i was just about to trade in my car but when they pulled the carfax it had an accident at the end of its history with no date listed.
heres the history about the car, i purchased it early 2009 with 7k on the odometer and was told it was a managers company car and that i would be the first and only registered owner. since it was the only white 997.2 on the lot, we took it. especially because the salesman was really tiny and kept jumping in and out of the backseat to show us how usable it was so who are we to deny this man his commision. anyways, i feel they totally took advantage of me and my sister since we are not familiar with cars. i do remember right after we bought it, we had them remove the front bra since it was dingy yellow while they were giving it the new car detail. when we arrived the next day as we were told to pick up the car, they said that the car was at a different dealer getting the special new car detail and that it would take about a week. im pretty sure thats when the accident happend but my only proof is my assumption and the fact that i know the car was never in any type of accident in my time with it. except, i did curb the passenger side wheels pretty bad where i had it replaced at wheel enhancement since they had dealer take offs that were the same. could they have reported it in carfax? it was just curbed, no accident or body damage whatsoever, we were even able to drive from riverside with no problems. anyways, the benz dealer treated us like we knew about it and were trying to hide it and even said because of that accident they would have to take 5000 off their original trade in appraisal. without any proof am i just sol or can i find out exactly when and where the accident was? the benz dealer also used some kind of metal detector and said the paint on the front was different from the rear whatever that means. and my friend also says im missing my vin sticker on my passenger door, whatever that means. please help

 

Unfortunately you are sol. You need to do your due diligence and have the car checked out from another dealer.

 

i suppose your right, but the fact that it was never registered and how my salesman was able to hop in and out of the backseat without stepping on the door sill, i didnt think too much about it being involved in an accident. but even if the accident occured after i purchased it but before i brought it home, arnt they required by law or by a conscience to tell me? the car wasnt even waxed or vacuumed when we picked it up, it was actually covered in dust to which we were told was the morning mist

so basically if we go to a dealership for service or a detail and they crash it, they can just fix it without disclosing to the customer and its the customers job to take it to a different dealership and make sure nothing happened while it was in service? what if something happens during that visit at that dealership, third opinion? fourth?

and another thing that makes me angry is i remember before signing anything i asked the dealer what car they would be giving me as a loaner when i take my car in for service, i asked 3 different saleman and finance person and were all told i would get a porsche, most likely a cayenne. thats because i was contemplating between the carrera and the m3 and knew bmw gives out bmw's for loaners and told them that. and to this day i have yet to get a cayenne or any porsche as a loaner, and at the dealership where i bought my car, i was given a ford focus. im not trying to sound shallow but i wouldve for sure chosen the m3 had i known

 

I would think that if the car was in the possession of a (responsible) dealer (Porsche I assume) and it was involved in some sort of incident they would be have to reveal the details. I would have questioned the 'week' they took to 'detail' the car. That is typically a 1 day job at most.

Since it was years ago (2009) I suspect you're too late to pursue it and you'll have to simply bite the bullet.

 

i decided to just let it go. let us pray that my new good karma will afford me a sls.

 

if the accident happend before i bought it, i wouldnt sit here complaining since it is ultimately my duty to research the cars history, but im almost certain it happened right after i bought it but before i took delivery during the one week it took to detail a car. i guess my first hint should have been the lack of detail if any at all when i did pick it up.

 

Sorry to hear about this. I would be SUPER angry if this happened so I can completely empathize with you. Here is what I'd recommend:

1. Call the dealer and ask what shop they recommend for fixing body damage. And then call that shop and ask if your car has ever been in for body work. They should have record of the car via vin number.

2. Contact your insurance company and ask if they can run a check on the car to determine what shop it was fixed at.

Once you have the shop, you can determine the date it was fixed and what repairs were done. You can also determine who paid to have the car fixed, I would assume that would be the dealer that sold you the car. Once armed with information, you can discuss with the dealership. Until that time, you are likely to get more and more frustrated. The key is setting the appropriate expectation on your end for what a "good" outcome would be for you and then see if that's even possible.

Best of luck!

KS

 

contact Carfax, give them a brief description of your concern about the (to you unknown) accident and they should provide you with at least a bare minimum of info including the date of accident, and that should help you figure it out pretty quick.

 

you bought and/or dealt with a porsche dealership in la ca and you think you may have been fkd. it would be news,.. if you hadn't sorry man, but.. c'mon. i only know this from having bought cars from la dealerships before. caveat emptor.

they probably waited for you for weeks.

 

wait a sec so did you get a PPI or an accident history like carfax when you originally purchased the car?

 

?


to other members thanks for the advice, i didnt think to call carfax, there is a vin sticker on the bottom of the drivers side door, should the passenger side have one also?

 

You might be able to track down the info either via Carfax or find out what shop they would have used. The "one week detail" is quite fishy. Sorry you've had to deal with this.

 

my point was simply if due diligence is not done as or before you walk into a large metro porsche dealership, complaining is disingenuous. if they ripped you off ( or you can prove damage, post sale ) ? rather than simply took advantage of you? you have recourse, if not? you don't. my point. sorry if my tone was dismissive. yours was a strange post, particularly with the title: "187 my dealer". i figured maybe you were gangster enough to have your car checked out fully prior to taking delivery. but be that as it may,.. good luck.

 

Sorry about what happened, but I just can't get over the emphasis you seem to place on such an irrelevant piece of information. Was the guy hopping in and out so fast and so often that you got hypnotized?

 

My brother just bought a '10 C4S from Downtown LA Porsche and they treated him like a king and were absolutely professional during the entire purchase and delivery. I know because I put the deal together and went with him to pick the car up.

I have a hard time believing your whole story. Perhaps it is the way you write and express yourself. As the consumer you are the one deciding to buy or not buy a given car. If you fail to do your homework, research and due diligence then you have only one person to blame....yourself.

If you had/have issues with your car and the transaction you needed to call and speak with your salesperson to try to resolve it. If that did not work then the sales manager and so on. Finally, PCNA Customer Service if all else failed. Are you a PCA member, there is another way you could have expressed your frustration.

I wish you well but suspect there is a lot more to this story than you have shared. As for our experience, Downtown LA Porsche went way overboard treating us with respect and courtesy. Terrific deal on a perfect car.