected to ensure no bodywork. Or just buy a new car to avoid the potential issue.
Trade in that Diesel and move forward!
Pro
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 741
Likes: 117
Unfortunate situation. I could see it either way here. Perhaps the dealership really didn't know, they pulled the carfax, it was clean and they went with it. It sounds like the repairs were done well enough that you hadn't noticed the work so it's conceivable that they might not. It's also not unheard of for collision centers to be separate entities from the dealership they share a name with and for the two to not really communicate to one another.
That said assuming the place you are trading in at discovered the damage via carfax and not a different method, it would seem unusual that neither of the accidents showed up until after you've owned the vehicle. Maybe pull your own carfax and see if it's still clean, If it is I don't think you have much of an argument for the dealership. If it isn't you can maybe reach out to Carfax to see when the repairs were added to the report. If the dealership showed you an obviously false carfax you might have some recourse.
Although too late to help you may also want to read this:
https://oppositelock.kinja.com/how-c...gra-1639660981
Either way I'm thinking you are fighting an uphill battle on this one. Sorry.
That said assuming the place you are trading in at discovered the damage via carfax and not a different method, it would seem unusual that neither of the accidents showed up until after you've owned the vehicle. Maybe pull your own carfax and see if it's still clean, If it is I don't think you have much of an argument for the dealership. If it isn't you can maybe reach out to Carfax to see when the repairs were added to the report. If the dealership showed you an obviously false carfax you might have some recourse.
Although too late to help you may also want to read this:
https://oppositelock.kinja.com/how-c...gra-1639660981
Either way I'm thinking you are fighting an uphill battle on this one. Sorry.
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Joined: Apr 2012
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From: Northeast
You asked for thoughts:
If the carfax was clean then the dealer wasn't deceitful. Sales people know very little about a car's history beyond what's in front of them. So if they have a clean Carfax in front of them (do you know when it was run?), then that's what they know.)
If the carfax was clean then the dealer wasn't deceitful. Sales people know very little about a car's history beyond what's in front of them. So if they have a clean Carfax in front of them (do you know when it was run?), then that's what they know.)
The dealer may have been technically honest when they said it had a clean CarFax, but they obviously knew or should have known it had body work done on it, and should have disclosed it. And if the repairs were for an insurance company, they should have been reported to CarFax by either the dealer or insurance company. (It is possible the repairs were reported but didn't show up on the CarFax until after you bought the car.) As the others have said, CarFax is a nice tool but it is far from fool proof, and therein lies the rub. It can provide a false sense of security. A paint meter in the hands of someone who knows how to use it is much more effective. I agree that you might be fighting an uphill battle but then again you won't know unless you try.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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From: Florida
This isn't going to help your cause, but maybe you should understand how unreliable Carfax reports are:
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news...fax_facts.html
https://oppositelock.kinja.com/how-c...gra-1639660981
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news...fax_facts.html
https://oppositelock.kinja.com/how-c...gra-1639660981
RL Community Team
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Posts: 7,863
Likes: 865
My point is that sales guys have no idea what goes on anywhere else in a dealership; they often hardly know about the cars they sell.
